Thesis--Berlin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 190-197).

Over the course of the 20th and 21st Centuries the judiciary have increasingly made decisions that have affected the substantive content and the procedural implementation of public policy. The aim of this thesis is to provide an explanation for this political behaviour in judges by introducing the Legislative Politicisation of the Judiciary Theory to the debate. The theory proposes that the key independent causal variable is the language of Parliamentary legislation. The argument is that as legislation has been increasingly used to delegate power from Parliament to its various agents, the language used has become more indeterminate in order to enable discretion. Such indeterminacy creates an institutional problem where the orders of the sovereign Parliament are not clear, and to resolve this uncertainty in the Rule of Law the judges must intervene. The political behaviour of judges is therefore stimulated by a change in the legislative supply-side rather than a change in the behavioural demand-side, and the judges are acting as professional technocrats charged with ensuring the efficacious implementation of Parliamentary legislation. A new discourse analysis methodology has been created for this thesis that provides evidence of change in the language of legislation between 1920 and 2010. A total of 8,328 sections of primary and secondary legislation have been hand-coded, with results showing that 3% of sections in 1920 (21 sections in real terms) were “Henry VIIIth clauses”, where power to make new law was delegated by Parliament; by 2010 this had increased to 16% (400 sections in real terms).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Bochum, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 244-251)

This thesis presents a comparative and interdisciplinary investigation into the relationship between politics and the Turkish and Kurdish novels, which are treated not only as artistic constructions but also as socio-cultural and historical artefacts. The primary objective of this investigation is to understand the principle social, political, and historical reasons and root causes behind the close relationship between politics and literatures in Turkey and the principle socio-political and literary ramifications of such strong relationship. Towards this end, the thesis focuses on four main themes: language, love, religion, and history. Besides being the most common novelistic themes in the Turkish and Kurdish literary institutions, these are inherently heavily politicised and ethno-nationalistically charged themes - thus especially suitable for such inquiry. In line with this politico-historical and literary vein, the thesis also discusses some of the main political questions in Turkey, viz., the reasons behind the failure of Turkish democracy, its maladies and the resultant deadlock on some of the most important issues of the modern history of the country such as the Kurdish imbroglio and the conflict of secularisation and Islam. As the discussions on politics of love, language, religion, and history show, profound ideological competitions and antagonisms do not necessarily mean divergent political and literary structures. As such, the strong links between the Turkish and Kurdish literary institutions, as well as the ordeal of the Kurdish question and democratisation in Turkey, is as much caused by rival nationalisms, hostile ideological positions, and the like as by congruity, parallel political visions, and similar power structures. The main argument of the thesis, thus, is that the Kurdish and Turkish literary, political, and intellectual actors could not contribute towards the solution of the persistent political and literary questions in Turkey because of their failure in adopting a transformative politics and developing fully autonomous literatures. The future of the two literatures, as was in the past, this thesis argues, will remain intrinsically bound to the political structures and developments and the future of democracy in Turkey.

Dans ses œuvres dramatiques, Shakespeare fait la part belle aux mots étrange(r)s, qu’il s’agisse de mots isolés, de phrases ou encore de scènes entières en langue étrangère. L’hétérolinguisme (Rainier Grutman) shakespearien se manifeste également par la présence dans ses pièces de variétés sociales ou régionales de l’anglais. Son importance est cependant moins quantitative que qualitative. En effet, les mots étrangers de Shakespeare font presque toujours l’objet d’une mise en scène, à une époque où la langue anglaise était elle-même en pleine quête identitaire. Leur rôle n’est jamais purement ornemental : ils déstabilisent et inquiètent la langue qui les accueille tout en entretenant avec elle une relation souvent ludique, comme en témoignent les nombreux jeux de mots interlinguistiques inventés par Shakespeare. Par ailleurs, la cohabitation des langues dans certaines de ses pièces entraîne parfois des opérations de traduction plus ou moins hasardeuses, qui font elles aussi l’objet d’une véritable mise en scène. En nous donnant à entendre les fréquents « dérapages » de la traduction, Shakespeare nous fait voir l’envers de la langue, qui court toujours le risque de devenir à son tour étrangère. La traduction des textes hétérolingues du dramaturge eux-mêmes n’est pas moins problématique. L’épreuve de l’« étranger au carré » lance en effet au traducteur un certain nombre de défis que cette thèse a pour vocation d’explorer. Néanmoins, si la pluralité des langues est d’ordinaire vécue comme une malédiction pour la traduction, elle représente également une chance pour la langue traduisante : contrainte de se « déprovincialiser », elle « se met à proliférer », selon les mots respectifs de Ricœur et de Berman. / If we understand “strange” in the former sense of “foreign, alien” as well as “unusual or surprising”, « strange words » play a significant role in Shakespeare’s drama, whether they take the form of single words, whole sentences or even entire scenes written in a foreign language. Shakespearian heterolingualism (Rainier Grutman) also encompasses social or regional varieties of English in the plays. Its importance, however, has less to do with quantity than quality. Indeed, Shakespeare’s “strange words” are highly theatrical and often take centre stage, in an age when the English language itself was beginning to define its identity. Their role is rarely ornamental—they destabilise and unsettle their host language even as they playfully interact with it, as is demonstrated by the many interlingual puns concocted by Shakespeare. Moreover, the cohabitation of languages in some of Shakespeare’s plays can sometimes lead to questionable acts of translation. As Shakespeare stages the frequent “slips” of translation, he unveils the other side of the English language, which always runs the risk of becoming foreign in its turn. The translation of Shakespeare’s heterolingual texts themselves is no less problematic. The trial of the doubly foreign presents the translator with a number of challenges that this thesis proposes to explore. Nevertheless, if the plurality of languages is usually perceived as a curse when it comes to translation, it also opens up opportunities for the translating language: forcefully “de-provincialised” (Ricoeur), the mother tongue begins to thrive.

The emergence of regional security organisations during the 1990s in Africa proved to be of great significance for the lives of many Africans, including those living in conflict-torn countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire or the Democratic Republic of Congo, but, at the same time, this phenomenon has been understudied. This dissertation explores why regional security organisations with an agenda of democratic governance emerged in Africa in the 1990s. This question is answered with two in-depth case studies on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Driven by an empirical puzzle, this study is both hypothesis-testing and hypothesis generating. The study starts by laying out the different possible factors put forward by several bodies of theory in international relations to explain the emergence of ECOWAS and SADC as security organisations. These hypotheses are then tested throughout the history and the evolution of ECOWAS and SADC in order to highlight the circumstances of their creation and their qualified failure as economic communities. This is followed by a comparative analysis of the security and democracy mandates entrusted to ECOWAS and SADC by its member states based on the study of the legal texts that outline the specific objectives of each regional security organisation and the tools they were given to implement their mandates. The study finally analyses the implementation records of ECOWAS and SADC in order to assess the commitment of their member states to their new democracy and security mandate. The research concludes with the two following hypotheses: 1) A security agenda cannot emerge without the involvement of the regional hegemon. 2) What the regional hegemon can do, including affecting the speed of the transformation, is constrained by the acceptance of its leadership by its neighbours (legitimacy) and by state weakness (capability).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: p. 279-288.

This thesis highlights the sociopolitics of English as a dominant/colonial language by focusing on the linkage between language, power, and race. Grounded in critical language theory, comparative education theory, and anti-racism research methodology, this research examines the inextricable relationship between language, power, and race. With this in mind, this thesis argues that language, specifically English, is not a neutral tool of communication but a highly contentious issue that is deeply embedded in sociopolitical ideologies and practices. The contexts of Japan and Trinidad and Tobago are used to illustrate how colonialism continues to impact English language policy, practice, and perceptions. In sum, this research aims to bridge the gap between critical language theory, comparative education theory, and anti-racism studies in a way that (1) highlights the complexity of language politics, (2) explores ideological assumptions inherent in the discourse of the "native" language, and (3) underscores the overlooked ubiquity of race.

This thesis highlights the sociopolitics of English as a dominant/colonial language by focusing on the linkage between language, power, and race. Grounded in critical language theory, comparative education theory, and anti-racism research methodology, this research examines the inextricable relationship between language, power, and race. With this in mind, this thesis argues that language, specifically English, is not a neutral tool of communication but a highly contentious issue that is deeply embedded in sociopolitical ideologies and practices. The contexts of Japan and Trinidad and Tobago are used to illustrate how colonialism continues to impact English language policy, practice, and perceptions. In sum, this research aims to bridge the gap between critical language theory, comparative education theory, and anti-racism studies in a way that (1) highlights the complexity of language politics, (2) explores ideological assumptions inherent in the discourse of the "native" language, and (3) underscores the overlooked ubiquity of race.

The aim of this compilation thesis is to explore variations in bilingualism with the help of everyday specific situations at a Spanish-Swedish early childhood institution in Sweden, and by means of a ‘material-semiotic theorizing’. This means that material and semiotic elements are treated equally and entwined. Through studying a bilingual preschool practice, theory and politics as three interwoven practices, the thesis produces knowledge on language and literacy as socially and materially divergent, transformative occurrences. The research process is a commitment with Deleuzio-Guattarian philosophy, theory and politics, and is defined as a becoming in and of the three practices (education, theory, politics). Ethical and methodological undertakings are described as results of the interaction of these practices. Processes of data production include a yearlong fieldwork with all year groups (1-5) at a bilingual preschool in Sweden with a Spanish-Swedish language policy. The materials of data (approx. 59 hours of video-recordings and additional field-notes of everyday activities) are extended and developed upon in interaction with theoretical concepts and political concerns in terms of an analytical process that ‘puts theory to work’. The results are phrased as three temporal suggestions: 1) Bilingualism is a plural, collectively produced, both transitory and specific phenomenon 2) Bilingualism emerges with different, simultaneous dimensions of language and literacy (language as both code and material intensities) 3) Bilingualism is shared and public but also private and inconclusive. The thesis also shows the interconnectedness and continuity between different constructions of bilingualism (i.e. separate – flexible, public - private) as well as the productivity of the unknown and of what is labelled as (il)literate expertise. The impact that these suggestions may have in working with bilingualism in early childhood education is discussed. At the same time the discussion inspires to thinking towards a minor bilingualism also in more general terms. / Syftet i denna sammanläggningsavhandling är att utforska variationer i tvåspråkighet med hjälp av alldagligt specifika situationer vid en spansk-svensk förskola i Sverige, samt genom ett ’material-semiotiskt teoretiserande’. Det betyder att materiella och semiotiska aspekter behandlas jämbördigt, sammanlänkat och icke-hierarkiskt. Genom att studera en tvåspråkig förskolepraktik, teori och politik som sammanvävda praktiker producerar avhandlingen kunskap om språk och litteracitet som socialt och materiellt divergenta, transformativa fenomen. Forskningsprocessen är en förlovning med DeleuzioGuattariansk filosofi, teori och politik och definieras som ett tillblivande i och med de tre praktikerna (utbildning, teori, politik). Etiska och metodologiska göranden beskrivs som resultat av interaktionen mellan dessa tre praktiker. Processer av dataproduktion inkluderar ett årslångt fältarbete med alla åldersgrupper (1-5) på en tvåspråkig förskola i Sverige med en spansk-svensk språkpolicy. Datamaterialen (59 timmars videoinspelningar och fältanteckningar från vardagliga aktiviteter) förlängs och utvecklas i avhandlingen i interaktion med teoretiska begrepp och politiska angelägenheter i termer av en analytisk process som ‘sätter teori i arbete’. Resultaten formuleras som tre temporära förslag. 1) Tvåspråkighet är ett pluralt, kollektivt producerat, både flyktigt och specifikt fenomen 2) Tvåspråkighet uppträder med olika, samtidiga språkliga dimensioner (språk som både kod och materiella intensiteter) 3) Tvåspråkighet är delat och publikt men också privat och odeciderat. Avhandlingens resultat visar också på länkar och kontinuitet mellan olika konstruktioner av tvåspråkighet (till exempel separat – flexibel, publik – privat) samt produktiviteten i det okända och vad som kan benämnas (il)litterat expertis. Betydelsen som avhandlingens förslag kan ha i arbete med tvåspråkighet i utbildningspraktiker med små barn diskuteras. Samtidigt inspirerar diskussionen till att tänka i riktningar mot en mindre tvåspråkighet också i mer generella termer.