Essays on Despotism

CHAPTER THREE: MAN AND ARAB MASCULINITY

As Carabí and Armengol (2014) show in their study, Arab masculinity is a hybrid concept entailing adherence to traditional patriarchal values held for centuries in the Arabic world and supported by the religious component of Islam; however, it also “allows liberal values” which might contradict this traditional patterns. Cultural and societal representation of Arab masculinity is thereby rather complex and might emerge in a variety of contexts including family and society on the larger scale. In these representations, stereotypical images of man in traditional Arab context might enclose controversies and correlations between liberal-secular masculinity and conservative masculinity image entrenched ...

There is a wide accepted concept that after centuries of development, the Muslim world began to decline in the 15th century. Did it really decline? In this work I would like to illustrate the main trends of developments of the Muslim world in early 15 – early 20 century. We know that in part of the second millennium, and for five centuries later there were many Asian invasions in other regions of the world, wide expansion (Seljuk, Arab, Turkish). But then the stagnation began. Since the "golden age" of the Abbasid Empire, it has not changed territorially. And large areas ...

The Dynastic Cycle in China

As Usher writes, “A dynastic cycle is a periodic alternation of society between despotism and anarchy.” The political theory of a dynastic cycle implies to the idea that each dynasty undergoes four major steps of development: foundation, consolidation, deceleration, and extinction. After its creation, the dynasty reaches its peak giving the country all possible benefits and making it prosperous, and then declines and falls being replaced by the new dynasty. Throughout its history, China was under the reign of lots of dynasties and, hence, experienced lots of repetitive dynastic cycles. All of them had similar structures but different causes ...

Modernity refers to the approaches, behavior, and ideas of the post-traditional period. Originally, modernity can be defined as a critique of tradition, and a movement toward a new point of view rooted in new paradigms and insights. Recently, modernity has embodied present-day thoughts and present-day lifestyle. One important aspect that arises from this definition of social change and its impact on human experience is the formation of a newly constructed self-image and identity. In essence, the concept of modernity differentiates the modern person from the traditional individual. Such newly founded freedom in connection to modernity involved an experience and ...

Democracy in a nutshell

Democracy, coming from the Greek word demokratia, literally means “rule of the people”. While there are no official book definitions of what democracy means, there are certain characteristics that constantly appear in articles, definition and academic papers written about it. For one, democracy is accepted to be a form of government where the majority rules. This means that for some to be the ruler of his or her state, he or she must be elected by the people of said state . Furthermore, democracy also entitles that there is active participation of the people in both political and civil life. ...

Introduction

Politics has its different faces and its presence is felt even in the mainstream media. There are popular songs of our time that conveys political insights that are often concealed by the catchy melodies, unless the lyrics are closely scrutinized. Songs such as “Imagine” by John Lennon and “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley are two examples of politically inspired music. Although both songs are different in genres, one is of reggae while the other one is more of a rock ballad., but their context is the same. The political elements incorporated in the songs of the two great artists convey a ...

These letters by John and Abigail Adams describe the important political, philosophical, economic and military issues that were first and foremost in the minds of the American people around the time of independence in 1776. Abigail Adams in particular was concerned about the abolition of slavery, the rights of blacks and women, and better economic and educational opportunities for the poor. Both were strongly opposed to tyranny, despotism and aristocracy, both in Britain and among the gentry and the Loyalists at home, and thought that armed rebellion and a declaration of independence were necessary in this struggle for liberty and ...

Comparing and contrasting how Hammurabi and Augustus' governing lead to a cohesive and unified society

Introduction:

Hammurabi who was King of Babylon in the early 7th Century BC was an enlightened despot who came up with several law codes and is intrinsically credited as one of the most important lawmakers ever to have lived. His laws created an atmosphere for just government when several nations were still in throes of war and non civilization and the Egyptian Empire was breaking up, Hammurabi came up several ideas which are actually still in use to this day albeit in different hues and shapes. ...