The Agora: Political Science Undergraduate Journal
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Making Liberal Democracy Ethical: Aristotle on the Unity of Ethics and Politics
No full textContemporary liberal democracy recognizes a fundamental distinction between matters of “public” and “private” domain that amounts to a separation of ethics from politics. Such a distinction is, however, a recent one insofar as the history of political thought is concerned. Political and ethical matters can and in fact have been thought of and practiced as a single project. Aristotle is one philosopher who has approached ethics and politics not as two distinct subjects but as a single unified project: the project of living well. This essay examines Aristotle’s ethical-political project and engages with contemporary thinkers who have grappled with Aristotle’s political philosophy as a possible remedy for the problems currently confronting liberal democratic politics. It argues that the best remedy for the ills of liberal democracy that arise out of the continued prevalence of relativism in liberal democratic discourse is a re-thinking of liberal education that unites ethical and political considerations. The author contends that Aristotle’s political philosophy offers us a vantage point from which this unity may be perceived and, hopefully, implemented
Ownership and private property from the perspectives of Hegel and Marx
No full textThe concept of private property has been widely explored and debated among scholars,since different conceptions of freedom are directly involved. Different notions of freedom have also been analyzed from the perspective of key figures in the history of modern political thought such as those from Hegel and Marx. This essay explores the theme of private property, analyzing how freedom is important for both theorists, but at the same time how their approaches diverge. Through the analysis and examination of their texts this paper argues for the Marxist approach since it provides a solution to the problem of inequality in regards to freedom
Hope Beats Fear? : The Assent of the Saskatchewan Party to Power and the Fall of the NDP
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to trace the assent of the Saskatchewan Party and examine their current success in the province that has been historically hostile to conservative parties of any iteration. Saskatchewan’s “Natural Governing Party” has long been considered the NDP, and the province’s political culture has been long entrenched with a social democratic lean. This paper builds on and applies the work of Dr Jared Wesley and Michael Moyes in “Selling Social Democracy: Branding the Political Left in Canada” to the context of Saskatchewan and the Sask Party. This paper looks at the tactics and success of political branding and shows how the Sask Party used many of the same branding techniques traditionally used by left wing parties all across the country to great success
Top-Down or Bottom-Up: Approaches for Addressing Land Degradation in Swaziland and Botswana
No full textThe strategies taken by a particular government are largely based upon their socio-cultural and political background. This paper will examine two countries that, while sharing regional proximity and similar conditions surrounding land degradation, have drastically different forms of governance: Swaziland and Botswana. We will examine the problem of land degradation in these countries generally and what aspects of socio-political organization in each country have affected the rate and severity of the problem. This paper will highlight the policy paths taken by Swaziland and Botswana and examine the irony of their methods. Despite Swaziland’s central administration and land tenure systems, they have adopted a more participatory approach to addressing land degradation compared to Botswana, a democratic country
Corruption et le déclin de la République romaine
No full textThis paper takes a look at the role of corruption in ending the Roman Republic. It does not purport to hold up corruption as the single deciding factor in the Roman Republic\u27s collapse but rather hopes to show that corruption did have a responsibility in bringing down a 500 year-old institution. This dissertation was written by reviewing existing sources be they historical or analytical so as to find the elements needed to come to a conclusion answering the question posed above. The structure followed by this paper is as follows: the author first exposed how the Roman Republic\u27s political system was organized and how it functioned. Secondly, the author defined corruption and detailed a historical example of this insidious entity. Finally, the fall of the Republic is chronicled and the role of corruption in this collapse is uncovered. To conclude, the author found that corruption did in fact play a non-negligible role in the overthrow of the Roman Republic.Cette dissertation essaye de présenter quel a été le rôle de la corruption dans la chute de la République romaine. Toutefois, ce texte n\u27essaye pas d\u27assigner un rôle décisif à la corruption, mais tente plutôt de montrer que la corruption (parmi plusieurs autres facteurs) avait une responsabilité dans l\u27effondrement d\u27une institution vieille de plus de 500 ans. Cette rédaction a été écrite en révisant plusieurs sources historiques et analytiques existantes afin de trouver les éléments qui ont servis à répondre à la question ci-dessus. La structure de cette dissertation va comme suit: premièrement, l\u27auteur a exposé l\u27organisation et le fonctionnement de l\u27appareil politique qu\u27était la République romaine. Puis, l\u27auteur a définit la corruption et détaillé un exemple historique de cette entité insidieuse. Ensuite, l\u27auteur a chroniquer l\u27écroulement de la République et a mis à jour le rôle de la corruption dans cet affaissement. En conclusion, l\u27auteur à découvert que la corruption a joué un rôle non-négligeable dans la destruction de la République romaine
Why are Extreme Right Parties so Popular in Europe?
No full textThis topic has witnessed a real increase in media coverage due to the recent activity of extreme right parties across Europe, notable being in the past year the Greek parties and the Dutch stance regarding immigration. For answering the question, and following the pathway of the module, the essay is looking at the extreme right parties in four European countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy. Research for this paper has been focused mostly on the specialised literature, Pietro Ignazi being brought into discussion the most. Because of the large variables over years, the essay is looking at the parties from the 1960s until the early 2000s
Voltaire: Critique Politique
No full textMuch has been written about Voltaire, the great 18th century French writer and Enlightenment philosopher. His works have been pored over countless times and many analyses have been published about him and his writings. This dissertation builds on several sources so as to find the voltairian critiques of the French monarchy in relation to his Traité sur la tolérance. The author starts by detailing the French monarchical system of the time as well as defining what tolerance was under this system. The first part ends with an explanation of what Voltaire thought the monarchy should be as well as defining what tolerance was according to him. The second part of the text discusses the specific critiques Voltaire aimed at the French monarchy, be it the malfunctioning justice system or the arbitrary powers possessed by the king. The final part of this exposition examines the place of religion in the French state. In this third and final section, the author looks at what Voltaire thought religion was and should be as well as the relationship between religion and the state. Plusieurs textes ont été écrit à propos de Voltaire, l\u27un des grands écrivains et philosophes des Lumières. Ces travaux ont été passés au crible et ont fait l\u27objet d\u27études approfondies à maintes reprises. Cette dissertation se hisse sur les épaules des chercheurs venus auparavant afin de trouver les critiques voltairiennes de la monarchie française en lien avec son Traité sur la tolérance. L\u27auteur débute en détaillant le système monarchique du temps et définit la tolérance du temps. Cette première partie inclut aussi une explication de ce qu\u27entendait Voltaire lorsqu\u27il discutait de la monarchie et de la tolérance. La seconde partie examine les critiques spécifiques de Voltaire par rapport à la monarchie française, que ce soit le système judiciaire dysfonctionnel ou le pouvoir arbitraire du roi. Dans la partie finale de ce texte, l\u27auteur se penche sur ce que la religion était et devait être selon Voltaire. Cette partie inclut aussi une exposition de la relation entre la religion et l\u27État français monarchique
Aboriginal Representation in Canada: Reforming Parliament or Creating a Third Order of Government
No full textIn Canada, aboriginals are constantly searching for proper representation, voice and place within in society at large and more specifically, in the parliamentary system. This paper critically examines the creation and maintenance of a place for aboriginals within contemporary Canadian governance, specifically two venues for aboriginal represent in Canada: representation through parliamentary reform or self-government by Aboriginal groups
“Westernization” and the Politics of Islam in Senegal
No full textIn much postcolonial theory, identity-politics is considered a means of subversion and possible emancipation. Consciously moving away from the political culture of the colonizer towards a rediscovery and reassertion of indigenous norms is seen as an important part of the larger postcolonial project of claiming political agency. This article problematizes this argument, and makes the case for a more critical analysis of the assertion of indigenous identity. The article turns to the work of one particular theorist—Ed van Hoven—and one particular case—Islamist politics in Senegal. Charting the development of politicized Islam since independence, it draws attention to how Senegalese governments have re-enacted the attitudes of the French colonial state