Notas sobre el aumento de la importancia política de las organizaciones internacionales

Introducción: En nuestro mundo contemporáneo es común mencionar a las Organizaciones Internacionales (OIs) o bien –sin entrar en confusión– a las Organizaciones No Gubernamentales, más conocidas como las ONGs. Ejemplo de las primeras son las Naciones Unidas, la Organización de Estados Americanos, la Unión Europea o la Organización del Atlántico Norte –OTAN-NATO–; de las segundas, Amnistía Internacional –Amnesty International–1, Médicos Sin Fronteras –Médecins Sans Frontières–2, Rotary Internacional3 o Greenpeace4. Las Organizaciones Internacionales de nuestro interés son las Intergubernamentales, es decir, todas aquellas Organizaciones creadas por los Estados, los cuales adquieren la calidad de Estados Miembro. Las Organizaciones No Gubernamentales, como su nombre ya lo indica, pertenecen a la órbita de los particulares, pudiendo agrupar personas y/o entidades nacionales o internacionales. Las OIs han ido teniendo un espectacular desarrollo producido durante la segunda parte del siglo XX, aunque sus inicios son decimonónicos.

A possible alchemist apparatus from the early islamic period excavated at Ramla, Israel

Abstract: During extensive salvage excavations carried out during the years 2004-2008 in a large Early Islamic industrial area at the vicinities of Ramla, in Central Israel, an unparalleled industrial device was unearthed. The star-shaped, soil embedded installation, whose lower part was preserved, consisted of a central pottery jar surrounded by five minor jars, linked by ceramic pipes. Evidence of heat was observed mainly around the central vessel, and metal hollow cones perforated in the tip were found inside the surrounding jars. Although the manufacturing procedures and operation techniques of the installation are not completely clear, it is proposed that the installation is part of an industrial workshop or an alchemy laboratory. Both industry and alchemy were well-developed during the Early Islamic period and very often closely related, to the point that sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between them. The identification proposed is based on comparisons with tools described in literary sources, and somewhat later drawings and etchings. Circumstantial ceramic evidence was found, as well as the proximity of a bathhouse whose guests could have been the consumers of perfumes and unguents seem to reinforce this possibility. Due to the poor state of preservation of the device and the lack of available comparisons, the identification proposed here is tentative, and future research coupled with eventual new discoveries is needed in order to clarify this matter.

Sources of contention and the emerging reality concerning Qohelet's Carpe Diem advice

Abstract: When Qohelet declares “there is nothing new under the sun,” his own words are no exception. It has been known for a century now that not all of Qohelet’s material is original to his own genius, and the idea that Qohelet is directly dependent on a literary source(s) is standard fare. The hallmark example continues to be Siduri the alewife’s advice to Gilgamesh which displays remarkable correspondence with Ecclesiastes 9: 7-9. However, what may have been construed as an instance of clear literary dependency a century ago cannot be maintained in light of the data that continues to emerge from the ancient Near East. New sources have risen that contend with the Gilgamesh Epic, and there has yet to emerge a definitive victor. This paper calls into question the very idea that Qohelet was directly dependent on a literary precursor and joins with a few select voices both past and present in suggesting an alternate interpretation of the data.

Biblical evidence from Obadiah and Psalm 137 for an Edomite treaty betrayal of Judah in the sixth century B.C.E.

Abstract: Focusing on Obadiah and Psalm 137, this article provides biblical evidence for an Edomite treaty betrayal of Judah during the Babylonian crisis ca. 588–586 B.C.E. After setting a context that includes the use of treaties in the ancient Near East to establish expectations for political relationships and the likelihood that Edom could operate as a political entity in the Judahite Negev during the Babylonian assault, this article demonstrates that Obadiah’s poetics include a density of inverted form and content (a reversal motif) pointing to treaty betrayal. Obadiah’s modifications of Jeremiah 49, a text with close thematic and terminological parallels, evidence an Edomite treaty betrayal of Judah. Moreover, the study shows that Obadiah is replete with treaty allusions. A study of Psalm 137 in comparison with Aramaic treaty texts from Sefire reveals that this difficult psalm also evidences a treaty betrayal by Edom and includes elements appropriate for treaty curses. The article closes with a discussion of piecemeal data from a few other biblical texts, a criticism of the view that Edom was innocent during the Babylonian crisis, and a suggestion that this treaty betrayal may have contributed to the production of some anti-Edom biblical material.

Peftjauawybast, king of Nen-nesut : genealogy, art history, and the chronology of late libyan Egypt

This paper argues in detail for the identification of Peftjauawybast, King of Nen-nesut (fl. 728/720 BC ), with Peftjauawybast, High Priest of Ptah in Memphis (fl. c. 790–780 BC2), known from the Apis stela of year 28 of Shoshenq III. This identification ties in with a significant lowering of the accepted dates for the kings from Shoshenq III, Osorkon III and Takeloth III to Shoshenq V, and the material culture associated with them. Such a shift seems to be supported by stylistic and genealogical evidence. As a consequence, it is further suggested that the Master of Shipping at Nen-nesut, Pediese i, was perhaps related by descent and marriage to the family of the High Priests of Memphis and King Peftjauawybast.

Adbi'ilu : an arab at Babylon (BM 78912)

An unpublished tablet from the archive of Šumā descendant of Nappāu contains a possible Arabic personal name. The treatment of non-Babylonian personal names in this tablet and CTMMA 3 6 from the same archive differs from the treatment of Babylonian names suggesting that the scribe distinguished between the kin-groupaffiliated Babylonians and the non-Babylonians who lacked such affiliations.

Antiamericanismo y la política exterior estadounidense

Conferencia dada en la Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina en el mes de junio de 2014: Existen quienes piensan que venir a la Argentina para dar una conferencia sobre el anti-americanismo es un poco como ir a Londres para dar una conferencia sobre el té. Los argentinos además de ser grandes candidatos para ganar la copa del mundo en fútbol, según se dice, son campeones en anti-norteamericanismo. Y es verdad que Argentina sigue siendo el país de América Latina con menor aprobación de los Estados Unidos. ¿Es esto evidencia del anti-americanismo en Argentina? Antes de contestar, debemos reconocer la dificultad que implica hablar del anti-americanismo en América Latina, ya que al identificar como “los americanos” a mis compatriotas, estaríamos apropiando simbólicamente a todo un continente. Ustedes también son americanos, y la monopolización del gentilicio por parte de una sola nación de las Américas refleja la lamentable actitud inconsciente de superioridad, que es una fuente de la falta de entendimiento entre norte y sur. Sin embargo, como es la palabra usada en mi país, voy a seguir usándola y problematizándola.

Poner el cuerpo. Mujeres y política estatal en Mari (Siglo XVIII a.c.)

Women and men are subjects defined both by their physical-natural reality and their socio-cultural environment. In this way they are reified, and many such examples can be found throughout history. We are interested in the situation of women in Ancient Mesopotamia, particularly the daughters of Zimrî-Lîm, king of the city of Mari, the archaeological site of Tell Hariri, modern Syria, during the 18th century BC. Zimrî- Lîm made marriages a policy of the state. He himself married foreign women and married their joint daughters to other important kings as well. This marital policy was another, more extended, way of dominion where women were a nexus between Mari and other states. In this paper, we will analyze the roles which were assigned and developed by royal women from a political level via a comprehensive approach. These women are presented generally as political objects, though, in extreme cases also they were taking forward actions as subjects and by it they were visualized as “the other,” the foreigner and, in some cases, the enemy.

Local exchange in the southern levant during the early bronze age: a political economy viewpoint

Trade and relations between the southern Levant and other regions of the Near East (mainly Egypt) during the Early Bronze Age (ca. 3,600–2,300 BC) have been the subject of many studies. Research concerning the exchange of local commodities was almost ignored or was discussed in parochial studies, focusing on specific archaeological finds. It is the intention of this paper to present the results of recent research of the exchange of commodities provided by archaeological data from excavations in the Southern Levant with regard to economic theories on the exchange-value of goods and exchange networks. Conclusions regarding the type of society and the forms of government in the Southern Levant during the Early Bronze Age are also presented.

Informe de Economía e Instituciones

Resumen: El Informe de Economía e Instituciones cuenta con tres columnas que abordan cuestiones teóricas y de política económica relacionadas con la temática de la economía y las instituciones. En la primera columna, Un nuevo rol estratégico del Estado en EE.UU., el autor destaca la importancia de la performance de los Estados Unidos en las expectativas de los agentes internacionales. Refleja la importancia del rol de la nueva gestión en las reformas del Estado Norteamericano. Esto apunta no sólo a una reducción del déficit fiscal para generar un sistema más progresivo, financiando el déficit con un nuevo sistema tributario y menos colocación de deuda, sino también, un Estado con más armas regulatorias para acompañar la reestructuración del sistema bancario y financiero. En este sentido, el autor destaca como eje central de la reforma un Estado que busca mantener un balance entre la regulación y el libre mercado. En la segunda columna, La Barrera idiomática en Administración Pública, se exponen las dificultades que genera, en el ámbito de la administración pública y las instituciones, la barrera idiomática. Se destaca la importancia del inglés como lengua preponderante de la Ciencia Económica y el rol creciente de la lengua española en los Estados Unidos. A partir de ello, se focaliza el análisis en la importancia de una buena traducción entre ambos idiomas ya que es esencial tanto para el intercambio de conocimiento entre la región y los principales polos de producción intelectual globales, como para una buena comprensión del rol de las Instituciones dentro de la Economía. En la tercera nota, Democracia y calidad institucional, el autor analiza los efectos de la volatilidad económica mundial e interna sobre la calidad institucional de la democracia y la calidad del sistema presidencialista adoptado por los países Americanos. Hace referencia a las políticas de Estado en Argentina en 2008 en el contexto de las próximas elecciones legislativas del 28 de junio y los debates aparejados en las mismas. A partir de ello, realiza un análisis de la reducción de la calidad institucional referida a la conformación de los poderes del estado y a los aspectos ligados a la gestión de políticas públicas.