The Second Sex is Simone de Beauvoir’s seminal text. There have been numerous interpretations and critiques of this text since its inception in 1949. Most notable is the reading of her work as merely incorporating Sartrean existentialism and applying it to the social position of women. However recent theoretical discussion recognises her work as also an exploration of Marxism and this thesis follows that line of argument as, read in this context, the distinctiveness of her philosophical contribution can be made visible. Chapter one, endorses Marx’s historical materialism. Historically variable material conditions lead to historically variable human characteristics. De Beauvoir’s focus is with regard to women. Chapter two introduces the One and Other as a feature of human consciousness and a feature of women’s social oppression. Her account of why this structure explains women’s oppression is inspired by Marx’s historical materialism. Chapter three concerns the myths of femininity which also contribute to women’s oppression and are ideological in the Marxist sense of the word. Myths are productive, yet distorting and false, with the aim being to promote the interests of the powerful at the expense of those who are powerless. Chapter four expresses de Beauvoir’s views on the body insisting that the experience of biology as oppressive is a consequence of what culture makes of the body, again, utilising Marx’s historical materialism. Chapter five describes women’s lives as conditioned by historical, economic and material conditions structured by ideological myths which distort women’s human potential. Chapter six suggests freedom for de Beauvoir differs from Sartre. The meaning and value which condition the lives of individuals are informed by social structures which humans create within an historical and discursive context. Freedom for de Beauvoir, incorporating Marxist insights, is only possible with structural, economic and ideological change.

This study is concerned with how ethno-nationalist/separatist terrorism is countered within liberal democracies and what impact government responses have on how a conflict involving the use of terrorism is transformed from one of violence to constitutional political activity. Specifically, we are concerned with the balance between coercive and conciliatory responses. A moderate terrorism studies approach is used, which focuses on root causes of terrorism and places them in a historical context ranging from the historical precedents of a terrorist campaign to when a group reaches a permanent and verifiable ceasefire. The study combines theories from within terrorism studies and conflict studies to develop a theoretical framework, in which the relational conflict triangle model of situation-attitudes-behaviour is informed by academic knowledge on terrorism. In order to put the study into context preliminary matters are addressed as to what ethno-nationalist/separatist terrorism is and the relationship between terrorism and liberal democracy. The following chapters introduce conflict studies, terrorism studies, and develop the theoretical framework, noting the convergence of interests between the two disciplines. The framework is then tested by comparing three protracted cases of ethnonationalist/separatist terrorism in the Basque Country, Corsica and Northern Ireland. The analysis centres on the terrorist groups involved and how they come to emerge and, in many cases, reach the decision to abandon violence. The analysis is historical and takes into account the situation, attitudes and behaviour of the protagonists involved, noting the proneness of terrorist organisations towards volatile division. The conclusion drawn is that a combination of coercion, conciliation and reform led to the eventual ending of terrorist campaigns in the three cases but conciliation and reform were dependent on the use of coercive measures targeted directly at the groups involved. The reasons for splinter groups continuing violence are also discussed.

[No abstract submitted] / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

D.Comm. / Organisations are complex, dynamic social systems comprised of numerous interdependent and inter-related variables, and consequently they can be difficult to understand. People join organisations to bring about a desired future. However, to succeed, they must be able to predict the behaviour of those around them. Similarly, they must make themselves predictable. Mutual predictability makes for successful organisations. Unstable and fast changing goals and technologies tend to cause anxiety, stress, and overstrain in people. This tension appears as excessive politics, defending one's privileges, or to simply spend more energy on life outside the organisation, than on a career and work life. The mere mention of politics inevitably invokes negative thoughts from most organisational members. Politics in organisations seem to conjure up scheming plots and conspirators preparing a plan to do someone "in" utilising other than "pleasant" methods. And indeed there are times that this is the way politics are played. Politics rather than being viewed negatively should be viewed as a positive force within an organisation and effective managers will encourage politics, if played fairly. A certain amount of political behaviour appears in all organisations. Managers, who do not understand the politics of their organisations, are at a disadvantage and will find it difficult to get things done. Managers should recognise the inevitability of organisational politics and attempt to use and manage it effectively. This result of this research is an integrated perspective of the concepts, which describe and explain organisational politics in order for managers to understand and manage political behaviour in organisations.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the complete writings of Ortega, bringing together the recurring themes in his works as they relate to politics and political theory, and describing them in systematic form.

This doctoral research explores New Labour’s foray into social enterprise policy- making. In 2002, New Labour established the first ever Social Enterprise Unit and launched a series of policies in an effort to establish what it described as an ‘enabling environment’. This doctoral research characterises this unique time period as a first wave of social enterprise policy-making, when the policy idea is rooted in social enterprise as an alternative business model and anchored in the Department of Trade and Industry. This thesis is a comprehensive policy study that examines first how social enterprise became included in New Labour’s social policy agenda and analyses the way different policy entrepreneurs from inside and outside of the Labour Party championed the idea for myriad reasons. It then investigates the distinction between the rhetoric the Party used to describe social enterprise and the way it actually went about creating policies to embed notions of social entrepreneurship across Whitehall Departments. The final portion of the research investigates the implementation dynamics of this vast agenda and how regional and local government officers interpreted the various policy messages and objectives handed down from the centre. It is a case study that charts the development, design and initial implementation of social enterprise policy during New Labour’s second term in office, and relies on a combination of documentary analysis, participant observation, interview, and survey data to shed light on this phenomenon.

The theory of affections has seen a renewed conceptual interest both in the role played in the formulation of power structures in modernity, which remains important in understanding the present form of Nation State, and in the possibility to formulate a new interpretation of the social relationship useful to surpass the classical psychological lectures. We aim here to reconsider an affect which in contemporary language is tinged with theological nuances: the affect of fides. We can translate the word using the modern terms of trust and belief, but also loyalty. The choice of this particular affect is due to the centrality that, in our view, it occupies in modern contract theories, and to its ability to reflect, with its multiple conceptual stratification, different perspectives and political proposals. In order to clarify the terms of this discussion, we will henceforth use the term fides, alongside with different meanings which overlap within it, to illustrate two different and divergent proposals that have emerged during the seventeenth century. We consider, in particular, the thought of Spinoza opposed to the social contract theories by Hobbes in order to understand the modern theoretical break with previous political concepts; in particular, we will briefly analyze the different conceptions of Societas civilis that emerge from this division. The background of these considerations is the analysis of modern philosophy‘s use of the theory of affections. The XVII century witnessed the rise of social contract theory. It draws on the concept of the individual, conceived as isolated from others, located in the original state of nature (pre-social), unable to develop its rational part. It is therefore a victim of its own passions, but even more so those of others. The dominant sentiments emerging in Hobbes‘ Leviathan are therefore those of awe and fear. They derive from the constant uncertainty of one‘s power and strength; the uncertainty of being able to maintain everyone‘s domination over others and thus to suffer in turn the others‘ power. From the necessity to control these emotions in a rational way emerges the contractual proposal to transfer the power to an authority (singular or plural) whom all subjects must obey. Philosophical movements such as neostoicism and philosophical works such as Les passions de l‘ame by Descartes, testify in their „rationalist“ proposal the need to keep a constant control over the passions. They open the way for the famous dialectics of reason and passion, a central theme throughout the Enlightenment. This need to dominate the passions arouses from the complex Cartesian metaphysical theory and from its conception of the individual always split between body and soul, reason and instinct. These two models are the ones which have prevailed; this conception of individual and society and this approach to the passions still dominate common sense when we talk about human affections. The paper follows an itinerary across three authors of the modern age. At first we try to delineate the theory of affection by Descartes, and the birth of the dichotomy of body and soul through the focus of two of the most important works by Descartes: Méditations métaphysiques and Traité sur les passions de l‘âme. Then, by analyzing the works of Hobbes (Leviathan), and Spinoza (Ethic and Political treatise) we will describe in which terms the subject carrying his affective baggage interacts in a political space.

Bibliography: pages 168-181. / Since 1945 the emphasis on rights has been an ever-increasing phenomenon while the influence of the church plays an ever-diminishing role in today's society. The irony of the situation is that rights have their source in religion. It is Locke who is credited with having put the question of rights into the mainstream of political thinking and it was Locke's faith in God that enabled him to put forward the political doctrine that will be considered in this thesis. The theme of this study is the reconciliation of traditional Christianity with humanist political theory's emphasis on rights in Locke's Political Philosophy which I have termed Theopolity. It traces Locke's thoughts, starting with his view on the creation of man which ultimately gives rise to natural and human rights. These rights, when violated by Government, legitimately result in revolution. Locke has three areas of thought, which when combined, give rise to his political doctrine. These areas are Epistemology, Theology, and Politics. He believed that after creation man was in the State of Nature. This state of Nature was controlled by the law of Nature which gave rise to, and preserved, Natural Rights. To ensure the protection of these Rights the individual entered into a Social Contract and so created a political society. Once society had been established, a Government was formed to ensure the protection of the individual by means of civil laws. These laws extended Natural Rights and these extended rights are known as Human Rights. This study concludes that John Locke's political thought is the most cogent political doctrine that can be adopted by rational individuals who share a strong sense of justice and morality in a Democratic Christian Society. It shows that Locke's pursuit of truth led to his basic, common-sense politics which was the embodiment of the true state of man in a society where the individual's God-given rights are respected.

This dissertation examines a four part hypothesis: (a) that liberal ethics in South Africa, particularly since the victory of the (Afrikaner) National Party in 1948, have been characterised by a sense of political powerlessness; (b) that as a consequence of this powerlessness, these ethics have been more concerned with principle, motives, conscience and internal consistency than with the consequences of liberal action; (c) that this sense of powerlessness is not justified in the social and political environment of the 1980's; and therefore, (d) that liberals should review their ethical approach with a view to developing an ethic of responsible liberal action.

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