ROMANIAN REVIEW OF POLITICAL SCIENCES AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

ROMANIAN REVIEW OF POLITICAL SCIENCES AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1/2010

 

CONTENTS

 

IN FOCUS:

CONSTITUTIONAL POLITICAL THOUGHT

 

Ion Bulei, Romanian Modern Constitutionalism 

Aristide Cioabă, Does the Presidentialization of the Constitutional Regime Concur to the Democratic Consolidation in Romania?

Constantin Nica, The Political – Juridical Prospective of the Romanian Constitution on the Fundamental Institutions of the Power

Gabriela Tănăsescu, Considerations on the Romania’s Semi-Presidentialism

Cecilia Tohăneanu, Reading the Constitution: An Entanglement and still Arguable Question

POLITICAL IMAGE, THEORY AND PHILOSOPHY

Jaouad El Habbouch, The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear 

Carmen Burcea, L’immagine della Romania sulla stampa del Ventennio

Marina Vraciu, Of Prophets and Philosophers

Henrieta  Anişoara Şerban, The Reforming Ideologies as Paradigm and Political Stake

Lut Lams, Reconnecting Theories of Language Pragmatics and Critiques on Logocentric  Methodological Approaches to Media Discourse Analysis

 

POLITICAL SCIENCE REVISITED

Antoine Heemeryck, Pratiques et ideologies des organisations non-gouvernementales: une problematisation generale et comparative

Viorella Manolache, The Liberal Project from the First Modernism to its Contemporary Europeanization                                                                                           

Vanja Savic, Rhetorical Action and Appropriation of the Grundnorm of Human Rights by actors in the domestic context of Serbia

Florin Diaconu, Afghanistan: Why Western Intervention could end in a Disastrous Military and Political Failure

SCIENTIFIC LIFE

 

REVIEW OF REVIEWS

BOOK REVIEWS

 THE AUTHORS

SOMMAIRE

 

EN ATTENTION:

PENSÉE CONSTITUTIONNEL POLITIQUE 

Ion Bulei, Le constitutionnalisme moderne roumain

Aristide Cioabă, Est-ce que la présidentialisation du régime constitutionnel mene à la consolidation démocratique en Roumanie?

Constantin Nica, La politique – prospective juridique de la Constitution roumaine sur les institutions fondamentales de la puissance

Gabriela Tănăsescu, Considérations sur le semi-présidentialisme de la Roumanie

Cecilia Tohăneanu, La lecture de la Constitution: un enchevêtrement et encore défendable question

D’ IMAGE POLITIQUE, DE LA THEORIE ET DE LA PHILOSOPHIE

Jaouad El Habbouch, La pouvoir du cauchemar:  la politique de la peur se leve

Carmen Burcea, L’immagine della Romania sulla stampa del Ventennio

Marina Vraciu, Des prophètes et des philosophes

Henrieta Anişoara Şerban, Des les idéologies de la réforme comme paradigme et mise politique

Lut Lams, De la reconnexion de théories de langage  pragmatique et les critiques sur  les Approches logocentrique méthodologiques dans l’analyse du discours aux medias

 

SCIENCE POLITIQUE SOUS ENQUÊTE

Antoine Heemeryck, Pratiques et ideologies des organisations non-gouvernementales: une problematisation generale et comparative

 

Viorella Manolache, Le projet libéral du modernisme d’abord à son européanisation contemporain

 Vanja Savic, L’Action rhétorique et d’appropriation de la norme fondamentale de droits de l’homme par des acteurs dans le contexte national de la Serbie

 Florin Diaconu, Afghanistan: pourquoi l’intervention de l’Ouest pourrait se terminer par un échec désastreux militaire et politique

 VIE SCIENTIFIQUE

 REVUE DE REUVES

 COMPTES RENDUS

AUTEURS

                                                            ABSTRACTS

 

IN FOCUS:

CONSTITUTIONAL POLITICAL THOUGHT

 CONFERENCE ORGANIZED BY THE INSTITUTE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND THE FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, SPIRU HARET UNIVERSITY, MAY 2009

ROMANIAN MODERN CONSTITUTIONALISM

                                                                                                ION BULEI

 Abstract. Conceived as an introductory word to the debate on constitutional political thinking in Romania, this conference examines step-by-step the constitutional texts of the Romanian modernity, it highlights the major Western influences and concludes that, in spite of their liberal and democratic character, they could not accomplish entirely the modernization of the Romanian society.

Keywords: constitutionalism, modernization, liberalism, democratization

DOES THE PRESIDENTIALIZATION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL REGIME CONCUR TO THE DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN ROMANIA?

 ARISTIDE CIOABĂ

 

                        Abstract. Among the solutions suggested by the Romanian president on the possible revision of the current Constitution, there is also the presidentialization of the constitutional regime. By this term I define any increase in the executive and decisional powers of the President, in addition to these already existing, and I argue that presidentialization is rather a risk than a strengthening factor for democratization in Romania, given both the incipient stage of this process and the inertial effects of the former totalitarian regime, which continues to be felt in some parts of the institutional political system. My arguments are based on the neo-institutionalism approaches concerning the different results that the same institutional set can produce in cultural and societal particular contexts, especially in the case of transferring an institutional system with strong endogenous character in a “particular” social-political environment without strong democratic and liberal traditions. The characteristics of the former totalitarian regime and the very logic of path dependency in which entered the noncommunist forces that opted in 1991 for the current constitutional design, apparently semi-presidential, require an effort to exit the authoritarian logic; the very guarantee the continuation of the democratic consolidation process. The presidentialization can cause the ossification of the Romanian democracy.

            Keywords: democratic systems, presidentialism, democratic consolidation, neo-institutionalism, delegative democracy.

THE POLITICAL – JURIDICAL PROSPECTIVE OF THE ROMANIAN CONSTITUTION

ON THE FUNDAMENTAL INSTITUTIONS OF THE POWER

 CONSTANTIN NICA

 

Abstract. The main thesis of this conference argues that the Romanian Constitution of 1991 outlined a self-standing formula of theory and practice of political power in the new Romanian democracy. The author considers that the Romania’s democratic parliamentary-representative political system is a summary of general principles, rights, duties and fundamental liberties, and functioning principles of public authorities in the Constitution of Romania.

 

Keywords: Constitution, democracy, political power, separation of powers, representative government, balance of powers, social powers.

CONSIDERATIONS ON THE ROMANIA’S SEMI-PRESIDENTIALISM

 GABRIELA TĂNĂSESCU

Abstract. These considerations are a contra argument to the position sustaining “the state crisis” which would require amendments to the Romania’s Constitution regarding the presidential powers. The author considers that in Romania’s case the attempt of “constitutional engineering” which would improve the Constitution would require not to increase the presidential powers, following the model of French semi-presidentialism, but to elucidate and materialize in legal form the presidential office of “mediation” among the powers of state, and between the state and the society, as well as the function of “supervisory” the observance of the Constitution and the proper functioning of public authorities, possibly even their reconfiguration within the Executive. The study indicates some reasons due to which the presidentialization of the Romanian political regime was undesirable in the early ’90s and those of its undesirability today.

Keywords: presidential prerogatives in Romania’s Constitution, semi-presidentialism, French model of semi-presidentialism, parliamentarianism, weak semi-presidentialism.

READING THE CONSTITUTION: AN ENTANGLEMENT AND STILL ARGUABLE QUESTION

       CECILIA TOHĂNEANU

                                                                                                                  

Abstract. Analyzing the constitutionality of a law is a process of constitutional interpretation which does not limit itself to comparing two texts in order to see whether they are concordant or not. The nature of constitutional interpretation is the subject of this article, a subject that is dealt with from the perspective of the dispute between originalism and non-originalism (interpretivism) prevalent within the contemporary philosophy of law, especially the American one.The article offers a synthetic view on some of the most controversial issues pertaining to the theory and methodology of contemporary constitutional interpretation, such as: whether the interpretation of the Constitution is guided by the founders’ intentions or by the text’s own words; whether the meaning of the Constitution is determined by the intentions, aims or values of the founders’ generation or by those of the contemporary generation? What are the grounds that justify the authority of the constitutional text, in other words, does this authority derive from its constraining capacity or from its ability to bestow democratic legitimacy? Constitutional interpretation must concentrate on the text or on the interpreter? Do the judges discover or build the constitutional meaning? In other words, is it the past or the present that guides the interpretation? Is the original interpretation the legitimate one or are legitimate the later interpretations of the constitutional text?

Keywords: Originalism, non-originalism, constitutional meaning, constitutional interpretation, interpretivism

POLITICAL IMAGE, THEORY AND PHILOSOPHY

 THE POWER OF NIGHTMARES: THE RISE OF THE POLITICS OF FEAR

                JAOUAD EL HABBOUCH

 

Abstract. In his documentary film- The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear-Adam Curtis explains that the root causes of contemporary conflicts lie in the failure of two groups to “build a better world”: the American neo-conservatives, whose chief theorist is the political philosopher Leo Strauss, and the radical Islamists, whose source of inspiration is Sayyed Qutb.The politics of fear was charismatically invested for profit, influence, control and hegemony. Belief in the virtue of Western democratic ideals- free market, human rights, limited government, individualism, the rule of law- as well as the necessity to implement them abroad turned out to be no more than an ideological trick to veil the imposition of a ruthless form of imperial endeavor that assumes Western ideals to be the only acceptable paradigm.

Keywords: contemporary conflicts, the politics of fear, The Power of Nightmares, political “good” and “evil”

L’IMMAGINE DELLA ROMANIA SULLA STAMPA DEL VENTENNIO

( I )

CARMEN BURCEA

 

Abstract. This study investigates the aspects related to the image of Romania in the Italian press during 1922-1943. Published in two consecutive issues, the purpose of the study is to answer to several questions: Who writes about Romania? Which is the typology of the publications where we find information on Romania? Which are the ascendant/descendent curves of the Italian interest for Romania? Which are the recurrent themes of the articles that have as thematic Romania? How does the Direction for the Foreign Press within the National Propaganda Ministry function as “image laboratory”?

 Keywords : image, press, diplomacy, Romania, Italy

OF PROPHETS AND PHILOSOPHERS

MARINA VRACIU

Abstract. No matter how excessive prophetic fantasy may appear at its best, it represents reality, for the prophets’ intellect has been deemed worthy of ‘illumination’. In Maimonides’ philosophy, the goal of human life is equivalent to the attainment of a fully developed intellect. The salvation-producing act is the actualization of intellect through metaphysical scientific study. Maimonides might have wanted to imply that this is the only joy-bringing activity reserved to the human being, living rather at the foot of the mountain which Moses ascended. This might also point, as Gruenwald suggests, to the philosopher’s quest beyond prophecy.

Keywords: Maimonides, philosophical discourse, metaphysical system, prophets, beyond prophecy

 

THE REFORMING IDEOLOGIES AS PARADIGM AND POLITICAL STAKE

 HENRIETA ANIŞOARA ŞERBAN

 

Abstract. Political philosophy continuously floods the personal and political ideologies, the scientific and epistemological ideologies, within the same limits of the discourse, concerning the new personal and group identities, approaching the topic „us and society,” but also „us within society,” to a more or less similar extent. Reforming ideologies are new sources of political identity, inciting to new language games and new identities. Nowadays, political identity represents an ethical stake, more than a mere message, while the discourse is the image, the „weapon,” the source and, at the same time, the dignifying foundation of the self. The reforming ideologies represent a contemporary phenomenon, possibly to unfold into a project. The interest for these reforming ideologies is indebted to the potential of democratic deepening and renewal, the starting point for the present volume, too. I consider as reforming ideologies the ironist liberalism of Richard Rorty, feminism, ecologism, discourse theory of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, neohumanism, which I interpret around the discussion regarding post-subjectivity, in relation with the ideas sustained by Calvin O. Schrag and others, as well as neoanarchism capitalized by Simon Critchley. They are reforming ideologies with a particular status in relation to the specifications of the specialized literature concerning the traditional ideologies, because – as I emphasized in the phrasing „reforming ideologies”  – they are closely „fed” by a contemporary political philosophy commenting upon the reforming of the democratic and liberal contemporary societies and because they do not entertain among their aims, first of all, the conquering of the political power as traditional ideologies do.

 Keywords: ideology, reform, ironist liberalism, feminism, ecologism, discourse theory, neohumanism, neoanarchism, democratic culture, Richard Rorty, Ernesto Laclau, Chantal Mouffe,  Calvin O. Schrag, Simon Critchley, Carole Pateman, Anne Phillips, Mihaela Miroiu

 

RECONNECTING THEORIES OF LANGUAGE PRAGMATICS AND CRITIQUES ON LOGOCENTRIC  METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO MEDIA DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

 LUT LAMS

Abstract.  Amidst the wealth of literature on text and discourse analysis it has become rather difficult to see the forest for the trees. This article attempts to reconnect concerns raised in journalism studies about the perceived logocentric approach to media discourse analysis by some critical discourse analysts with similar criticism originating in the field of Linguistic Pragmatics. At the same time it fulfills a pedagogical function in answering concrete requests from colleagues and students to propose a methodological framework for examining ideology in media discourse. While the paper argues against employing ready-made ‘models’ for text analysis, it proposes a methodological framework  listing a number of ideologically invested discursive strategies operating at several levels of structural adaptability. Given the major role of contextual factors on the synchronic and diachronic axes as well as on the production and reception side in meaning generation processes, the article argues for an issue-oriented, multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to discourse analysis.

Keywords: ideology, language pragmatics, critical discourse analysis, media discourse, discursive strategies, contextualization, methodological framework

 

POLITICAL SCIENCE REVISITED

PRATIQUES ET IDEOLOGIES DES ORGANISATIONS NON-GOUVERNEMENTALES :

UNE PROBLEMATISATION GENERALE ET COMPARATIVE

ANTOINE HEEMERYCK

Abstract. This contribution seeks to problematize the question of the evolution of NGOs as privileged development, focusing on the evolution of the ideological field and in particular on  the transition to Worldism humanitarian. By mobilizing different examples for purposes of comparison, the alignment of NGOs on challenges and global issues are discussed. In this way, the study shows that very few NGOs are independent in their program, they cannot be separated from economic and political sectors.

Keywords: NGO, global issues and challenges, economic and political sectors.

THE LIBERAL PROJECT

FROM THE FIRST MODERNISM TO ITS CONTEMPORARY EUROPEANIZATION

                                                                                    VIORELLA MANOLACHE

Abstract. According to John Rawls, the stable democratic social order can relatively be amended (and) from a deeply liberal perspective. In Rawls’s view, political liberalism may be subordinate to a general question: how can a right and stable society of free and equal citizens to live in a society divided by doctrine “reasonable”, but “incompatible”? It is well known that participatory democracy is a classical form by which sub-centers (even isolated individuals) are associated and intervene whenever power acts contrary the public interest. This is recognized (also in the Romanian political sphere) in a civic and political engagement found in invariant invoice liberal policies, which have as main objective: to ensure equal opportunities for all citizens assert, the creation of a normal functioning of social justice, promoting items such as to generate prosperity at local, regional, national, international human rights and citizen ; removing inequality and discrimination, encouraging the competition, prevent monopolistic tendencies, the establishment of a climate of peace and security throughout the world. As noted in the majority of political parties, this remains the supreme law of the liberal difference.

Keywords: elites, anti-elites, first and second modernism, Eastern Europe vs. Western Europe

RHETORICAL ACTION AND APPROPRIATION OF THE GRUNDNORM OF HUMAN RIGHTS BY ACTORS IN THE DOMESTIC CONTEXT OF SERBIA

 VANJA SAVIC

 Abstract. This article will try to throw the light on an instance of the contentious use of human rights discourse in connection with the police crack-down on organized crime in Serbia during the state of emergency introduced after the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic on March 12, 2003. Using concepts and theoretical insights from the study of norms in international relations, the essay argues that levelling accusations against the then incumbent Serbian government for gross human rights violations by their political opponents worked as a strategic argument that was meant to delegitimize the government’s position. The use of this norm-based strategic argument by a political group in Serbia represents an instance of the rhetorical action (Schimmelfennig, Risse) and partly illustrates the concept of the rhetorical entrapment, but can also be understood in terms of the process of socialization of norms (Schimmelfennig, Risse, Finnemore and Sikkink), and norm transfer and norm collision (Wiener) in domestic appropriation of the fundamental norm (Grundnorm) of human rights.

Keywords: norms, speech acts, rhetorical action and rhetorical entrapment.

AFGHANISTAN: WHY WESTERN INTERVENTION COULD END IN A DISASTRUOUS MILITARY AND POLITICAL FAILURE

 FLORIN DIACONU

 Abstract: The study starts by clearly stating that the early stages of the present war in Afghanistan were a significant success of USA. Anyhow, at this very moment, almost a decade after the moment when Western military intervention against the Talibans and against al Qaeda started, the NATO-led presence is facing an increasing number of problems: increasing costs; large number of collateral damage and civilian casualties; very weak and notoriously corrupt Afghan state institutions, not able to properly manage national territory; increasing military pressure generated by both Taliban and al Qaeda offensive operations, targeting larger and larger regions; lack of strong and homogenous political will of NATO member countries. The synergetic consequences of all these could be, in the worst case scenario, a really disastrous failure of the attempt of the Western powers (NATO) to pacify and stabilize Afghanistan.

Keywords: Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, civilian casualties, effectiveness, Germany, Great Britain, Iran, national power (and its elements), NATO, al Qaeda, resources, strategy, the Talibans, USA, war