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I will discuss four major perspectives on cognitive enhancement and morality:
1) cognitive enhancement is morally impermissible because humans are not
supposed to alter what God has ordained or nature has shaped; 2) cognitive
enhancement is our moral duty, because a cognitively upgraded human is a
better human; 3) cognitive enhancement is morally permissible only if it is
preceded by moral enhancement; 4) cognitive enhancement is morally
permissible only if it is a means to moral enhancement. I shall argue that
the first three perspectives are less cogent than the fourth. The fourth
perspective integrates cognitive and moral enhancement into one whole. I will
denote it by (C+M) E.

Persson and Savulescu (2011b) is a largely successful defense of the position
promoted in Persson and Savulescu (2008) against Fenton?s critique of this
position in Fenton (2009). However, one of Fenton?s essential censures has
remained without response: if moral enhancement (ME) is to occur at the
genetic or biological level, as Persson and Savulescu suppose it can and
ought to, it will not be possible without significant scientific progress,
including cognitive enhancement (CE) by bio-medical means. I will offer a
response here to this critique Fenton raised-a response Persson and Savulecu
did not give. It will be based on the concept of ?integrated
neuroenhancement?, abbreviated (C+M) E.

The focus of this paper will be on the issue of justice, specifically in international relations. In that context, a number of existing theories of international justice will be briefly reviewed. Afterwards, I will turn to the question of what justice actually is. The assertion that justice is based on the idea of freedom will be substantiated. I will attempt to support my position with Doyle's and Kant's argumentation. It will be concluded that there are robust arguments in favor of the thesis that our historical development is marked by a gradual expansion of freedom and justice. Furthermore, we have strong reasons to aspire liberal internationalism based on the idea of humanity's gradual approximation of some form of global state because such a conception might be the best warrant of justice in international relations.

This article examines the impact of European integration on higher education policies of the Netherlands, Belgium/Flanders and Germany. The analysis of higher education policies in the three countries is part of a broader project, which focuses on a majority of E.U. member states. The selection of the three countries for this paper is not based on any methodological considerations. The question addressed is if higher education policies of member states are converging, diverging or not changing at all, and whether such developments are a consequence of the policies of the European Union (E.U.) or of other factors (e.g., the globalization of the market or of institutions imitating each other). A preliminary assessment leads to the conclusion that a number of important indications of convergence are present in national policy arrangements in the field of higher education (in particular student mobility and quality assurance, but less in the structure of higher education systems My attention will be focused on the structure of higher education systems, on quality assurance and on student and teacher mobility. These domains appear to cover most relevant issues pertaining to higher education policies in the European Union member states (funding of higher education is sometimes considered as a separate domain, but it can also be regarded as an element of the structure of higher education systems, while it is also related to the issue of quality assurance).). The European Union, however, does not have much legal authority in the policy sector in question. Thus, an explanation for converging national policies may lie elsewhere, in part in the concept of "institutional isomorphism".

The central question this article will attempt to answer is why a transition from authoritarian rule in Serbia in the early 1990s proved to be much more difficult than in most other formerly communist Central & Eastern European countries. The essential component of the answer will deal with the role of nationalist political culture as a surrogate for democratization in a state in which, between 1945 & 1987/88, both nationalism & the liberal democracy were deprived of their political & social legitimacy. The Serbian authorities averted an imminent collapse of communism in the late eighties by adopting nationalism, instead of democratic reforms, as the legitimating principle of their rule. To give a satisfactory explanation for the fact that Serbia & a number of other republics in the erstwhile, Yugoslav federation turned to nationalism & war, instead of following a path to democracy, it is essential to understand the interaction between politics & culture, that is, the relation between the power maximizing strategies of political elites & the role of the culture of nationalism. I will therefore treat both political actors & culture as the relevant independent variables that can explain the outcome of my interest. 24 References. Adapted from the source document.

The following paragraphs are not intended to give a review of theories of nation building. Rather their aim is to highlight the most salient features of the modernist and primordialist position on nation formation. The central assumptions of a couple of influential theories will serve only as an illustration of these features and are supposed to help the reader obtain a clearer picture of the two positions, without the pretension to compare or contrast different theories of nation formation. The first step, however, will be an effort to give an exact assessment of the context of the modernist'-primordialist dichotomy.

An alternative to modernist & primordialist approaches to nation formation is presented. An overview of the USSR's assimilation strategies for the various ethnic communities of the Caucasus is provided. The Yugoslav government's participation in nation formation after WWII's termination is studied to determine what factors contributed to the successful formation of a Macedonian nation & the failed attempt at forming a Montenegrin nation. It is contended that a hegemonic cultural framework -- an official Macedonian language -- advanced the formation of a Macedonian nation. Conversely, the Yugoslav state's inability to locate a similar cultural framework in Montenegro resulted in an unsuccessful attempt at nation formation. Differences between the Caucasus-Macedonian-Montenegrin, modernist, & primordialist approaches are discussed. It is concluded that multiple models may legitimately explain processes of nation formation. 35 References. J. W. Parker

1. Introduction: Disputing Weberian Semantics, Nicolas Lemay-Hébert, Nicholas Onuf and Vojin Rakić/1 . - 2. World-Making, State-Building, Nicholas Onuf/ 19 . - 3. Politics, Law, and the Sacred: A Conceptual Analysis, Friedrich Kratochwil/ 37 . - 4. Kant's Semantics of World (State) Making, Vojin Rakić/ 59 . - 5. The semantics of early statebuilding: Why the Eurasian steppe has been overlooked, Iver B. Neumann/ 74 . - 6. The Semantics of Statebuilding and Nationbuilding: Looking Beyond Neo-Weberian Approaches, Nicolas Lemay-Hébert/ 89 . - 7. Transformative Statebuilding, Occupation, and International Law: Friends or Foes?, Jan Wouters and Kenneth Chan/ 106 . - 8. The Semantics of 'Crisis Management': Simulation and EU Statebuilding in the Balkans, David Chandler/ 119 . - 9. The Semantics of Contemporary Statebuilding: Kosovo, Timor-Leste, and the 'Empty-Shell' Approach, Nicolas Lemay-Hébert/ 135 . - 10.The 'Crisis of Capitalism' and the State - More Powerful, Less Responsible, Invariably Legitimate, Albena Azmanova/ 150 . - 11.The Neoliberal Biopolitics of Resilience and the Spectre of the Ecofascist State, Julian Reid/ 163

The introduction of Web 2.0 technology, along with a population increasingly proficient in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), coupled with the rapid advancements in genetic testing methods, has seen an increase in the presence of participant-centred research initiatives. Such initiatives, aided by the centrality of ICT interconnections, and the ethos they propound seem to further embody the ideal of increasing the participatory nature of research, beyond what might be possible in non-ICT contexts alone. However, the majority of such research seems to actualise a much narrower definition of 'participation'—where it is merely the case that such research initiatives have increased contact with participants through ICT but are otherwise non-participatory in any important normative sense. Furthermore, the rhetoric of participant-centred initiatives tends to inflate this minimalist form of participation into something that it is not, i.e. something genuinely participatory, with greater connections with both the ICT-facilitated political contexts and the largely non-ICT participatory initiatives that have expanded in contemporary health and research contexts. In this paper, we highlight that genuine (ICT-based) 'participation' should enable a reasonable minimum threshold of participatory engagement through, at least, three central participatory elements: educative, sense of being involved and degree of control. While we agree with criticisms that, at present, genuine participation seems more rhetoric than reality, we believe that there is clear potential for a greater ICT-facilitated participatory engagement on all three participatory elements. We outline some practical steps such initiatives could take to further develop these elements and thereby their level of ICT-facilitated participatory engagement. ; Peer reviewed

The introduction of Web 2.0 technology, along with a population increasingly proficient in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), coupled with the rapid advancements in genetic testing methods, has seen an increase in the presence of participant-centred research initiatives. Such initiatives, aided by the centrality of ICT interconnections, and the ethos they propound seem to further embody the ideal of increasing the participatory nature of research, beyond what might be possible in non-ICT contexts alone. However, the majority of such research seems to actualise a much narrower definition of 'participation'—where it is merely the case that such research initiatives have increased contact with participants through ICT but are otherwise non-participatory in any important normative sense. Furthermore, the rhetoric of participant-centred initiatives tends to inflate this minimalist form of participation into something that it is not, i.e. something genuinely participatory, with greater connections with both the ICT-facilitated political contexts and the largely non-ICT participatory initiatives that have expanded in contemporary health and research contexts. In this paper, we highlight that genuine (ICT-based) 'participation' should enable a reasonable minimum threshold of participatory engagement through, at least, three central participatory elements: educative, sense of being involved and degree of control. While we agree with criticisms that, at present, genuine participation seems more rhetoric than reality, we believe that there is clear potential for a greater ICT-facilitated participatory engagement on all three participatory elements. We outline some practical steps such initiatives could take to further develop these elements and thereby their level of ICT-facilitated participatory engagement. ; This study was funded by COST (grant number = COST Action IS1303); Brigida Riso is supported by FCT-the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the PhD grant SFRH/BD/100779/2014. ; Peer Reviewed