Can Religious Pluralism Influence Governance and Societal Cohesion?

This analysis uncovers the complex interplay of religion,politics,and society in Israel,revealing the intricate dynamics of secular and religious ideologies.The study explores the deep ideological rift between secular and religious communities,a divide that profoundly impacts political stability and policymaking.This division often leads to political crises and reshuffling,with the political system characterized by unstable coalition governments.The research is grounded in the divisions over the state’s spiritual ideology,with significant Orthodox influence shaping policy on education,family law,and cultural affairs.The research shows the profound influence of religious parties on Israeli politics,significantly shaping the country’s policies and ideological direction.Influenced by external factors such as security threats and diplomatic challenges,the dynamic interaction between politics and religion shapes Israeli politics since religious parties advocate for policies that align with their interpretation of Jewish religious law,thereby impacting the role of religion in public policy.The influence of religious politics has led to a discernible shift toward greater religious orthodoxy in public life,driven by the political power of religious parties that prioritize religious values above secular democratic principles.The state’s endorsement of religious education and institutions shapes public policy and societal norms.The analysis examines the influence of religious values in public policy and the dynamic interaction between religious and political spheres,aimed to ensure that religion remains dominant in shaping societal norms and governance.This complex relationship demonstrates the ongoing challenges in balancing religious orthodoxy with secular principles,which poses difficulties and has implications for the stability and cohesion of Israeli society.The urgency and complexity of this task cannot be overstated,as it is crucial for the future of Israeli politics and religious dynamics.

The Reflection of Pluralism—Comment on Smuggling Sex Through the Gates:Race,Sexuality,and the Politics of Space in Second Wave Feminism

American studies succeeded in becoming a discipline only after 1920s after overcoming a series of barriers.Not until in the late 1960s did the so-called subcultures,the cultures of the formerly ignored groups or the culture of the minority get the chance to step on the stage of American studies.This article- Smuggling Sex Through the Gates:Race,Sexuality,and the Politics of Space in Second Wave Feminism is a good illustration,or a reflection of the transferring of the subjects for American studies from one-centered to many-faceted.

Impacts of Public Support and Voices Pluralism in Macao Newspapers

The economic and financial sustainability of regional press companies is extremely relevant for the dynamism of this important sector in promoting pluralism of ideas and decentralization of information. In this context, the work presented here intends, on one hand, to analyze the importance of the press support system in Macao for its economic and financial sustainability and, on the other hand, to try to understand how they contribute to promoting information pluralism with Portuguese speaking community in a Chinese territory--with special regime. With this purpose, three methodologies were implemented, namely： （1） review of literature and documentary research--reports, articles in the press, scientific articles and academic books related to the topic; （2） analysis of contents of interviews of privileged informants-directors and editors of newspapers addressed to the Portuguese community in the Macao region; and （3） analysis of the impact of support from the Macao Regional Government based on the principles of the Office of Fair Trading （OFT） model.

The Prospects of International Relations Theories in the 21st Century： From Single Theory to Theoretical Pluralism

Examined in this paper is the theoretical development in the international relations literature with emphasis on theoretical pluralism. The International Relations （IR） discipline is undergoing theoretical pluralism in the 21st century in explaining global political forces. These theoretieal expansiveness is important in moving IR forward in the context of ontological and epistemological orientations. Within the international relations subfield, periods of change have largely been understood through the prism of the great debates. The paper, therefore, contends that theoretical diversity and pluralism has contributed significantly in this contemporary era in explaining global political forces, events and processes.

Role orientation of the government in the development of the aging industry in the perspective of welfare pluralism theory

Welfare pluralism is in recent years research society of the new policy paradigm, advocate to break me government monopoly, by many subjects together to provide social welfare. Currently, there are offside, absence, not in place and other phenomena in the important subject of government in the development of aging industry, and to solve this problem, must clarify the government＇s role positioning, reasonable and effective government to play a role, so as to promote the development and perfection of the aging industry.

Legal Pluralism and Harmonization in China-Africa Trade

Foreign businesses operat ing in Africa face unique regulatory challenges. For instance, in addition to local government regulations, it may be necessary to engage directly with communities, particularly in rural areas. When commu- nities and government impose different rules and standards relating to these transactions, it is referred to as ＂legal pluralism.＂

Somaesthetics and Chinese Philosophy： Between Unity and Pragmatist Pluralism

Responding to three articles in a symposium dedicated to my research in somaesthetics, this paper explores a variety of themes connecting my theories with classical Chinese philosophy. The symposium topics discussed here range from the ontology of body-mind and world to the ethics of somaesthetic self-cultivation, and then to the somaesthetic meanings of our practices of erotics and of eating. The paper shows how the pragmatist orientation of somaesthetics reconciles values of unity with those of difference and how key ideas of somaesthetics intersect, in different ways, with both Confucian and Daoist thought.

The impact of China’s Consistent Stance on the Palestinian issue on the Embodiment of international pluralism

This study examined the impact of China’s firm position on the Palestinian issue on the embodiment of international multilateralism and strived to embody international multilateralism.And to clarify this effect,it is necessary first to highlight the depth of Chinese-Arab relations and common concern,such as China’s consistent position on the Palestinian issue and its quest to embody international pluralism in order to find appropriate solutions to the Palestinian issue in accordance with international law,then to focus on China’s consistent foreign policy towards the Middle East to promote stability and development with the success of the BRI in the region,and thirdly,to shed light on China’s stance on strengthening and materialising international cooperation to find appropriate solutions for the Palestinian issue,and finally,to focus attention on China’s diplomatic efforts to solve the Palestinian issue’a political solution based on international cooperation to implement the resolutions of international legitimacy’.This study relies on the historical method by tracing the historical sequence of events to reach the results that serve the subject of the study,as well as the descriptive analytical method,which is used to analyse information and events related to the subject of the study.The study concluded that the impact of China’s firm position on the Palestinian issue on the embodiment of international multilateralism is effective.Moreover,this study is a forward-looking survey of other studies aimed at anticipating the continuing impact of China’s firm stance on the Palestinian issue on the embodiment of international multilateralism,as it demonstrates seriousness and perseverance under the theme of’respect,mutual benefit and common destiny’in light of the challenges witnessed in the world today.

TALK ON PLURALISM FROM PROFESSOR JOHN INAZU

On May 22, 2017, Professor John Inazu from Washington University in St. Louis delivered an academic lecture in Renmin University of China. In this lecture, Professor Inazu laid out the core ideas of his new book, Confident Pluralism; Surviving and Thriving through Deep Difference.

The World Cup And Pluralism

The world's people are roughly divided into two categories: those who watch the World Cup and those who don't. The fact that

Polar Models of Culture-Regressivism Versus Progressivism

The culture wars that simmer within any nation may have been escalating recently;but regardless of their national settings or milieus,many of these wars are informed by two opposing paradigms of culture.This paper analyzes two of these leading paradigms,designated here as Regressivism and Progressivism.Other theorists have long chronicled the differing strengths and weaknesses of these paradigms,taking the former as expressing more conservative,traditional,and nationalistic values,and the latter as expressing more liberal,pluralistic,and cosmopolitan values.Going beyond these perennial distinctions,I argue that Progressivism is more benign and beneficial than the former-by meeting basic human needs better and supporting more effective adaptation to changing exigencies.I also argue that Progressivism does not express merely subjective or relativistic preferences and values,but objectively preferable and quantifiable ones,that benefit not only our personal lives more but also our global village and communal lives more.

Feyerabend and Peirce on Pluralism and Inquiry

The purpose of this paper is to synthesize a conception of inquiry from the insights of Paul Feyerabend and C.S.Peirce.Here,I contend that Peirce's account of inquiry is overly narrow.More poignantly,I show how Peirce's motto that one should not block the road of inquiry is in conflict with his rejection of skepticism.This is shown using Feyerabend's arguments for pluralism.Nevertheless,I sketch an alternative position that borrows insights from both Peirce and Feyerabend.This position,I contend,retains the crucial elements of each position that drove them while critically developing them in a coherent fashion.This synthesized position offers the beginning of a novel approach to modelling divisions of epistemic labor.

美国WASP主流文化存亡探析——移民之融合与威胁

美国核心文化—WASP文化面临诸多挑战和威胁,其中以移民影响最为突出。欧洲移民比例的下降,拉美裔、亚裔移民比例的增加引起美国社会结构发生巨大变化、美国社会"变色"—拉美化。本文从移民的同化、融合、多元共存角度出发,总结出"同化"论终究要被"多元文化论"代替。因此在全球化背景下,双语主义的流行,美国将成为多种文化共存的多元文化的移民国家。

Institutions and water governance in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

The goals of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) can be achieved by embracing the principles of distributive governance, which places both customary and statutory water institutions on the same pedestal in the governance of water resources. As culture and traditions constitute intangible aspects of water resources management in rural Africa, the recognition of water governance systems grounded in local norms, which correspond better with the aspirations of local water users as against the expert-knowledge systems is desirable. Following the introduction of the statutory institutions in postcolonial Africa, customary institutions, which were once effective in regulating water resources became relegated to the background in those countries, including Botswana . Adopting a critical literature review approach, this article employs the concept of legal pluralism to analyze the institutional factors that create the disharmony between cultural and statutory water governance and management institutions. Findings indicate that water has been abstracted from its social nature and transformed into a tradable economic good. Ultimately, the local meanings and images encoded in water as a nature-given resource are overlooked, thus generating conflicts in water governance. The paper recommends the adoptions of legal pluralism under which water institutions need to embrace both customary and statutory institutions.

Muslim Fundamentalism: Psychological Orientations and Counter-Narratives

The current study attempted to formulate a conceptualization of Muslim fundamentalism as well as its counter-narratives as grounded in religious experience of Pakistani Muslims.Open ended interviews were conducted with 133 Pakistani Muslim men and women of prominent local religious affiliations.Analysis revealed a grounded theory model of Muslim fundamentalism highlighting cognitive,and social psychological processes involved.Participants saw their religion as a complete code of conduct and inferred various meanings from completeness of Islam as finalized,closed to inquiry as well as rejecting of other cultures and religious traditions.The major inter-related themes of the model were totalitarianism,closed mindedness,binary thinking,hyper-exotericism,ambiguity intolerance,authoritarianism,punitive approach,violent tendencies,labelling,diversity intolerance and paranoia or threat perceiving attitude.The interplay of these factors is discussed in the light of earlier research on fundamentalism.The research also revealed strong counter narratives to fundamentalist stance which formulated the major themes of esoteric religiosity,open mindedness,pluralism,and Islam and civil society.The study carries implications for religious education of Muslims and their socialization with believers of other religious traditions.

Celebrating Diversity of Humanity, Struggling for Peace, and Establishing Culture of Coexistence

The Qur＇an embraces cultural pluralism, emphasising that “People, We created you all from a single man and a single woman, and made you into races and tribes so that you should recognize one another. ”（Q. 49： 13）. Moreover, peace is the most fundamental value in the Qur＇an and Islam. The majority of the classical Muslim jurists, especially Hanafi school, emphasised that the reason for Muslims＇ fight against non-Muslims is Muslims＇ defense themselves against attacks, not non-Muslims＇ faith. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi （d. 1960） states that the only kind of jihad that is appropriate for the present age is spiritual or moraljihad. Furthermore, regarding Qur＇anic approach to relations between Muslims and the People of the Book, Muslim scholars, in general, advocate sincere relations and trust between Muslims and the People of the Book. In addition, Said Nursi is one of the great Muslim scholars in interfaith dialogue in the 20th century. Finally, there is the need for establishing culture of coexistence, which practised before within a religious tradition such as Islamic tradition for many centuries in the history. Through achieving a culture of coexistence and peace, most conflicts can be resolved.

The Portuguese Newspapers Market Between Consolidation and Concentration Strategies

The main objective of this research is to assess the existence （or lack） of media concentration in the Portuguese dailies newspaper sector, and to evaluate the extension to which this situation may be compromising fundamental society values： freedom of speech and right of access to information. Authors resorted to market indicators, namely total average circulation,number of copies per issue, business volume and advertising investments. These indicators are found to be complementary： some indicators evaluate group position in the readers＇ market, whereas other evaluates group position in the general market and the advertising market in particular. Based in this market information, we used quantitative models （HII, CR4 and Noan） to measure de concentration in the newspaper segment. Additionally we tried to demonstrate that to analyze the dailies newspaper concentration situation in Portugal a holist perspective of the media market is needed, using a country context to understand some local characteristics and market structure and political, economic, social and technological dynamics. Additionally, there are evidences that existing concentration indexes are not conclusive because of potential replacement effects in the Portuguese media sector.

Media Governance, state Subsidies and Impacts on Regional Press and Radio

Similarly to what happens in other European countries, Portugal has been feeling the need to rethink its public state subsidy scheme to media. In this context, this paper presents an analysis of the impacts arising from the provision of such subventions in local and regional media, questioning if the state support system is adequate to the business reality and contributing to improving it. Hence, this work reflects regional realities in the national context, being also, in a greater scale, a mirror of the models prevalent in Europe, a continent marked by significant state intervention. This study also establishes a diverse set of information, including an intensive collection of empirical data on the impact of direct incentives on the companies＇ performance, product quality, market competitiveness and pluralism of voices in the regional and local information market, based on a case study on the Portuguese state support system and the analysis of 21 local and regional media companies. In fact, the results of this research point out that, although these incentives are considered by the affected media companies as very important, having positive impacts regarding the improvement of journalistic products （such as online presence on the Intemet）, maintaining human resources and promoting the pluralism of voices; they do not seem to be adequately efficient to provide a sustainable growth in local and regional media.

Interpreting Kuhn＇s Incommensurability-Thesis： Its Different Meanings and Epistemological Consequences

Kuhn＇s incommensurability-thesis is crucial for consequences for the pursuit of epistemology. A interpreting his views on the development of science and their commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of the original version of Kuhn＇s epoch-making book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions （henceforth： SSR） should thus provide a thorough reflection on this thesis. However, this thesis is not easy to interpret. It is not only complex in itself but has also undergone a historical development--in Kuhn＇s own hands and in those of his interpreters. In this article, I sort out the different interpretations of it, in particular, in Part A. In Part B, I demonstrate their epistemological consequences. Under closer scrutiny, Kuhn＇s incommensurability-thesis contains several sub-theses Different senses of ＂incommensurability＂ thus need to be distinguished. However, the way in which those distinctions are drawn in Kuhn-scholarship differs. In paragraph I of Part A, I provide an overview of the reception of the incommensurability-thesis in Kuhn-scholarship. In Paragraph II, I trace its development in Kuhn＇s later writings： given its importance and contested nature, Kuhn later clarifies his original thesis. Those later clarifications＇ main function consists in domesticating the most radically relativistic aspects his original incommensurability-thesis had, at least, in the eyes of his interpreters. The upshot of Part A （Paragraphs I and II） is to provide a coherent interpretation of Kuhn＇s incommensurability-thesis. To that end, I distinguish in line with much of Kuhn-scholarship a semantic from a methodological sense of incommensurability. In part B, the question is raised： What sort of epistemological consequences follow from both senses of incommensurability？ In particular, what consequences follow for the issues of reference, subjectivity （objectivity）, pluralism, and realism？ The underlying question is to what extent Kuhnian incommensurability caters to a relativistic understanding of those issues. This question is answered in Paragraph Ill with the help of the analyses of a currently leading Kuhn-scholar, C. H. Sankey. His answers are taken as a vantage point for my concluding evaluation of the consequences of Kuhnian incommensurability in Paragraph IV.