Modernization theory

https://brill.com/display/title/32081

To date, the nascent consequential notion of 'multiple modernities' has been predominately grounded in historical research with the purpose of validating the theory. Yet, the notion of multiple modernities represents a radical transformation in the way modernity and, indeed, the contemporary world is viewed. As such, the central aim of this volume is to explore the implications and hidden understanding of the multiple modernitites research project beyond historical analysis in order to investigate its wide ranging omnipresent implications as they exist in communication and in the social order of societal membership in contemporary societies.
This volume collects new research about multiple modernities and globalization. Int shows the new turn of sociological theory in the contemporary scene with respect to multiple modernities, multi-centrism, transglobality, hybridization and multiculturalism, and explores it as a new area of societal communication - one that takes effect in the sectors of a global society as a 'society of societies'.
The studies in this book converge to demonstrate that the route of Western modernization, its cultural program and iths institutional structure, does not follow the pathway of modernization that we have that far observed in the emerged new area. Rather, the continuation of the multiple modernities research program is given a new design, researching the social structure and dynamic of postmodern societies, their exchange and the the debate about the flow of free resources.

https://brill.com/display/title/32081

Thousands of academical works are devoted to the theory of modernization. In general under modernization we can understand the processes where rural, traditional societies are transformed into industrialized and modern.  This encompasses not only economical modernization and development of market infrastructure and technology, but also political modernization and the developed system of interest representation. However the process of modernization is believed to have its own impact on every aspect of political, economical, social and cultural life of the state. In this context East Asian historiography seems to be one of the best samples.

Since its inception in the second half of the twentieth century, democratization has garnered attention among scholars working in such fields of social science as political science, political sociology, and comparative history. Democratization’s largest body of scholarship has been produced in such sub-fields of political science as comparative politics, political theory, and political economy. Not only did comparative democratization attain one of the leading positions within some of these disciplines, it also generated several schools of contemporary political thought, whose methodologies are deeply rooted in both social and political theory.

The 2011 Arab uprisings were initially hailed by many observers in the Western world as the harbinger of a “modern” Middle East. Finally, it was believed, the hegemony of corrupt autocrats and the prolonged “dark age” of the Arab world were coming to an end. In the context of this narrative, the so-called Turkish model gained popularity as a potential guide for the modernization of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Accordingly, modernization has been defined as the inevitable path to a liberal democratic, free-market capitalist, and secular society within non-Western settings. This conceptualization is highly Eurocentric as the contents of modernization are solely limited to the contemporary characteristics of social, economic, and political life in Western Europe and Northern America.

This study criticizes much of the literature on the Arab uprisings, arguing that the excessive enthusiasm shown by Western mainstream media and governments toward the promotion of the Turkish model reveals the limits of their understanding of the complexities of MENA societies and polities. Modernization is actually a highly customizable path whose nature is determined mainly by the contingent socioeconomic and political characteristics of each country. Therefore, in order to develop a generalizable understanding of modernization in the MENA region and beyond, the Eurocentrism of mainstream literature needs to be replaced with more flexible frameworks such as the ones developed in recent years by proponents of postcolonialism, multiple modernities paradigm, and the uneven and combined development theory.

This contribution presents an overview on the numerous studies on the history of non-European middle classes which have been published within the last few years. It argues that the establishing of middle classes in different parts of the world can be construed to a considerable extent as the result of global entanglements in the long nineteenth century. The article further discusses the epistemological problems, however also the advantages, of describing these social groups which emerged in the non-European world in the age of empire with European concepts such as bourgeoisie or middle classes. And it explores whether an examination of their history could be extended to a global social history in a next step.

The purpose of this paper is to review the different arguments concerning the theory of modernization. For this purpose, this paper examines the definitions of modernization, major historical context, and major historical tenets, assumptions and the criticism of modernization theory.

ProtoSociology occupies an important position in the European intellectual scene, bridging philosophy, economics, sociology and related disciplines. Its volumes on rationality bring together concerns in all these topics, and present an important challenge to the cognitive sciences. Donald Davidson ProtoSociology is a truly premier interdisciplinary journal that publishes articles and reviews on timely topics written by and for a wide range of international scholars.

Roger Gibson

Cultural Evolution brings a welcome contribution to the study
of economic, cultural and political change, opening new directions for research
on these topics. In this book, Inglehart presents a new version of modernization
theory that focuses on the causes and consequences of existential (in)security.
Based on empirical evidence from more than 100 societies, this book examines
how changes in the extent to which people take survival for granted shapes their
motivations and behavior, leading to a plethora of long-term phenomena such as
secularization, environmental protection, gender equality, same sex marriage,
democratization, but also to more recent developments such as the rise of
xenophobia and populist authoritarian parties and leaders.

Need acceptance of substantial state intervention.
Need high performing institutions developed as needed in light of historical process of development.
Manufacturing is important.
Developed countries hypocritical in applying different standards at home and abroad.
Playing field tilted in favor of the winners.
Current (neoliberal) period features lower levels of growth than earlier periods.

Przedmiotem pracy jest problem osobliwości rozwojowych społeczeństw środkowo-europejskich: Czech, Węgier i Polski, która rozpatrywana jest w perspektywie metodologicznej, teoretycznej i historiograficznej. Książka składa się z wprowadzenia i trzech zasadniczych części. W części wstępnej pt. Wprowadzenie. Konceptualizacje odrębności historycznej Europy Środkowej krytycznie analizuję występujące w literaturze przedmiotu koncepcje wyjaśniające odrębność naszej części kontynentu. W części pierwszej Założenia metodologiczne analizuję osobliwości i rozmaite sposoby zastosowania metody modelowej w historii gospodarczej i naukach historycznych. W rozdziale tym opierając się na idealizacyjnej teorii nauki identyfikuję pewną osobliwość procesów historycznych. Polega ona z grubsza na tym, że struktury esencjalne zjawisk przyrodniczych są tak zbudowane, że wystarczy określenie wpływu czynnika głównego (czynników głównych) by uzyskać zadowalające wyjaśnienie zachowania danego zjawiska. W procesach historycznych nie zawsze tak bywa. Nawet jeżeli da się zidentyfikować czynniki główne to bardzo często skumulowany efekt działania czynników ubocznych osłabia, a nawet przeważa nad działaniem czynników głównych. Paradoks ten da się wyeksplikować w aparaturze pojęciowej idealizacyjnej teorii nauki. Opierając się bowiem na tej koncepcji można wyróżnić zjawiska posiadające dwa typy struktur esencjalnych: zdominowane przez czynnik główny i zdominowane przez klasę czynników ubocznych. W pierwszym typie struktury esencjalnej moc wpływu czynnika głównego dla danego zjawiska przeważa nad sumą mocy wpływów czynników ubocznych. Natomiast w drugim typie struktury esencjalnej suma mocy wpływów czynników ubocznych przeważa nad mocą wpływu czynnika uznawanego za główny dla danego zjawiska, choć moc jego wpływu jest wyższa od wpływu każdego, wziętego z osobna czynnika ubocznego. Struktury esencjalne zdominowane przez czynnik główny charakterystyczne są – jak wspomniano - dla nauk przyrodniczych, a zdominowane przez czynniki uboczne - dla nauk społecznych. W tym ostatnim typie struktur esencjalnych może dojść do zjawiska, który nazywam procesem kaskady. Polega ono na tym, że stopniowo kumulujące się rozmaite czynniki uboczne w pewnym momencie przeważają wpływ czynnika głównego. Tak skonceptualizowana koncepcja kaskady wykorzystywana jest w wyjaśnieniu dualizmu gospodarczego w Europie w XVI - XVII wieku. W płaszczyźnie teoretycznej za wyjściową teorię rozwoju historycznego przyjmuję nie-Marksowski materializm historyczny, której krytyczną analizę i pewne rozwinięcia przedstawiam w drugiej części (Założenia teoretyczne). Modyfikuję wyjściowy model rozwoju ekonomiczno-społecznego, poszerzając go o koncepcję dwóch typów rewolucji ekonomicznych oraz konstruuję dwa nowe modele społeczeństwa ekonomicznego: z nadmiarem i z niedoborem siły roboczej. Model z nadmiarem siły roboczej, który wycinkowo tylko aproksymuje rozwój społeczeństw zachodnioeuropejskich zakłada pogorszenie położenia ekonomicznego bezpośrednich producentów oraz zaostrzenie konfliktu społecznego pomiędzy tymi ostatnimi a właścicielami. Natomiast model z niedoborem siły roboczej zakłada poprawę położenia ekonomicznego bezpośrednich producentów i złagodzenie form konfliktu społecznego. W części trzeciej Próba konceptualizacji środkowoeuropejskiej odrębności rozwojowej opierając się na literaturze przedmiotu przedstawię aplikacje skonstruowanych modeli. W historycznej rzeczywistości Europy Środkowej model gospodarki z niedoborem siły roboczej jest jednak w stanie wyjaśnić tylko fragment dziejów społeczeństw tej części Europy, mianowicie okres kolonizacji na prawie niemieckim w XIII - XIV w., w którym nastąpiła znaczna poprawa położenia ekonomicznego chłopstwa. Dalszy rozwój społeczeństw środkowoeuropejskich przeczy tendencjom rozwojowym zakładanym przez ten model. Rozwój gospodarki folwarczno-pańszczyźnianej interpretować bowiem można jako pogorszenie, a nie poprawę sytuacji chłopstwa. Przyczyniła się do tego kaskada czynników ubocznych, których łączny wpływ przeważył działanie podstawowych mechanizmów rozwojowych zakładanych przez model. W XII-XIV w. niedobór siły roboczej wpłynął nie tylko na poprawę sytuacji chłopstwa ale i na warunki powstawania miejskiej sfery gospodarki w Europie Środkowej. Spadek alienacji pracy ograniczył rozmiary migracji chłopskich do miast. To zaś wpłynęło na słabszy rozwój sfery miejskiej i zachwiało równowagę społeczną pomiędzy mieszczaństwem a szlachtą. Pozwoliło to tej ostatniej klasie społecznej podporządkować swoim interesom władzę. Dominacja polityczna szlachty umożliwiła dalsze ograniczanie rozwoju miast oraz zaostrzenie poddaństwa i wprowadzenie folwarku pańszczyźnianego. Dalszy wzrost wyzysku ekonomicznego następował w instytucjonalnych ramach gospodarki folwarczno-pańszczyźnianej. Dopóki szlachta pozbawiona była wsparcia państwa, dopóty prowadziła politykę ustępstw wobec chłopstwa. Kiedy jednak zdobyła wyłączny wpływ na władzę państwową, zdołała ograniczyć przywileje mieszczaństwa oraz wycofać się z ustępstw wobec wsi. Procesom tym towarzyszył wzmożony popyt na zboże Europy Zachodniej. Czynniki te działały w każdym z wyróżnionych społeczeństw środkowoeuropejskich. Jednakże w historii każdego z nich można wyróżnić pewne czynniki specyficzne. W przypadku Polski będzie to na przykład nierównomierne zaludnienie, które przesunęło walkę klasową z centrum na peryferie, w przypadku Czech - dominacja Habsburgów i skutki wojny 30 - letniej, w przypadku Węgier - okupacja turecka, itd. Wpływ tych czynników powodował dalsze różnicowanie ewolucji każdego z omawianych społeczeństw ale już w ramach środkowoeuropejskiej ścieżki rozwojowej.

Modernization theory has received its fair share of criticism for being Eurocentric. But it isn’t the only theory of its kind around. There is also dependency theory and globalization theory. There are many similarities and many differences between these theories. Are dependency theory and globalization theory both biased as well or not? Which is most useful for explaining global inequality? In this paper, I plan to explore all of this and provide thorough examples to accompany what I find.

A study of China's modernisation is arguably the most important research project that Sinologists could embark on in close collaboration with China oriented scientists from various quarters ready and willing to co-operate with each other. The big question is: CAN CHINA BECOME A MODERN NATION WITHOUT LIBERTY?

In the face of the rapidly changing forces and stresses of global modernity many local peoples are seeking to reclaim
their own sense of values and identity through forms of religious and cultural revitalization.
Unlike many nativist movements that seek economic or political power through religious symbols, certain of these groups are "religions of
the self" concerned primarily with the nature of being-in-the-world. This study explores the revitalization of an ontology of
selfhood in the face of the stresses and changes of modernity.

More specifically I explore the dynamics of the indigenization of selfhood rooted in the embodied agency of individuals within a Taiwanese folk sect called the Compassion Society. In describing and analyzing people's lived experiences of ritual and praxis within the Compassion Society I show how the body is the "existential locus" of culture and selfhood from which this indigenization is produced.

The study reframes our understanding of cultural revitalization from an epistemological to an ontological one. The concern here is not
merely renewal of native "modes of thought," but a revival of native "modes of being." In order to do this I provide a background of the
historical and conceptual context of Chinese religious heritage in which this revitalization is framed. The structure
of temple and ritual life is presented in order to provide a picture of the sacred lifeworld. Drawing on first person
accounts, I then offer a radically empirical perspective to illuminate the ontological particulars of people's lived
experience. This illustrates the way in which selfhood is formulated in the matrix of embodied experience and praxis
within the Compassion Society.

The study situates itself within recent efforts of psychological anthropology to explore the processes of
embodied agency and self-making as the nexus of cultural productivity. This effort expands our understanding of the
indigenization of selfhood from an epistemologic concern with cognitive knowing to an ontological concern with people's
embodied being-in-the-world.

The purpose of theories are to provide a framework for understanding and analyzing set of facts in their relationship with one another or another variable (fact). Here, facts are being analyzed in relation to development, therefore allowing development theories to be coined. There are numerous theories of development, some of which are; the modernization theory of development, the dependency theory of development, import-substitution theory of development etc.

This paper, critically evaluates the various development theories and outline the merits and demerits of each theory.

The paper explores the doctrine of the free flow of information as it relates to development theories. I will start by reviewing the history, assumptive basis and theoretical underpinnings of the debates about information flow. In the second part of the paper, I will demonstrate how the different positions about information flow were in line with different perspectives on development. The third part of the paper focuses on the impact of globalization and digitalization on these debates whereas the fourth part analyzes the connections between the macro-level perspectives and approaches to development communication at the grassroots level. In the final part of this paper, I will outline how information and communication technologies (ICTs) are re-writing the story of development communication.

Günümüzde, siyasi bir karşılığı olmayan, politika üretemeyen, kitlesine yön veremeyen ve metruk bir doktrin halini alan Atatürkçülüğün, 1980'lerden beri süregelen bir apolitikleşme süreci vardır. Mustafa Kemal, siyasi ve tarihi bir figür olarak, değer ve görüşleriyle değil, sembol ve totemleriyle siyasete tutunmaktadır. Atatürk, sadece okul, devlet daireleri, işyerleri gibi kamusal alanlarda görünür olmakla kalmamış, çakmaklardan, kahve kupalarına, duvar saatlerinden, dövmelere kadar pek çok yerde karşımıza çıkmaya başlamıştır. Ancak, Atatürk'ün gündelik hayatta görünür olması, coşkuyla kutlanan bayramlar ve sermayenin ajitatif reklam filmleri, onun değerlerinin baki kaldığı yanılgısını yaratmıştır. Bu makalenin amacı, 'banal Atatürkçülüğün' günümüzde nasıl tezahür ettiğini, neden politikleşemediğini ve politik Kemalizmin yerini zamanla nasıl duygusal bir Atatürk-severliğe bıraktığını açıklamaktır.

Since March 2015, a Saudi-led international coalition of forces—supported by Britain and the United States—has waged devastating war in Yemen. Largely ignored by the world’s media, the resulting humanitarian disaster and full-scale famine threatens millions. Destroying Yemen offers the first in-depth historical account of the transnational origins of this war, placing it in the illuminating context of Yemen’s relationship with major powers since the Cold War. Bringing new sources and a deep understanding to bear on Yemen’s profound, unwitting implication in international affairs, this explosive book ultimately tells an even larger story of today’s political economy of global capitalism, development, and the war on terror as disparate actors intersect in Arabia.

The doctrine of individual divine judgment advanced by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, rejects the proverb, "The fathers ate sour grapes...," and of punishment for ancestral sin as in Kings or even the Ten Commandments.  It reflects the culmination of a process in which the role of old, landed kinship corporations (here, "lineages") were politically marginalized with the overall connivance of the royal court.  Thus, by the 8th century, a full-blown Renaissance -- a vast expansion of the cultural canon -- was underway throughout the Levant, because of heavy exposure to trade, and an enormous explosion of wealth (which incidentally proceeded from Phoenician exploration and expansion, from trade itself, and from post-Bronze Age political economics).  Among cultural conservatives, it seemed that the royal establishment in a relatively remote capital was aping foreigners and abandoning ancestral ways.  The elite Sprachkritik that surfaces in 8th-century prophetic books was that elite's reaction, and was directed at popular religion:  it denied the equivalence of a symbol with its referent -- sacrifice with social justice, icons with divinity, subordinate deities with the High God, Yhwh.  Assaults on communion with the dead (especially for divination) preceded 701, to urbanize the population for invasion.  But 722's and 701's mass countryside deportations, and renewed 7th-century fervor, led to attacks on ritual as a mere show rather than an internal prostration (cf. the behavioral preferences of the 8th-century prophets), to rejection even of symbols like the ark, to the attribution of all subordinate gods to the Canaanites, to the destruction of "patriarchal" sanctuaries such as that at Bethel (and probably outside Beersheba), or of Solomonic shrines left intact in 701 and after, and even to the desecration of graves under Josiah.  This extreme Reformationism, identified with Axial thought, accompanied both urbanization and industrialization and specialization (especially in response to Assyrian administration) and thus the operation of comparative advantage.  The political, demographic and economic situations broke the status of the old lineages (cf. 6th c. Athens).  And, especially in Deuteronomy, the royal establishment attempted to banish any notion of loyalty to kin above the nation, or any unlicensed cultic articulation of kinship solidarity.  The prophetic critique, thus, anticipating its many subsequent imitations and variations, ushered in an idealistic Reformation that would lead both to a philosophical monotheism and to an empirical approach to nature, a modern consciousness.  To this, the birth of the individual was an indispensible component.  (The article contributes evidence to the view that Axial eras are necessary to modernization.)

Contemporary education, which is an agent of modernization in various forms, is also of the Western origin. Traditionally, content of education was esoteric and metaphysical; its communication was limited to the upper classes or the ‘twice-born’ castes and the structure of its professional organization was hereditary and closed. The roles both
of the teachers and the taught were qualitative-abstractive. Modern education has a fundamentally different orientation and organization. Its content is liberal and exoteric, and it is steeped in modern scientific world-view. Freedom, equality, humanism and denial of faith in dogmas are the themes which a modern education should contain

Source: Актуальные проблемы глобальных исследований: ценности глобального мира / под ред. И.В. Ильина. – М., МООСИПНН Н.Д. Кондратьева, 2018. C. 92-118.

Ronald Inglehart and Christian Welzel, the authors of the Human Development Sequence Theory, suggest modernization to be one of the main processes forming the value structures in a population. The current paper investigates the relation between values and modernization applying some elements of the method proposed by Inglehart and Welzel to the data of Shalom Schwartz. The values survey by Schwartz specifies two main value axes, namely conservation/openness to change and self-transcendence/self-enhancement. Our research has revealed that the correlation between these two value axes differs in its direction when estimated for " macro-Europe " (including Europe and former settlement colonies of North and South America and Oceania) and " Afrasia " (including Asia and Africa). In the Western world there is a significant positive correlation between openness to change and self-transcendence, while in the Eastern world this correlation is strong, significant, and negative. We investigate the possible impact of modernization on this difference. To do this, we approximate modernization through such indicators as GDP per capita and the proportions of the labour force employed in various sectors of the economy. We find that in both megazones modernization is accompanied by increasing openness to

В книге анализируются правовые аспекты взаимодействия Российской империи с государствами Средней Азии с начала XVIII в. до 1917 г. Автор характеризует основные этапы формирования российского влияния на правовое развитие среднеазиатских ханств, рассматривает главные направления, по которым это влияние осуществлялось. Обращается внимание на средства и методы российской правовой политики в ханствах Средней Азии после установления над ними протектората. Отдельно рассмотрен вопрос о правовой политике России в среднеазиатских регионах с особым правовым статусом, а также в условиях военного положения, революционной ситуации и проч. Проведенное
исследование позволяет осмыслить исторический опыт интеграции на евразийском пространстве, очередной этап которой активно реализуется сегодня, а также оценить степень эффективности правовых средств этой интеграции в XVIII — начале XX в., их сильные и слабые стороны.
Книга предназначена для историков государства и права,  историков России, востоковедов, политологов, а также студентов, обучающихся данным специальностям.

La ricerca esplora lo sviluppo militare dei paesi dell'Asia Orientale (Cina, Corea e Giappone) tra 1400 e 1800, mettendolo in relazione con il fenomeno coevo della Rivoluzione Militare in Europa in un'ottica di storia delle relazioni internazionali e World History.

The research explores the military development of East Asian countries (China, Korea and Japan) between 1400 and 1800, putting it in relation with the contemporary phenomenon of the Military Revolution in Europe with a focus on history of international relations and World History.

Lifestyle in Siberia and the Russian North

Joachim Otto Habeck (editor)

Lifestyle in Siberia and the Russian North breaks new ground by exploring the concept of lifestyle from a distinctly anthropological perspective. Showcasing the collective work of ten experienced scholars in the field, the book goes beyond concepts of tradition that have often been the focus of previous research, to explain how political, economic and technological changes in Russia have created a wide range of new possibilities and constraints in the pursuit of different ways of life.

Each contribution is drawn from meticulous first-hand field research, and the authors engage with theoretical questions such as whether and how the concept of lifestyle can be extended beyond its conventionally urban, Euro-American context and employed in a markedly different setting. Lifestyle in Siberia and the Russian North builds on the contributors’ clear commitment to diversifying the field and providing a novel and intimate insight into this vast and dynamic region.

This book provides inspiring reading for students and teachers of Anthropology, Sociology and Cultural Studies and for anyone interested in Russia and its regions. By providing ethnographic case studies, it is also a useful basis for teaching anthropological methods and concepts, both at graduate and undergraduate level. Rigorous and innovative, it marks an important contribution to the study of Siberia and the Russian North.

In evaluating the research on Chinese modernization, one repeatedly finds that it does not relativize the blind spot of the Western observer. In this small study, results of the ProtoSociology research project on Chinese modernization are presented, which are to be placed in the frame of reference of the Multiple modernities research program research group. Coming from the research program of multiple modernities (Shmuel N. Eisenstadt) and its continuation it is given a sketch about this framework of sociological theory to make theses about the Chinese modernization and the further modernization of the Chinese society. They are intended more to highlight their peculiarities. This is desirable because this modernization cannot be analysed in the same way as Western modernization. In this respect, the blind spot of the Western point of view is to be relativized. This is accompanied by a theoretical insight such that historical Western modernization cannot be generalized, nor can it be renewed. In this respect, the article provides an impetus for a new way of thinking about contemporary societies, which claims to deal with the changed preconditions of sociological theory of contemporary societies.

Abstract: This essay argues that 1- Third World philosophical apprenticeship involves two opposites; enslavement if associated with imitation or an intelligence exploration that seeks to learn from the other’s achievements for the sake of surpassing or catching up with it. 2- There are deep divergences in the direction of 20th century philosophy between a Franco-German marriage and an Anglo-German one. The former dominated the Arab world due to the congeniality of the European left, the higher costs of studying humanities in Anglophone countries, and the literary leanings of the Arabs. 3- This Continental domination produced harmful results seen in the spread of seven claims promoting "the death of philosophy", abandoning scientific research, and giving up on development. 4- Focusing the funding of Arab students in the west on languages and literatures exacerbated the problem, in that taking a philosophical look at the galaxy of modernization became confined to the lens of “literary criticism.” 5- Hence, Continental Philosophy became an obstacle to modernization in the Arab world and a subject of justifiable mockery by traditional readers matriculated in Arab Islamic scholasticism. 6- After doing justice to many German and French scientists, social-scientists, and orientalists, who follow the research traditions of the enlightenment and modernity, the essay emphasizes that Anglophone specialists in philosophy avoid works in postmodern philosophy because it violates philosophical requirements, e.g., logical coherence, empirical support, and theory construction. 7- Finally, a comprehensive philosophical system exists in the Anglophone philosophies, translated into Arabic, and surpasses Continental ones. In this system, “the Tree of Philosophy” comprises “ten integral branches”. 8- Accordingly, philosophy is defined as a deep reflection on clear, consistent, and verifiable meanings, subject to methodological revision, and seeking beauty and good in the context of interaction with local and global cultures in order to advance social prosperity and justice. 9- Studying the listed translated works of these philosophies can enable Arab readers to explore the “nervous system” of modernization and development.

ملخص: تهدفُ هذه المقالة لاستخلاص العِبَر المنهجية التي يمارسها المُفكر الأمريكي فرانسس فوكوياما في كتابه الجديد "النظام السياسي والانحطاط السياسي". يُمَهَّدُ أولاً بتقديم شرح وجيز للشهرة التي نالها فوكوياما عقب سقوط المعسكر الشيوعي، والتحول الحاصل في خطِّهِ الفكري الذي يمثله هذا الكتاب. ويُشدد فوكوياما على ممارسة "السبر والتقسيم" في اختبار علل التقدم السياسي التي تُصاغ في تعميمات دينية، وجغرافية، ومناخية، وحربية، وطبقية فاسدة. وفي كل تعميم يلاحِظ فوكوياما "انزياحاً مُزدوَجاً" لتلك التعميمات لجهة الإفراط أو التفريط؛ بحيث لا يَصدُقُ التعميم إلا في نقطة مُثلى نادرة. وعليه يُقدم فوكوياما مقترحَهُ للتنمية السياسية باعتبارها توازنًا أمثل بين مؤسسات ثلاثة: هي الديموقراطية والبيروقراطية وسيادة القانون العادل. ويكون هذا التوازن من خلال التشديد على حاكمية الأمة، واحترام استقلالية الإداريين في أجهزة الدولة، واعتبار مقاصدية القانون بعيداً عن التفصيل الجامد المُقيِّد لمعاش الناس وعمل الإداريين. يجتهد المقال أيضا في التمثيل على بعض التطبيقات المُتفرِّعة عن مقترحات فوكوياما على السياق العربي. ويُختَمُ بالتنبيه على شرطية الفعل الجهادي لإنتاج الحداثة.

The present issue of The Journal of Asian Studies is dedicated to problems linked to the specific features of Chinese modernization, as viewed through the lens of Modern Confucianism. It contains selected contributions from the international symposium, Contemporary Confucianism and Chinese Modernization, Reykjavik, 7–8 September 2013, which was organized by Geir Sigurðsson, in cooperation with the Northern Lights Confucius Institute and the Chinese Studies  department of the University of Iceland.
Modern Confucianism arose China at the edge of the previous century and was later developed further by theorists from Taiwan, and, to a lesser degree, from Hong Kong. Unlike the People’s Republic of China, where Confucianism was considered to be the “ideology of outdated feudalism” and therefore silenced (at least formally) until the 1980s, in Hong Kong and Taiwan, both of which were defined by post-colonial social discourses, a number of intellectuals began  opposing the growing Westernization of their societies already in the 1950s. Due
to the multilayered cultural, national and political situation in Taiwan, intellectuals from that country played an important role in developing this new philosophical current from the very outset.

This paper is a historical study of Nikiforos Diamandouros’ book «Cultural Dualism» (1993/2000) that places emphasis on the role of ideology in the construction of the book's argument.
Written in a period of deep national pessimism, the book belongs to Modernization studies as it analyzes the uncompleted transition of the Greek state to Modernity.
Greek history is described in the book as the 200 - year old conflict between two opposing cultural traditions, The «reformist» tradition is extrovert sharing pro-Western, pro-democratic, extrovert orientations while its opponent, the «underdog » culture is traditional, introvert, authoritarian and ambiguous toward the West.
The study suggests that the book’s argument is constructed around the culturalization of ideology, a process that involves the relativization of the ideological components of the two cultures.

This is the full text and map book (image document separate from and attached to the end of the text) of my undergraduate Bachelor's thesis completed and defended in May 2010. I received high honors and the Alumni Award in the History of Art for this project.