Polity articles from October 2007

Polity archives from October 2007

Beyond God-talk: understanding the Christian right from the ground up *.
October 1, 2007... Contemporary debates over religious political discourse focus on the role that religion ought to play in the democratic forum. By emphasizing the normative dimensions of religious politics, however, these discussions overlook the structural...

Philosophy and empire: on Socrates and Alcibiades in Plato's Symposium *.(Essay)
October 1, 2007... When Socrates was accused in 399 BC of corrupting the young, the harm that his one-time associate Alcibiades did to Athens provided fuel for the charges against him. By setting the Symposium in 416 BC, just one year before Alcibiades led Athens...

James Madison's republic of "mean extent" theory: avoiding the Scylla and Charybdis of republican government.(Era overview)
October 1, 2007... Most scholars believe Madison embraced the extended republic merely as a means of reducing the majority's influence over government; they thus view his turn to the Republican party--a party dedicated to the mobilization of a national...

Race, political empowerment, and constituency service: descriptive representation and the hiring of African-American congressional staff *.
October 1, 2007... Do democratic legislators, African-American legislators, and/or legislators from black-majority districts hire a higher proportion of district staff that are African-American? Legal experts and policymakers are engaged in discussions over the...

Constitutionalism, judiciary, and democracy in Islamic societies *.
October 1, 2007... This article reconsiders the relationship between secularism, liberalism, and democracy in non-secularized societies by focusing on judicial activism. The goal is to identify the forms of constitutionalism and judicial review that are necessary...

Preserving the initiative: state legislative response to direct democracy *.(Case study)
October 1, 2007... Over the last quarter-century, direct democracy has come to play an increasingly important role in state politics and policy. Political scientists have examined various aspects of the ballot initiative process, including state legislators'...