scholarly journals Greek Political Thought in Ancient History

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynette Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Political Stability ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ancient History ◽  
Political Commentary ◽  
Political Experience ◽  
The Many ◽  
Mixed Constitution ◽  
Political Vocabulary

Greek historians of the fifth and fourth centuries bce also intended their works to be political commentaries. This paper concentrates on the work of Thucydides, and his interest in fifth-century ideas of constitutionalism. Honing in on the political ‘opposites’, democracy and oligarchy, this paper argues that Thucydides collapses these categories, to show not only that they are unstable, but that, built upon the same political vocabulary, they naturally lead towards his new idea of the measured blending of the few and the many in a mixed constitution, which creates political stability and a positive political experience for the community. In this sense, Thucydides’ text, which uses historical narrative as a vehicle for political commentary, needs to be understood within the framework of historical contextualism, but also as a ‘possession for all time’.

Sparta

Classics ◽  
2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Thommen
Keyword(s):  
Political Stability ◽  
The Political ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Communal Life ◽  
Spartan Mirage ◽  
Mixed Constitution ◽  
Greek World ◽  
Modern Myth

Alongside Athens, Sparta is considered as the second mighty polis in the Greek world and has always attracted admiration as well as criticism, so that its image has undergone many transformations. Sparta was time and again represented as the counterpart of Athens and assigned the role of a backward oligarchy and legally, rigidly regulated military state. In Antiquity (cf. Xenophon and Plato) the political stability and military efficiency of Sparta were declared an ideal and traced back to the system of public education (agoge). In the course of the 4th century bce, Aristotle finally proclaimed Sparta a pattern for a “mixed constitution,” which contains monarchic as well as aristocratic and democratic elements (kings, gerontes, and ephors, or the leaders of the popular assembly). Following this outline, it later became also a model for the Romans (Polybius, Book 6). On the other hand, the “equality” of the Spartans, who termed themselves homoioi (“equals”), has always been fascinating. Connected with this equality was the communal life of Spartan men in the form of a permanent military-style camp. The idea of severe regulation of all facets of life and its orientation toward the state resulted in the early 20th century in the denotation of the Spartan community as a “kosmos,” so that Sparta also became a modern myth. Yet the Spartan “mirage” has been continuously deconstructed since the publication of Ollier 1933–1943 (see Spartan Tradition and Research History, Post-1900). Recently, there has been ongoing debate between researchers who think Sparta was more like other Greek states than sources note, and those who think it was unique.

Elitist Interpretations of the Republic

2020 ◽  
pp. 43-101
Author(s):  
Camila Vergara
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Social Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Political Experience ◽  
Philip Pettit ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Political Praxis ◽  
Mixed Constitution ◽  
Systemic Corruption

This chapter traces the intellectual history and institutional iterations of the theory of the mixed constitution that originated as a critique of monocratic constitutions and offered a realist redress for systemic corruption based on the institutionalization of different forms of social power. It offers the genealogy of an elitist-proceduralist strand commenced by Polybius and Cicero, reinterpreted by Montesquieu, constitutionalized by Madison, and brought to its highest level of philosophical sophistication by Philip Pettit. It also analyses a plebeian-materialist strand originating in the political experience of the plebs within the ancient Roman republic and continuing in Niccolò Machiavelli's interpretation of the political praxis of the popolo during the Florentine republic. The chapter makes the distinction between elitist and plebeian constitutions based on who has final decision-making power in a given framework. It provides a visual representation of constitutional orders to better understand the distribution of powers and compare between different models of republics.

The Tribal Impact on Political Stability in Sudan

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 167-188
Author(s):  
Abdu Mukhtar Musa
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Third World ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
The Political ◽  
Central Question ◽  
Conflict Escalation ◽  
Islamic Movement ◽  
Patterns Of Behavior ◽  
Cultural Structure

As in most Arab and Third World countries, the tribal structure is an anthropological reality and a sociological particularity in Sudan. Despite development and modernity aspects in many major cities and urban areas in Sudan, the tribe and the tribal structure still maintain their status as a psychological and cultural structure that frames patterns of behavior, including the political behavior, and influence the political process. This situation has largely increased in the last three decades under the rule of the Islamic Movement in Sudan, because of the tribe politicization and the ethnicization of politics, as this research reveals. This research is based on an essential hypothesis that the politicization of tribalism is one of the main reasons for the tribal conflict escalation in Sudan. It discusses a central question: Who is responsible for the tribal conflicts in Sudan?

Political Stability in West African States: Problems and Solutions. (Case Studies of Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal)

2018 ◽  
pp. 75-88
Author(s):  
Lyubov Sadovskaya
Keyword(s):  
Cote D'ivoire ◽  
Côte D’Ivoire ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
West African ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Cote D’Ivoire ◽  
External Threats ◽  
Côte D'ivoire

The article presents a new view on the problems of political stability in West African countries. For the first time was carried out a comparative analysis of the sustainability of the political systems of the two Francophone fastest growing countries in West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. The author analyzes the factors negatively influencing political stability social order, and those that reduce conflict potencial in these States. Internal and external threats to the political systems of Senegal and Сôte d’Ivoire are examined. The response of both countries to internal and external challenges is shown. The study proves that while external threats indanger Senegal’s political stability, such as the penetration of religious extremism, the crisis in Casamance, maritime piracy, drug traffic, for Côte d’Ivoire, on the contrary, main risks are internal: electoral, socio-political crises, the split of elites, arms smuggling, banditry. The study demonstrates that the level of social governance in Senegal is higher than in other West African countries, including Сôte d’Ivoire, due to the dualism of the political system: the coexistence of Western-style political institutions with local faiths (tariqas), as well as policy pursued by President M. Sall. aimed at achieving mutual compromise that ensure the peaceful settlement of conflicts and contradictions. The author concludes that a new approach to the development of a security strategy is required.

YOUTH POLICY IN MODERN RUSSIA. ABSENTEEISM AND POLITICAL PROTEST

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.I. AVTSINOVA ◽  
М.А. BURDA
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Protest ◽  
Youth Organizations ◽  
Youth Policy ◽  
The Government ◽  
Russian Politics ◽  
High Level

The article analyzes the features of the current youth policy of the Russian Federation aimed at raising the political culture. Despite the current activities of the government institutions in the field under study, absenteeism, as well as the protest potential of the young people, remains at a fairly high level. In this regard, the government acknowledged the importance of forming a positive image of the state power in the eyes of young people and strengthen its influence in the sphere of forming loyal associations, which is not always positively perceived among the youth. The work focuses on the fact that raising the loyalty of youth organizations is one of the factors of political stability, both in case of internal turbulence and external influence. The authors also focus on the beneficiaries of youth protests. The authors paid special attention to the issue of forming political leadership among the youth and the absence of leaders expressing the opinions of young people in modern Russian politics. At the same time, youth protest as a social phenomenon lack class and in some cases ideological differences. The authors come to the conclusion that despite the steps taken by the government and political parties to involve Russian youth in the political agenda, the young people reject leaders of youth opinion imposed by the authorities, either cultivating nonparticipation in the electoral campagines or demonstrating latent protest voting.

ROUPAS COMO CORPOS: O AGENCIAMENTO POLÍTICO DO VESTUÁRIO POR CHRISTIAN BOLTANSKI / Clothes as bodies: the political agency of clothing by Christian Boltanski

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (39) ◽  
pp. 55-65
Author(s):  
Angélica Adverse
Keyword(s):  
Political Agency ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Regimes ◽  
Historical Document ◽  
Central Idea ◽  
Political Experience

O artigo aborda o agenciamento das roupas no trabalho do artista Christian Boltanski. Partindo da dimensão do poder dos corpos têxteis, analisaremos como as roupas investem-se das palavras emudecidas dos corpos ausentes, constituindo-se como alegoria do testemunho e do documento histórico. A ideia central é pensar como as roupas explicitam a aniquilação humana provocada pelos regimes políticos totalitários. Analisaremos como as instalações Prendre la Parole (2005) e Personnes(2010) desvelam a presença-ausência da vida-morte na experiência política do discurso têxtil.  Palavras-chave: Roupas; Corpos; Agenciamento; Política; Memória.AbstractThe article addresses the agency of clothes in the work of the artist Christian Boltanski. Starting from the dimension of the power of the textile bodies, we will analyze how the clothes invest themselves with the muted words of the absent bodies, constituting themselves as an allegory of the testimony and of the historical document. The central idea is to think about how clothes make explicit human annihilation brought about by totalitarian political regimes. We will analyze how the installations Prendre la Parole (2005) and Personnes (2010) reveal the presence-absence of life-death in the political experience of textile discourse.Keywords: Clothes; Bodies; Agency; Politics; Memory. 

The Many Faces of Leftism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balázs Trencsényi ◽  
Michal Kopeček ◽  
Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič ◽  
Maria Falina ◽  
Mónika Baár ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Depression ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
Popular Front ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Right Wing Authoritarianism ◽  
Bolshevik Revolution ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
The Many

The success of the Bolshevik Revolution confirmed that economic backwardness was not necessarily an obstacle for socialism, as it triggered the radicalization of leftist movements in the region. Yet this also led to polarization of the left on questions of Soviet-Russian developments and possible cooperation with non-socialist parties, as well as agrarian and national questions. While in many countries social democracy entered the political mainstream in the 1920s, its position was undermined by the rise of right-wing authoritarianism. In turn, the Great Depression made the communist position more plausible, but the Stalinization of communist parties and the imposition of socialist realism alienated most intellectual supporters. Eventually, some radical leftists turned against the communist movement attacking its dogmatism and the Stalinist show trials. At the same time, the rise of Nazism forced leftist groups to seek a common ground, first in the form of “Popular Front” ideology, and, during the war, in the form of armed partisan movements.

Polybius on ‘Classical Athenian Imperial Democracy’

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craige B. Champion
Keyword(s):  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Second Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
Athenian Democracy ◽  
Political Analysis

This chapter makes two contributions to our understanding of Polybius’ representation of the Athenian democracy. First, it shows that Polybius’ negative general portrayal of Athens in his political analysis in Book 6 is frequently at odds with his apparent admiration of the Athenians as reflected in his accounts of Athenian diplomacy in the historical narrative. Second, and more importantly, the paper contextualizes the characterization of the Athenian politeia in Book 6 within Polybius’ generally negative depictions of radical democratic states (ochlocracy, in Polybius’ terms). Here it is necessary to note the political meaning of the term ‘democracy’ in the mid-second century BCE, in order to understand how Polybius can condemn the Athenian politeia while praising the qualities of δημοκρατία‎.

Indian Historical Writing since 1947

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Supriya Mukherjee
Keyword(s):  
Turning Point ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
The Political ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Historical Writing ◽  
Professional Discipline ◽  
Social Forms ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
Culture History ◽  
Indian Perspective

This chapter focuses on Indian historical writing. The end of colonial rule in 1947 was a turning point in Indian historical writing and culture. History emerged as a professional discipline with the establishment of new state-sponsored institutions of research and teaching. Attached to the institutionalization was the political imperative of a newly independent nation in search of a coherent and comprehensive historical narrative to support its nation-building efforts. At the same time, there was a desire to establish an autonomous Indian perspective, free of colonial constraints and distortions. In this, post-independence historiography owed much to earlier strands of nationalist historiography. During the first two decades after independence, three main trajectories of historical writing emerged: an official and largely secular nationalist historiography, a cultural nationalist historiography with strong religious overtones, and a critical Marxist trajectory based on analyses of social forms.

The English Crisis of 1297 in the Light of French Experience

1979 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles T. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Good Deal ◽  
The Political ◽  
English History ◽  
French Experience ◽  
Political Principle ◽  
The Many ◽  
The One ◽  
Remarkable Agreement ◽  
Edward I

Among the familiar sights crowding the landscape of English history from the dooms of Ine to that crown plucked from a hawthorn bush at Bosworth, none is more deeply cherished than the crisis of 1297 and the “Confirmation of the Charters” to which it gave rise. For, despite all the sharp differences over detail that the documentation for this crisis has engendered, scholars have shown remarkable agreement in seeing it as the one defeat suffered by Edward I in a long and notably successful reign. And to that defeat they have attributed great constitutional significance. Stubbs set the pattern, calling the “result singularly in harmony with what seems from history and experience to be the natural direction of English progress,” and Wilkinson is only one among the many who have recently elaborated on that theme:The crisis of 1297 … placed a definite check on the tendencies which Edward I had shown, to ignore the deep principles of the constitution under stress of the necessities which confronted the nation … It was a landmark in the advance of the knights … toward political maturity. It helped to establish the tradition of co-operation and political alliance between the knights and the magnates, on which a good deal of the political future of England was to depend …. What the opposition achieved, in 1297, was a great vindication of the ancient political principle of government by consent ….

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