Liberal Principles Research Articles

Romania’s 1866 Electoral System and the Quest for National Sovereignty

Abstract In 1866, religion played a significant role in unifying the Romanian national spirit. A foreign prince was brought to rule under the Orthodox faith, and this religious aspect was incorporated into Article 82 of the Constitution. The limitation of political rights in Romania was based on ethnic criteria, with Jews and other non-Christians excluded from full participation. The electoral system introduced a high property-based voting qualification, reflecting, to some extent, liberal principles, but effectively limiting actual participation. Thus, the Romanian Constitution of 1866 struck a delicate balance between borrowed liberal ideals and the specific cultural context of Romania. It emphasized the role of religion and property ownership in shaping political rights and identity, while also attempting to align with European constitutional standards. The electoral system of 1866 in Romania fell short of democratic ideals and perpetuated inequalities. It shaped the political landscape and had far-reaching consequences for the country’s governance and representation.

In Search of a New Model of Political Governance in Southeast Asia; Democracy's Decline, Populism's Rise, and Globalization's Retreat

This article examines the challenges facing democracy in Southeast Asia, including the decline of the liberal democratic model, the rise of populism, and the retreat of globalization. It identifies five key trends that have led to the deterioration of the democratic ethos in the region and highlight the emergence of strong populist leaders who promise change through radical reforms. The article argues that it is necessary to explore the emergence of new political governance models that are uniquely Asian and lie outside the perceived colonial shadows of North America and Western Europe. This study focuses on four emerging market countries in Southeast Asia. It uses qualitative research methods to examine how these countries are coping with the decline of liberal democratic principles and institutions in the region. The study aims to provide an overview of the possible outcomes of new political governance models as the area moves forward. The review highlights that while the decline of liberal democratic principles and institutions in Southeast Asia has hurt social and economic progress in the region, emerging market countries in the region have taken steps to address the decline by strengthening democratic institutions, increasing investment and trade, and strengthening vital economic sectors such as tourism and information technology. In addition, the review also discusses the potential for a new political governance model to emerge that is distinctly Asian and in keeping with the culture and history of each country in the region.
 Keywords: globalization, political governance model, democratic decline, representative democracy. How

Contesting Chinese Contract Labor: Yung Wing's Reports and the Qing Mission to Peru

Abstract In 1874, government officials in Qing China sent a Yale-educated special envoy named Yung Wing to Peru to survey the conditions of Chinese contract workers on plantations. A parallel mission to the better-known Qing survey of Chinese in Cuba, Yung Wing's trip to Peru has received almost no scholarly attention. Drawing on new archival evidence, this essay provides a historical analysis of the Qing mission to Peru and its official findings, as rendered in the original, 1874 English-language translation, “Yung Wing's Reports.” I argue that Yung Wing elaborated a multivocal, cross-cultural, and transimperial condemnation of Chinese indenture in Peru. Yung Wing served as a crucial broker across political and cultural systems. He strategically mobilized testimonies from American, Chilean, and Chinese informants and deployed abolitionist discourse to equate Chinese contract labor with African slavery. Denouncing Western failures to guarantee liberal principles for Chinese people, he pressured Qing authorities to protect Chinese subjects by opening formal legations in Latin America. Chinese workers in Peru had a different perspective, and their testimonies often diverged from Yung Wing's core argument. Chinese informants never equated contract labor with chattel slavery. Instead, they denounced employer failure to fulfill existing contract terms. Moreover, they provided evidence of successful collective efforts and alliances between Chinese and non-Chinese people that pressured Peruvian authorities to defend Chinese workers. Taken as a whole, “Yung Wing Reports” both elaborates a powerful Chinese denunciation of contract labor and demonstrates Chinese ability to negotiate its terms.

Of acquisitions and interference: accounting for systemic threats to the freedom to read

PurposeLibrarianship’s dominant conception of the freedom to read is governed by a liberal principle of noninterference, wherein free readers are those who face no intentional intervention in their choice of materials. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how this account fails to adequately capture systemic threats that impoverish people’s reading lives.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper deploys informal argumentation to expose a flaw in the dominant account of the freedom to read. The author uses a case study of comparative titles or comps, an editorial decision-making and justificatory convention that reproduces racial inequality in Anglophone trade publishing.FindingsComps present one example of how everyday norms and practices of literary production render people’s reading lives pervasively unfree, even absent some intent to interfere in them. The going account of the freedom to read calls, at best, for a greater diversity of book-commodities from which consumers may choose. However, the comp case suggests that this distributive remedy will be insufficient without relevant changes to the institutional arrangements that condition readers' choices in the first place.Originality/valueThis paper draws together insights from Library and Information Science, political philosophy and print culture studies to illuminate limitations in librarianship’s standard conception of the freedom to read. This reveals the need for an alternative, structural account of that freedom with significant implications for practice.

Introduction: The Crowd in the History of Political Thought—Visions of the People

Abstract The article introduces the second part of a symposium, “The Crowd in the History of Political Thought,” which is being published as a two-part special issue, and which explores visions of the role of the people and populism in the writings of past thinkers. The articles in this second part are by European scholars with disparate interests and approaches to the history of political thought. Populism proves difficult to define, partly because populist politicians evince different understandings of “the people” and the purpose of government. The liberal, democratic, and national visions of “the people” can be harmonious but can also become disharmonious. Untangling them by exploring how thinkers in the history of political thought distinguished between crowds and peoples can help us to better understand the ideological dynamics of our moment. Articles on Hobbes and Spinoza offer disparate accounts of the differences between peoples and crowds. Herder, by contrast, helps us understand the political self-determination of peoples, while Schmitt and Arendt offer rival visions of the tensions between democratic and liberal principles.

Университетский дух и юристы

The article is devoted to the history of legal education in modern Russia. The author, based on his own experience of teaching at some Russian universities, traces stages of development of legal education, fixes its modern position and considers its perspectives. Starting point is the situation in legal education in the late USSR. Compelled transformation of Russian education towards the liberal principles in 1990s had been gradually changed by its bureaucratisation after 2000. The main consequence of this process is decline of quality of education and graduates, as well as «exodus» of skilled and freedom-loving lawyers from high schools. The author does not see another way of increasing the level of legal education except returning to the liberal principles.

Новая методология и новые учебники для национальной системы образования в России (от междисциплинарности к системности и нравственности)

The subject of the article is the problem of the crisis of the Russian education system and, above all, the ideology and general methodology of teaching in the field of humanities. The purpose of the study is to formulate the main directions of reforming the education system and new principles as part of the author's methodology of training courses for higher education in the conditions of Russia's withdrawal from the Bologna process and the formation of a national educational system.
 The modern education system is the result of many trends in the development of society - and above all secularization, the separation of science from religion and the development of the positivist nature of scientific knowledge. The crisis of modern education is a manifestation of the crisis of positivist science and the global crisis. Rus-sia was the first in the world among non-Muslim countries to publicly declare the re-jection of liberal principles of social structure. Digital education carries significant risks to the physical and spiritual health of the youth and society. With all its ad-vantages, it needs a radical reform and strict state and public control. The fundamental reform of education in Russia should be aimed at scrapping the liberal ideology and formal quantitative methods of evaluating the results of the education process. The ap-peal to national traditions, mentality and, above all, to the achievements of traditional religions and centuries-old folk morality should compensate for the inevitable negative side effect of the technological side of education. The paper proposes a new methodol-ogy – moral and religious neo-institutionalism, containing three main principles – sys-tem, balance and morality. The latest practical result of its implementation is the launch of the publication of the INFRA-M publishing house of a series of books "Rus-sian University Textbook on Economics and Management" intended for master's de-gree (advanced level). Among them is the textbook "Economic theory. Russian Eco-nomics" - took the first place in the international academic course "Academus" in the nomination "Economics and Management".

Методология нравственно-религиозного неоинституционализма для национальной системы образования в России (системность, равновесие и нравственность)

The subject of the article is the problem of the crisis of the Russian education system and, above all, the ideology and general methodology of teaching in the field of humanities. The purpose of the study is to formulate new principles as part of the author's methodology of training courses for higher education in the conditions of Russia's withdrawal from the Bologna process and the formation of a national educational system.
 The modern education system is the result of many trends in the development of society — and above all secularization, the separation of science from religion and the development of the positivist nature of scientific knowledge. The crisis of modern education is a manifestation of the crisis of positivist science and the global crisis. Russia was the first in the world among non-Muslim countries to publicly declare the rejection of liberal principles of social structure. The paper proposes a new methodology — moral and religious neo-institutionalism, containing three main principles — system, balance and morality. The latest practical result of its implementation is the launch of the publication of the INFRA-M publishing house of a series of books "Russian University Textbook on Economics and Management" intended for master's degree (advanced level). Among them the textbook "Economic theory. Russian Economics" took the first place in the international academic course "Academus" in the nomination "Economics and Management".

Strongholds of Liberalism? The Reaction of Regional Integration Institutions to the Pandemic Trade Crisis

ABSTRACT Regional integration institutions play an important but ambiguous role in the liberal international system, especially when it comes to trade policy. The Covid-19 pandemic generated a trade crisis, which gave them an opportunity to expand their role in a liberal or illiberal direction. An analysis of the framing and policy measures of five key regional institutions in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia will demonstrate whether they were geared towards liberalisation and/or interventionism in early 2020. The European Union stood out for its strong collective action on trade, working out a new balance between interventionism and liberalism. Other institutions hinted at interventionism but did not take collective action. The trade response was overwhelmingly state-driven, and regional institutions outside Europe clearly have limited agency in the global trade system. While their behaviour is difficult to qualify ideologically, their framing supported liberal principles of international relations.

Liberal Principles, Realist Actions: U.S. Foreign Assistance in the War in Ukraine

Liberal Principles, Realist Actions: U.S. Foreign Assistance in the War in Ukraine

How (Not) To Wrong Others with Our Thoughts: A Liberal Challenge Against the Possibility of Doxastic Wronging

In recent years, a number of authors have claimed that we can wrong each other simply by having certain beliefs—in particular sexist, racist, ableist etc. beliefs—about each other. So far, those who argue for the possibility of so-called doxastic wronging have tried to defend this idea by focusing on issues of doxastic control and coordination. In this paper, I raise a distinctly moral challenge against the possibility of doxastic wronging. I show that the idea of doxastic wronging runs afoul of the liberal principle according to which all moral obligations have to be justifiable vis-à-vis those they presume to bind. In addition, I argue that there is a better way to account for the fundamental intuition driving the debate: instead of assuming the possibility of doxastic wronging and the morally grounded epistemic duty it implies, we should conceptualize what is morally problematic about bigoted beliefs in terms of the harm they constitute for their targets.

ВАЛЮТАЛЫҚ ҚАТЫНАСТАРДЫ РЕТТЕУ МЕН ЫРЫҚТАНДЫРУДЫҢ ХАЛЫҚАРАЛЫҚ ҚҰҚЫҚТЫҚ ТӘЖІРИБЕСІ

Abstract. The proposed article analyzes the features and current state of the legislative development of instruments of currency regulation and currency control in international practice. The author managed to conduct a comprehensive study of this topic and to a certain extent reveal it. It was considered whether the monetary policy has a significant impact on improving the economy and economic security of the state. Also in the scientific article, as an example, one's own subjective views are given, the author's position is justified. The relevance of the scientific article is emphasized by the fact that currently many countries are trying to lift restrictions on foreign exchange transactions and the movement of capital funds in order to create an economy attractive to foreign investors and resistant to external influences. Thus, the process of liberalization consists in lifting restrictions on the implementation of currency transactions between currency residents and non-residents in the international arena. In this regard, the author has legislatively analyzed and considered in detail the issue of the formation and development of the principles of capital movement liberalization at the international legal level. As a result of the study, it was found that since the adoption by individual states or integration associations of legislation in the field of currency regulation and currency control, currency restrictions began to weaken (in particular, the obligation to reserve currency and issue transaction passports during cross-border transactions was excluded). Currently, developed countries are systematically continuing the liberalization of currency legislation. At the same time, within the framework of liberalization, there is an increase in state attention to the property and income of foreign currency residents abroad in order to "educate" the economy. At the same time, the idea was formulated that the interests of society and the state from the point of view of national security and welfare should be taken into account when liberalizing. On the example of integration associations, the advanced foreign practice of currency and financial regulation is revealed. In addition, the features of the regulatory legal acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan in this area were considered, the author expressed his opinion on the need for further improvement of legislation to create a financial system resistant to external influences and international pressure. Keywords: monetary and financial relations, liberalization, currency regulation, international documents, obligations, principle, capital movement, regulation of relations.

The Betrayal of the French Civil Code: A Tragedy in Three Acts

French jurists have thought that their Civil Code expresses an individualism characteristic of the ideals of the French Revolution and the principles of liberalism. Property was regarded as a right of the owner that was unlimited in principle. Contract was defined in terms of the will of the parties to contract on whatever terms they chose. The drafters of the Code, however, were among the last adherents of an older natural law tradition in which the rights of an owner were limited by the purposes for which property rights were created, and the terms of a contract must be just. This article describes the drafter’s debt to that tradition and how it was ignored by jurists in the 19th century.

Experience and Expectation of Socialism: Principle versus Practice in Nepal

This article discusses Nepali people’s experience with socialism and their expectations by addressing these questions: What is socialism? Which socialism do Nepali people expect? Why do they expect socialism? How does the principle go against the practice in the context of Nepal? Qualitative secondary sources are critically analyzed as methodological tools to reveal the present experience and expectations of Nepali people. It presents the disparity between principle and practice demonstrated by the Nepali political parties. The Constitution of Nepal2015 has formally promised that the guiding political-economic principle of this state is socialism-oriented. However, the sayings and doings of major political parties in Nepal have a big gap. In their doings, they are highly influenced by liberal capitalist principles, and they continue implementing neo-liberal policies. They put forward liberal bourgeois policies and programs that suited the interest of the comprador bourgeoisie. Thus, we have seen a contradiction in their implementation of the socialist principle, which goes against the expectation of the Nepali people. By pointing out this gap, this article highlights the need for serious discussions on achieving socialism as stated in Nepal’s constitution and expected by the people while also drawing the attention of the political actors to take immediate and radical actions to correct their behaviors in time in order to achieve the goal of a Socialism Nepal.

Граница политического пространства: опыт истолкования в горизонте двух парадигм политического

Relevance. The political order is the spatial order (K. Schmitt); globalization as a “destruction of space” and “removal of time” is a paradigmatic change in the representation of the border. The study of the ways of drawing the border in the two Western paradigms of the political becomes a politically urgent task. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that in the paradigm of K. Schmitt’s “concept of the political”, the border is assumed to be a sovereign decision distinguishing between friend and enemy and establishing a zone of anomie by the sovereign’s decision on a state of emergency. In the economic paradigm of the political (G. Agamben), the political is represented as homogeneous, universal and global, “the sovereign’s place” is an “empty place”, while the liberal principle of the rule of law means an absolute exclusion of a sovereign decision. Objectives. Firstly, it is necessary to clarify the context in which the border issue becomes meaningful; secondly, to study the conditions for the possibility of a “border decision” in the two Western paradigms of the political; and, thirdly, to clarify the consequences of the essential impossibility of the border in the economic paradigm of the political. Methodology. A comparative analysis of the two paradigms of the political allows us to raise the question of the border as the main issue of political ontotheology in the horizon of Heidegger’s interpretation of modernity as an “incapacity for death”. Results. “The era of nihilism”, the “empty space” as a “missing centre” of the political order (and an absent centre of Western political ontology (S. Žižek)) and as a zone of anomie should be presented as a metaphysical concept connecting the real and the actual. The study of ways of understanding “empty space” reveals the meaning of the border as a constitutive principle of the political order and allows us to determine the differences in the interpretation of the border in the two Western paradigms of the political. The article identifies the political consequences of these differences. Conclusion. Based on the analysis, the following conclusion is made: the “impossibility of the border” necessarily leads to the disintegration of the political order and anarchy of the “bare life” (G. Agamben): the reality of the camp and the utopia of the “good life” are unmediated, that is, formless in their facticity.

Uncovering the Anti-Dogmatic Principle of Liberalism

Uncovering the Anti-Dogmatic Principle of Liberalism

Shedding Light on Racial Realist Parent Engagement through the Experiences of Black Families and Othermothers

As educator-scholars committed to building family learning communities rooted in principles of educational liberation, McCarthy Foubert’s book Reckoning with Racism in Family-School Partnerships caught our attention because of its promise to expose the challenges of systematically racist ideologies about family-school partnerships, to confront these issues during a toxic time in race relations and elucidate the narratives of Black racial realist parents. Our reading and discussion of the book were informed by our own experiences as an inter-racial reviewing team with shared commitments to anti-racist family engagement.

Cogency, Seriousness, Cohesion, and Importance: Assessing the Strasbourg Case-Law on Religion or Belief

Abstract In Campbell and Cosans v the United Kingdom (1982), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) determined that a view must ‘attain a certain level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance’ to be considered a religion or belief under Article 9 of the Convention. The Court has seemed hesitant to provide much guidance beyond the words quoted. This article’s first aim is to attempt a comprehensive interpretation of these requirements by examining clues as to their meaning and scope in the case law of the last 40 years. This includes well-known cases like Pretty and Gough, as well as recent cases like Vavřička and De Wilde. The second aim is to evaluate these standards in light of liberal egalitarian principles, specifically, the principle of ‘integrity’ developed by Cécile Laborde. Integrity refers to the value of living in accordance with one’s profound beliefs, which are distinguished from mere preferences and inclinations. The argument presented is that the objective versions of cogency, cohesion, and importance endorsed by the ECtHR are incompatible with the subjectivist value of integrity. Conversely, depending on which of three possible interpretations of seriousness one finds most plausible, the ECtHR’s version of seriousness may align with the integrity view.

Post‐2015 refugees in Germany: “Culture of welcome”, solidarity or exclusion?

Post‐2015 refugees in Germany: “Culture of welcome”, solidarity or exclusion?

Asian vs. liberal democracy: identifying the locus of conflict in the Asian values debate

ABSTRACT The Asian values thesis argues that a coherent value system endemic to Asian societies is incompatible with the Western notion of individual human rights and liberal democracy. Past survey studies have treated Asian values as a one-dimensional variable and left the meaning of democracy open to various interpretations. As a result, the precise loci of conflict between the two value systems were never fully fleshed out. This study addresses those shortfalls by breaking the concept of Asian values down into ‘Asian’ personal and political values and liberal democracy down to its defining characteristics: electoralism, political rights, and civil rights. Using country-level data from the Pew Research Centre and the World Values Survey, I examined how ‘Asian’ personal and political values are associated with these liberal democratic principles. Regression results reveal a wide intraregional disparity in ‘Asian’ values orientation within East and Southeast Asia and interregional effects suggest that the existence of a pan-Asian identity is greatly overstated. Whereas ‘Asian’ personal values are not inimical to liberal democratic principles, ‘Asian’ political values are negatively associated with the support for electoralism and political rights. This leaves countries in Asia open to the possibility of alternative political models to gain mass support.