Susanne Lechner and Renate Ohr (Goettingen): The Right of Withdrawal in the Treaty of Lisbon: A Game Theoretic Reflection on Different Decision Processes in the EU. Ionel Cioara (Oradea): Lisbon: The End of Utopia? From the Romanian Journal of European Affairs, Andras Inotai (IWE): Remarks on the Future of the European Union: Domestic and Global Challenges Ahead; and an article on strategic thinking in the EU: Aspiration or reality? Felix Roth (CEPS), Lars Jonung (DG ECFIN), and Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann (Goettingen): The Enduring Popularity of the Euro Throughout the Crisis. From NYRB, George Soros on how to save the euro (and more). "The firepower is there": An interview with Klaus Regling, the head of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). Mihaela Carausan (NSPSPA): A Brief Apology to the National State in Europe; and Is European Union at the Heart of Citizens' Identity? Geetha Garib (Tilburg): Why Do We Feel European? Social Mechanisms of European Identity. Where is Europe? You might as well ask, "what is Europe?"
Thomas Allmer (UTI): Critical Surveillance Studies in the Information Society. From Soundings, Stuart Hall on the neoliberal revolution: Thatcher, Blair, Cameron — the long march of neoliberalism continues. The greediest among us in 2011 probably haven’t been any greedier, as a gang, than any greedy of the recent past — they just seem that way. A review of Celebritize Yourself: The Three Step Method to Increase Your Visibility by Marsha Friedman. Tom Freston's $1 Billion Revenge: Ex-Viacom chief helps Vice become the next MTV. It's ok to have a point: A defense of literature with an agenda. An article on how slavery led to modern capitalism. Dinner, movie, and a Dirty Sanchez: Dating these days is not a bed of roses — it's more like a bed in which a man tries to reenact his favorite YouPorn clip on the first date. Consultancy rock: Rob Horning on the solace of sociological distance in the music of Rush. John Steele Gordon on how the Dow distorts the history of Wall Street. Richard Marsden on Saddam Hussein and Capital’s moral defeat.
Timothy J. Lensmire (Minnesota): Laughing White Men. Terry L. Besser (Iowa State): A Test of Nordic Exceptionalism: The Association of Ethnic Heritage and Religion with Social Capital and Civic Engagement in Small U.S. Towns. A review of Black Fire: One Hundred Years of African American Pentecostalism by Estrelda Y. Alexander. How race shaped American party politics: It's a given that the GOP attracts more whites and the Democrats attract more blacks, but it wasn't always so. A review of The Machinery of Whiteness: Studies in the Structure of Racialization by Steve Martinot. Teaching privilege to the privileged: Letta Page on “whiteness studies”. Belmont and Fishtown: An excerpt from Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 by Charles Murray (and more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more). Racists vs. Imperialists: Tim Wise contends that history matters in his new book, Dear White America. A review of Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels, and Black Power: Community Organizing in Radical Times by James Tracy and Amy Sonnie. In a study released recently, two Manhattan Institute researchers heralded the “end of the segregated century” (and more).
From Foreign Affairs, Benjamin Friedman on how cutting Pentagon spending will fix U.S. defense strategy; and a look at why Panetta's Pentagon cuts are easier than you think. From The National Interest, Nikolas K. Gvosdev and Ray Takeyh on the triumph of the New Wilsonism. America, arms-dealer to the world: Munitions is the one U.S. industry that's booming — with devastating global consequences. One nation under the drone: Jillian Rayfield on the rising number of UAVs in American skies (and more). Remote controled assassination: The idea that American intelligence services are shooting Hellfire missiles at people (including American citizens) raises various moral and legal questions. Think again — Intelligence: America's screw-ups come from bad leaders, not lousy spies (and more). From The Atlantic Monthly, Robert Kaplan on why John J. Mearsheimer is right — about some things (and a response). Stephen Walt on ten reasons why Obama's foreign policy is not a success. How does the world look in an age of U.S. decline? Dangerously unstable. Not fade away: Robert Kagan on the myth of American decline. John Horgan on how the US can help humanity achieve world peace (yes, world peace).
A new issue of Liminalities is out. L. Sandy Maisel, Justin Rouse, and Russell Wilson (Colby): Unconventional Wisdom: The Future of Presidential Nominating Conventions. From More Than Thought, Robert Wexelblatt (BU): On Scrooge and Mill; and Nancy Ann Fox (Washington): To Be Ida: Young, Gifted, and Black. Sylvie Gambaudo (Durham): We Need To Talk About Eva: The Demise of the Phallic Mother. From NYRB, a review of books on Willard Mitt Romney. Nicholas Carr on books that are never done being written: Digital text is ushering in an era of perpetual revision and updating, for better and for worse. Jonathan Lear on a lost conception of irony. From Paleo Magazine, Frank Forencich on why paleo is here to stay. It seems impossible that anyone would think well of the job our legislative branch is doing, yet some do — who are these people? A review of Disconnect: The Breakdown of Representation in American Politics by Morris P. Fiorina and Samuel J. Abrams and The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy by Alan Abramowitz.
Arto Tukiainen (Helsinki): On Wittgenstein's Claim That Ethical Value Judgments are Nonsense. From the inaugural issue of the Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy, James Pearson (Pittsburgh): Distinguishing WV Quine and Donald Davidson. From Theoretical and Applied Ethics, a special issue on the moral philosophy of Bernard Williams. From TNR, Philip Kitcher reviews On What Matters by Derek Parfit. From 3:AM, indie rock virtues: An interview with Josh Knobe, co-author of Experimental Philosophy Manifesto; philosophy as the great naivete: An interview with Jason Stanley, author of Know How; and the splintered skeptic: An interview with Eric Schwitzgebel, a mad dog crazyist philosopher at the UC-Riverside. Complaints that philosophy is irrelevant have persisted over time, but there are reasons it should not be be confined to the "ivory tower". Is killing wrong? Josh Rothman wonders. Ready for a "morality pill": Would it be ethical to produce, or take, a drug that makes us more likely to help others? Citizen philosophers: Carlos Fraenkel on teaching justice in Brazil.
Gregory Cameron (Wilfrid Laurier): Politics and the Internet: A Phenomenological Critique. Matthew Robert Auer (Indiana): The Policy Sciences of Social Media. Occupy geeks are building a Facebook for the 99%. There is no next Facebook: Alexis Madrigal on how multiple social networks will peacefully coexist. From Daily Dot, a look at why Reddit is sexist — and what to do about it. Google is the reification of the general intellect — it manages to take human curiosity and turn it into capital. The YouTube Laugh Factory: Ben Austen on a studio system for viral video. Mega-man: Sean Gallagher on the fast, fabulous, fraudulent life of Megaupload's Kim Dotcom. Jimmy Wales needs your help: Amid concerns over its shrinking editor base, Wikipedia sets out to prove it can survive and expand on small donations. Hipster Runoff is a website whose evolution after finding an audience is part success story, part cautionary tale for anyone looking for a foothold in web culture. From Cracked, here are 5 things to learn by quitting the Internet; and a look at 4 awful ways the Internet is tainting everything else.
A new issue of Swedish Book Review is out. From Rosetta, Joe Uziel (Albright): Technology and Ideology in Middle Bronze Age Canaan. Kenneth W. Mack argues that Barack Obama's election as President of the Harvard Law Review in 1990 provides an important view of the qualities that led to his rise in national politics following his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Mumia Abu-Jamal reviews Love and Struggle: My Life with SDS, the Weather Underground and Beyond by David Gilbert. From Tottenville Review, R. Salvador Reyes on confessions of a literary Darwinist; and a review of Pricing Beauty: The Making of a Fashion Model by Ashley Mears. With his parody of children’s books, Highly Inapproriate Tales for Young People, Douglas Coupland joins his Gen X peers, revelling in nostalgia — isn’t it time to grow up? That prized garage space or curbside spot you’ve been yearning for may be costing you and the city in ways you never realized — a journey into the world of parking. More and more and more on Pity the Billionaire by Tom Frank.
From Sojourners, which side are you on? Wes Howard-Brook on a study on the Bible's "two religions". From Touchstone, Barry Hankins on how the culture war of the Roaring Twenties set the stage for today’s Catholic and Evangelical alliance; why fight same-sex marriage? Douglas Farrow investigates; Gillis Harp on the tyranny of modern freedom versus the freedom of Jesus; what is man? Anthony Esolen on what Raskolnikov knew and translators have lost; and Marilyn Prever on the truth we don’t know about fairies, leprechauns, UFOs, ETs and other entities. From Ship of Fools, da Jesus Book, fo real: Mark Howe on how getting the Bible onto digital devices such as smartphones and tablets has become a publishing phenomenon; a look at how the Virgin Mary is always played by the good, the pretty and teacher's pets; and they're handy and holy: Here are the 12 brightest and newest Gadgets for God. From The Guardian, can it be rational for the religious to be non-rational? From The Philosopher, Zenon Stavrinides on taking an empirical approach to religious belief.
From Berfrois, Junko Kitanaka on psychiatry and Japan’s “national disease”. The first chapter from Depression in Japan: Psychiatric Cures for a Society in Distress by Junko Kitanaka. The myth of Japan’s failure: Instead of feeling sorry for Japan, the United States should look to it as a model for economic recovery. Alex Hoban is hoping no one dies at the North Korean Fun Fair. The Phantom Massacre: A faceless and motiveless threat ravages southern Thailand. A review of Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia by Thant Myint-U. A well-developed yet illegal internet pornography industry, DIY pornography and sex activist movements have emerged that are in constant counter-dialogue with the PRC’s “Propaganda of Impotence”. A review of Beneath Blossom Rain: Discovering Bhutan on the Toughest Trek in the World by Kevin Grange. A look at why Singapore has the cleanest government money can buy. The impossible Asian Union: An interview with Francois Godement. The Asia Pacific chessboard: The Sino-American competition for allies within Asia Pacific could be an opportunity.