Suchergebnisse

The paper "Israel in the European neighborhood policy" attempts to explain the importance of the relation EU-Israel for the security of the European Union, but also for the global security. This task will be accomplished by analyzing basic documents vital for European political architecture, such as the European Security Strategy, Strategy Paper for Israel for the period 2007-2013, or EU/Israel Action Plan. The speeches of members of European Commission about the relation of EU with Israel are also important sources of the present paper, bringing valuable ideas who successfully complete the content of EU-Israel treaties. This paper attempts, also, to explain the functionning and the role of European neighborhood policy, its principles of action and objectives and, later on, to analyse the importance of Israel as a country found in the proximity of European Union. The reason for choosing Israel from all the other neighbors of the European Union, as subjects of European neighborhood policy, was the common values reflected in tradition and culture of the Jews from Israel and of the Europeans, enhanced by the European Jewry Heritage from Europe. We consider that the relationship between European Union and Israel is very normal and useful.
Among the priorities of action established by the two parts as a consequence of European Union-Israel treaties, we would like to point out the assignment to fight against anti-Semitism and against terrorist actions. The Jewish people are a people who passed through a lot of difficulties and inconveniences during history and through a great tragedy during the Holocaust. Israel represents the refuge they longed for centuries and democratic states do support Israeli aspiration towards having their own fatherland. Anti-Semitism increased now in the Arab world being the consequence of the conflicts between Palestinians and Israelites in the last decades. Some times it can take the form of terrorist action and hence the connection with terrorist networks. The fight against terrorism is not strictly connected with anti-Semitism; terrorist networks are acting more and more widely, including actions versus western civilization. So it is both in the interest of Europeans and Israel to act against the ones who put in danger the basic human values. Both Israel and European Union and United States also, have to reconsider their relation with Arab world whose aggression increased as being home for numerous extremist and terrorist Islamic movements. Terrorism is the present day threat and not a global war. But terrorism can cause much more damage than a war as affecting the entire world and mainly civilians. No place can be safe enough when confronting with such a threat. But the treaties between Israel and European Union have also economic, social, political, security related objectives. They have at their base the common values that Israel and European Union countries share: democracy, human rights and respect for fundamental freedoms. They wish to create more prosperous and secure countries. And they open European economy to Israeli participation. Strenghtening the economic ties between Israel and European Union, all sectors of cooperation will be strenghtened because economic interest is at the basis of long term relations. The method of work will be critical interpretation of the documents concerning European neighbourhood policy and its connection to Israel. The purpose is to understand the written base of EU and Israel relations as a precondition for further possible analysis of the diplomatic relations and politics of the two entities. Our position is to encourage the relationship between Israel and European Union. Israel and the European Union countries are united through historical ties as Jews from whole Europe contributed after 1948 to the creation and development of the Israelian state. Their relationship appears us very normal and an expected result.

The argument that agriculture & food have all along invisibly underpinned relations of property & power in the world system to now emerge as key points of conflict in international organizations is asserted to find solution in an appreciation of "livelihoods" & "habitats" that are the living foundations of all human societies. The present impasse over global rules for agriculture reflects profound changes in social relations across the whole spectrum of production & consumption of food on a world scale. Analysis of these relations using a "food regime" conceptual framework identifies complementary expectations between social actors in all aspects of food. A brief historical narrative describes the growth of the regime from the Settler - Colonial food regime, the Mercantile - Industrial food regime, & the Structural Adjustment Programs imposed on the indebted countries. The dramatic shift in policy responses by the UN to the troubles of the Mercantile - Industrial food regime, & the current politics of hunger & agricultural trade today reflect Polanyi's "double movement" throughout the history of world agriculture & food. The increasingly transnational public dialogue taking place over promoting human & system well-being is a reemergence of agriculture into the center of policy conflicts that offers the possibility of correcting the curious blindness of development to the ineluctable relationship between society & nature, & making agriculture the fundamental point from which to assess what is right & wrong about current & future global rules & relationships. References. J. Harwell

Zwei Ziele sollen mit diesem einführenden Beitrag verfolgt werden: Zum einen sollen in Kürze einige grundlegende Informationen über Ziele und Struktur des Forschungsprojekts zum Menschenrecht auf Bildung präsentiert werden, dem die in diesem Buch dokumentierte Tagung zugeordnet ist (1). Zum anderen soll mit einer methodologischen bzw. metaethischen Reflexion auf den zurückgelegten Weg ein spezifischer Bezug zwischen dem Gesamtprojekt und der hier erörterten speziellen Thematik ausgewiesen werden. Dafür steht die im Titel formulierte Spannung zwischen Empirie und Normativität, unter der das in unserem Forschungsprojekt erarbeitete bzw. bearbeitete Material befragt werden soll (2). Abschließend werden Desiderate und weiterführende Fragestellungen für die bildungsethische Reflexion benannt, die sich aus der Sichtung der geleisteten Arbeit ergeben (3).

"Two major points can be raised regarding which I consider it to be necessary to reconsider Hollifield's thesis concerning the dilemma of liberal democracies in Controlling immigration. Both are based on the thesis that there is less continuity with respect to how the issue of immigration is politically dealt with and institutionalized in policy initiatives. Regarding the developments in Germany of the 1990th it is questionable to still speak about a dominant liberal consensus with a distinct commitment to human and civil rights in the field of immigration policy. The first argument is that processes of social exclusion have notably changed the legal rights for immigrants regarding both the formal requirements for immigration and the social and political rights that are granted to them once they have set foot into Germany. In particular, the dramatic drop in the figures of asylum seekers and immigrants of German origin over the last two years clearly shows that the nation-state still disposes of effective means to restrict immigration. These figures make manifest that at least to a considerable degree liberal states are able to regulate and control immigration. The basic mechanism by which the extremely rigid approach to immigration and political asylum is legitimized is the re-definition of the boundaries between members and non-members of the community. Today we are witnessing a new attempt to define the boundaries between the We and the Other both at the national and at the European level. The configuration of immigration politics and policy will not remain untouched by this development. In the 1990th this has created a consequential process of social exclusion of ethnically defined groups from equal access to societal resources and life chances. This aspect often escapes a perspective which primarily focuses on the policy debate and the resulting legal decisions. At least regarding a certain fraction of immigrants and asylum seekers this logic of exclusion has also become dominant in different policy areas and increasingly shapes the legal conditions and administrative restrictions under which these groups live in German society. This brings me to my second point regarding to which I think Hollifield's thesis of the stability of the liberal consensus needs to be revisited. There is a growing fraction of immigrants and asylum seekers that are systematically excluded from the liberal realm of humanitarian and civic rights. Manifestly, the liberal consensus does not refer to all immigrant groups and asylum seekers equally. Defining them by the status of being illegal this group is radically exempted from this consensus. In spite of the humanitarian rhetoric, the daily practice of dealing with immigrants shows that a right-based politics presupposes the decision of who is considered to be entitled to claim even the most fundamental rights." (extract)

In a discussion of Oakeshott's early influence by Hegel & British idealists, the author of this chapter delineates Oakeshott's critiques of the liberalist conceptualization of the individual relative to the purposive nature it imposes on the state (Leo Strauss, Rousseau, Hegel, Bosanquet, Green). The intellectual evolution to a Hobbesian skepticism of authority & individuals allows for a synthesis of Hobbes & Hegel to further critique liberal atomism by arguing for a socially constructed individual with rights to her choices, in an environment of government limited to the creation of peace. Liberal democracy is recognized as the best form of social integration yet developed. In his later work, "On Human Conduct," Oakeshott places his concept of the individual embedded in civil association to allow for moral practices that are chosen because of a "freedom inherent in agency." The atomism of liberal political philosophy has thus been overcome, but Oakeshott still lacks an Aristotelian moral dignity that would generate allegiance to the political community. 22 References. J. Harwell

A discussion of Canada's current policy on official bilingualism focuses on both its moral validity in light of theories of citizenship & its potential to enhance civic solidarity. An overview of the historical roots of English-French duality since 1763, when New France was ceded to GB, highlights events that impacted the development of official bilingualism as a civic commitment. Three strands of citizenship that correspond to justifications for accepting or rejecting language rights for French & English-speaking Canadians are described as the liberal strand; the historical strand; & the democratic deliberation strand. The liberal strand emphasizes equal respect for all human beings; the historical strand stresses the value of a historical contract among those who founded the political community; & the democratic deliberation strand accentuates the value of the democratic process that defines the terms of citizenship. Special attention is given to the current status of these justifications, as well as ways in which they reflect moral & instrumental commitments. J. Lindroth

Analyzes the multiple narratives constructed about the interethnic standoff that occurred in Oka, Quebec, 11 July 1990, drawing on 1993 field interviews with persons who participated in or covered the incident for the local media. On the day of confrontation, hundreds of Surete du Quebec police engaged in a conflict with 12 Kanehsatake Mohawks over the municipality's plan to expand a nine-hole golf course onto the tribe's ancestral pine forest. Thirteen narratives about this event are categorized according to their relative sympathy toward Mohawk positions. These narratives move from the suggestion that the municipality had a clear right to take this action to assertions that the act was an effort to take away the sovereignty of the Mohawk people. Two metanarratives were also found, stressing the possibility of greater interethnic understanding or greater unity among tribal peoples. The genesis of these narratives is traced to a confluence of political motivation, convenience, linguistic community, psychological characteristics of the narrator, access to local sources, ethics, & human ingenuity. D. M. Smith

Examines the political & social factors leading to the transformation of the Swedish prison system. Since the 1970s, Sweden had been praised for its humane penal system, which incorporated short prison sentences, welfare benefits, the right to leave prison for special occasions, & emphasis on rehabilitation. However, perceived increases in crime rates & drug abuse led to more restrictive penal policies during the 1980s, & in 1991, a conservative government came into power, boosted by an anticrime compaign that called for longer & more repressive prison sentences. Although an economic crisis brought the Social Democratic Party back into power in 1994, this government has maintained many of the conservative government's innovations, including mandatory incarceration for 66% of a sentence, electronic tagging of certain criminals, & harsher drug policies. However, the Social Democrats have also recommitted themselves to incarceration alternatives & crime prevention through welfare, education, drug programs, etc. It is concluded that the shift toward a more punitive & exclusionary philosophy is the product of recent social, political, & media attitudes that regard crime & criminals (especially drugs) as an external attack on Swedish values. 5 Tables, 40 References. T. Sevier

Forms of algorithmic management (AM) play an essential role in organizing food delivery work by deploying AI-based systems for coordinating driver routes. Given the risks of precarity and threats posed by AM that are typically related to (migrant) platform work, the question arises to what extent structures of co-determination are able to positively shape this type of work and the technologies involved. Based on an intense case-study in a large food delivery company, this paper is guided by three questions: (1) How is algorithm-based management and control used by the company? (2) How is it perceived by the couriers, also in relation to other aspects of their work? (3) What are the works council's priorities, strategies, and achievements regarding co-determination practices? Contrary to the prevalent perception in the literature on the subject of AM, our analysis shows that human agency is still pivotal when algorithm-based systems are used to manage work processes. While data- and AM-related issues do not represent a central area of conflict, we find that co-determination rights in this domain can translate into a powerful bargaining resource of the works council with regard to the companies' digital business model. Our study also shows that algorithmic management poses problems of non-transparency and information asymmetry, which calls for new forms and procedures of co-determination.

New agricultural biotechnologies that can design agricultural products at the molecular level are beginning to impact society in social, technical, & ethical ways without the safeguards of democratic rules & regulations. Not only can these methods transform the agrifood system, but they can alter ecosystems, the organization of agriculture, & the development, or lack of development, of Third World countries. As industries create microorganisms, plants, & animals to specifically meet human needs & desires, moral & ethical dilemmas are raised; & the expanded claims to intellectual property rights for genetic advancements could privatize plants & animals that were once public domain. Such changes could take the market of crops such as cocoa, vanilla, sugar cane, & coffee away from Third World countries; & give unprecedented power to large corporations. Most of this transformation is taking place quietly within the private sector without public awareness, input, or decision making. While claims of humanitarian reasons for increasing agricultural output are given, the taking of jobs from Third World countries leaves their peoples without the means of purchasing food & other necessities. The author details current biotechnological advances in plants, enzymes within foods, & animals. While biotechnologies could benefit society, they need to be democraticized to ensure that they are used for beneficial purposes. 1 Table. L. A. Hoffman

What should be the role of academia & intellectuals in the global justice movement? The author investigates "critical globalization studies"-previously critical development studies-to argue that despite the neoliberal There Is No Alternative (TINA) doctrine, academics are all part of the vast mutual liberation society. The author recalls her early critical development studies works How the Other Half Dies: The Real Reasons for World Hunger (1976) in which she identified the gap in research and analysis that was due to subservience to a dominant ideology that did not have the categories & concepts needed for dealing with the "real reasons". The pressures & constraints on academics that relate to job security place progressive in to the role of taking a vow of poverty or academia. Kuhn's explanation of the reigning paradigm of the hard sciences is related to the fact that progressive foundations would fund "projects" versus the "right wing Gramscians" who believed in the power idea of ideas & cultural hegemony. The science of economics is asserted to be concerned with matters of life and death yet provides no mechanism or methods which oblige power of economic institutions to recognize policy failure. Economics practiced by major global institutions is not concerned with human needs, placing the global justice movement & critical intellectuals in the role of studying the rich and powerful, using methodology to yield fresh perspectives, & attaining a higher level of rigor because, as intellectuals work to treat others, others are also working to free intellectuals. References. J. Harwell

Considers the normative question of the state's role in the economy & polity, raising issues surrounding democratic accountability. A literature review traces the development of state theory since Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, & Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The state is defined here as a "complex apparatus of centralized & institutionalized power that concentrates violence, establishes property rights, & regulates society in a given territory while being formally recognized as a state by international forums." A distinction is drawn between issues examined in the study of the state vs those looked at in analyses of government. Sticking with the domestic side, the state's part in economic & political development is explored. The state enforces contracts & provides public goods & social insurance. However, there are different kinds of states that impact the economy & polity in different ways. The state as Leviathan & predatory is addressed as a form that is a threat to liberty & a source of economic decline. However, states can also facilitate economic growth & democratization by enhancing physical, human, & social capital, building social networks & relationships of trust & authority. Despite this growth, democracy can still come under pressure from the state if accountability is reduced, the state is captured by interests with goals other than general welfare, or governance fails to meet public wants & needs. It is argued that political inquiry must move beyond thick descriptions of specific states at specific times to build models & falsifiable hypotheses generated from realistic & logical presuppositions about the state & its relationship to society. The manner in which to derive testable hypotheses is outlined. J. Zendejas

"The crisis in the transatlantic relations is perceived by many as a surprise. After the collapse of bipolar world and sweeping changes in political landscape in the '90s (the dissolution of the Warsaw Treaty Organization, dismembrance of the Soviet Union) it seemed that the toughest problems were behind us. What's more: no state in Europe was threatened by aggression from its neighbors. Any open conflicts were of a peripheral character (there remained certain unresolved disputes in the Balkans and the Caucasus). The relations between NATO and Russia had been set up in a qualitatively new way (as reflected by the NATO-Russia Council established in Pratica di Mare near Rome in May, 2002). All former totalitarian states dominated in the past by the Soviet Union had declared adherence to the same system of values (a political system based on democracy, market economy, rule of law, and respect for human and minority rights). That apparently idyllic picture was complemented by the conclusion of the EU Summit accession negotiations in Copenhagen (December, 2002), leading to enlargement of the Union by ten new members. In addition, the Atlantic Alliance at the Prague Summit (November, 2002) confirmed the extension of NATO by seven new members. This picture was distorted by the US-driven decision to intervene in Iraq without the clear-cut UN decision and with the strong opposition of some American allies in Europe. In fact, the so-called Iraqi crisis was really only partly about Iraq. The crisis over intervention in Iraq was in fact and still is a catalyst. What was really at stake was a set of more fundamental questions that the crisis brought to the surface that stem from the evolution and fundamental change of international system as such." (author's abstract)

"The issue of mutual aid networks is part of an approach aimed at enhancing wellbeing and quality of working life by reviving links of solidarity among work colleagues. The development of this approach is closely associated with a deterioration of mental health at the workplace. Mutual aid networks created by local unions aim to help fix this hardship. The goals set for dealing with problems consist first of controlling, reducing or even eliminating the work factors that imperil mental health; next, of supporting employees through union involvement aimed at leading to a new type of relationship; and, finally, of defending their rights and facilitating their return to work under better conditions. It is a way of improving working conditions by introducing a type of relationship among the members that leads to rediscover the social dimension of human development, an answer to a need that becomes obvious in workplaces. This article consists of showing how these networks play a part in union renewal. Mutual aid networks' are devised as a social innovation emerging from actions by employees associated with the trade-union and voluntary associations. Although networks are starting to develop a degree of self-reliance in terms of operations, outer connections are needed. We offer an understanding of how these networks are structured and inserted into unions' institutionalised activities. This involves analysing the process of their setting-up and the links that develop between agents as well as with principals and union representatives. The activities are set out based on the type of problem submitted to the network. The paper is divided into two parts. The first part presents what has emerged from rapid transformations in the labour world in terms of mental health, work organisation and the need for these problems to be handled through new union practices that complete the traditional course of actions. In the second part, we introduce the outcomes of our research by showing the structure-forming elements of mutual aid networks, in particular their internal organisation, their operations, the types of intervention and the conception of the role of mutual aid provider." (author's abstract)