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1 – 10 of 349Drawing on interviews with men and women gun carriers, this paper considers the intersection of femininity and guns. It argues that two sets of expectations shape the normative…
Abstract
Drawing on interviews with men and women gun carriers, this paper considers the intersection of femininity and guns. It argues that two sets of expectations shape the normative relationship between women and guns: First, armed women are a blind spot in feminist discourse, which tends to reproduce the “pacifist presumption” that women are nonviolent caretakers and peacemakers. Second, contemporary pro-gun discourse often bases women’s gun carry within their duties and obligations as mothers in a form of “martial maternalism.” Inflected with a post-feminist appropriation of rights and equality, this pro-gun discourse reproduces gender binaries through a discourse of gender inclusivity. Following previous analyses that emphasize the contradictory politics of gender in conservative spaces, my analysis emphasizes how the gendered politics of guns is sustained by multiple, though not necessarily shared, understandings of women’s guns by men and women within American gun culture.
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The state of the relations between the armed forces and society in Italy displays some general features that should be described before going on to the analysis of the research…
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The state of the relations between the armed forces and society in Italy displays some general features that should be described before going on to the analysis of the research data. The first is the presence of a very broad-based pacifism that has two different origins which, although quite different from each other, often end up by uniting or allying. These two traditions are a Marxist-anarchic, or a more generically leftist one, and a Catholic one that is still very strong in our country. Since the end of the Second World War, the extent of this pacifism, often with a good dose of antimilitarism, has always made relations between the country and its armed forces difficult. This situation has shown some rather significant changes in the last decade, however. Italy's ever-increasing participation in peace support operations (PSOs), which is very extensive in proportion to the commitments of other comparable countries, has given new popularity to the armed forces, both because of their use in functions more easily reconciled with pacifist ideals and because, finally put to the test,1 they have demonstrated capabilities and skills that for many have been a revelation. The transition from conscription to voluntary service, although certainly heralding other problems in the relationship with public opinion, has also allowed the armed forces to shed the unpopularity due to the sacrifices required of male citizens. Added to these aspects is the rapid change of the international situation which, with the materialising of a significant threat from Islamic fundamentalism, has brought the problem of security2 to the attention of everyone. All of the surveys conducted in the last decade, therefore, have recorded an increased level of social acceptance of the armed forces in Italy.
Louise Y.S. Law, Allan Walker and Clive Dimmock
This paper describes a grounded theory that emerged from a study of Hong Kong Protestant secondary school principals’ values and their impact on principals’ perceptions and…
Abstract
This paper describes a grounded theory that emerged from a study of Hong Kong Protestant secondary school principals’ values and their impact on principals’ perceptions and management of problems. This substantive theory is labelled the “value‐based congruence theory”. It implies first, that values influence how Hong Kong principals perceive and manage problems in their schools. Second, that particular principal's value orientations correspond with their behaviour in terms of their perceptions, problem‐solving strategies and the outcomes experienced. Principals’ value orientations fall along the following five value dimensions: the relationship, reform, empowerment, client‐focus and rationality dimensions. These correlations result in five principal types – the pacifists, the progressive mentors, the philosopher mentors, the pragmatists and the eclectics. However, other factors, namely, personal and organizational characteristics as well as the value properties of clarity, commitment, consistency, versatility, breadth and focus, are found to moderate the linkages between principals’ values and their concomitant responses.
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Men make war; women make peace. Men make war; women make children. Men make war because women make children. Because men make war, women make children. Women make peace because…
The purpose of this paper is to restore the history of internationalism to our understanding of the legacy of the First World War, and the role of universities in that past. It…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to restore the history of internationalism to our understanding of the legacy of the First World War, and the role of universities in that past. It begins by emphasising the war’s twin legacy, namely, the twin principles of the peace: national self-determination and the League of Nations.
Design/methodology/approach
It focuses on the intersecting significance and meaning attributed to the related terms patriotism and humanity, nationalism and internationalism, during the war and after. A key focus is the memorialization of Edith Cavell, and the role of men and women in supporting a League of Nations.
Findings
The author finds that contrary to conventional historical opinion, internationalism was as significant as nationalism during the war and after, thanks to the influence and ideas of men and women connected through university networks.
Research limitations/implications
The author’s argument is based on an examination of British imperial sources in particular.
Originality/value
The implications of this argument are that historians need to recover the international past in histories of nationalism.
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By the end of World War II, the world witnessed both military and peaceful uses of nuclear science. A number of countries and different sections of the international community…
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By the end of World War II, the world witnessed both military and peaceful uses of nuclear science. A number of countries and different sections of the international community strongly urged to avoid repetition of the devastation witnessed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A world without nuclear weapons was a subject matter of not only pacifists but also of a large section of the world. The 2010 RevCon was held from 3 to 28 May 2010. The final document noted: ‘… the reaffirmation by the nuclear-weapon states of their unequivocal undertaking to accomplish, in accordance with the principle of irreversibility, the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament, to which all States parties are committed under article VI of the Treaty’. The 2010 RevCon also welcomed ‘the new proposals and initiatives from Governments and civil society related to achieving a world free of nuclear weapons’. Indeed, Obama, during his election campaign, spoke on the need for nuclear disarmament. So, should we conclude that global nuclear disarmament would materialize soon? What is the reality? If we take into account signals emitting from the postures and pronouncements of the nuclear weapons countries of the NPT and the influential section of the global civil society, we may find that global nuclear disarmament is somewhere between myth and super myth. A reality check would indicate that global nuclear disarmament would continue to elude us.
Sharon Erickson Nepstad and Lester R. Kurtz
The term “nonviolence” is often misconstrued and misunderstood (Schock, 2003). Some people associate it with passivity, neutrality, or the total avoidance of conflict. Others…
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The term “nonviolence” is often misconstrued and misunderstood (Schock, 2003). Some people associate it with passivity, neutrality, or the total avoidance of conflict. Others assume it is a “bourgeois” tactic that entails nothing more than negotiation, compromise, and gentle calls for change. Some believe that nonviolence is only for total pacifists – that is, those who, for religious or moral reasons, refuse to use any form of violence under any circumstances. Another misconception is that nonviolent methods can only be used in democracies, where the state is reluctant to crack down violently on civilian resisters. And many think that nonviolent methods are inherently slow – requiring long periods of time to yield results – and are generally less effective than violence methods.
On June 24, the National Security Council effectively withdrew the Aegis Ashore plan. Japan’s decision has important implications for its own national defence posture, the…
For a variety of reasons, both ordinary citizens and political leaders have failed since 1914 to be passionate and imaginative enough in the pursuit of peace. As technological…
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For a variety of reasons, both ordinary citizens and political leaders have failed since 1914 to be passionate and imaginative enough in the pursuit of peace. As technological advances have made it possible to kill increasing numbers of people and put civilians increasingly at risk, our moral development has lagged far beyond. We need to emulate Gandhi more, whose moral passion and non-violent resistance tactics have inspired other seekers of peace like Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Although political leaders have different responsibilities than ordinary citizens, they too can be ardent and imaginative peace seekers, as the examples of West Germany’s Willy Brandt, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, and U.S. President John F. Kennedy (during the last year of his life) demonstrate. At present, the Ukrainian Crisis cries out for just such leadership, but heretofore has not been forthcoming.