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If the Enlightenment turned to reason to reoccupy the place left vacant by the death of God, the last two centuries have undermined such faith in reason. We cannot escape this history. The specter of nihilism haunts Either/Or. To exorcize it is Kierkegaard´s most fundamental concern. But where are we to turn? To an aesthetic transfiguration of, or escape from reality? Does ethics promise an answer? Or is all that is left an irrational leap to religion? All such questions are shadowed by the specter of Kitsch. What does it mean to be authentic in the modern world?

How did the world come to be organized into sovereign states? Daniel Philpott argues that two historical revolutions in ideas are responsible. First, the Protestant Reformation ended medieval Christendom and brought a system of sovereign states in Europe, culminating at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Second, ideas of equality and colonial nationalism brought a sweeping end to colonial empires around 1960, spreading the sovereign states system to the rest of the globe. In both cases, revolutions in ideas about legitimate political authority profoundly altered the "constitution" that establis

This book is intended to broaden the public debate about the role of popular media in children's lives. Its definition of 'media' is wide-ranging: not just television and the internet, but also still-popular forms such as fairy tales, children's literature - including the triumphantly successful Harry Potter series - and playground games

Yucatan has been called "a world apart"-cut off from the rest of Mexico by geography and culture. Yet, despite its peripheral location, the region experienced substantial change in the decades after independence. As elsewhere in Mexico, apostles of modernization introduced policies intended to remold Yucatan in the image of the advanced nations of the day. Indeed, modernizing change began in the late colonial era and continued throughout the 19th century as traditional patterns of land tenure were altered and efforts were made to divest the Catholic Church of its wealth and political and intellectual influence. Some changes, however, produced fierce resistance from both elites and humbler Yucatecans and modernizers were frequently forced to retreat or at least reach accommodation with their foes. Covering topics from the early 19th century to the late 20th century, the essays in this collection illuminate both the processes of change and the negative reactions that they frequently elicited. The diversity of disciplines covered by this volume-history, anthropology, sociology, economics-illuminates at least three overriding challenges for study of the peninsula today. One is politics after the decline of the Institutional Revolutionary Party: What are the important institutions, practices, and discourses of politics in a post-postrevolutionary era? A second trend is the scholarly demystification of the Maya: Anthropologists have shown the difficulties of applying monolithic terms like Maya in a society where ethnic relations are often situational and ethnic boundaries are fluid. And a third consideration: researchers are only now beginning to grapple with the region's transition to a post-henequen economy based on tourism, migration, and the assembly plants known as maquiladoras. Challenges from agribusiness and industry will no doubt continue to

Indonesia has made improving the access to health workers, especially in rural areas, and improving the quality of health providers key priority areas of its next five-year development plan. Significant steps and policy changes were taken in the past to improve the distribution of the health force, but few studies have been undertaken to measure the actual impact of these policies and programs. This study begins the process of reviewing the impacts of the past policies and policy changes. It links the changes in supply and quality of health workers to past health work force policies but also t

Methodological problems in the study of child soldiers / Barry Ames -- An ethical perspective on child soldiers / Jeff McMahan -- The evolution of the United Nations' protection agenda for children: applying international standards / Tonderai W. Chikuhwa -- No place to hide: refugees, displaced persons, and child soldier recruits / Vera Achvarina, Simon Reich -- Recruiting children for armed conflict / Jens Christopher Andvig, Scott Gates -- The enablers of war: causal factors behind the child soldier phenomenon / P.W. Singer -- Child recruitment in Burma, Sri Lanka, and Nepal / Jo Becker -- Organizing minors: the case of Colombia / Francisco Gutierrez Sanín -- War, displacement, and the recruitment of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo / Sarah Kenyon Lischer -- Disaggregating the causal factors unique to child soldiering: the case of Liberia / James B. Pugel -- Girls in armed forces and groups in Angola: implications for ethical research and reintegration / Michael G. Wessells -- National policies to prevent the recruitment of child soldiers / Emily Vargas-Barón -- Wise investments in future neighbors: recruitment deterrence, human agency, and education / Maureen W. McClure, Gonzalo Retamal -- Ending the scourge of child soldiering: an indirect approach / Andrew Mack

As one of the eighteen field-specific reports comprising the comprehensive scope of the strategic general report of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, this sub-report addresses long-range planning for developing science and technology in the field of energy science. They each craft a roadmap for their sphere of development to 2050. In their entirety, the general and sub-group reports analyze the evolution and laws governing the development of science and technology, describe the decisive impact of science and technology on the modernization process, predict that the world is on the eve of an imp

Midterm elections and checks and balances in the American system -- State midterm elections -- Midterm elections as the vanguard of change: 1. Realignment and the elections of 1894 and 1930. 2. More preparatory midterms -- The calibrating elections : midterm thermidor -- The dogs that did not bark : exceptions that shaped history -- Normal midterms -- Conclusion

"Recent acts of terrorism in Britain and Europe and the events of 9/11 in the United States have greatly influenced immigration, security, and integration policies in these countries. Yet many of the current practices surrounding these issues were developed decades ago, and are ill-suited to the dynamics of today's global economies and immigration patterns. At the core of much policy debate is the inherent paradox whereby immigrant populations are frequently perceived as posing a potential security threat yet bolster economies by providing an inexpensive workforce. Strict attention to border controls and immigration quotas has diverted focus away from perhaps the most significant dilemma: the integration of existing immigrant groups. Often restricted in their civil and political rights and targets of xenophobia, racial profiling, and discrimination, immigrants are unable or unwilling to integrate into the population. These factors breed distrust, disenfranchisement, and hatred-factors that potentially engender radicalization and can even threaten internal security. The contributors compare policies on these issues at three relational levels: between individual EU nations and the U.S., between the EU and U.S., and among EU nations. What emerges is a timely and critical examination of the variations and contradictions in policy at each level of interaction and how different agencies and different nations often work in opposition to each other with self-defeating results. While the contributors differ on courses of action, they offer fresh perspectives, some examining significant case studies and laying the groundwork for future debate on these crucial issues."--Publisher's description

Political participation rates have declined steadily in Mexico since the 1990s. The decline has been most severe among the poor, producing a stratified pattern that more and more mirrors Mexico's severe socioeconomic inequalities. Poverty of Democracy examines the political marginalization of Mexico's poor despite their key role in the struggle for democracy.Claudio A. Holzner uses case study evidence drawn from eight years of fieldwork in Oaxaca, and from national surveys to show how the institutionalization of a free-market democracy created a political system that discourages the political

Constructing movements and comparisons -- Toward a political and conceptual genealogy of representation -- Comparing communities, contention, and representation, 1860s-1960s -- Articulating indianness regionally and nationally, 1960s-1990s -- Neoliberal and multicultural encounters, 1990-2005 -- Strategic constructivism and essentialism -- Articulating utopias, histories, and politics

Paul Stronski tells the fascinating story of Tashkent, an ethnically diverse, primarily Muslim city that became the prototype for the Soviet-era reimagining of urban centers in Central Asia. Based on extensive research in Russian and Uzbek archives, Stronski shows us how Soviet officials, planners, and architects strived to integrate local ethnic traditions and socialist ideology into a newly constructed urban space and propaganda showcase