Political Phenomenology: Radical Democracy and Truth

Abstract

In light of the "theological turn" in recent phenomenology, a question arises for contemporary thought of how the relationships among philosophy, religion, and democratic politics might be recontextualized and understood from a specifically phenomenological perspective. Essential in addressing this question is a critical examination of the method of reduction, or epoche instituted by Edmund Husserl as the original, core practice of phenomenology. Reinterpreting the epoche in terms of its social, historical, and political dimensions, later phenomenologists Enzo Paci and Jan Patocka demonstrate how phenomenology's conception of truth is necessarily coordinated with a commitment to collective democratic praxis. In Paci, the practice of epoche initiates critical resistance to ideological and idolatrous social and political forms through contrast with the infinite openness of truth's real universality. In Patocka, phenomenological method as applied to historically-embedded religious and philosophical traditions helps to clarify what in particular distinguishes democratic from autocratic forms of life. By drawing the insights of Paci and Patocka into conjunction, a new conception emerges of the unique religio— the collective, existential commitment— of phenomenology as such: to express the experience(s) of truth through democratic praxis in collaboration with other analogous philosophical, religious and scientific traditions.     

Foucault and Radical Deliberative Democracy

Deliberative democracy is a flourishing variant of democratic theory. John Dryzek and Iris Young are two of its more radical exponents, and here I bring some Foucaultian complications to their work. The radicalness I highlight in both thinkers owes to their different but comparable commitments to equality between different voices in deliberation. Foucault's histories are all histories of expert knowledges and the objects they usher into the world. In this sense, expert knowledges present problems for deliberative democracy, not only because they carry greater status than other knowledges but also because they have ontological effects. As I illustrate with the example of economics, although the programs of Dryzek and Young can cope quite well with the first, the second is a more serious problem, although possibly a positive one.     

Radical Political Theology

Abstract

This essay investigates the claim, advanced by a number of contributors to Theology and the Political, that the potential for political transformation requires an analogical ontology. I argue that this is not the case, and that an ontology of immanence, as found primarily in the work of Gilles Deleuze, provides an alternative and superior paradigm for political transformation. This argument is advanced by examining the manner in which immanence enables a novel approach to creation. Such immanent creation is distinct in that it departs from analogy's dependence on the transcendent as well as from capitalism's dependence on communication.     

Controlling Democracy: The Principal–Agent Problems in Election Administration

Election reform has become a major issue since the 2000 election, but little consideration has been given to the issues associated with managing them. In this article, we use principal–agent theory to examine the problems associated with Election Day polling place voting. We note that Election Day voting manifests problems that agency theory shows are difficult to overcome, including adverse selection of and shirking by poll workers. We then examine alternate methods of voting, such as early, absentee, and Internet voting, and show how these reforms can mitigate many of the more severe principal–agent problems in election management.     

孙中山“训政”思想与现代政治民主

以革命手段推翻专制制度和逐步地建立＂民主政治＂,是孙中山民主革命的基本内容之一。而颇有特色的是,孙中山把这一建设过程分为军政、训政、宪政三个阶段。训政时期是进入宪政时期、实现五权宪法的必经阶段,是一种程序设计,也是在革命三阶段中别出心裁而又最具争议的部分。尽管它与孙中山毕生追求的民权目标存在内在冲突,但在一定程度仍对现代民主政治建设具有积极意义。     

Renewing the Political Perspective: Reflections on James Ceaser,Political Science,and Liberal Democracy

Abstract

This is a response to the contributions to the symposium on David Walsh's trilogy on modernity: After Ideology (1990), The Growth of the Liberal Soul (1997), and The Modern Philosophical Revolution (2008). After expressing appreciation for the careful reading the work has received, it enters into a reflection on the underlying unity of the studies. This is intended to address the common concerns that center on the issue of how the modern world is to be understood. It emphasizes the impossibility of separating the attempt to understand modernity from the need to take responsibility for it. This is the perspective that has illuminated the totalitarian catharsis, the durability of liberal political regimes, and the existential turn within modern philosophy. In the latter part of the essay, a response is offered to specific objections and characterizations that individual symposiasts raise.     

试析英国妇女社会政治同盟的激进策略

20世纪初,英国妇女社会政治同盟在艾米琳·潘克赫斯特夫人及其女儿的领导下,掀起了一场以暴力的激进方式来争取妇女议会选举权的运动,这与早期温和的妇女参政运动截然不同。“要行动,不要空话”的激进斗争方式在英国乃至世界妇运史上烙下了独特的印迹。该同盟采取激进策略,既有19世纪工人激进主义的影响,也是对近50年妇女参政诉求没有结果的绝望反应和对传统视野中维多利亚女性形象的反叛。这种激进的暴力斗争方式既发挥了一定的积极作用,也存在一定的负面影响。     

政治民主是东西方学者的共同话题--南京"各国议会制度研究国际学术讨论会"综述

“各国议会制度研究国际学术讨论会”有三个论题。第一个论题为当代西方国家的议会民主制．来自西方的学和中国学提交了一批报告,论及19世纪以来欧洲国家议会制度的发展以及当代西方议会民主制的某些局限性,第二个论题是当代中国的乡村村民自治改革．中国学提交了一批论,讨论了中国宪法中关于村民自治的条款以及村民自治个案研究的结果,第三个论题是西方民主制的起源问题。中国学提交了一批报告,涉及西方城市自治传统、中世纪议会制对近代民主制的作用等。与会中外代表一致认为,民主是中西方学共同努力的目标和中西方学、政治家共同关心的课题。     

在民主与权威之间——马来西亚政治发展特点剖析

在东亚新兴的工业化国家中,马来西亚的政治发展模式十分独特。其他新兴工业化国家在起飞阶段都以某种方式实行着直接和变相的独裁或军人统治,马来西亚却在国民人均收入超过2000美元,即将跨入新兴工业化国家的门槛时,依然还能保持住自己形式上的民主政体,这不仅在第三世界急速发展的国家中是个例外,也对自20世纪60年代以来以亨廷顿为代表的“新权威主义”理论提出了挑战。因此,研究马来西亚的政治发展模式,不仅有助于加深我们对马来西亚发展本身的理解,也有助于进一步探索第三世界发展的一般规律。     

Radical (Evangelical) Democracy: The Dreams and Nightmares of Martin Luther King,Jr. and Antonio Negri

Abstract

This essay critically examines the theories of radical democracy offered by Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision of the beloved community and Antonio Negri's vision of the multitude. The radical democratic visions of King and Negri continue to critically inform progressive reflections on democratic theory and propel new dreams of democracy. Despite their similarities, the differences between Negri and King are substantial. I argue that Negri's dream of the multitude and King's dream of beloved community have been shaped by different conceptions of radical democracy. While Negri works out of a tradition of Italian Marxism, King works within a critical tradition of prophetic evangelicalism. Thus, the political task, according to King, is to translate Jesus' teaching of the Kingdom of God into a beloved community on earth. King's creative negotiation of transcendence and history provides the requisite theological and political resources to develop a truly transcendent and immanent vision of a radical democratic society that is attentive to the demands and dignity of "all God's children."     

Political Globalisation and the Politics of International Non-governmental Organisations: The Case of Village Democracy in China

Although there is a body of research regarding the development of village self-governance in China, there is only limited research regarding the activity of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in relation to this development. The paper fills this gap through an analysis of the activities and effects of the village self-governance programs of three American-based NGOs: the International Republican Institute (IRI), the Carter Center and the Ford Foundation. These NGOs have assisted in the implementation of a number of reforms to village self-governance in China. NGO involvement in village democracy in China exemplifies a process of 'political globalisation' that involves the intermingling of layers of power and interests at the national and international levels. The paper concludes that, through this process of political globalisation, rural political reforms in China are both promoted and exploited by national and international political actors.