Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, November, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Since the eruption of the Arab Spring, the Middle East is in a fragile situation with major ongoing conflicts. Saudi Arabia is an important regional actor in the political turmoil of the Middle East but is also a violent offender of human rights. This raises questions about the capacity of UN in terms of influencing the development of human rights in Saudi Arabia. This is a qualitative case study that will be based on established theories in international relations, realism and liberalism but also the rentier state theory. International institutions has evolved especially since the fall of the Berlin Wall but realists claim that it is a smaller version of the power structure of the international system where hegemonic powers rule and set the agenda. The lack of resources and fundings of the UN combined with its intergovernmental structure makes it vulnerable to states' interests and willingness. On the other hand, liberals claim that liberal norms and ideas have had an impact on states' behaviour. In the case of Saudi Arabia, there are certain factors that have caused the delay of human rights such as the UN: s unwillingness to put much effort on human rights during the Cold War. Another theory is that rentier states like Saudi Arabia finance the state with the help of their oil resources. Therefore, the citizens cannot demand democratic legitimacy from the ruling family that due to the rentier system, can treat the state as their private property. Certain opinions that can be supported by realist notions are that hegemonic powers are and were not as interested in implementing human rights in the Middle East as they were in establishing control over resources. Other possible factors are Saudi religious legitimacy and regional institutions with its own norms and also, a static religious interpretation of Islam, namely, Wahhabism.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-02-15Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:09:55Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 bravo_gp_me_mar.pdf: 871837 bytes, checksum: 78e7b11717ec5d4c4e94ab7bedf02e56 (MD5) / Este trabalho pretende demonstrar como o discurso produzido pelo periódico O Estado de S. Paulo (OESP), entre 1930 e 1937, mais especificamente no ano de 1935, escolhido para essa análise, pôde influenciar a opinião pública, quando não formá-la, por meio de uma prática jornalística permeada de concepções ideológicas e de jogos de interesses. Cabe acrescentar que, nesse período, grande parte da imprensa, órgãos governamentais e a elite que detinha o poder consideravam o comunismo uma ameaça à sociedade brasileira. Apoiando as medidas excepcionais advindas do governo Vargas, justificadas pelo combate ao “perigo bolchevique”, o jornal, que sempre se colocou como defensor das liberdades democráticas, declarava abdicar, temporariamente, de seus ideais, para garantir a ordem social. Para os representantes do jornal, a manutenção da “paz social” pautava-se pela completa eliminação dos “inimigos da propriedade privada”, ou seja, os comunistas, e pelo controle político e ideológico da classe operária, o que, em si, revela o caráter autoritário e excludente da doutrina liberal. O apoio ao fortalecimento do governo custaria, ao periódico em análise, a possibilidade de conquistar a hegemonia política e cultural no país como, também, a liberdade, quando o jornal foi ocupado pela polícia do Estado Novo / This article discusses how the discourse produced by the periodical O Estado de S. Paulo (OESP) between 1930 and 1937, more specifically in 1935, chosen for analysis, could influence public opinion, if not form it, through a journalistic practice fraught with ideological conceptions and gaming interests, this a time when communism was considered by many media, government and the elite that held power, a threat to Brazilian society. Supporting exceptional measures resulting from the Vargas government, justified by the fight against Bolshevik danger, the newspaper, which has always positioned himself as defender of democratic freedoms declared surrender, temporarily, his ideals to ensure social order. For the representatives of the newspaper, the maintenance of social peace was guided by the complete elimination of the enemies of private property, the Communists, and the ideological and political control of the working class, which reveals the authoritarian character of the liberal doctrine and exclusionary . Support to strengthening government cost them not only the possibility of achieving political and cultural hegemony in the country as also the freedom, when the paper was occupied by the New State Police

In this thesis, I argue for rationalism, the claim that political legitimacy should be distributed such that justice is promoted best. In chapter 1, I define legitimacy as the permission to rule. I deny that political institutions generally enjoy authority, which is the moral power to directly impose duties on others. I then describe how legitimate political institutions without authority are possible in principle. In the second chapter, I outline a major problem for rationalism. If individuals have strong, moral rights, then it seems that political institutions cannot legitimately operate without their subjects' consent. I describe the key assumptions in this argument, and discuss a series of unconvincing proposals in the literature to escape it. In chapter 3, I argue that we can solve the problem if we look at theories of the moral justification of rights. There are two major such theories, the interest theory and the status theory. I outline the interest theory, and argue that it allows for non-consensual but legitimate political institutions. In chapter 4, I describe a Kantian claim about the nature of rights, according to which our rights are fully realised only if there are political institutions. If we accept this thought, then non-consensual political institutions can be legitimate on the status theory as well. In chapter 5, I outline what it means to promote-rather than respect-justice, and argue that the promotion of justice enjoys primacy over other values. At first sight, rationalism appears to have very radical implications, given that it asks us to base legitimacy on justice. In chapter 6, I argue that this impression is mistaken. We should often pursue justice indirectly, for example, through methods which focus on legal validity or democratic procedure rather than justice.

Should the state undertake the task of promoting the good life? Perfectionism is the idea that the state should promote the good life. Many philosophers have answered in the negative to the above question, so they reject perfectionism. This thesis aims to develop a moderate version of perfectionism, and seeks to defend it against several influential anti-perfectionist arguments, in particular the argument from public reason liberalism. I begin by examining public reason liberalism. John Rawls, Gerald Gaus, Martha Nussbaum, and many other political philosophers endorse public reason liberalism. They believe that state coercion should be publicly justified, and that perfectionism cannot meet the requirements of public reason. I argue that public reason is the object of reasonable rejection, so it cannot be realised in actual politics through state intervention in a publicly justified way. In addition, I argue that respect for persons is not a reliable basis for public reason. Thus we have good reason to reject public reason liberalism. Then I develop a moderate version of perfectionism. I contend that the state should promote the good life through supporting a wide variety of perfectionist goods, and that it should do so by using moderate measures and by appealing to perfectionist judgements of a moderate kind. Some anti-perfectionists consider that perfectionism would be unnecessary when a fair distribution of resources is realised. Yet a fair distribution of resources is not foreseeable. I propose several kinds of moderate perfectionist policies that are of great importance for any neo-liberal society where the distribution of resources is far from fair, and these policies are ultimately important for the good life, not only for remedying unfairness. Contrary to the positions of many liberal philosophers including Ronald Dworkin and Jeremy Waldron, I argue that moderate perfectionism should not be rejected on grounds of paternalism and unfairness to different conceptions of the good.

The armed conflict in Syria is complex and bloody. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of how and why the conflict started in Syria. The purpose of the study is to identify the key actors in the conflict, both internal and external actors and the impact of these actors in the Syrian conflict and what role they have played to achieve their goals. Furthermore, this paper also seeks to explore the changing character of conflict over time and the main obstacles for the peace in Syria. The study’s method is a comparative case study. A comparison between 2011-2017 is used to draw general conclusions. The theoretical framework to analyze are realism and liberalism. The materials used for this study are books, articles and documents etc. In conclusion, this paper finds that Assad's family has ruled Syria with an iron fist for many decades and a lack of freedom and economic problems caused protests  against Assad’s rule. The nature of war has changed in the period 2011 to 2017. Syria was a state of war of all against all. Syria was divided between many actors and they strove for power and dominance. The main obstacles to peace, there are various divisions within the opposition and most of them living abroad and  the external actors has impacted conflict. The reform of the United Nations Security Council  is a prerequisite for peace in Syria. The UN should send peacekeeping forces to Syria and Syria needs a Marshall Plan.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine whether or not the Swedish aid has had an ideologicalinclination for the past 12 years and, if that is the case, examine what ideology/ideologies hasexcersised greatest influence over the aid as well as how the influence has manifested itself. Thisthesis will be using a qualitive method for this investigation, more specifically an Ideal typeanalysis. The priorities, use of language and overall goals concerning the aid from various budgetproposals and policy frameworks are the main subjects for analysis which will then be used tocompare them to the ”pure” thoughts from three major ideological thoughts: Social democracy,social liberalism and social conservatism.The results of the thesis shows that the Swedish aid has most certaintly been affected by theideological views of the reigning government. It likewise shows that social democracy, as well associal liberalism, served as the major ideological foundations during this time. However, the overallobjectives have not been subject to change during this time but have rather remained adamant in theface of ideological changes. Keywords: aid, ideal type analysis, ideology, social conservatism, social democracy, socialliberalism.

From the late nineteenth century to the end of the Great War, Britain underwent a profound transition in the way the State conceptualized and approached the related issues of infant mortality, maternal welfare, and public health. For much of the nineteenth century, the State’s liberal, laissez-faire tradition dictated an anti-interventionist approach to public health which emphasized the notion of personal responsibility and respected individual liberties. Complementing this, the fragmented, localized and disciplinary governance methods this engendered were reflective of the Foucauldian power technology of anatomo-power. However, armed with knowledge of the conditions of the slums and the military consequences such conditions reaped shortly after the turn of the century, Britain’s legislative and governance approach to infant and maternal welfare, and public health more generally, evolved as the State began to take greater control over these issues in a manner reflective of a turn towards the welfare state and biopolitics. However, it was only upon the declaration of War in 1914, and in response to the cataclysmic threats this conflict presented, that the conditions occurred which allowed the State to exert an unprecedented authority over the population. This implicitly challenged the traditions of laissez faire-liberalism and anatomo-power, and reflected a pivotal turn towards the welfare state and the implementation of biopolitical governance techniques. Using Foucault’s theory of biopolitics, this thesis assesses this transition with a view to emphasizing the experiences of working-class women, their children, and how their health and welfare improved as a result of these complementary and parallel transitions.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Boston University / Both the problan and methodology of the dissertation follow this pattern: (1) a presentation of Ferre's views regarding redemption, (2) comparisons with the other three selected theologians, (3) an ordered summary of Ferre's relative theological position. This summary appears in chapter eight and briefly notes some similarities and dissimilarities among the other three theologians. Chapter two presents the term redemption and its correlatives as used in standard Protestant reference works. This determines the areas treated in chapters three through seven. The study includes these conclusions: (1) Knowledge of God as agape is limited to God's revelatory work made known in Jesus Christ in Ferre's, as in Aulen's and Brunner's writings. DeWolf adds theistic evidences. (2) God as being is uncaused and unconditioned but He becomes by creation and by redemptive personal relations with men for Ferre as for DeWolf. God is being is self-sufficient, with creation, preservation and redemption optional self-giving activities in Aulen's and Brunner's writings. For Aulen this is a paradox. Brunner concludes that God acts to realize His glory. (3) An essential but unfulfilled image within man awaits maturing experiences and Divine-human encounter in Ferre's and DeWolf's writings. Brunner emphasizes God's sole initiative so that maturing experiences seem to be negated. Aulen paradoxically asserts that man is essentially opposed to God yet chooses opposition. Paradoxically reconciliation depends upon God's subduing activity, yet upon man's "yes." (4) Jesus Christ is understood as truly God and truly man by Ferre as by Aulen and Brunner. The latter two do not, like Ferre, explain the Incarnation by perichoresis. DeWolf asserts that God's will and purpose were perfectly Incarnate in the human Jesus. Ferre has a distinct emphasis concerning the repeatability of the Incarnation, and concerning the Trinity. (5) At-one-ment in Ferre's distinct view is based upon perichoresis. All four theologians conclude that at-one-ment is offered to all men in Jesus Christ. Aulen's distinct view emphasizes fusion of wrath and love within God. (6) Personal depth repentance results in a reconciled relationship with God and fellowmen in Ferre's writings as in those of the other three theologians. The image within leads to such repentance for Ferre as for DeWolf. Paradoxically, for Aulen man's "yes" is indispensable yet all depends upon God's subduing activity. Brunner sees all human seeking as egocentric and doomed to frustration. Thus, Divine-human encounter, solely initiated by God, alone, leads to repentance and reconciliation. (7) Saints are nurtured by prayer, worship and witnessing. They are not free from sin but can partially demonstrate victorious love and power over sin in Ferre's writings as in the writings of the other men. Ferre, like DeWolf, makes more enthusiastic assertions of victory. [TRUNCATED]

This thesis concerns the reason-giving aspect of legitimacy. What reasons must be used to justify coercive laws, if citizens are to be respected as morally free and equal, in the face of their many moral, religious, and philosophical disagreements? Many theorists endorse 'political liberalism', according to which laws must be justified to all citizens by reasons that they can accept. This claim has been interpreted in two conflicting ways. The dominant view, which I call 'public reason liberalism', holds that laws must be justified by appeal to a set of values that all citizens can share, despite their many disagreements. In the first part of the thesis, I argue that this view should be rejected in favour of 'justificatory liberalism', which holds that laws must be conclusively justified to each citizen on the basis of all of their reasons. I also respond to the challenge of the 'right reasons view', which rejects the claim that laws need to be justified to citizens by reasons they can accept. Several prominent objections to political liberalism claim that it is incompatible with committed religious belief. In the second part of the thesis I investigate whether this is the case with regard to Christianity, by engaging with Christian theology. I argue that many of the common objections to political liberalism fail, but so do certain arguments that aim to show that Christians ought to endorse public reason liberalism on the basis of their religious beliefs. Nonetheless, Christians can accept political liberalism, and justificatory liberalism in particular. The requirements of justificatory liberalism and individuals' Christian beliefs will sometimes conflict, however. Justificatory liberals should accept that individuals can sometimes justifiably prioritise the latter over the former. My overall argument is that justificatory liberalism offers the best account of the reason-giving aspect of legitimacy, and that this is partly shown by its compatibility with Christian theology.