Victoria Aydinyan | American University of Armenia (original) (raw)
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In the 17 th century when England was politically unstable many people had a conviction that only... more In the 17 th century when England was politically unstable many people had a conviction that only a monarch with unchallenged power can preserve the country. Thus, there was a consensus on the need for stability and a strong sovereign (Rudolph 3). However, others voiced their concern about the doctrine of divine rights of kings and developed the idea that governments were authorized with power to protect people's natural rights. Some thinkers even went further and empowered people with the right to resist unjust government. John Locke was among those distinguished thinkers who made a major shift in political discourse from silent obedience to the rulers to justified resistance. In his " Two Treatises of Government " Locke discusses the creation of a legitimate government, builds " the most thorough and extensive conception of the natural moral rights of persons presented by any of the classical philosophers " (Simmons 3) and explains the conditions that are necessary and sufficient for resisting the government. As John Dunn states, the book " is a work principally designed to assert a right of resistance to unjust authority, a right, in the last resort, of revolution " (90).
In 1969 during the Cold War when the world was witnessing a stand-off for global supremacy, Ghita... more In 1969 during the Cold War when the world was witnessing a stand-off for global supremacy, Ghita Ionescu and Ernest Gellner wrote that "a spectre is haunting the world -populism." 1 Back in the 1960s and 1970s left-wing parties were raising anti-establishment sentiments, striving for returning the power to the "pure people." After the demise of communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the USSR, many Western scholars proclaimed about the "end of the history" and the victory of liberal democratic values. 2 However, the new boost of populist parties in the West in the 1990s dispelled the illusion. Even though the "new populists" did not have a certain disposition in the left-right political spectrum, they were anti-establishment, anti-pluralist and were believed to pose a threat to European values and the EU in general.
Russia is never as strong as we fear and never as weak as we hope.
In the 17 th century when England was politically unstable many people had a conviction that only... more In the 17 th century when England was politically unstable many people had a conviction that only a monarch with unchallenged power can preserve the country. Thus, there was a consensus on the need for stability and a strong sovereign (Rudolph 3). However, others voiced their concern about the doctrine of divine rights of kings and developed the idea that governments were authorized with power to protect people's natural rights. Some thinkers even went further and empowered people with the right to resist unjust government. John Locke was among those distinguished thinkers who made a major shift in political discourse from silent obedience to the rulers to justified resistance. In his " Two Treatises of Government " Locke discusses the creation of a legitimate government, builds " the most thorough and extensive conception of the natural moral rights of persons presented by any of the classical philosophers " (Simmons 3) and explains the conditions that are necessary and sufficient for resisting the government. As John Dunn states, the book " is a work principally designed to assert a right of resistance to unjust authority, a right, in the last resort, of revolution " (90).
In 1969 during the Cold War when the world was witnessing a stand-off for global supremacy, Ghita... more In 1969 during the Cold War when the world was witnessing a stand-off for global supremacy, Ghita Ionescu and Ernest Gellner wrote that "a spectre is haunting the world -populism." 1 Back in the 1960s and 1970s left-wing parties were raising anti-establishment sentiments, striving for returning the power to the "pure people." After the demise of communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the USSR, many Western scholars proclaimed about the "end of the history" and the victory of liberal democratic values. 2 However, the new boost of populist parties in the West in the 1990s dispelled the illusion. Even though the "new populists" did not have a certain disposition in the left-right political spectrum, they were anti-establishment, anti-pluralist and were believed to pose a threat to European values and the EU in general.
Russia is never as strong as we fear and never as weak as we hope.