Official development assistance and impact assessment, theoretical and practical frameworks

Official Development Assistance (ODA) remains the most prominent development instrument for allocation of foreign aid with the aim of promoting prosperity in developing countries. This includes economic, political, and social development, and most significantly poverty alleviation. However, it needs to be noted that the positive impact of ODA on recipient countries economic, social, political, and other forms of development is not a foregone conclusion. As such it is subject to diverse interpretations, value claims, perceptions, and a range of indicators. Thus, ODA has it proponents and opponents. As such the need for an assessment of the impact of ODA, be it positive or negative, remains a subject of discourse amongst academics, practitioners, aid agencies, politicians, governments, and other stakeholders. The purpose of this chapter is to bring to the fore and to unpack some overarching issues, which will be taken up in following contributions from different vantage points. The focus will be on foreign aid, and development theory and practice in the contemporary social, political, and economic environment.

Two functions of Aristotle's common advantage

This paper identifies two distinct functions of the common advantage in Aristotle’s political thought and argues that distinguishing these functions allows for a reconciliation of the individualist and holist aspects of the Aristotelian account of the polis. I demonstrate that the Aristotelian common advantage functions both as (i) a motivating reason for individuals to enter the polis and (ii) a normative reason — the political good of justice — that provides a criterion for an assessment of the correctness of constitutions (politeiai). The two functions of the common advantage are, I suggest, reconcilable insofar as the Aristotelian polis is best understood as a unity of order rather than a mere aggregation of individual citizens or an organic whole.

Estado, sociedad civil y hegemonía en el pensamiento político de Gramsci

En el presente artículo analizamos el concepto de hegemonía de Gramsci y su relación con los conceptos políticos fundamentales de su pensamiento. Nos confrontamos con las interpretaciones que sitúan la hegemonía exclusivamente en el ámbito de la sociedad civil y mostramos la complejidad teórica de concepto gramsciano de Estado, que integra dialécticamente la sociedad civil con la sociedad política. Con ello se pone de manifiesto el modo en que se articulan coerción y consenso en el pensamiento político de Gramsci, así como la necesidad de dominar las estructuras políticas del Estado para consolidar la hegemonía conquistada en la sociedad civil.

Estado, sociedad civil y hegemonía en el pensamiento político de Gramsci

En el presente artículo analizamos el concepto de hegemonía de Gramsci y su relación con los conceptos políticos fundamentales de su pensamiento. Nos confrontamos con las interpretaciones que sitúan la hegemonía exclusivamente en el ámbito de la sociedad civil y mostramos la complejidad teórica de concepto gramsciano de Estado, que integra dialécticamente la sociedad civil con la sociedad política. Con ello se pone de manifiesto el modo en que se articulan coerción y consenso en el pensamiento político de Gramsci, así como la necesidad de dominar las estructuras políticas del Estado para consolidar la hegemonía conquistada en la sociedad civil.

Estado, sociedad civil y hegemonía en el pensamiento político de Gramsci

En el presente artículo analizamos el concepto de hegemonía de Gramsci y su relación con los conceptos políticos fundamentales de su pensamiento. Nos confrontamos con las interpretaciones que sitúan la hegemonía exclusivamente en el ámbito de la sociedad civil y mostramos la complejidad teórica de concepto gramsciano de Estado, que integra dialécticamente la sociedad civil con la sociedad política. Con ello se pone de manifiesto el modo en que se articulan coerción y consenso en el pensamiento político de Gramsci, así como la necesidad de dominar las estructuras políticas del Estado para consolidar la hegemonía conquistada en la sociedad civil.

El pensamiento político en la modernidad

In this article I examine the emergence of modern political thought and the unfulfilled promises that characterized modernity. If the Peace of Westphalia (1648) marks the beginning of modern political thought, the article explores the possibility of a «new peace of Westphalia» to confront the crisis of the paradigm of Modernity.

La invención de la diferencia costarricense, 1810-1870

Resumen En este artículo el autor ratrea el proceso de formación de los principales atributos de la nación costarricense y procura determinar cuales eran los sentidos de pertenencia en Costa Rica en el perido de 1810-1870 Abstract In this article the author traces the process of formation of the principal attributes of the Costa Rica nation, and determines which were the meanings of belonging in Costa Rica in the period 1810-1870

La invención de la diferencia costarricense, 1810-1870

Resumen En este artículo el autor ratrea el proceso de formación de los principales atributos de la nación costarricense y procura determinar cuales eran los sentidos de pertenencia en Costa Rica en el perido de 1810-1870 Abstract In this article the author traces the process of formation of the principal attributes of the Costa Rica nation, and determines which were the meanings of belonging in Costa Rica in the period 1810-1870.

The influence of neoliberal thought on contemporary politics: an examination of the interrelationships between ideological hegemony, neoliberal thought and contemporary politics

This thesis critically assesses the impact of neoliberal ideology on liberal thought and contemporary politics specifically examining the question, To what extent has neoliberalism, as elucidated originally by Hayek affected change in contemporary politics? This question is crucial to understanding the nature, role, influence and impact of neoliberal ideas. This investigation required a broad engagement with the literature, identifying and discussing the relationships within neoliberalism allowing a clearer understanding of the role of ideas in neoliberalism’s continuing hegemony. The methodological approach adopted a social constructivist character that encompassed an individual centric emphasis, acknowledging the breadth and complexity of Neoliberalization through the use of interpretive repertoires. The initial chapters examine the ideational process and the role of particular understanding in motivating political conduct. In this context of the transfer of ideas through their everyday resonance eventually becoming ‘stubborn social facts’ (Habermas 2006:413) is highlighted. Later chapters discuss the historical and economic context of Neoliberalization focussing on the role of the hegemon and its influence, outlining and evaluating the contribution of Hayek to liberal thought. The penultimate chapter deals with the contemporary situation and the irony associated with Hayek’s original ideas. Concluding, several findings emerged contributing by combining available knowledge in a uniquely fresh way and generating originality by linking old ideas, new ideas and new facts. The results are grouped as, - Pragmatic, recognising that political pragmatism trumps ideological aspiration where liberal democratic processes require politicians are held to account. - Realistic, recognising the contrast and irony between political action and ideological insight reflected in the operationalization of neoliberalism. - General, recognising Hayek’s on-going but increasingly indirect influence. The thesis finishes with a short aside on ideational change within the context of the current crisis and advocates an introspective approach that includes entrepreneurial spirit, good conscience and duty as part of future deliberations.

The international legal thought of Carl Schmitt : towards a critique of the contemporary international order

The aim of the thesis is to develop a critique of current liberal conceptualizations of international order. In order to conduct this critique, this thesis revisits the arguments first put forth by the German legal and political theorist Carl Schmitt. Schmitt conceptualizes a tripartite unity between law, order, and place. This unity, established at the constituent moment of land-appropriation, forms a concrete nomos, which subsequently creates the contours of the legal and political order. The establishment of the concrete order is necessarily the construction of a territorial boundary that designates an inside and an outside of the polity. By speaking of a nomos of the earth, Schmitt globalized this understanding of concrete order by looking at the various historical developments that created a "line" between the concrete applicability of interstate norms and a region where the exceptional situation prevails. The critique presented in this thesis is concerned with the lack of concrete boundary conditions within the current international legal order. It is argued that this lack of a well-defined boundary condition is what results in extreme forms of violence that were traditionally bracketed.

Democratic Legitimacy and the Politics of Rights : A comparative analysis of the conceptual relationship between democracy and rights in contemporary political theories

Democratic Legitimacy and the Politics of Rights is a research in normative political theory, based on comparative analysis of contemporary democratic theories, classified roughly as conventional liberal, deliberative democratic and radical democratic. Its focus is on the conceptual relationship between alternative sources of democratic legitimacy: democratic inclusion and liberal rights. The relationship between rights and democracy is studied through the following questions: are rights to be seen as external constraints to democracy or as objects of democratic decision making processes? Are individual rights threatened by public participation in politics; do constitutionally protected rights limit the inclusiveness of democratic processes? Are liberal values such as individuality, autonomy and liberty; and democratic values such as equality, inclusion and popular sovereignty mutually conflictual or supportive? Analyzing feminist critique of liberal discourse, the dissertation also raises the question about Enlightenment ideals in current political debates: are the universal norms of liberal democracy inherently dependent on the rationalist grand narratives of modernity and incompatible with the ideal of diversity? Part I of the thesis introduces the sources of democratic legitimacy as presented in the alternative democratic models. Part II analyses how the relationship between rights and democracy is theorized in them. Part III contains arguments by feminists and radical democrats against the tenets of universalist liberal democratic models and responds to that critique by partly endorsing, partly rejecting it. The central argument promoted in the thesis is that while the deconstruction of modern rationalism indicates that rights are political constructions as opposed to externally given moral constraints to politics, this insight does not delegitimize the politics of universal rights as an inherent part of democratic institutions. The research indicates that democracy and universal individual rights are mutually interdependent rather than oppositional; and that democracy is more dependent on an unconditional protection of universal individual rights when it is conceived as inclusive, participatory and plural; as opposed to robust majoritarian rule. The central concepts are: liberalism, democracy, legitimacy, deliberation, inclusion, equality, diversity, conflict, public sphere, rights, individualism, universalism and contextuality. The authors discussed are e.g. John Rawls, Jürgen Habermas, Seyla Benhabib, Iris Young, Chantal Mouffe and Stephen Holmes. The research focuses on contemporary political theory, but the more classical work of John S. Mill, Benjamin Constant, Isaiah Berlin and Hannah Arendt is also included.

An Analysis of the Concept of Citizenship: Legal, Political and Social Dimensions

The thesis aims at analyzing concept of citizenship in political philosophy. The concept of citizenship is a complex one: it does not have a definitive explication, but it nevertheless is a very important category in contemporary world. Citizenship is a powerful ideal, and often the way a person is treated depends on whether he or she has the status of a citizen. Citizenship includes protection of a person’s rights both at home and abroad. It entails legal, political and social dimension: the legal status as a full member of society, the recognition of that status by fellow citizens and acting as a member of society. The thesis discusses these three dimensions. Its objective is to show how all of them, despite being insufficient in some aspects, reach something important about the concept. The main sources of the thesis are Civic Republicanism by Iseult Honohan (Routledge 2002), Republicanism by Philip Pettit (Clarendon Press 1997), and Taking Rights Seriously by Ronald Dworkin (1997). In addition, the historical part of the thesis relies mainly on the works of Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, Adam Smith, Quentin Skinner, James Pocock and James Tully. The writings of Will Kymlicka, John Rawls, Chantal Mouffe, and Shane Phelan are referred to in the presentation and critique of the liberal tradition of thought. Hannah Arendt and Seyla Benhabib’s analysis of Arendt’s philosophy both address the problematic relations between human rights and nation-states as the main guarantors of rights. The chapter on group rights relies on Peter Jones’ account of corporate and collective rights, after which I continue to Seumas Miller’s essay on the (liberal) account of group rights and their relation to the concept of citizenship. Republicanism and Political Theory (2002) edited by Cécile Laborde and John Maynor is also references. David Miller and Maurizio Viroli represent the more “rooted” version of republicanism. The thesis argues that the full concept of citizenship should be seen as containing legal, political and social dimensions. The concept can be viewed from all of these three angles. The first means that citizenship is connected with certain rights, like the right to vote or stand for election, the right to property and so on. In most societies, the law guarantees these rights to every citizen. Then there is also the social dimension, which can be said to be as important as the legal one: the recognition of equality and identities of others. Finally, there is the political dimension, meaning the importance of citizens’ participation in the society, which is discussed in connection with the contemporary account of republicanism. All these issues are discussed from the point of view of groups demanding for group-specific rights and equal recognition. The challenge with these three aspects of citizenship is, however, that they are difficult to discuss under one heading. Different theories or discourses of citizenship each approach the subject from different starting points, which make reconciling them sometimes hard. The fundamental questions theories try to answer may differ radically depending on the theory. Nevertheless, in order to get the whole image of what the citizenship discourses are about all the aspects deserve to be taken into account.

Franz Neumann, the rule of law and the unfulfilled promise of classical liberal thought

This thesis draws on the work of Franz Neumann, a critical theorist associated with the early Frankfurt School, to evaluate liberal arguments about political legitimacy and to develop an original account of the justification for the liberal state.

Faith, tradition, and dynamic order : Michael Polanyi's liberal thought from 1941 to 1951

In his writings between 1941 and 1951, Michael Polanyi developed a distinctive view of liberal social and political life. Planned organizations are a part of all modern societies, according to Polanyi, but in liberal modernity he highlighted dynamic social orders whose agents freely adjust their efforts in light of the initiatives and accomplishments of their peers. Liberal society itself is the most extensive of dynamic orders, with the market economy, and cultural orders of scientific research, Protestant religious inquiry, and common law among its constituents. Liberal society and its dynamic orders of culture are, Polanyi explained, directed at transcendent ideals (truth, beauty, and justice). He saw knowledge, rules of practice, and standards of value in these orders as being preserved in traditions that inform and constrain the initiatives of their members. Investing faith in a cultural enterprise, Polanyi's agents choose to act   responsibly, dedicating their freedom to an ideal end. They are custodians and cultivators of the heritage of their dynamic order.

How does ‘Newstainment’ actually work? : ethnographic research methods and contemporary popular news

Much debate has taken place recently over the potential for entertainment genres and unorthodox forms of news to provide legitimate – indeed democratized – in-roads into the public sphere. Amidst these discussions, however, little thought has been paid to the audiences for programs of this sort, and (even when viewers are considered) the research can too easily treat audiences in homogenous terms and therefore replicate the very dichotomies these television shows directly challenge. This paper is a critical reflection on an audience study into the Australian morning “newstainment” program Sunrise. After examining the show and exploring how it is ‘used’ as a news source, this paper will promote the use of ethnographic study to better conceptualize how citizens integrate and connect the increasingly fragmented and multifarious forms of postmodern political communication available in their everyday lives.