Between Disagreement and Consensus: Unravelling the Democratic Paradox

The idea of a rational consensus has become an increasingly controversial dimension of recent democratic theory as radical democratic theorists have challenged the ways in which liberal democracies deal with political disagreement and contestation. As a result, several theorists within the liberal tradition have attempted to incorporate models of dissent in their democratic arguments but this paper contends that they tend to result in forms of majoritarianism or proceduralism which reflect the original limitations that inspired the radical democratic critique. A more useful approach is one that recognises that contestation is inherent to democratic politics and understands that the paradox of democracy is the need to embrace the impossibility of establishing rational consensus in democratic practice.     

Special Peoples

Abstract. ‘Special Peoples’ explores the causes and consequences of believing in a chosen people by considering, first, the Serbian case, as seen especially in Rebecca West's Black Lamb and Grey Falcon. The mythology, history and genuine Byzantine traditions which have created this East European form of belief in ‘special chosenness’ is then compared with West European developments. While both make use of the Bible, the West (and also Ethiopia), it is suggested, depends more directly on the Old Testament, Israelite model, while the Eastern approach rests rather on the experience of the Christian empire of Constantine. The English, Spanish and French are considered briefly as examples of chosen peoples. The discussion ends with the words of Carl Goerdeler, meditating on the Nazism that was about to kill him, and challenging the whole nationalist notion of an ‘exclusively chosen’ people from Israel on, as inherently prone to genocide.     

Contemporary Archaeology in Transit: The Artifacts of a 1991 Van

This article uses an assemblage of recently abandoned material culture as a medium for exploring the world in which we all live. First it is suggested that if we are to study contemporary material culture, then our methodology must be collaborative, multivocal, and innovative. Next, an assemblage of materials recovered from a 1991 Ford Transit van, used by archaeologists in the field for 8 years, is investigated as a case study. The vehicle is epistemologically dismantled, and it is demonstrated that the car part should be treated as a diagnostic artifact. A close investigation of the recovered small finds uncovers explicit information about how the van was used and by whom. As with all people in every era, archaeologists too, leave material evidence of their passing. This evidence can be subversive and brings up questions about how archaeology is practiced today. Additionally, it is found that limitations to contemporary material culture also arise and esoteric knowledge can sometimes trump archaeological inquiry.     

Provenance of Early Bronze Age metal artefacts in Western Switzerland using elemental and lead isotopic compositions and their possible relation with copper minerals of the nearby Valais

Ten Early Bronze Age (BzA1, 2200–2000 BC) copper artefacts from the central Valais region from Switzerland were studied for their elemental composition and lead isotope ratios. In order to answer the archaeological question of a local copper supply, a database for copper minerals across the Valais (Switzerland) has been established. This database contains 69 data on lead isotope ratios as well as additional information on the minerals and geochemical associations for copper minerals from 38 locations in the Valais. Comparisons of the artefacts were also made with data pertaining to minerals from various deposits from Europe and Anatolia taken from the literature. The provenance of the materials is very diverse. Some of the data are compatible with the data from the copper mineral deposits of the Valais region. Moreover, three copper lunulae were identified as possibly Tuscan, which suggests contacts between Italy and the Valais region. This pattern also establishes a multiplicity of provenances for the metal and cultural influences in the Alpine environment of the Rhone Valley of Switzerland at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age.