The status of women as a key indicator of modernity in Muslim society
Using women’s status as an indicator for the level of modernity achieved in non Western Muslim societies can set up a vicious circle that reinforces an orientalist bias. Such an evaluation is often affected by a belief that secular-liberal regimes hold a more favourable stance towards women. In addition, some Western feminist scholars have developed an approach that exasperates this dynamic
The Impact of Identity and Historical Context on the Thought of Hans J. Morgenthau.
This paper emphasises the importance of Morgenthau’s German-Jewish identity set against the particular social background in which he began to develop his thought. It seeks to highlight the impact which these factors had on the development and evolution of some important elements of Morgenthau’s work.
The West, Islam and Modernity
The relationship between West and Islam is more relevant than ever. The terrorist attacks in the US and Europe at the beginning of the new millennium, seemed to confirm the ideas expressed by Samuel Huntington and Francis Fukuyama. However, critical engagement with such issues requires a deeper understanding of West, Islam and Modernity, avoiding essentialist definitions of single sets of well-defined and separated ideas.
World Risk Society and the Response to Terrorism
This paper will analyse how the concepts in Ulrich Beck’s Risk Society are influencing the War on Terror. Moreover, it will examine their practical enforcement, the way in which they pose serious threats to the international law system and how this contributes to the shaping a new domestic order in those states where they have being applied.
Deterring Terrorists and Deterring States: Fundamentally Different Tasks?
In this paper I will argue that the idea that there is a New Terrorism, which “requires bold new strategies because of its shadowy character and its incalculable dangers”, should be contested to avoid the possibility of ‘non-knowledge’ being taken as an excuse to justify extreme counter-terrorism policies.
Is Security “Civilising”, as Argued by Loader and Walker?
Loader and Walker reveal a very interesting dynamic, in which they put citizens in a position to somehow educate the state, to secure themselves and avoid the state developing as a threat to them. However, I would say that they do not develop this notion far enough, and are subsequently unable to overcome the concept of the state as the main actor of security.
