<p>Political realism is a general theory within political science focusing on the principle interest defined as power. The theory’s mutual standpoint is that states are inspired by power politics meaning that military and economic power or security stands in the centre while moral and ethics are placed in the periphery. This essay’s purpose is to analyze realism which helps to understand the development and change of the perspective. Focus is on classic realism within political science and the essay contains a comparison of the three theoretical philosophers Niccoló Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes and Hans J Morgenthau. The main question of the essay is: how has realism developed from Machiavelli to Morgenthau?</p><p>The conclusion is that political realism has undergone a few large changes during the last four centuries but has mostly retained basic ideas. The most relevant adjustment is that realism has moved out from a highly immoral perspective to a perspective which actually contains various moral barricades. All the changes and non-changes within realism development can be observed in the model presented in the essay.</p>

Thesis (M. Des.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Higher Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 36-38). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004 & res_dat=xri:pqdiss & rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation & rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR32035.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Directed by Scott Romine; submitted to the Dept. of English. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 28, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 240-254).

Thesis (doctoral)--Université de Paris IV, 1977. / Includes bibliographical references (v. 2, p. 1097-1116) and index.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 65 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-65).

Thesis (M.A.(Drama))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Title from title page of PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed March 8, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 29).

The present thesis is an attempt to study some of the social theories of Islam, not as logical ideas existing in a vacuum, but rather as idealogies which are in close interaction with the social conditions in the midst of which they arise. It should be remembered at this point that this thesis is not intended to be a comprehensive research into the entire field of the sociology of Islam. The job is too enormous to be undertaken by a single researcher. This work is restricted to the study of one aspect of it, that is: the dilemma of Islam, or in other words, the conflict between idealism and realism in the history of Islam. The conflict between idealism and realism exists, as we shall see later, in almost every phase of the human society, but it may not be an exaggeration to say that in the history of Islam it manifested itself in a very intensive form. In this thesis the attempt is made to discuss the reason for, and the development of, this peculiar aspect of Islam. / text

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy

This thesis is a broad survey of the uses of ambiguity in academic discourse. I note the uses of ambiguity in literary criticism, linking ambiguity with epistemic relativism. Then I pose the question, is the notion of "reframing" in psychotherapy analogous to the concept of "spin" in propaganda, advertising and public relations? In a consideration of theories that posit the social construction of reality, I examine articles by Judith Butler and Ian Hacking, noting the ambiguous reception of performativity and nominalism, respectively, within academia. In 1996 a physicist named Alan Sokal published an article which argued that reality is a social and linguistic construct. Sokal later revealed that his article was actually an elaborate spoof of postmodernist and social constructionist writing. According to Sokal, such relativistic discourse erodes the distinction between fact and fiction. I look at the implications of Sokal's hoax for the social sciences and humanities.