Ideological Center Research Articles

ФІЛОСОФІЯ В УРСР ДРУГОЇ ПОЛОВИНИ ХХ СТ. У ОЦІНКАХ ЗАХІДНИХ ФІЛОСОФІВ ТОГО ЧАСУ: ОБРАЗ КИЇВСЬКОЇ ФІЛОСОФСЬКОЇ ШКОЛИ50-Х – ПЕРШОЇ ПОЛОВИНИ 60-Х РР. ХХ СТ.

The article deals with the problem of the rise in the 1950s – first half of the 1960s, in the context of the formation of the idea of the Soviet Ukraine philosophy in the Western world, of the image of the Kyiv philosophical school as a prominent participant in the international scientific process of the Cold War era. This school emerged during Khrushchev’s “thaw” or stage of metamorphosis of the USSR from Stalinism to neo-Stalinist stagnation, namely between the XX (1956) and XXIV (1971) Congresses of the CPSU. It was the leading ideological and organizational center of the philosophical life of the Ukrainian SSR during the geopolitical struggle of the Eastern and Western military-political blocs under the leadership of the USSR and the USA. The Kyiv philosophical school was the main representative of Soviet Ukraine in its dialogue with world philosophical thought established in the mid-1960s. This school, mainly its Ukrainian historical and philosophical achievements of the 1950s – 1970s, became the central object of study of the Soviet philosophy by philosophers and scientific institutions of the USA, Western Germany and other countries of the Western bloc in the second half of the XX century. This study can be divided into three conditional stages: 1. the preparatory one during the transition from Stalinism to Khrushchev’s “thaw”(late 1940s – early 1960s); 2. of scientific international interaction in the conditions of ideological confrontation during the transition from “thaw” to neo-Stalinist “stagnation” (early 1960s – early 1970s); 3. of intensification of the ideological struggle during the transition from “stagnation” to Gorbachev’s “perestroika” (early 1970s – second half of the 1980s). During the first and beginning of the second of these stages, the philosophers of the diaspora P. Fedenko and D. Solovey began a critical analysis of the Shevchenko work of the director of the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR D. Ostryanin. They carried it out in the context of active participation in Soviet philosophical studies together with their colleagues W. Barka, S. Galamay, B. Kravciv, M. Kushnir and, also, already well-known scientists A. Kultschytzkyj, I. Mirtschuk and W. Janiw. No less important evidence of the nature of the perception of the Soviet philosophical thought by professors of universities in Western Europe and the United States in the first half of the 1960s are memories of foreign meetings with them of the founders of the Kyiv philosophical school, first of all the director of the mentioned institute P. Kopnin and his deputy M. Honcharenko.

The centre in British politics since 1906

Abstract The modern British ideological centre has been neglected and its impact underestimated. This article highlights the persistence of the centre’s moderating influence and its progressive, indeed at times radical, contribution. This ideological dynamism emanated from centrists’ synthesis of objectives often considered to conflict. Notably, centrists sought social justice alongside individual aspiration, albeit that this cross-ideological marriage was partial and incomplete. The article also examines the relationship between the centre and the people – presently portrayed as one of popular disconnection from an aloof elite. Yet, centrists have received considerable electoral sustenance from voters, and in turn demonstrated an appreciation of the contradictory ‘mix’ in many people, conservatism and progressivism in complex co-existence. Centrist history points to the contemporary political challenge as being one of raising the sights of a collective national ‘us’, rather than demonizing a variously targeted ‘other’.

Jorge Asís y la ficción política del yo

Este artículo examina cómo Jorge Asís articula en las novelas Flores robadas en los jardines de Quilmes, Carne picada y Canguros una relación entre identidad, literatura y política en el contexto argentino del Proceso de Reorganización Nacional iniciado en 1976 y la transición democrática de 1983. La recepción crítica de dichas novelas establece una serie de tensiones entre el “campo intelectual” y el “campo político” (Pierre Bourdieu) proyectadas sobre la figura del autor y su autonomía. Utilizando la noción de “límite del canon” de Nidia Burgos, este artículo analiza cómo las instituciones literarias establecen sus operaciones a partir de escenarios ideológicos específicos. Al mismo tiempo, el doble rol de Jorge Asís como escritor y como político converge en una obra que coloca dicha tensión en su centro estético e ideológico. Finalmente, este artículo muestra el modo en que la obra de Asís confronta, desde la exclusión del canon literario argentino, los límites institucionalizados de una representación literaria de la memoria histórica, política e intelectual relacionada con el Proceso de Reorganización Nacional.

Koncepcje federacyjne podziemnej „Unii” (1940-1945): w poszukiwaniu polskiego wzorca integracji europejskiej

The article aims at identifying and analysing the particularities of the federalist ideas of Polish clandestine catholic organisation the Union. In 1943 the group merged with the Christian-democratic Labour Party (SP) becoming its ideological centre. Throughout the Second World War the Union produced a series of programmatic documents and clandestine press where it discussed the shape of future Europe which was to become a pan-federation of regional federations cemented by the common values and principles enshrined in Christianity which were the foundations of Western civilization. In elaborating future plans for Europe, the Union drew explicitly from the memory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth setting it as an example for modern Poland and other European States. Historical Poland was perceived not just as a state but as a “normative power”, this was possible because the Union rejected the modern, ‘westphalian’ concept of state. Instead it advocated creation of a pluralistic federation of nations bound together by common values, where national egoisms were mitigated by common Christian values.

Investigating Inequality in the US School System through Ibn Khaldun’s Political Wisdom and the Concept of Asabiyah

Much of the conversation about inequality in education and society problematizes poor and minority populations, rather than tackling systemic issues. It helps to address these issues through using a lens that exposes dominant ideology. This article examines the exclusion of scholars outside of the ideological center. It also suggests that nondominant lenses support the process of understanding the root of educational inequality. The article specifically examines the work of Ibn Khaldun, a scholar who lived over 600 years ago in what is now Tunisia and who is considered the father of the social sciences. His work, Al Muqaddimah, introduced the concept of asabiyah and outlined guidelines for political wisdom, including suggestions for access to education. Ibn Khaldun understood society as cyclical; all institutions dovetailed and influenced one another. By situating education within the rise and fall of civilizations, one can use the microcosm of the classroom to evaluate the health of society at large, particularly within the United States. Analysis of the case study of the United States based on the statements of political wisdom shows that the United States is a civilization on the brink of collapse. His work also demonstrates the importance of intellectual hybridity and valuing voices from the periphery, including minority children in our classrooms who may grow up to become the next Ibn Khaldun.

Architectural and spatial organization of fortified settlements in Western Alania

The article is dedicated to the medieval settlements architectural peculiarities revealing in Western Alania. These settlements were situated in the river ravines in the Karachay-Cherkessia territory. According to the planning criterion two types of settlements have been revealed: traditional and contaminated. The traditional type was formed during the pre-Christian period. Its three-part structure was the universe mythological model spatial manifestation. The contaminated type appeared during the Christian period. The peculiarities of its architectural and spatial organization are connected to the fact that its planning structure developed according to the byzantine Christian city scheme with the traditional Alan culture understanding. These types developed following the fortified settlement pattern, whose planning structure consisted of a citadel, a fortress and a fortified hillfort, but both types had different fortifications. According to the fortification criteria and the location in the landscape the above-mentioned types are united within a group of three kinds fortified settlements: the main fortresses (the vanguards), naturally protected settlements and guarded settlements (cultural and ideological centers, trade and craft centers).

إستراتيجية الأمن القومي "التهديدات والمخاطر الجيوسياسية" ليبيا أنموذجًا

National security is one of the most important components of the state’s entity to preserve its role and position and ensure its progress. Therefore, it is noted that most countries of the world give priority to issues related to national security. On the other hand, it can be said that Libyan national security has not received sufficient attention at the practical and academic levels, and this may be due to more than reason; The political data were not aware of the importance of the matter intentionally or unintentionally, and with the succession of events and developments in Libya in recent years, the issue began to take serious dimensions affecting the Libyan national security in its broad sense at the core, which requires concerted official, informal and academic efforts to address and address this. Topic. Libya is going through conditions and events that are not appropriate for stability and national security cohesion. Indeed, Libya is now living in a vacuum and a national reality characterized by many indicators of disintegration, conflict and violence. This is evident in the criticism of citizens, but in phenomena and events that negatively affect the coherence of national security, and this situation will inevitably lead to Citizens' lack of confidence in their state, but rather to the dissolution and disintegration of the structure of society, and the transformation of this building into groups, tribes, or regions in conflict and even warring with weapons, and this conflict will increase the disintegration of national cohesion and create a national political vacuum that helps foreign intervention in the Libyan affairs under the pretext of helping to maintain security and stability. This intervention may conceal foreign interests and agendas, and lead the country to the unknown and all the possibilities and political and security scenes whose far-reaching goals Libyans are ignorant of. Therefore, everyone in Libya is walking on a road that they do not know its end, and this requires thinking, planning and action to preserve national security and increase the degree of cohesion of all its components, whether Be it tribes, groups, or political and ideological centers, all Libyans are in one boat sailing towards the shore of safety, and it may sink in a sea that does not know the end of its end, and in view of these considerations, we saw the need to address the problems and repel the greedy in the wealth of Libya, to preserve the Libyan national security and make recommendations to strengthen it And maintain it. With our knowledge of the broadening aspects of national security in its broadest sense, we can begin to root this issue by examining its foundations and the current challenges it faces. Keywords: National Security, Geopolitics, Strategy, Foreign Policy, Threats and Risks.

Two Decades of Ideological Contestation in Indonesia: From Democratic Cosmopolitanism to Religious Nationalism

ABSTRACTThis article surveys ideological developments in Indonesia over the past two decades, tracing a shift in the ideological centre of gravity from the embrace of democratic norms in the immediate post Suharto period towards a conservative and inward-looking religious nationalism. Several reasons are identified for this shift, including the failure of reformers to adequately deal with the legacy of Suharto’s Pancasila indoctrination project and the success of conservative New Order elites in regaining control of the democratic process after 2001. Attention is given to the concessions made to Islamist interests under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which gave conservative Islam an unprecedented level of power and legitimacy. Of special importance here was the Constitutional Court’s validation of the blasphemy law, helping transform Indonesia into an overtly religious state and pave the way for greater state involvement in enforcing moral norms based both on Islamic values and a conservative reading of indigenous culture. The article also highlights the success of Prabowo Subianto’s populist authoritarian movement in linking with sectarian groups, prompting President Joko Widodo to adopt an increasingly authoritarian and xenophobic agenda, leaving little space for the public defence of secular law, pluralism, democracy and human rights.

The time-varying relationship between economic globalization and the ideological center of gravity of party systems.

Does economic globalization influence the positioning of parties and, as a consequence, the ideological characteristics of party systems? Answering this question is important because we need to understand the constraints that parties face in formulating policies from which voters have to choose. In our paper, we take a systemic perspective and conceptualize a party system’s ideological center of gravity as the outcome of interest. We define the center of gravity as the weighted mean position of all parliamentary parties in a country that represents the position to which parties gravitate. We start by formulating static hypotheses on the effect of imports and exports on the center of gravity and derive their underlying mechanisms. We further derive dynamic hypotheses stipulating varying effects over time based on the premise that partisan attitudes toward globalization have undergone multiple changes over the last decades. A time-series cross-section analysis of 129 elections in 15 Western European countries from 1974 to 2015 finds evidence for opposite effects of exports and imports in the pooled data. Additionally, a moving-window analysis indicates that the relationship between globalization and the center of gravity varies over time. This is a significant finding because it suggests that economic globalization has an influence on party systems and that it is important to test for time-varying effects.

La ley tunecina sobre la eliminación de la violencia contra la mujer: la norma y el debate

This article examines the social context and ideological debates revolving around the issue of violence against women in Tunisia, particularly in relation to the new Organic Law 58/2017 on the elimination of violence against women, enacted on August 11th 2017. Central to the paper's analysis is the concept of ‘subalternity’ and the relationships existing between a dominant ideological centre and its periphery. The paper hypothesizes that the law on violence against women is a 'translation' [or reflection] of the ideological dynamics of Tunisian society in its quest to interpret hegemonic Eurocentric narratives through the implementation of certain anti-hegemony practices such as dissidence and resistance. With these ideas, the paper looks at the social reality of violence against women in Tunisia and analyses the evolution of political and juridical strategies up through the enactment of Organic Law 58/2017, pointing out the law's main contributions as well as the topics of debate it has generated. Keywords: Gender based violence / Subalternity / Women / Tunisia

Going Negative, Worldwide: Towards a General Understanding of Determinants and Targets of Negative Campaigning

AbstractLittle comparative evidence exists about what causes candidates to use negative campaigning in elections. We introduce an original comparative data set that contains experts’ information about campaigning strategies of 172 candidates competing in 35 national elections worldwide between June 2016 and May 2017. Analyses reveal several trends: incumbents run positive campaigns but are especially likely to attract attacks, candidates far from the ideological centre are more likely to ‘go negative’, candidates tend to attack frontrunners and rivals that are far from them ideologically, but they also engage in a logic of attack reciprocity with selected candidates. The comparative nature of the data also allows us to test whether variations in the context affect the use of campaign negativity; we find that the context matters mostly indirectly, by altering the effects of individual characteristics.

Civilizational Sickness and the Suspended Middle: R.G. Collingwood, Christopher Dawson, and Historical Judgment

Civilizational Sickness and the Suspended MiddleR.G. Collingwood, Christopher Dawson, and Historical Judgment Philip Irving Mitchell (bio) Either reality is the immediate flow of subjective life, in which case it is subjective and not objective, it is enjoyed and cannot be known, or else it is that which we know, in which case it is objective and not subjective, it is a world of real things outside the subjective life of our mind and outside each other. . . .but to accept either horn is to be committed to the fundamental error of conceiving the mind as a mere immediate flow of feelings and sensations, devoid of all reflection and self-knowledge. r. g. collingwood, the idea of history1 It is always a temptation to the historian to exaggerate the continuity of history, above all when the historian is the representative of a party or a cause. But the past does not exist for the sake of the present, it has its own ends and its own values. Its life is bound up with the life of unique individual personalities, which may seem to be mere fodder for the historical process but which are nevertheless spiritual ultimates. christopher dawson, the spirit of the oxford movement2 The two volumes of Oswald Spengler’s infamous The Decline of the West (1916, 1923), which traced eight high cultures through the cycle [End Page 85] of birth, development, fulfillment, decay, and death, were translated into English in 1926 and 1928. Two British historians of note who shared Christian faith, R. G. Collingwood (1889–1943) and Christopher Dawson (1889–1970), felt obligated to review Spengler when the first volume appeared in translation. Typically, a Christian theory of history is understood to be linear in movement, and twentieth-century Christian thinkers largely rejected views like Spengler’s. The two historians’ individual critiques also drew Dawson into an assessment of Collingwood that Dawson continued to hold for much of his career. Collingwood and Dawson agreed with Spengler that civilizational life and death were historical realities and that past cultures had ideological centers and even some predictable course; at the same time, both men shared a deep distrust of positivist claims for necessary causation. Likewise, they shared a concern for Christian civilization—even to a similar cultural diagnosis before and during World War II, yet when they arrived at their common alarm, it was with different assumptions about historical judgment. Their claims about the sickness of the West might seem to require something like Spengler’s tragic cycle, and yet both sought other ways to make this diagnosis than that of a positivist fatalism in which evolved animals rebel against an indifferent universe.3 Each historian sought an active and creative account of human potential within history. While Collingwood favored an interpretation of historical consciousness that looked toward the subjective, Dawson tended toward the externals and the objective. Their two centers of gravity in terms of theory and practice, not surprisingly, also favored differing accounts of Christian faith: Collingwood’s inclining toward immanence and Dawson’s toward transcendence. Nevertheless, each moved within what Erich Przywara has called a “suspended middle,” a measurement of existence both in and beyond history, that is, one that gives space mutually to universal truths and to historical particulars, and from within this suspension, both historians involved their historical judgments in moral ones, as well. [End Page 86] Realism and Idealism Collingwood and Dawson have been influential authors, yet, in his lifetime, neither was considered near the disciplinary center of academic history. The Anglican Collingwood, who taught at Pembroke College, Oxford, for fifteen years before becoming Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at Magdalen College, Oxford, was somewhat isolated in his fields of study. Along with his archeological digs at Romano-British sites and his involvement in folklore studies, his chief focus was on the history of philosophy and in turn, the philosophy of history. The posthumous The Idea of Nature (1945) and The Idea of History (1946)—both mostly drafted in the late 1930s—were to become well-known books, the latter creating a conversation that continues until today. In his lifetime, however, other than the notoriety within certain academic circles of...

Justice As Fair Division

We start from the assumption that any realistic reform proposal must not require a constitutional amendment. We then suggest that hyperpoliticization arises out of a feedback loop between appointments and decision-making: Politicized decisions beget politicized appointments, and vice-vernal. We thus propose a change to the Court's decision-making process, which we believe will incentivize useful changes in the appointments process. Our proposal involves an application of what mathematicians and game-theorists call division theory. To begin, we suggest a new decision-making process in which a three-Justice panel--not the entire Court--would hear and decide each case. Appeal to an en banc sitting owed be available only upon the unanimous vote of the remaining six Justices. The parties themselves would engage in a fair division process to select the decisive panel: (1) Petitioner partitions 3 possible panels, using each Justice once; (2) Respondent eliminates 1 panel, then repartitions the remaining Justices into two new panels; (3) Petitioner chooses one panel. We offer a mathematical proof that this will result in a panel close to the parties perception of the Court's ideological center relative to their case. We offer reasons to think that this would (1) produce less politicized opinions and more stable doctrine; and (2) discourage outlier appointments, as such Justices would serve on fewer decisive panels. Over time this would lead to a more moderate, centrist Court.

Kings of the Hill? An Examination of Centrist Behavior in the U.S. Senate

ObjectivesSpatial voting literature on Congress indicates that the most powerful members are the ones who sit in the ideological center. This study examines how pivotal voters use that power in their participation in Congress.MethodsThis study examines two modes of congressional participation on two highly salient health‐care bills—the filing of amendments and the delivery of floor speeches.ResultsThis study finds that pivotal voters shy away from the legislative limelight. Pivotal voters choose to avoid the public eye by rarely proposing amendments or delivering floor speeches on these bills.ConclusionsWhile theoretically pivotal, centrists who play the role of pivotal voters are more concerned about their electoral prospects than their legislative prowess and, as a result, defer congressional participation to party and committee leaders so as to avoid the ire of constituents.

Left, Right, Left, Right... Centre: Ideological Position of Andrej Babiš’s ANO

The paper deals with the ideological position of a newly formed business-firm party called ANO in the contemporary political environment of the Czech Republic. Although the advent of the party was truly rapid and ANO is a fairly unique formation, it is possible to employ some conventional analytical tools to reveal the party’s ideological position. Firstly, I show that ANO is a vote-seeking party and it is therefore possible to analyse it in accordance with a Downsian spatial modelling. Next, I describe a roll call analysis method that is able to objectively identify the party’s ideological position based on legislators’ parliamentary votes. After I form several hypotheses, a data set consisting of 8,559 roll calls of 215 members of the Chamber of Deputies is depicted. Finally, the results show that ANO is located in the ideological centre, closer to social democrats rather than to right-wing parties. Besides this, ANO covers a smaller ideological space compared to traditional political parties. Finally, the results do not anticipate a potential split of ANO in the near future since the party’s legislators have acted cohesively in the parliament so far.

A Categorization Theory of Spatial Voting: How the Center Divides the Political Space

This article presents a categorization theory of spatial voting, which postulates that voters perceive political stances through coarse classifications. Because voters think in terms of categories defined by the ideological center, their behavior deviates from standard models of utility maximization along ideological continua. Their preferences are characterized by discontinuities, rewarding parties on their side of the ideological space more than existing spatial models would predict. While this study concurs with prior studies suggesting that voters tend to use a proximity rule, it argues that this rule mainly serves to distinguish among parties of the same side. Overall, the results suggest that voters’ party evaluations are characterized by a nontrivial identity component, generating in-group biases not captured by the existing spatial models of voting.

Caucasian Mineralnye Vody’s Regional Metropole as a Geopolitical Centre of Russia’s South

Shaping multilevel centre of metropolization in Caucasian Mineralnye Vody region, which geopolitical importance has signifi cantly increased following the creation of North Caucasian Federal District. If million-plus cities Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don remain the main centers of growth, attracting the people, innovations and capital, in this macro-region, as a result of the integration of the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody region’s cities into the political unity integrated all inhabited localities into the single urban space, there would take place the formation of the higher level regional metropole, which would become a de facto economic, political and ideological center of North Caucasus and could seek the status of the main Russian South’s city.

Information, Inequality, and Mass Polarization

Growing polarization in the American Congress is closely related to rising income inequality. Yet there has been no corresponding polarization of the U.S. electorate, and across advanced democracies, mass polarization is negatively related to income inequality. To explain this puzzle, we propose a comparative political economy model of mass polarization in which the same institutional factors that generate income inequality also undermine political information. We explain why more voters then place themselves in the ideological center, hence generating a negative correlation between mass polarization and inequality. We confirm these conjectures on individual-level data for 20 democracies, and we then show that democracies cluster into two types: one with high inequality, low mass polarization, and polarized and right-shifted elites (e.g., the United States); and the other with low inequality and high mass polarization with left-shifted elites (e.g., Sweden). This division reflects long-standing differences in educational systems, the role of unions, and social networks.

The silent coast: Zooarchaeological evidence to the development trajectory of a second millennium palace at Tel Kabri

The second millennium BC palaces along the coast of the southern Levant served as political and ideological centers of small, seaside polities. The seeming lack of literate administration and the evidence for non-intensive subsistence practices suggest, however, that a different political economic infrastructure lay at the foundation of these south Levantine peers to the palaces in Knossos and Mari. An analysis of the faunal remains from the Middle Bronze Age palace at Tel Kabri shows persistence of low-intensity traditional economy as the palace underwent a phase of territorial and cultural growth. Changes in butchery practices and culinary habits at that time resonate elite emulation of their peers across the sea, in resemblance to other fields of material culture. Our conclusion is that a palatial culture, complete with eastern Mediterranean elite trappings, could be grafted in the southern Levant to a stock of traditional and non-specialized economy with no literate administration.

Congress in a Downsian World: Polarization Cycles and Regime Change

This article presents a theory of two-party democracy designed to address the divergence between Anthony Downs’ prediction of sustained two-party convergence to the ideological center and polarization cycles in the US Congress. It embraces his analytic strategy and central assumptions, which define the conditions necessary to ideological contestation. It questions the fit between his subsidiary assumptions—such as the existence of an all-powerful unitary state—and American democracy. In utilizing assumptions more appropriate to the American setting, the theory accounts for cycles of party polarization in Congress. These cyclical processes foster ongoing reconstruction of policy regimes in America.