Since the end of the Second World War, several phases of migration to West European states have occurred. These migrants consisted of the so called guest workers who were recruited to fill labour shortages, citizens from former colonies who wanted to settle in the colonial empires as well as asylum seekers and refugees. These migrants generally migrated within the network of a certain ethnic group which led to the formation of ethnic groupings in the West European states (so called new ethnic minorities). These ethnic groupings often live segregated from the host population where they experience a lack of cultural, economical and political integration. This lack of integration of the new ethnic minorities often leads to antagonism, lack of understanding, mistrust and sometimes a racist attitude by the host population towards these groups. The development of a collective policy for the management of new ethnic minorities only became priority in the European Union (EU) by the late 1990s. The current policy for the management of new ethnic minorities consists of guidelines and recommendations to member states on the implementation of a own, unique new ethnic minority policy. Although the current Belgian policy for the management of new ethnic minorities adheres to the guidelines and recommendations of the EU, it still has structural problems and gaps. The purpose of this study was foremost to do a descriptive analysis of the protection of established minorities in Belgium. In contrast to and comparison with this, an in depth analysis of the political problem, management and current situation of new ethnic minorities in Belgian was made in order to identify shortcomings in the current policy for the management of new ethnic minorities. This was done through a literature search as well as an empirical study in the form of semi -structured interviews. The general finding was that the Belgian political system makes adequate provision for the protection of established minorities, but not for the protection of new ethnic minorities. In this regard and in conclusion, specific recommendations were made in order to identify and address the current protective measures of new ethnic minorities in Belgium. / Thesis (M.A. (Public Management and Administration))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

Since the end of the Second World War, several phases of migration to West European states have occurred. These migrants consisted of the so called guest workers who were recruited to fill labour shortages, citizens from former colonies who wanted to settle in the colonial empires as well as asylum seekers and refugees. These migrants generally migrated within the network of a certain ethnic group which led to the formation of ethnic groupings in the West European states (so called new ethnic minorities). These ethnic groupings often live segregated from the host population where they experience a lack of cultural, economical and political integration. This lack of integration of the new ethnic minorities often leads to antagonism, lack of understanding, mistrust and sometimes a racist attitude by the host population towards these groups. The development of a collective policy for the management of new ethnic minorities only became priority in the European Union (EU) by the late 1990s. The current policy for the management of new ethnic minorities consists of guidelines and recommendations to member states on the implementation of a own, unique new ethnic minority policy. Although the current Belgian policy for the management of new ethnic minorities adheres to the guidelines and recommendations of the EU, it still has structural problems and gaps. The purpose of this study was foremost to do a descriptive analysis of the protection of established minorities in Belgium. In contrast to and comparison with this, an in depth analysis of the political problem, management and current situation of new ethnic minorities in Belgian was made in order to identify shortcomings in the current policy for the management of new ethnic minorities. This was done through a literature search as well as an empirical study in the form of semi -structured interviews. The general finding was that the Belgian political system makes adequate provision for the protection of established minorities, but not for the protection of new ethnic minorities. In this regard and in conclusion, specific recommendations were made in order to identify and address the current protective measures of new ethnic minorities in Belgium. / Thesis (M.A. (Public Management and Administration))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

Since the end of the Second World War, several phases of migration to West European states have occurred. These migrants consisted of the so called guest workers who were recruited to fill labour shortages, citizens from former colonies who wanted to settle in the colonial empires as well as asylum seekers and refugees. These migrants generally migrated within the network of a certain ethnic group which led to the formation of ethnic groupings in the West European states (so called new ethnic minorities). These ethnic groupings often live segregated from the host population where they experience a lack of cultural, economical and political integration. This lack of integration of the new ethnic minorities often leads to antagonism, lack of understanding, mistrust and sometimes a racist attitude by the host population towards these groups. The development of a collective policy for the management of new ethnic minorities only became priority in the European Union (EU) by the late 1990s. The current policy for the management of new ethnic minorities consists of guidelines and recommendations to member states on the implementation of a own, unique new ethnic minority policy. Although the current Belgian policy for the management of new ethnic minorities adheres to the guidelines and recommendations of the EU, it still has structural problems and gaps. The purpose of this study was foremost to do a descriptive analysis of the protection of established minorities in Belgium. In contrast to and comparison with this, an in depth analysis of the political problem, management and current situation of new ethnic minorities in Belgian was made in order to identify shortcomings in the current policy for the management of new ethnic minorities. This was done through a literature search as well as an empirical study in the form of semi -structured interviews. The general finding was that the Belgian political system makes adequate provision for the protection of established minorities, but not for the protection of new ethnic minorities. In this regard and in conclusion, specific recommendations were made in order to identify and address the current protective measures of new ethnic minorities in Belgium. / Thesis (M.A. (Public Management and Administration))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

斯賓諾莎的《神學政治論》向來被認為是現代自由民主、與聖經批判的哲學性起源，學者大多認為斯賓諾莎以一種科學式的方法來研究聖經。本文旨在研究斯賓諾莎的聖經觀與宗教觀。藉著對十七世紀荷蘭神學－政治背景、以及《神學政治論》第七章到第十五章的分析，來說明斯賓諾莎所關心的並不是「如何解釋聖經」，而是「誰有權釋經」。他並不是藉著一種客觀的方法論來研究聖經，而是將解釋聖經的判准建立在解釋者的德性之上。而後不斷質疑各種可能形成解釋權威、壟斷信仰的科學式或理論性宗教知識。他把信仰的本質還原為生活，並且主張唯有解釋者有道德行為，他對聖經的解釋才可能是真的。因此，斯賓諾莎解釋聖經的方式不是一種聖經批判，而是一種德性證成的觀點。藉此，他把解釋聖經的權利還諸一切信仰者，並且將哲學與神學分離，前者的基礎是思辨理論，後者的基礎是道德實踐。 / Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus has always been regarded as the philosophical origin of modern liberal democracy and modern biblical criticism. Most scholars consider Spinoza’s biblical study as a kind of scientific method. This thesis aims at Spinoza’s view of the Bible and his view of religion. By a description of the theological-political background of the 17th century Dutch, and an analysis of Tractatus Theologico-Politicus Chapters 7 through 15, I would demonstrate that Spinoza cares not “how to study the Scripture” but “who has the authority to interpret the Scripture.” He does not study the Scripture by means of an objective methodology, rather, he sets up the criteria of biblical interpretation upon the virtue of interpreters. Then he doubts constantly every kind of theoretical knowledge of religion which may become the authority of interpretation and monopolize the faith. He reduces the essence of faith to life, and claims that only when an interpreter is moral, can his interpretation of the Scripture be true. Therefore, Spinoza’s interpretation of the Bible is not a kind of biblical-criticism, but a kind of justification by means of virtue. By doing so (or simply “Thus”), he returns the right of interpreting Scripture back to all believers, and separates philosophy away from theology. The foundation of philosophy is speculative theory, and theology is based on moral practices.

In this thesis I compare the views of Joseph de Maistre and Fyodor Dostoyevsky with regard to the relation between modernity and the theologico-political problem. I integrate this comparison within the general context of the reflection concerning modernity and the theologico-political problem, as well as within the context of two Christian theological traditions, Catholic and Orthodox, on the basis of which the two authors develop their religious and political thought. In particular, I analyze the views of the two authors with regard to the origins and the defining traits of modernity. Likewise, I present their opinions concerning the consequences which are inherent in the modern project. Viewing modernity first and foremost as an attempt to build a secular world that would define itself by its opposition to what both authors regard as authentic Christianity, Maistre and Dostoyevsky emphasize the fact that, having theological origins that mark the totality of its becoming, modernity should be understood on the basis of a theologico-political reflection. Associating the modern ambition to build a secular world with the fate of the biblical Tower of Babel, both authors adopt a prophetic posture, announcing the collapse of the modern project as well as the ultimate eschatological resolution of the modern crisis. Yet, the two authors are differentiated by their interpretations of the relation between modernity and the theologico-political problem, identifying differently the theological origins of the modern crisis. In this sense, while according to Maistre modernity originates in the Protestant Reformation, for Dostoyevsky, modernity’s origins must be located in the transformations of Western Christianity that have finally lead to the latter’s separation from Eastern Orthodoxy. These differences of interpretation lead to the articulation of two different responses to the modern crisis, which are rooted in two different Christian theological traditions. Consequently, if in reaction to the modern crisis Maistre affirms the Catholic principle of authority, whose highest expression is the concept of papal infallibility, Dostoyevsky opposes to this crisis the Orthodox principle of brotherhood in Christ. The critique of modernity culminates in the thought of the two authors with an approach of the complex and troubling problem of theodicy, which, Maistre and Dostoyevsky believe, stands at the origin of the modern opposition to Christianity and its traditional institutions.

The problem of violence against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transvestites, transsexuals and transgenders (LGBT) has been increasingly taken as the object of denunciations, as well as legal and political disputes in Brazil. The controversies lie, on the one hand, in the defense of the typification and criminalization of violence as a way of strengthening democracy and respecting sexual differences and human dignity. On the other hand, in the thesis that the constitution of a specific law which aims to penalize, in the criminal sphere, prejudices, crimes and violence against LGBT violates the constitutional principles that guarantee the free manifestation of thought concerning religious belief, philosophical conviction or those who disagree with these sexualities. All this problematization and social visibility of violence against LGBT people have intensified since 2006, as a result of the Bill 122/2006 (PLC 122/06), also called the anti-homophobia law, which aimed to criminalize any kind of prejudice related to gender, sexual orientation and gender identity. In order to understand the social conditions which promote an anti-homophobia fight in the Brazilian scenario, this thesis aims to analyze the processes of emergency, definition and construction of the social problem of violence against LGBT as a public and political problem in the country. For that, we developed a qualitative research, with an exploratory and descriptive approach, based on a bibliographical and documentary analysis, focusing on the Sociology of Public Problems, as well as other theoretical and methodological contributions. Even knowing that PLC 122/06 has promoted broad visibility to the problem of homophobia, research has shown that the current centralization on the agenda around criminalization neglects a set of problematic situations that have led, in different social, political and cultural contexts, to collective experiences which built multiple definitions of homophobia in Brazil and contributed to the construction of this cause as a public and political problem. / O problema da violência contra lésbicas, gays, bissexuais, travestis, transexuais e transgêneros (LGBT) tem sido cada vez mais tomado como objeto de denúncias, contestações jurídicas e disputas políticas no Brasil. As controvérsias situam-se, por um lado, na defesa da tipificação e criminalização das violências como uma forma de fortalecimento da democracia, respeito às diferenças sexuais e à dignidade humana. Por outro, na tese de que a constituição de uma lei específica a qual objetiva punir, no âmbito penal, os preconceitos, crimes e violências contra LGBT viola os princípios constitucionais que garantem a livre manifestação do pensamento por motivo de crença religiosa, convicção filosófica ou política daqueles que não concordam com essas sexualidades. Toda essa problematização e visibilidade social da violência contra LGBT intensificaram-se a partir do ano de 2006, em decorrência do Projeto de Lei da Câmara 122/2006 (PLC 122/06), também denominado de lei anti-homofobia, que objetivava criminalizar os preconceitos de gênero, sexo, orientação sexual e identidade de gênero. Visando compreender quais as condições sociais de possibilidade da luta anti-homofobia no cenário brasileiro, esta tese tem como objetivo analisar os processos de emergência, definição e construção do problema social da violência contra LGBT como um problema público e político no país. Para tanto, desenvolvemos uma pesquisa de cunho qualitativo, com enfoque exploratório e descritivo, a partir de uma análise bibliográfica e documental, fundamentada na Sociologia dos Problemas Públicos, além de outros aportes teórico-metodológicos. Embora o PLC 122/06 tenha proporcionado ampla visibilidade ao problema da homofobia, a pesquisa demonstrou que a centralização atual na pauta em torno da criminalização negligencia um conjunto de situações problemáticas que levaram, em diferentes contextos sociais, políticos e culturais, à formação de experiências coletivas as quais construíram múltiplas definições da homofobia no Brasil e contribuíram para a construção desta causa como um problema público e político. / São Cristóvão, SE

In this thesis I compare the views of Joseph de Maistre and Fyodor Dostoyevsky with regard to the relation between modernity and the theologico-political problem. I integrate this comparison within the general context of the reflection concerning modernity and the theologico-political problem, as well as within the context of two Christian theological traditions, Catholic and Orthodox, on the basis of which the two authors develop their religious and political thought. In particular, I analyze the views of the two authors with regard to the origins and the defining traits of modernity. Likewise, I present their opinions concerning the consequences which are inherent in the modern project. Viewing modernity first and foremost as an attempt to build a secular world that would define itself by its opposition to what both authors regard as authentic Christianity, Maistre and Dostoyevsky emphasize the fact that, having theological origins that mark the totality of its becoming, modernity should be understood on the basis of a theologico-political reflection. Associating the modern ambition to build a secular world with the fate of the biblical Tower of Babel, both authors adopt a prophetic posture, announcing the collapse of the modern project as well as the ultimate eschatological resolution of the modern crisis. Yet, the two authors are differentiated by their interpretations of the relation between modernity and the theologico-political problem, identifying differently the theological origins of the modern crisis. In this sense, while according to Maistre modernity originates in the Protestant Reformation, for Dostoyevsky, modernity’s origins must be located in the transformations of Western Christianity that have finally lead to the latter’s separation from Eastern Orthodoxy. These differences of interpretation lead to the articulation of two different responses to the modern crisis, which are rooted in two different Christian theological traditions. Consequently, if in reaction to the modern crisis Maistre affirms the Catholic principle of authority, whose highest expression is the concept of papal infallibility, Dostoyevsky opposes to this crisis the Orthodox principle of brotherhood in Christ. The critique of modernity culminates in the thought of the two authors with an approach of the complex and troubling problem of theodicy, which, Maistre and Dostoyevsky believe, stands at the origin of the modern opposition to Christianity and its traditional institutions.