Реферат: Учебно-методическое пособие по курсу a handbook with resource material for the course «Теория и методы политического анализа»

ИНСТИТУТ ВНЕШНЕЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ СВЯЗЕЙ,

ЭКОНОМИКИ И ПРАВА

INSTITUTE OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, ECONOMICS AND LAW


кафедра международных отношений

Department of International Relations


УЧЕБНО-МЕТОДИЧЕСКОЕ ПОСОБИЕ ПО КУРСУ
A HANDBOOK WITH RESOURCE MATERIAL FOR THE COURSE

«Теория и методы политического анализа»

(на английском языке)

«Theory and Methods of Political Analysis»

(in the English Language)


по специальности: 0320701.65 Международные отношения

specialization 0320701.65 International Relations


Автор-составитель: Нина Михайловна СЛАНЕВСКАЯ

Author: Nina SLANEVSKAYA


Санкт-Петербург

Saint-Petersburg

2008


“Theory and Methods of Political Analysis. A Handbook with Resource Material”, приложение к программе Теория и методы политического анализа (на английском языке): учебно-методическое пособие/Авт.-сост. Н.М. Сланевская. – СПб.: ИВЭСЭП, 2008.- с.105


Утвержден на заседании кафедры международных отношений,

протокол № 5 от 14 января 2008 года

Passed by the Department of International Relations,

Protocol No 5, 14 January 2008


Утвержден и рекомендован к печати научно-методическим советом,

протокол № 4 от 24 января 2008 года

Passed by the Committee of Science and Methodics,

Protocol No 4, 24 January 2008


Автор-составитель: к.п.н., доцент Н.М. Сланевская

The author: N.M. Slanevskaya, PhD, assistant professor


Рецензенты: д.ф.н., профессор Ю.В. Косов,

к.п.н., доцент А.И. Абалян

Reviwers: Y.V. Kosov, PhD, professor

A.I. Abalyan, PhD, assistant professor


ISBN 978-5-7320-1074-9


© Н.М. Сланевская, 2008

(© N. M. Slanevskaya, 2008)


Сontents


Part I 5

Levels of Analysis


Part II 13

Planning a Critical Review


Part III 23

Political Speech: Political and Literary Analyses


Part IV 31

Theory of International Relations


Part V 40

Globalisation. Articles for Critical Reviews:


Nadia CAMPANER and Askar GUBAIDULLIN 40

The EU/Russia Energy Cooperation in a Global Context:

Trends and Paradoxes


George EDGAR 43

Environmental Diplomacy:

a New Paradigm in International Relations


Claude ALBAGLI 47

The Impact of New Technologies on the Restructuring of

International Economic Relations


Leon OLSZEWSKI 48

The Transition and Globalisation of Central and Eastern Europe


Vladimir BRANSKY 56

Globalisation and Synergistic Philosophy of History


Anissa LARDJANE 59

GlobalisACTION as a New Systemic Paradigm


Vinko KANDŽIJA and Mario PEČARIĆ 63

Alternative Developmental Paths, Institutions and

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)


Ronald W. PRUESSEN 67

The Architecture Of Globalized Society: Forms And Functions


Nina SLANEVSKAYA 70

Is Global Governance Going to Be Dictatorial or Democratic?


Élisabeth DU RÉAU 75

The European Union and New Security Issues

in Europe and Worldwide


Maria NEGREPONTI-DELIVANIS 78

The Economic Consequences of the War against Terrorism


Pierre DUPRIEZ 83

The Cultural Challenges of a Global Society


Victor RYAZANOV 92

Globalisation and the Prospects for
the Economic Development of Russia


Glossary 96


Bibliography 101


Part I


Levels of Analysis


Analytical Tasks:

What is the difference between a foundationalist ontological position and an anti-foundationalist ontological position? Give examples of both positions related to the theories you know.

What is the connection between ontology and epistemology?

What kind of interaction exists between ontology, epistemology, methodology, ideology and methods? Give examples related to theories.

Compare the basic components of ideologies.


Writing an article or analyzing a political situation a researcher uses certain approaches. They are:

ontological approach,

epistemological approach,

ideological approach,

methodological approach,

methods,

and theories which include all above-mentioned levels of analysis.


I. Ontology

Ontology is a Theory of Being (what is or what exists).

Ontology can be foundationalist (essentialist) and anti-foundationalist.

Foundationalist ontology means that the phenomenon exists independently from our imagination and perception of it, it is “out there” and we must acknowledge it. Thus, our epistemological approach will be to study it trying to find the statistical confirmation of the laws governing in a real life and bringing about the event/phenomenon which exists independently from us.

Anti-foundationalist ontology means that we do not believe that this phenomenon exists independently because all social phenomena are socially constructed and determined by the time or other circumstances influencing our interpretation. We can study only people’s interpretation of the phenomenon and compare this modern interpretation with others in the course of history.

For example, let us take a highly debated question if there is a fundamental difference between men and women. If we consider that this difference persists over centuries and across different cultures we have an essentialist or a foundationalist ontological position and we will build our further argument on the essential difference of ‘being’ between men and women serving us as the foundation upon which social life is built. However, feminists can argue that this difference is a social construction, that is, it is the product of patriarchy. Male dominance has shaped cultures and provided the way of further gender inequality in the society. Their argument will reflect their anti-foundationalist ontology. The interpretist epistemology matches the anti-foundationalist ontology best.

Let’s take another example. If a religious man considers that God punishes people for their evil actions and explains some social phenomenon as God’s punishment, he has foundationalist ontology. His ontological foundation is his belief that God exists “out there” independently of anyone’s desire and punishes for people for misbehaviour. His further study of the social phenomenon will be based on this belief and he will chose a matching epistemology for proving that it is indeed so.

The ontological position affects but not completely determines epistemological position. For example, for the foundationalist ontology it is better to choose positivist or realist epistemology. For the anti-foundationalist ontology it is better to use interpretist epistemology.


II. Epistemology

Epistemology is a Theory of Knowledge (what we can know and how we can know that we know).

Epistemology can be positivist, structuralist and interpretist. If we think that some social phenomenon is ‘objective’ and does not depend upon our wish (something similar to the laws of nature, such as wind, rain and etc.) then we will study it in the way similar to the methods used for studying natural sciences: collecting observable facts, using statistics and arriving at some conclusion about the causal relationship between one social phenomenon and the other one. This causal relationship will be called a law which can be used for predicting the similar phenomenon in the future. This way of studying is called ‘positivist’. This epistemological positivist approach is typical for those who use foundationalist ontology.


On the other hand, some may think that the phenomenon exists in the social life but they cannot observe it directly, in other words, there can be something which exists but it is not directly observable. This epistemological approach is called ‘structuralist’ (‘realist’1). There is obvious difference between social life and natural phenomena or physical laws. People are reflexive. They analyze, think over, improve or worsen social relations, thus, they can change social structure. Social structure depends on their activities and it is shaped by people. To structuralists (realists), the world exists independently of people’s knowledge of it. They use foundationalist ontology and agree with positivists that there are causal relations and we can make causal statements. But positivists deny the existence of unobservable structures unlike structuralists. Positivists think that if they cannot observe something directly they cannot study it.


Those who use anti-foundationalist ontology would claim that no observers can be ‘objective’ and find any social laws because people are affected by the social constructions of ‘reality’. One can never find laws governing social relations, one can only compare different interpretations made by people in the course of history and choose the most suitable and closest to the reality. This is sometimes called the double hermeneutic; the world is interpreted by the actors (one hermeneutic level) and their interpretation is interpreted by the researcher (the second hermeneutic level). This epistemological approach is called ‘interpretist’.


Thus we have the following epistemological approaches:


(1) Positivist epistemology is based on causal relationship, direct observation and development of explanatory or even predictive models. We can establish real world through empirical observation like in natural sciences using methods of natural sciences.

(2) Structuralist epistemology is based on the combination of a positivist approach (direct observation) and structuralist approach (unobservable structure which can produce a crucial effect upon the observable events).

(3) Interpretist epistemology is based on the idea that we cannot establish what the real world is by using our knowledge. We can only establish our own interpretation about the real world. We deal with different interpretations in the course of history and choose the narration which suits us best or seems to be the closest to true knowledge.



^ A social phenomenon is socially

constructed and does not depend on any unavoidable natural laws

Anti-foundationalist


Molly Cochran in Normative Theory in International Relations. A Pragmatic Approach (1999)2 suggests a weak foundation in the Preface to her book for solving an impasse resulting from cosmopolitan/communitarian debate in International relations theory concerning ethical questions in international policy: “ Finally, the chapters in part III aim to offer a response to the dilemma of normative theorizing identified through the analysis of the ethics that results from both foundationalist and antifoundationalist approaches: that is, how to employ weak foundations and universals in a way that is not absolutizing, yet can still effectively offer an international ethics that would provide for wider moral inclusion and social reconstruction.


Chapter 6 develops a notion of international ethics as pragmatic critique, a synthesis of the pragmatism of John Dewey and Richard Rorty, that works to be as thoroughly antifoundationalist as is possible, yet has a will to universalization that seeks the growth of human capacities and the expansion of ‘we’ feeling. These ambitions are facilitated through its notion of ‘fallibilism’, which takes the absolutizing edge off its ethical claims, and through its use of ‘moral imagination’ to protect alternatives to problematic ethical/political situations’. She writes further: “ Pragmatic critique cannot supply normative IR theory with lasting solutions to its ethical dilemmas. However, it provides a method and a weak ontological vision that works with sympathy and persistence to facilitate better ways to cope with and make meaningful the worlds we live in and the moral situations we face.”


As for the new approach to the interdependence between ontology and epistemology concerning international ethics she suggest: “However, the communitarian/cosmopolitan debate has served its purpose and normative theory must now move on from this narrow oppositional framing, a framing which no longer (if it ever did) accurately represents the movement in the authors’ own positions within the debate. Nor, however, can we slip into the same dichotomous thinking with regard to epistemology in focusing upon a foundational/antifoundational divide. New normative approaches must examine how axes of ontology and epistemology intersect, keeping in mind a notion of a range and not an opposition: there is a range of ontological positions on the individual and the community, and of epistemological positions on foundational claims and their strength or degree”.


III. Ideology

Ideology is a system of political, legal, ethical, aesthetical, religious and philosophical coherent views and ideas, which influence the behaviour of people. All coherent political doctrines are ideological as well as the use of political ideas. Marx claimed that ideology is used to work out false consciousness. Mannheim defined ideology as ideas incongruent with reality and meant for protecting a contradictory reality. He distinguished particular ideologies promoting some group’s interest and total ideologies common to a whole society at a particular historical period and which individuals cannot escape. He distinguished such epochs as – ‘The Age of Beliefs’ (Christianity), ‘The Age of Reason’ (Enlightenment), ‘The Age of Technology’ (now). Even if we eradicate particular ideologies, our thoughts are still trapped inside the total ideology.

Putnam, a political scientist, defined ideology more loosely and less critically as ‘a life guiding system of beliefs, values and goals affecting political style and action’.3

Ideology, as a rule, determines the choice of the problem for studying and affects the ontological position and epistemological approach and it has its expression in the theory.


The List of Components of Ideologies4


Liberalism


1. an individual

(a) is rational. He has the ability to pursue his interests rationally and knows his own interests better. A rational man maximizes his profits (economic, political and etc). Thus he doesn’t need an authoritarian or paternalistic government.

(b) becomes sociable and cooperative only for the pursuit of self-interest or aggressive if he has to compete.

(c) human life is sacred, violence is prohibited except for the wars to preserve a liberal society.


2. contract and consent

The government can be overthrown by people if it betrays the trust of people. The social life is arranged through social contract at people’s consent.


3. constitutionalism and law

Highly legalistic society, separation of powers. The constitution prevents the government from transgressing against individuals. The law prevents individuals from transgressing against each other.


4. freedom as choice, pluralism

5. equality of opportunities (formal)

6. social justice based on merit

7. tolerance and open-endedness of the liberal approach to political theory and practice

8. private life and public life are separated


Types of liberalism

1. Reformation liberalism

Plurality of denominations within the same society (tolerance, modus vivendi) like a variety of opinions in a pre-Christian world with the stoic perception of human unity among diversity. The state is neutral to the denomination, but the denomination demands obedience from an individual but the individual has the right to leave it. The state gives an autonomy to the denomination.


^ 2. Enlightenment liberalism

Political arrangements via the law and equal justice for everyone. Freedom is autonomy. The state guards the autonomy of an individual.


3. Romantic liberalism

An individual can be autonomous only in the autonomous nation-state of his ethnic group. He will have more choice, thus more freedom.


Conservatism


1. doesn’t seek to justify political arrangements (in terms of entitlements) if they are workable (meanwhile socialism, Marxism, liberalism do so)

2. realism

There will be always a group which has more power than others. The governments should balance interests of all groups without losing power.

3. nationalism

Racial mixing spoils the narrative of the nation, endangers the traditions and is against the laws of social consciousness

4. against change

If the system works it should be preserved. Stability is important.

5. empiricism, pragmatism, a modest change only through experience

6. organicism

Society has a unitary natural growth and it is an organized living whole.

7. human imperfection, pessimistic view, inegalitarian view. People should have an authoritarian government due to their imperfect nature.


Communitarianism


1. common good thesis

Communities are constituted by a specific common good.

2. shared conception thesis

There is enough agreement on the common good.

3. embedded individual thesis

Identity of individual members of a community is given by their place in it. The societal membership is valuable by itself because it improves human nature. There are ethical claims upon the members of the community.

4. prioritization thesis

The role of the state is to give priority to the securing of the common good.

5. non-neutrality thesis

The state cannot be neutral to the behaviour of an individual if he disregards the interests of the society. It must guard the common good.


Types of communitarianism:

^ 1. Republican Communitarianism

For pursuing the common good successfully there must be a just society achieved via political arrangements and deliberation. Laws and administration are not neutral framework for individual projects. Fulfillment of shared interests is a priority. Formulation of laws and decision-making must take place through political debates in which everyone is free to participate and must do it. Nationality is not equal to ethnicity: the nationality is a republican citizenship. Liberty is used in a sense of effective participation in a self-governing state. Distinction between the public and the private realms is crucial to republicanism. All religious, cultural things are for the private life and have no political expression, otherwise the state would become a battleground between conflicting interests rather than a workshop for fulfillment of common interests.


^ 2. Cultural Communitarianism

If according to republican communitarianism first come political arrangements and then shared values, it is not according to cultural communitarianism. Under cultural communitarianism first come shared values then political arrangements. It is a kind of cultural nationalism. There must be one cultural group with the same values and character because cultural solidarity underpins political loyalties and makes it easier to pursue common good and make suitable political arrangements.


Socialism


1. the concern with poverty

2. class analysis of a society

3. egalitarianism

4. communal ownership of means of production

5. popular sovereignty (representative democracy or direct democracy)

6. human interdependence

The fear of dependence of each on the state led some socialists to anarchism and others to a greater participation. Rousseau expressed the idea that in making the social contract the individual gives up most of his power over himself but gains a fraction of power over every other citizen.

7. belief in human creativity and sociability

8. virtues of co-operation

9. idealization of work as unalienated labour

10. freedom as fulfillment

11. internationalism


Marxism


1. dialectical materialism

A new moment negates the old one and transcends it at the same time. Opposition is in any developmental process. Ideas are produced by material causes and these causes lie finally in the economic arrangements of a society (mode of production)

2. Marx’s economics. Surplus value.

Surplus value is taken by a capitalist because he is an owner of the means of production. Unemployment makes workers sell their labour cheaper and they become poorer and a capitalist richer. Capitalism can flourish only through the creation of extremes of wealth and poverty.

3. historical determinism (or historical materialism)

Historical change is determined by a class conflict rather than by a conflict between nations or between ethnic groups. History is a dialectical process (negates and transcends). New technologies demand new social relations and new classes begin to struggle for power.

4. Class is more important politically than an individual.

5. Government is based on force or domination.

6. All aspects of life are pervaded by politics and ideology.

7. Man is determined by a society and his class position in the society (his fixed place in the production process). Thus Marxism threatens the main liberal docrine that the man is free and rational and able to choose his goal and activities by himself independently from his position in the society (a self-made man).

8. Creation of the communist society is the highest goal.

9. Abolition of private property, alienated labour and capitalist mode of production. The state has oppressive nature and it will wither gradually but at first there will be a revolutionary dictatorship. The goal is to create a classless society.


Anarchism


1. State is an artificial and manipulated device.

2. Society is a natural formation.

There must be small natural communities instead of states.

3. An individual is good when he is born but can be influenced by social evils, the source of which is the institution of authority.

4. There are three evils: government, law and private property.

Accumulation of private property leads to inequality and dependence, thus there is the necessity to protect this property with the help of laws and government. That leads to violence. Seeking political influence to change government leads to new oppression again.

So, 1st evil is private property.

The rich create laws and government to save their property. Accumulated capital should be shared by all.

The 2nd evil is laws and constitution.

Constitution and laws are created by those who have got accumulated capital. Thus, Constitution, which is conceived to supervised the laws is unnecessary. It does not provide protection. Laws cannot provide justice in any case, because they place a particular act into the general category of crime ignoring individual circumstances. Besides, crimes are socially determined. Thus punishment is arbitrary and cannot lead to individual or social improvement.

The 3rd evil is government.

Wherever there is power it is likely to be abused, the result is coercion and oppression.

Politics itself is corruption for individuals. If you campaign for a change by political means you end up in struggle for power and a cycle recommences. To rule over others means to destroy one’s own individuality. Changes must be carried out only by non-political means.

5. anarchist order

Order is produced by the internalization of moral values and norms. Self-control instead of the control from above. Order without dependence. A moral being presupposes society and society presupposes interdependence. It must be a self-regulating society with unwritten laws through instinct, reason and morality.

6. optimistic view of the human capacity for social behaviour and environmentalism.

By changing circumstances you can change individuals for the better. We are naturally sociable. Small communities is the preferable arrangement for social life.

7. self-fulfillment within a society, creative work, cooperation (anarchism and liberalism focus on an individual)

8. freedom within society.

Freedom to act in conformity with one’s own judgment (attained via knowledge). Bakunin: “even the master is in fact a slave in an oppressive society”. Socially determined behaviour. A man won’t act against a natural society having a rational judgment. Education is important. The strength of external authority over an individual decreases as the level of internal education increases.

Means to achieve a good societal life are the following:

a) peaceful, i.e. moral persuasion, propaganda, passive resistance, civil disobedience and withdrawal from the corrupt society.

b) ethics of violence

Violence is justified because violence on the part of the government merits violence from individuals who use it as self-defence. Ends justify means. Refusal to debate on the grounds of the hypocrisy of a dominating self-justifying state ideology. The Government’s declaration of high value of an individual life is a deception because it is evident that the Government does not value the lives of the poor. If it valued people it would not allow the poor people to die from hunger and poverty.


Cosmopolitanism


^ 1. Rational Cosmopolitanism

Marcus Aurelius: “There is one law, one common reason in all intelligent animals and one truth”. Identity is a “citizen of the world”. Political arrangements do not depend on the group identity. The System of ethnic nation-states is based on their limited and non-rationally based loyalties.

^ 2. Anti-rationalist cosmopolitanism

To be a citizen of the world is to be a member of the same moral community. Ethnic groups interact deciding common problems in a dialogue and finding the best solution. They will adopt norms and gradually develop a new cosmopolitan identity.


IV. Methodology

Methodology is a system of principles and methods.


V. Method

A method is a means of achieving an aim.

Methods are used as tools for the investigation of the problem and their choice depends on the field investigated and the researcher’s epistemological approach.

There are also different principles of the classification of methods. For example, they can be: traditional and modern methods; qualitative and quantitative methods; quantitative behavioural methods and quantitative postbehavioural methods; methods according to the discipline engaged in the field of investigation (philosophical, economic, juridical, historical and etc); comparative methods of different kind.


VI. Theory

A theory is a system of generalized knowledge, which gives an integral picture of some regularities occurring in the real life.

A theory can be analyzed at the following levels: ideological, ontological, epistemological and methodological. The use of a theory must be correlated with the researcher’s own ideological, ontological and epistemological positions.


Example:

Marx’s theory

Ontology

Foundationalist ontology.

The struggle between social classes moves society forward at the specific historical juncture.

Epitemology

Structuralist epistemology.

There are observable facts and an unobservable structure (for Marx it is an economic structure, i.e. people’s belonging to a social class with certain relations to the means of production).

Methodology

Dialectical materialism and historical determinism.

^ Methods

Economic, philosophical, historical, sociological, comparative and etc.

Ideology

Socialist ideas.

Theory

Ludwig Feuerbach’s philosophical materialism and Georg Hegel’s dialectics.


Analytical Tasks:

Define the epistemological and ideological approaches of Anthony Giddens

(Anthony Giddens and Christopher Pierson, 1998: 85-86).


“All social life is agent-controlled in the sense that to be a human being is to monitor one’s behaviour constantly in relation to that of others – there is no time out from this process, which is simply chronic. On the other hand, vast areas of social life aren’t agent-controlled, if that means consciously directed by anyone. Markets have shown us the limits of directive control in this second sense. Markets aren’t simply the ‘outcome’ of millions of individuals taking individual decisions to buy, sell, save and so forth. They have highly structured properties which – as structuration theory underlines – are simultaneously the consequence and the means of actions individuals carry out. Moreover, markets in the contemporary sense presume a certain style of discourse, which agents incorporate in what they do, even if when asked they might not be able to say very much about what a market is.” 5

 


Part II


Planning a Critical Review


Analytical tasks:

Study the plan.

Plan


1. Subject: the subject of the reading in brief (2-4 sentences)


2. Purpose Statement: the author's purpose for writing the article (2-4 sentences)


3. Major Points: the major points made by the author throughout the article (ideas, conclusion, predictions and etc.) in connection with some events (usually major points coincide with the subtitles of the article) (8-15 sentences)


5. The significance of the article. Why can it be significant for us? (2-6 sentences)


6. Its current relevance. Why is it connected with the present time and why is the discussion of the problems/information/theory presented by the author important for us? (2-6 sentences)


7. The effectiveness of the article in making the major points. What ontological, epistemological, methodological, ideological approaches, methods and theories are used in the article for making the major points more effective? (Did the choice of them help the author to reach his purpose? Could there be other approaches which could be more effective for reaching his aim and investigating the phenomenon?) (20-30 sentences).


8. Theoretical implications of the article or theoretical basis of it (3-10 sentences)6.


9. Policy implications of the article. (3-5 sentences).


10. Personal viewpoint: Your personal agreement or disagreement with the article. Support it with theories/facts (3-10 sentences)


11. Summary

Paraphrase in brief what you have said and show its relationship and significance to the research problem. Your aim is to tell the reader what it all means and if they should read it. (5-10 sentences)


Analytical tasks:

Read useful expressions for writing a review and work out general rules for the scientific style. Learn the useful expressions for writing reviews and annotations. Compose your own sentences with these expressions.


The list of useful expressions for reviews


Analyze, argue (persuasively), claim, compare, consider, describe,

draw attention to, emphasize, examine, explain, highlight, illustrate, investigate, point out, refer to, reveal, show, state, summarize.

By this brief review…

In an excellent overview chapter the author outlines the ….

In sum this is …

In the liberal vein the author views globalisation as having a security-enhancing effect.

In this sense…

It gives students an insight into the practice (of policy-making).

It is not represented in this book.

On close examination…

One of the book’s principal strengths is the prominence accorded by the author to culture …

Students will no doubt appreciate the author’s ability to discuss a complex topic concisely.

That economic interdependence can have contradictory consequences for security and it is further discussed in the contribution by J. Black and B.Jones.

The author summarizes his theoretical approach as drawing on the work of Foucault and particularly Bourdieu’s notion of habitus.

The author acknowledges that his text focuses on breadth rather than the depth that might be afforded by confining his analysis to a particular issue or geographic area.

The author ignores the history of …

The author in his examination of democracy suggests strengthening ….

The author introduces a new conceptual distinction between regimes.

The author aims to critically evaluate all aspects of public policy-making from his standpoint.

The author’s concern is to show…

The author’s analysis clearly shows that ..

The book barely touches on crucial moments of ….

The case of China also illustrates a subsidiary theme of the book …

The central question addressed in this book is whether it is…

The central theme focuses on the realist-liberal debate, with the liberal school of thought seeing economic interdependence as enhancing security (an example of an absolute participial construction).

^ The examples the author uses to illustrate his points are generally short and not country-specific, which makes the book accessible to a wide range of readers (an example of a complex sentence typical for reviews).

The introductory chapter attempts to identify the key issues to be addressed by the various contributors.

The next chapter provides a historical overview of the issues.

The subsequent chapters provide …

The subtitle is misleading.

There is certainly widespread agreement that…

This article focuses on core problems of..

This article offers…

This book doesn’t avoid the theoretical questions (an emphatic construction – grammatical negation ‘not’ and the negative meaning of the verb).

This book observes no ‘school position’.

This interpretation is elaborated in an interesting discussion of…

This is a central theme of the book in which the impact of globalization on the state is explored.

This is a thoroughly readable and thought-provoking book.

This is a useful framework within…

This view shifts the focus (from smth to smth)…

Throughout this book the author treats the problem as a political scientist and emphasizes…

Thus Chapter I examines the very particular character of moral government in …

While this book has real strengths as a detailed commentary on several of his works, it tends, in an effort to bring these into the ambit of current political science, to slide into anachronism by not preserving clearly enough the distinctions between Renaissance and modern uses of particular terms, and by not relating the ideas of this thinker securely enough to the circumstances in which he conceived them (an example of a complex sentence typical for a review).


Analytical tasks:

Read the article. Read the critical review on the article and add your personal opinion (10) and summary (11) according to the plan above-mentioned.


Is Culture a Divergence or a Convergence Factor in Economic Growth for Socialist Countries in Economic Transition?7


Christian MICHON8


It is generally recognised that national energy resources and the rate of development of an open market economy are two essential factors in establishing sustainable economic growth. Merely describing and understanding the significant disparities between countries and continents is not sufficient; it is therefore important to consider a country’s culture as a determinant variable (Hofstede, 2000).9

In the context of globalisation, culture can be regarded as a common element that encourages growth, or as a factor that delays growth.10 Contemporary theories pay little attention to culture’s role in determining economic growth (Guellec & Ralle, 1995; Arrous, 1999).

The examples of development in East and South-East Asian countries effectively illustrate the role of culture in economic growth (Crane, 1978). Based on their experience, we propose a double input-double output theory where cultural factors can be considered as both positive and negative variables.

^ 1. Culture and economy. History

The culture was historically associated to the economic development regarding macro economic or micro economic point of view. For example, the influence of the religion was regarded as a determining explanation of the birth of capitalism.

From a micro economic point of view, both community dimension and a cultural factor were in particular regarded as the source of the Hanseatic development of the Prussian expansionism towards the Dutch and Belgium countries.

In Asia like in other countries, which have Chinese Diaspora, the Chinese community has also developed a network trade, which supplanted the local traditional trade (Vandermeersch, 1986).

Nevertheless, to apprehend the cultural factor, it is necessary to define in a measurable way the variables which determine a specific cultural identity. But that is not enough because it is necessary to determine as well within the relational framework between culture and economy, whether culture or economy plays the main role in economic development and whether culture has direct or indirect relationship with economic development. The search for a model of connection between culture and economy seems a good approach for studying this question.

It makes sense to say that the more there are examples of differentiation in the relation between culture and economic development, the more it will be probable to discover links between these two variables.

Let us recall that culture associated with economy should not be confused with the economy of culture. This one leads to other concerns such as cultural diversity (cultural exception) and the globalisation of the market of culture.

^ An integrated model of the cultural factor with double input

This model starts from a generally allowed postulate that the economic development supposes basic conditions that are of a political nature, social and economic, and which are necessary at the same time (Furtado, 1970).

We can also observe that some economic developments are only optical illusions when the output revenue is completely confiscated by a political caste and this revenue is based on a single natural resource. If the conditions of growth exist, the cultural values will intervene to support or slow down the economic growth.

It is advisable concerning this proposal to define the cultural approach rather than to take into account an approach based on values listed from a Western point of view (Rokeach Value System for example) (Usunier, 2000).

It seems more appropriate to focus on the relations between globalisation – localization i.e. we propose the principle of a cultural dynamics of co-operation - conflict between the local regulating values and aspirational values.
^ Fig. 1 Model with double input - double output

The regulating variables constitute the first input. They are by nature the variables which control the existing milieu and come from a social framework having deep roots.

The aspirational variables are the second input. They are those which make a society evolve by their specific orientation and their intensity. The aspitational variables are more or less important regarding the perception which one has of the outside world.

They are variables which are very sensitive to the sociocultural currents and trends of country-headlights like the United States of America or Japan for Asian countries. They have a strong inluence on the people’s needs and wants (Prime, 2001).

Is it the pattern of the combination between regulating and aspirational variables which will determine the economic development? The observable facts can bring us to the conclusion that there are two modes of inputs as there are two modes of outputs.

^ A model with double output

Cultural factors associated with political, social, economic conditions allow the implementation of a positive effect of economic growth or a negative effect leading to the economic stagnation and even recession.

The first output is characterized by a positive spiral of economic growth. The traditional indicators can measure this phenomenon.

It does not explain the relation between economic growth and culture but makes it possible to notice it. The model of Anglo-Saxon development based on the capitalism and the market economy is an example.

The second output is characterized by a negative effect which leads rather to an economic stagnation, and perhaps, even worse to the disintegration of the economy. The model of the “banana” republics of Africa is an example.11

^ 2. The role of culture like a source of junction

As in a mathematical model of junction, the positive or negative output can depend on one variable which we may call critical variable. Such a variable reaching a critical threshold of rupture will start an acceleration of the process involved in one direction or the other.

For better understanding we can use the model demonstrating how the culture intervenes in this process and how a combination between regulating and aspirational variables can produce a positive or a negative ouput.

For example, the phenomenon of corruption is often observed in the emerging countries or developing countries and which is more or less condemned by morals of the local government and society.

If the whole of the corruption is a confiscatory process to the advantage of a small group which is a dominant ‘caste’ in the society, for example, then one can observe that the economic development is hindered.

If the whole of the corruption is redistributive, in other words a large part of the population shares the resources of corruption, then the negative economic effect will be limited even if this form of abuse of power does not correspond to the Western values of justice and equality. The same cultural variable can have different effects.

A rich life style and Western comfort are regarded, as something desired, i.e. an aspirational variable.

^ 3. The case of the Asian countries, the example of Vietnam

Vietnam can be characterized as a country whose economic development has been carried out for the last twenty years (Michel M, 1998). While preserving a single party on the political level, this country has been rocking in the market economy for about fifteen years.


By studying the reasons of Vietnam’s growth (Michon & Gruere, 1996), it appears that the combination of old culture - regulating values identical to that of the Chinese world - and effect of globalisation on the aspirational values led to a positive effect.





Fig.2: The cultural values model for Asian countries


This success is not fully explained but some research shows how the combination between aspirational values and regulating values has permitted harmonious transformation of the economy regarding the macro, meso or micro economic level.

Such kind of the transition “does” not produce an Anglo-Saxon model of economic growth but rather an alternative model, which one could describe as community model of growth.12


References


^ ARROUS, J. (1999) Les théories de la croissance, ed. du Seuil, Paris.

CRANE, P.S. (1978) Korean Patterns, Kwangjin Publishing Company, Seoul.

FURTADO, C. (1970) Théorie du développement économique, PUF, Paris.

GUELLEC, D. & RALLE, P. (1995) Les nouvelles théories de la croissance, Ed. La découverte, Paris.

^ HOFSTEDE, G. (2000) Culture’s Consequences, Sage Publications 2nd Ed.

MICHEL, M. (1998) “Succès et incertitudes de la transition vietnamienne”, in Revue Economique, vol. 49 n°1, Jan.

MICHON, C. & GRUERE, J.-P. (1996) “Le Vietnam, apprenti dragon”, in Revue Française du Marketing, Vol. V, Nov.-Dec.

^ USUNIER, J.-C. ( 2000) Marketing Across cultures, Prentice Hall 3rd ed., Europe

PRIME, N. (2001) “Cultures et mondialisation: l’unité dans la diversité”, in Expansion Mangement Review, Sept.

VANDERMEERSCH, L. (1986) Le nouveau monde sinisé, PUF, Paris.


A Critical Review


on the article “Is Culture a Divergence or a Convergence Factor in Economic Growth for Socialist Countries in Economic Transition?”by Christian Michon


1. Subject:

The article by C. Michon (2006) “Is Culture a Divergence or a Convergence Factor in Economic Growth for Socialist Countries in Economic Transition?” in ^ Global Society: Conflict or Cooperation. Discussion, ed. N. Slanevskaya, St. Petersburg, Nestor: 190-194, highlights the role of a cultural factor in economic growth in a socialist country in economic transition. It can be regarded as an element that encourages growth or as a factor that delays it.


^ 2. Purpose Statement:

The main purpose of the author is to analyse and define in what way the combination of cultural traditions and new values influences the economic growth of socialist countries in economic transition.


3. Major Points:

Christian Michon gives historical examples of the influence of culture on economic development, supplies us with the model of convergence of local and foreign values, which he calls a double input. Such a double cultural input produces a double economic output according to Michon’s model bringing about either a negative or a positive effect which depends on the success of convergence of values. The author illustrates his idea with the example of Vietnam’s socialist economy in transition.


^ 5. The significance of the article.

The author investigates the causes of economic growth and explains the failure of the Anglo-Saxon model in some socialist countries in economic transition. The author offers a new alternative model related to Asian countries which he calls a Community model of economic growth and which is an important contribution to the development of economic theory.


^ 6. Its current relevance.

Under globalization the contacts between different countries and cultures have increased as well as the economic gap. While choosing an economic model for application it is important to understand how cultural diversities are related to economic growth.


^ 7. The effectiveness of the article in making the major points.

Michon’s theoretical insight is based on foundationalist ontology. He believes that cultural factors objectively influence economic growth. He demonstrates it on Vietnam’s economic growth and its particular culture. The failure to admit that cultural factors are important for economic growth leads to economic failure of Western model applied to the socialist countries in transition.


To prove his point of view and investigate the problem Michon uses a structuralist epistemology. The effect of cultural traditions can’t be observed directly. The interaction of old regulating values in the society and new aspirational values correlated with global economy can be regarded as an unobservable structure. At the same time the author produces the economic model evidently based on economic facts. His argument could have been more persuasive if the author had supplied us with figures and tables showing the economic growth based on the cultural characteristics of the country and if he had used a comparative method for assessing economic achievements in different countries supported with such tables or diagrams.


The author’s adherence to liberal ideology helps him to arrive at the conclusion of the necessity of free choice in application of alternative models in a free market system for Asian countries taking into account cultural diversities.


Methodologically, Michon’s analysis is based on dialectical approach and cultural determinism. The successful interaction of old and new values produces positive effect and leads to economic growth. Cultural determinism correlates well with the author’s foundationalist ontology supported by historical and economic comparative methods. However, dialectical principle explaining interaction between old and new values is not clearly presented. Michon’s investigation could have become more profound if he had illustrated the change of values using sociological polls and questionnaires.


Investigating the phenomenon the author uses the following methods:

- historical comparative method, while speaking about the birth of capitalism, the Prussian expansionism, the network of Chinese diaspora, Vietnam in transition, in the connection with his main thesis of the interaction between culture and economy;

- sociological method, in studying the characteristics of social value systems which exist in different societies;

- economic comparative method, in working out his double input and double output model and an alternative model for Asian economic development.

The choice of methods matches the author’s methodological principle of cultural determinism well and seems to be useful for the investigation of the problem.


This article is based on the theory put forward by Hofstede, who considers cultural factors crucial for the socio-political an economic development.


^ 8. Theoretical implications of the article or theoretical basis of it:

There is no doubt that Michon’s double input and double output model is a great contribution to the field of cultural studies, economics and to the theory suggested by Hofstede. Michon considers economic side of the problem more thoroughly than Hofstede and develops Hofstede’s cultural approach by arguing for an alternative model for Asia countries and by working out a double input and double output model.


9. Policy implications of the article.

There is no necessity of introducing only one economic model, Anglo-Saxon, in all the countries in economic transition. Alternative models can be better for a country with a particular culture.


10. Personal viewpoint (for the student to write down)

11. Summary (for the student to write down)


Part III


Political Speech:

Political and Literary Analyses


Analytical tasks:

Read the explanation of literary terms and give your own examples from political articles.

Read the examples of the analysis of political speeches.


With the development of technologies of mass media the demand for special skills of representing politicians has increased. It has become taken for granted that political leaders are served by image makers, speech writers, spin doctors and managers of public relations.

Tim Bell was Margaret Thatcher’s adviser through three general elections and was awarded a title of ‘Lord’ by the state. His success made him a ‘political export’. He has been a consultant to right wing presidential candidates on four continents, in Malta, Ghana, Venezuela, Colombia, the USA (for Ronald Reagan in 1980), France (for Jacques Chirac in 1988) and Russia (for Boris Yeltsin in 1996). In 1995 Lowe Bell (his company) was also active in Sweden during referendum about whether to join the European Community. He advised De Klerk, the leader of the South African national party.13


Bill Clinton’s scandals made Clinton’s spin doctors work hard, using the politics of Image restoration, because the president needed ‘to maintain a positive image in order to act freely and responsibly on the world stage’.14


A noncharismatic leader’s speech is generally characterized by a phase of evaluation and judgment on the part of the audience and then their acceptance or obedience. The perception of charismatic leader’s speech is different, there is no pause, the audience is ready to obey at once. The rhetorical dimension of political charisma deals with emotional stimuli or the style of verbal communication.


Figurative language is very important. By using such a language ‘the speaker can verbally tap selected cultural symbols and elicit the emotions aroused by them”.15


The art of speech writing has recently been elaborated rather thoroughly and has drawn attention of many researchers in the political field. The right use of literary devices is important for making a successful speech.


Figures of Speech16


Acronym:

It is a graphical abbreviation, for example, the UN- United Nations, BBC – British Broadcasting Corporation; G.I for American soldiers from ‘Government Issue’ which was on a stamp on American military equipment meaning Government production; MP- a member of Parliament; a jeep (a car) – came from G.P., i.e. a general purpose car. A lot of acronyms from Latin – a.m.- ante meridiem, p.m. – post meridiem; cf.- confer meaning compare; i.e. - id est meaning that is; e.g.- exempli gratia meaning for example; viz.- videlicet meaning namely.

Allegory:

It is the expression of the idea with the help of naming a real thing (close to a symbol) or using an allegorical representation of a real event or thing.

Alliteration:

Alliteration occurs when a consonant is used at the beginning of each word, or in the middle

of the words. (Latin) Veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered);

(Russian) Vsya Vlast Sovietam (All power to the Soviets).

Anachronism:

This literary term refers to a situation in which people say, do, or see something that is inconsistent with the time they live in.

^ Antonym and antithesis:

They are used for a semantic contrast (e.g. In the midst of despair, she celebrated

hope; confronted by death, she asserted the beauty of life).

Archaic word:

When a word is no longer in general use but not absolutely obsolete, it is called an archaism. It often happens that names for obsolete notions remain in the language in their figurative meaning.

Atmosphere:

It refers to a dominant feeling in a story. It points to the mental and moral environment of the story and is different from setting, which describes the physical environment in which the characters operate.

Blending:

Blending is one word made of two (smog from smoke and fog).

Colloquialism:

It is informal or conversational language. It echoes the vocabulary of everyday speech. Colloquialisms often go hand in hand with dialect.

(^ Whatsa matter?)

Dialogue:

It helps to create a more vivid picture.

Ellipsis:

It means that parts of sentences or words are left out but can nevertheless be understood or inferred (e.g. Did you buy a piano for your new house? – No, it would have taken too much space. ^ Compare with the full sentence: If I had bought a piano, it would have taken too much space).


Epiphany:

Epiphany is a literary device in which a character experiences an unexpected flash of understanding about the true nature of a person or situation, deeply altering his or her perception of that individual or event.

Euphemism:

It is the substitution of words denoting something rough, unpleasant or for some other reasons unmentionable (taboo) by words of mild or vague connotations to express it (e.g. deceased instead of dead).

Flashback:

It is a narrative technique in which a narrator or character interrupts the present time and returns to the past. Through this device, some aspect of the character or incident is illuminated.

Historism:

The thing named is no longer used due to the extra-linguistic reason (some ancient weapons, for example, became useless in the course of history). The old word can acquire a new stylistic property and be used in a poetic language.

^ Humor:

It takes many forms from mild one to the irony.

Hyperbole:

It is an exaggerated statement expressing an intensely emotional attitude (e.g. nightmare).

Imagery:

It is used to create vivid pictures that our senses (sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste) respond to.

Inference:

The reader arrives at the conclusion by himself after deducing the writer’s meaning when the writer does not want to be direct and leaves the reader to decide what he wanted to say by himself.

Litotes:

The reverse figure of hyperbole is called litotes or understatement (someone says ‘not bad’ to you after your getting a PhD).

Metaphor:

A transfer of name based on the association of similarity and thus it is actually a hidden comparison (a naïve girl – a Red Riding Hood or a cunning person – a fox).17

Metonymy:

It is based on association of contiguity. (A girl who always wears a red hat – a Red Riding Hood).

Neologism:

It is a new word or an expression created for new things irrespective of their scale of importance (neologism fool-proof. Compare it with a water-proof watch, for example).


Oxymoron:

The combination of words which are impossible to combine in reality

(burning snow, optimistic tragedy).

Repetition:

It can be a most effective way of creating atmosphere or of pointing to a theme in a story. It can take the form of repetitive language as in the ‘insistent refrain’, (e.g. “justice” and “democracy” in a political speech) or the form of the striking alliterative repetition of consonants, or the form of repeated events. E.g. ‘To her and others like her, we owe a debt to life itself. To her and others like her, we owe a commitment to the poor, the oppressed, the wretched and the despised’.18

^ Rhetorical question:

It is asked not for being answered but for making another person think more about the problem or for drawing his attention to what you want to say by yourself.

E.g. (With the reference to Richard Nixon, President of the USA)19

^ Would you buy a used car from this man?

Rhyme:

It makes the statement more memorable. It is also meant for crowd participation,

it has its own inherent capacity to motivate by the endless hypnotic repetition.

E.g. Reds under the beds (during the Cold War).

E.g. (With the reference to Lyndon Baines Johnson, President of the USA,

1963-1969, Vietnam War):

Hey, hey, hey L.B.J,

How many kids have you killed today?

Setting:

It refers to the time and place in which the action unfolds.

Simile:

A simile is an explicit comparison that contains the words ‘like’ or ‘as’, which help to identify the two elements of the comparison.

Style:

There can be different literary styles: a high style (official and solemn), a low style (close to colloquialism and slang), a scientific style (specific and neutral), a poetic style (expressive and unusual), and etc.

Symbol:

A symbol may be a person, an object, or an action that represents something else because of its association with it. It is frequently a visible sign of something invisible (olive branch is a symbol of peace, a red rose is a symbol of love).

Synecdoche:

It is a figure of speech in which a part is used to describe the whole or the whole is used for a part; or the special is used for the general or the general for the special. (e.g. She has left her science for the kitchen after marrying him. Here science represents her former work and social activity and the kitchen represents the house and married life).

Synonymy:

Synonymy is a semantic similarity. Semantic equivalence can exist between words and word-groups, word-groups and sentences, sentences and sentences. (e.g. John sold the book to Bill and Bill bought the book from John are semantically equivalent). The fact that Inuit (Eskimo’s language) has 20 words for snow, Irish Gaelic 40 words for green, and English 226 words for money, may demonstrate environmental or psycholinguistic phenomena.

Shortening:

This literary device means a shortened word, such as fridge from refrigerator, phone from telephone, vet from veteran, mike from microphone, flue from influenza.

Tone:

It refers to the attitude of the writer or that of one of the characters in the story. It may be humorous, sarcastic, ironic, cheerful, pessimistic, angry, satirical and etc.


Roosevelt and Great Tradition.

Literary Analysis and Political Analysis20


Ann Ruth Willner (1984) in her analysis of Roosevelt’s speeches claims that Roosevelt rhetorically presented himself as the leader of a crusade of the common people against fear and want, as an ‘armed prophet’. He was armed with the Book (Bible). He used the phrases from the Bible which were well known to millions of Americans of Roosevelt’s era, old and young, urban and rural, of all classes and all occupational backgrounds. Willner writes:

Roosevelt frequently employed elevated Biblical language and cadences in his major addresses. Many of his metaphors were derived from the Bible, as the following extract indicates; ‘Let us be frank in acknowledgement of the truth that many amongst us have made obeisance to Mam