Sovereignty, opinion and revolution in Edmund Burke.

History of European Ideas 25 (1999) 99}120 Sovereignty, opinion and revolution in Edmund Burke Richard Bourke* Department of English, Queen Mary and Westxeld College, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK . Introduction Edmund Burke's involvement in the politics of empire during the mid-1760s obliged him to confront the practical signi"cance of the doctrine of sovereignty at the very outset of his parliamentary career. This confrontation was to recur throughout his published writings over the next 30 years. It took the form of a sustained attempt to elucidate the relationship between liberty and authority both in Britain and between it and the extended empire [1]. The defence of liberty as it appears in Burke's commentaries on the American crisis, on Ireland and on the Indian sub-continent had been a defence of moderate government. There was a connection in his mind between moderation in government and the security of property in modern states, but ultimately moderation implied a kind of commerce and compatibility between the designs of rulers and the aspirations of the ruled. It had always, however, been part of Burke's case that moderate government had to be founded on an absolute and uni"ed sovereignty. As he put it in 1765, the &unlimited Nature of the supreme legislative authority' was &very clear and very undeniable' [2]. Supremacy implied that ultimate

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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The Deliberative Agency: Opportunities to Deepen Public Participation.

The Deliberative Agency: Opportunities to Deepen Public Participation Deliberative Democracy Consortium Discussion Paper1 March, 2004 Deliberative Democracy Consortium Link to Government Working Group 612 U Street, NW Suite 408 Washington, DC 20009 Tel: 202-299-0694 Fax: 202-299-0128 Email: [email protected] INTRODUCTION Public involvement in the activities of federal agencies is required by numerous Acts of Congress, among them: the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Government Performance and Results Act, the National Environmental Protection Act, the E-Government Act, and the National Environmental Protection Act. Recent legislative activity suggests a heightened interest in this area as well. 2 This, together with the increasing use of both face-to-face and online collaborative forums in civil society and the private sector, is increasing pressure upon government agencies to bring the public into decision-making processes. Methods for deliberative citizen engagement emphasize non-adversarial, results-oriented, community-wide decision-making on large issues and are being used with increasing frequency around the world in a range of settings. This emerging field of practice is producing an array of tools and processes that can support the evolution of the deliberative agency. This paper will provide a general introduction to this

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Indonesia Regional Autonomy: Field Experiences and Emerging Challenges.

Indonesia Regional Autonomy: Field Experiences and Emerging Challenges ABSTRACT After more than three decades under a centralized national government, Indonesia decided to implement a new policy of regional autonomy that became effective on January 1st, 2001. This paper examines both the preparations for and the initial implementation of autonomy in the regions, as well as some of the challenges which have emerged during implementation. The paper is based on research conducted in fourteen districts across eleven provinces over to the last two years. This presentation has two areas of focus: first, the internal processes used by local governments to manage their new powers and responsibilities; and second, the extent to which the process of creating public policies under regional autonomy for the regions reflects the spirit of transparency, good governance and democracy. Law No. 22, 1999 on Local Government has devolved central government authorities to local governments in all government administrative sectors, except for security and defense, foreign policy, monetary and fiscal matters, justice, and religious affairs. Consequently, local governments have had to reform their internal structures to accommodate the huge increase in responsibility that has been passed on from the central government. A significant part of this process includes placing a large

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Fascism, as a subject of historical inquiry in twentieth-century Britain, has heretofore been examined predominantly through a lens of political failure.

Fascism, as a subject of historical inquiry in twentieth-century Britain, has heretofore been examined predominantly through a lens of political failure. Using the undeniable fact that no such movement in the country has ever secured national power as an analytical fulcrum, fascist groups, from the British Fascists of the nineteen-twenties to the present-day British National Party, have been discussed as eccentric at best, and, more often than not, violent and misguided political flops. Despite there having been a number of organizations that have identified themselves as fascist in the last seventy years, much of the existing literature has focused its attention on Sir Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists (BUF) for at least two reasons: Mosley's party of the nineteen-thirties had the greatest following of any of the fascist organizations of this century and is thereby the most significant; and in the last decade the British Home Office has begun declassifying the records kept on both Mosley and the BUF during the inter-war period, allowing a greater measure of precision in illuminating specific points of interest such as membership and the extent of government infiltration within the group.1 However, closely tied to most explanations of fascism's political failure has been the general "reluctance of authors to accept . . that those who supported the Fascists

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  • Subject: Social studies
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The move from aristocracy to bureaucracy - discuss this view of the development of states within thi

The move from aristocracy to bureaucracy - discuss this view of the development of states within thi This question assumes much about the nature of an aristocracy in a Europe that saw countries such as Turkey where, until around 1570, the aristocracy was almost negligible to Russia, where the boyars of Ivan IV are believed by some to have replaced the Tsar himself. In a continent of such diversity, there is bound to be a different reasoning for each form of aristocracy and the development of each state. The schism is particularly strong between Western and Eastern Europe. In the fifteenth century, the Papal schism, the accession of such characters as Charles VI of France, the repeated minorities in Scotland and the limited constitutional power of the Holy Roman Emperor lent western rulers a dependence on their nobles who started the period as the best educated large class of lay people reliable for use at court, but this would soon change, aided by the growth of educational institutes, founded on the spur of the Renaissance and the Reformation. The death of the feudal army or fyrd was vital in decreasing the importance of the nobility. Experienced mercenaries were hired across Europe with their experienced veteran captains. Henry VIII hired "Scots, Spaniards, Gascons, Portuguese, Italians, Albanians, Greeks, Tatars, Germans, Burgundians and Flemings" according to one

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  • Subject: Social studies
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Is there justification for government intervention in the uk housing market and how has recent policy overcome market failure.

QUESTION: IS THERE JUSTIFICATION FOR GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN THE UK HOUSING MARKET AND HOW HAS RECENT POLICY OVERCOME MARKET FAILURE Housing is a basic necessity of life; it provides safety and security (Gibb et al, 1999.) Government has never been the universal provide of housing and consequently, policy goals have been pursued by less than direct methods. There are alternative views as to why housing should be part of the welfare state. Glennester believes that it is because 'housing has a long life,' the provision of which depends on a stock of assets whose size is very large; the housing market is slow to adjust to changes in prices and therefore tenants are open to exploitation. Gibbs argument is much wider in that housing is 'conceived as part of a broader social policy agenda.' Wheelan (1998) suggests the problem is too much government policy and not enough individual choice and market decision-making. The idea of two types of decision makers is frequently commented on in King and Oxleys book 'Housing: Who Decides.' A dichotomy is apparent between social (collective) and individual decision-making, an idea that will be looked at later on. This assignment will focus on analysing current Government Policy with regard to the following specific aims: * * .0 - A REASON FOR INTERVENTION? If the housing market were taken its simplest form, there would be

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  • Subject: Social studies
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Sovereignty and Democracy in the European Union.

Sovereignty and Democracy in the European Union Speech by The Rt Hon Chris Patten, CH The Chatham Lecture Trinity College, Oxford, 26 October 2000 - SPEECH/00/402 - Check against delivery Introduction: what is sovereignty? Sovereignty is a notoriously slippery concept. In feudal times, the position was clear enough. Sovereignty rested with God. For Aquinas, in the 13th century, human law was derived by reason or revelation from divine law. Valid law could not be created by an act of will. Later, God was good enough to delegate. Sovereignty resided with the King. James I, in a speech to Parliament in 1610, said that : "The state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth; for kings are not only God's lieutenants... but even by God himself they are called gods." The theory of absolute monarchy never recovered from the blow that struck off Charles I's head. Parliamentary sovereignty was on the rise. The Bill of Rights in 1689 asserted that it was illegal for the king to pretend the "power of suspending of laws, or the execution of laws... without consent of Parliament." Parliament alone, then, was sovereign. And that sovereignty was no longer an expression of the will of God, but the will of the people. But what does it mean to say that "Parliament" (or any other group or individual) "is sovereign"? The concept of sovereignty is a difficult one because there is

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  • Subject: Social studies
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Institutions & Constitutions of The EU.

Institutions & Constitutions of The EU. Assessment 1. Contents. Introduction........................................................................................ 3 The History of The European Union...................................................... 4 The Significant Events Leading Up To The formation of The Treaties Of Rome............ 5 / 6 / 7 Treaties Of Rome & its Signatories - The EEC & EURATOM..................... 8 The EEC & Its Aims.............................................................................. 9 Britain's Involvement............................................................................ 10 Current Membership............................................................................. 11/12/13 Political, Social & Economic Progress...................................................... 14 The Institutions..................................................................................... 15 - The Commission................................................................................. 16/17 - The Parliament................................................................................... 18/19 - Council Of Ministers............................................................................ 20 The Three Councils............................................................................... 21 The Institution Of My

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  • Subject: Social studies
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Evaluate the development of social policy in the area of Housing

SOCIAL POLICY Tutor: PAUL TRIPPIER Student: KATE HEWITT Evaluate the development of social policy in the area of Housing Date Set: 12 May 1998 Date Due: 2 June 1998 Evaluate the development of social policy in the area of Housing Housing is the crucial issue, as it directly affects us all in one way or another. Housing is a key component to the quality of life. Because of the importance of housing in everyday life, it is permanent source of social and political concern. This essay will attempt to evaluate the development of social policy in the area of housing. The source will be the impact of the industrial revolution, where squalor, overcrowding, inadequate housing and town planning had catastrophic affects on health and social problems during that period. The Liberal reforms at the turn of the century will then be examined, assessing the impact that the change in attitudes towards state intervention and the reasons behind it had on housing policy. housing was one of the central elements in the welfare state that Sir William Beveridge had envisaged. The effect of the subsequent Beveridge Report, combined with the affect of the second World War, and the following transformation that took place in the area of housing and housing policy will be analysed as will the circumstances and developments from then through to the 1970's. The enormous changes that have

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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John Locke and Thomas Hobbes are two philosophers who thought extensively on the subject of human nature and conflict in human society.

John Locke and Thomas Hobbes are two philosophers who thought extensively on the subject of human nature and conflict in human society. These two men represent two different perspectives of government and liberty. Hobbes believed that mankind is evil by nature and in this state all men are governed by natural laws. These laws primarily consist of justice and equity. Living in this state of nature is so horrible, that men join together and agree to be ruled by a common leader. Contrarily, Locke believes that man, by nature, is good, but enters into society to preserve and regulate people's rights to own and enjoy property. First, to understand why Locke and Hobbes felt the way they did about human nature, one must take into account the historical periods in which they lived. Hobbes lived during a time marked by civil war and huge amounts of disorder. He lived to see the beheading of King Charles I, the English Civil War and the Protestant Revolution. Hobbes saw this period of chaos and anarchy as counterproductive to the advancement of society. This led him to believe that only a strong state under a strong, authoritative ruler could prevent anarchy and provide security. Very different to the period of turmoil that Hobbes lived through was the time of John Locke. By the time that Locke emerged, the English Civil War was over. Therefore, the time periods they lived in

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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