Christopher Binetti - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Christopher Binetti
Polit Journal, May 22, 2024
Scholars are not using the proper analytical tools for comparing polities and cultures even withi... more Scholars are not using the proper analytical tools for comparing polities and cultures even within the same Civilization. The Unified Theory of Politics is a new approach to History and Politics that allows for comparison across the four Civilizations of the world (Western, Central, Eastern, and Mesoamerican). Mesoamerica is a Civilization made up of numerous civilizations. These civilizations are not compared to each other properly, with Mayans, Olmecs, and Epi-Olmecs all considered equal units of analysis, which is not true. At the same time, within the Western Civilization, ancient Italy is not being properly analyzed either. The Latins, Romans, and Oscans are equal units of analysis either, yet the categorization of cultures and polities here is little better than in ancient Mesoamerica. The Unified Theory of Politics allows us to bridge seemingly impossible differences in culture, time, and place. This gives us the analytical and comparative tools to analogize between Civilizations. This article will show how the Unified Theory of Politics works by demonstrating not only that the Mayans and the Oscans are comparable with each other, but also that Olmecs and Romans are comparable with one another. This leads to the analogy of: "The Mayans are to the Oscans as the Olmecs are to the Romans". Also, the article will demonstrably prove that Italians are Epi-Romans. This article will thus show that the Unified Theory of Politics allows us to compare any polity or culture with writing to any other polity or culture with writing, regardless of culture, place, or time.
Polit Journal, Feb 29, 2024
This paper analyzes the periodization of Western history, broadly construed. It first divides the... more This paper analyzes the periodization of Western history, broadly construed. It first divides the Old World (Asia, Africa, and Europe) into three macro-civilizations (or Civilizations), that are further broken down into micro-civilizations, or civilizations. The West covers the modern
Polit Journal Scientific Journal of Politics
Machiavelli is an underappreciated figure. He is either viewed as an unprincipled, but very Itali... more Machiavelli is an underappreciated figure. He is either viewed as an unprincipled, but very Italian figure or treated more fairly, but viewed as a generic European or even Anglicized. This article views Machiavelli as distinctly Italian and as an inheritor of the classical republicanism of Rome on one hand and Aristotle on the other. This article attempts both to explain the modern theory of republicanism and its ancient roots to a wider, more diverse audience and to present Macohiavelli as an Italian thinker, as opposed to as a European thinker. This project is both about ensuring that classical republican is available to persons from all cultures and backgrounds, but also de-Europeanize and de-Anglicize the cultural assumptions around Machiavelli. He is thus best understood as uniquely and irreducibly Italian and also part of a universal movement towards better government. At a time in which majoritarian democracies are out of control all over the world, the checks and balances in...
Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 2018
Journal of political science and international relations, 2019
There are no indices of democracy that explicitly are based upon the concept of liberal democracy... more There are no indices of democracy that explicitly are based upon the concept of liberal democracy. Moreover, the political-theoretical concept of republicanism has never been incorporated into any indices of democracy. As a result, there is a disconnect between comparative Politics and Political theory when it comes to the empirical study of democracies. In this article, I discuss the creation of a liberal democracy index, which incorporates both the concept of liberal democracy and that of republicanism into evaluating and categorizing modern political regimes. I look at all sovereign states, both democracies and non-democracies and ultimately categorize all modern political regimes into seven categories, the highest of which is liberal democracy. There are some surprises in the findings in this study. For one thing, France is not a liberal democracy. On the other hand, Nicaragua is not a dictatorship. Only 49 sovereign states are dictatorships. Many states are democracies or republics but not both. The Liberal Democratic Index has the advantage of other indices in explicitly using liberal democracy and republicanism as its conceptual anchors. Instead of using a ranking system, which tends to subjective, this index uses a more objective categorical classification system. This index is much more in keeping with traditional political theory than are the other indices.
ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: A BETTER PLACE TO BE: REPUBLICANISM AS AN ALTENATIVE TO THE AUTHO... more ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: A BETTER PLACE TO BE: REPUBLICANISM AS AN ALTENATIVE TO THE AUTHORITARIANISM-DEMOCRACY DICHOTOMY Christopher Ronald Binetti, Doctor of Philosophy, and 2016 Dissertation directed by: Dr. Charled Frederick Alford, Department of Government and Politics In this dissertation, I argue that in modern or ancient regimes, the simple dichotomy between democracies and autocracies/dictatorships is both factually wrong and problematic for policy purposes. It is factually wrong because regimes between the two opposite regime types exist and it is problematic because the either/or dichotomy leads to extreme thinking in terms of nation-building in places like Afghanistan. In planning for Afghanistan, the argument is that either we can quickly nation-build it into a liberal democracy or else we must leave it in the hands of a despotic dictator. This is a false choice created by both a faulty categorization of regime types and most importantly, a failure to understand history. History shows us that the republic is a regime type that defies the authoritarian-democracy dichotomy. A republic by my definition is a non-dominating regime, characterized by a (relative) lack of domination by any one interest group or actor, mostly non-violent competition for power among various interest groups/factions, the ability of factions/interest groups/individual actors to continue to legitimately play the political game even after electoral or issue-area defeat and some measure of effectiveness. Thus, a republic is a system of government that has institutions, laws, norms, attitudes, and beliefs that minimize the violation of the rule of law and monopolization of power by one individual or group as much as possible. These norms, laws, attitudes, and beliefs ae essential to the republican system in that they make those institutions that check and balance power work. My four cases are Assyria, Persia, Venice and Florence. Assyria and Persia are ancient regimes, the first was a republic and then became the frigh [...]
Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 2017
Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 2018
Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 2017
ABSTRACT. Representation is the mechanism by which relatively free regimes are arranged and main... more ABSTRACT. Representation is the mechanism by which relatively free regimes are arranged and maintain themselves. The concept goes beyond the concept of democracy, but involves free regimes more broadly. This includes republics in the mold of Rome and Carthage, in which checks and balances rather than the rule of the people is paramount. It also includes decentralized empires usually viewed as authoritarian regimes by others. This includes the Hittite Empire. Also included are city-states, in this article not including the Greek city-states, but lesser-studied city-states such as Phoenician and Neo-Hittite states. These city-states had a variety of regime types, but all categorized by the development of representation. Representation develops into a variety of forms. In this article, I focus on formal representation such as in electoral and other deliberative institutions. However, representation ultimately goes beyond these institutions. In fact, the heart of representation is that divers groups are being given real power within the political community and governing system. This article makes the claim that the history of representation is best under- stood as a movement or transmission of ideas and institutions across state lines through inter-state contacts. More importantly, the transmission is not predominantly through Greece but from the ancient Near East, particularly modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon, to North Africa and finally to Italy. The modern-day Western model of representation traces itself most closely from the model of the Roman Republic.
Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 2018
ABSTRACT. Are the principles of international relations applicable to history? How are they appli... more ABSTRACT. Are the principles of international relations applicable to history? How are they applied? What do we learn when we do so? The three connected case studies in this article help answer all three of these questions. The Assyrian Empire was the superpower of the 9th, 8th, and 7th centuries BC. The story of its fall, as well as that of the system that attempted to replace it, and that of the rise of the new superpower Achaemenid Persia show how domestic pressures affect international system change across time periods. This article explores, through case study and regime analysis methods, how regime type affects both the stability of domestic regimes when they are under international pressure and the international system itself. The concepts of representation and balance of power are essential to this analysis. This article explores the idea of bureaucratic representation, whereby diverse groups of person are represented through the bureaucracy rather than relying on formal or electoral institutions. Also, the concept of domestic balance of power is linked to the literature on republicanism. This article questions the democratic/authoritarian regime dichotomy and sets up further debate and research on how modern states could engage in political development with concepts in addition to democracy.
This paper looks at how domestic politics impacts the international system, particularly how anci... more This paper looks at how domestic politics impacts the international system, particularly how ancient states rose and fell. it also looks at the how polity type in the ancient world affected the ability of a state to survive internationally by being able to deal both with domestic and foreign interest groups, such as ethnic and religious groups. It uses the examples of the Assyrian Empire, the post-Assyrian balance of power system, and the Persian Empire, which all together form one large case as well a three distinct cases.Additionally, the implications for political theory are discussed.
Representation is the basis for all popular regimes, whether they be oligarchies, democracies, or... more Representation is the basis for all popular regimes, whether they be oligarchies, democracies, or republics. Greece is often seen as the birthplace of representative government. Here, I show this not to be true. Representation in the modern Western sense originated in the ancient Near East and spread along with the Phoenician colonists to Carthage in North Africa and eventually to Rome. The Roman Republic is the fusion of the historical lien for representation stemming from the ancient Near East and other ideas from Greece and Italy, that led to the mature theory of representation that I and others use in their studies. This work should be of interest to theorists of republicanism as it explores the foundations of a major key mechanism of republicanism, representation.
Drafts by Christopher Binetti
This paper is about the European Union and its historical precedents, the Byzantine, Frankish, an... more This paper is about the European Union and its historical precedents, the Byzantine, Frankish, and Holy Roman Empires. The article works on some laws of politics that can be derived from these cases. Additionally, it shows the cyclical or circular nature of imperialism. The paper talks about four fundamental political forces at work in empires.
This is a draft. I am having trouble finding citations for it and feel that it is missing something. I would love to have a co-author on it. Please contact me at cbinetti@terpmail.umd.edu to help or give me advise. I am not claiming this work as done or completed in anyway as it is not done or cited.
This article challenges the notion that representative government originated primarily in Greece.... more This article challenges the notion that representative government originated primarily in Greece. I argue instead that modern Western representation originated in the ancient Near East, before spreading to Carthage and eventually Rome. In Rome, the Near Eastern ideas mixed freely with native Italian ideas and yes, Greek ideas to create the epitome of modern notions of representation and republicanism in the Roman Republic.
This article looks at how domestic politics can lead to huge consequences at the international le... more This article looks at how domestic politics can lead to huge consequences at the international level. It also looks at how different regime types affect this process. Three interlocked cases- Assyria, the post-Assyrian balance of power system ,and Persia, provide one giant case of how these dynamics work. Interest groups in one polity can be used to bring down that polity and the entire international system in favor of another polity. This article also looks at the implications for democratic theory of the fact that it was the most responsive regime, Persia was the successful one in this case.
Polit Journal, May 22, 2024
Scholars are not using the proper analytical tools for comparing polities and cultures even withi... more Scholars are not using the proper analytical tools for comparing polities and cultures even within the same Civilization. The Unified Theory of Politics is a new approach to History and Politics that allows for comparison across the four Civilizations of the world (Western, Central, Eastern, and Mesoamerican). Mesoamerica is a Civilization made up of numerous civilizations. These civilizations are not compared to each other properly, with Mayans, Olmecs, and Epi-Olmecs all considered equal units of analysis, which is not true. At the same time, within the Western Civilization, ancient Italy is not being properly analyzed either. The Latins, Romans, and Oscans are equal units of analysis either, yet the categorization of cultures and polities here is little better than in ancient Mesoamerica. The Unified Theory of Politics allows us to bridge seemingly impossible differences in culture, time, and place. This gives us the analytical and comparative tools to analogize between Civilizations. This article will show how the Unified Theory of Politics works by demonstrating not only that the Mayans and the Oscans are comparable with each other, but also that Olmecs and Romans are comparable with one another. This leads to the analogy of: "The Mayans are to the Oscans as the Olmecs are to the Romans". Also, the article will demonstrably prove that Italians are Epi-Romans. This article will thus show that the Unified Theory of Politics allows us to compare any polity or culture with writing to any other polity or culture with writing, regardless of culture, place, or time.
Polit Journal, Feb 29, 2024
This paper analyzes the periodization of Western history, broadly construed. It first divides the... more This paper analyzes the periodization of Western history, broadly construed. It first divides the Old World (Asia, Africa, and Europe) into three macro-civilizations (or Civilizations), that are further broken down into micro-civilizations, or civilizations. The West covers the modern
Polit Journal Scientific Journal of Politics
Machiavelli is an underappreciated figure. He is either viewed as an unprincipled, but very Itali... more Machiavelli is an underappreciated figure. He is either viewed as an unprincipled, but very Italian figure or treated more fairly, but viewed as a generic European or even Anglicized. This article views Machiavelli as distinctly Italian and as an inheritor of the classical republicanism of Rome on one hand and Aristotle on the other. This article attempts both to explain the modern theory of republicanism and its ancient roots to a wider, more diverse audience and to present Macohiavelli as an Italian thinker, as opposed to as a European thinker. This project is both about ensuring that classical republican is available to persons from all cultures and backgrounds, but also de-Europeanize and de-Anglicize the cultural assumptions around Machiavelli. He is thus best understood as uniquely and irreducibly Italian and also part of a universal movement towards better government. At a time in which majoritarian democracies are out of control all over the world, the checks and balances in...
Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 2018
Journal of political science and international relations, 2019
There are no indices of democracy that explicitly are based upon the concept of liberal democracy... more There are no indices of democracy that explicitly are based upon the concept of liberal democracy. Moreover, the political-theoretical concept of republicanism has never been incorporated into any indices of democracy. As a result, there is a disconnect between comparative Politics and Political theory when it comes to the empirical study of democracies. In this article, I discuss the creation of a liberal democracy index, which incorporates both the concept of liberal democracy and that of republicanism into evaluating and categorizing modern political regimes. I look at all sovereign states, both democracies and non-democracies and ultimately categorize all modern political regimes into seven categories, the highest of which is liberal democracy. There are some surprises in the findings in this study. For one thing, France is not a liberal democracy. On the other hand, Nicaragua is not a dictatorship. Only 49 sovereign states are dictatorships. Many states are democracies or republics but not both. The Liberal Democratic Index has the advantage of other indices in explicitly using liberal democracy and republicanism as its conceptual anchors. Instead of using a ranking system, which tends to subjective, this index uses a more objective categorical classification system. This index is much more in keeping with traditional political theory than are the other indices.
ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: A BETTER PLACE TO BE: REPUBLICANISM AS AN ALTENATIVE TO THE AUTHO... more ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: A BETTER PLACE TO BE: REPUBLICANISM AS AN ALTENATIVE TO THE AUTHORITARIANISM-DEMOCRACY DICHOTOMY Christopher Ronald Binetti, Doctor of Philosophy, and 2016 Dissertation directed by: Dr. Charled Frederick Alford, Department of Government and Politics In this dissertation, I argue that in modern or ancient regimes, the simple dichotomy between democracies and autocracies/dictatorships is both factually wrong and problematic for policy purposes. It is factually wrong because regimes between the two opposite regime types exist and it is problematic because the either/or dichotomy leads to extreme thinking in terms of nation-building in places like Afghanistan. In planning for Afghanistan, the argument is that either we can quickly nation-build it into a liberal democracy or else we must leave it in the hands of a despotic dictator. This is a false choice created by both a faulty categorization of regime types and most importantly, a failure to understand history. History shows us that the republic is a regime type that defies the authoritarian-democracy dichotomy. A republic by my definition is a non-dominating regime, characterized by a (relative) lack of domination by any one interest group or actor, mostly non-violent competition for power among various interest groups/factions, the ability of factions/interest groups/individual actors to continue to legitimately play the political game even after electoral or issue-area defeat and some measure of effectiveness. Thus, a republic is a system of government that has institutions, laws, norms, attitudes, and beliefs that minimize the violation of the rule of law and monopolization of power by one individual or group as much as possible. These norms, laws, attitudes, and beliefs ae essential to the republican system in that they make those institutions that check and balance power work. My four cases are Assyria, Persia, Venice and Florence. Assyria and Persia are ancient regimes, the first was a republic and then became the frigh [...]
Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 2017
Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 2018
Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 2017
ABSTRACT. Representation is the mechanism by which relatively free regimes are arranged and main... more ABSTRACT. Representation is the mechanism by which relatively free regimes are arranged and maintain themselves. The concept goes beyond the concept of democracy, but involves free regimes more broadly. This includes republics in the mold of Rome and Carthage, in which checks and balances rather than the rule of the people is paramount. It also includes decentralized empires usually viewed as authoritarian regimes by others. This includes the Hittite Empire. Also included are city-states, in this article not including the Greek city-states, but lesser-studied city-states such as Phoenician and Neo-Hittite states. These city-states had a variety of regime types, but all categorized by the development of representation. Representation develops into a variety of forms. In this article, I focus on formal representation such as in electoral and other deliberative institutions. However, representation ultimately goes beyond these institutions. In fact, the heart of representation is that divers groups are being given real power within the political community and governing system. This article makes the claim that the history of representation is best under- stood as a movement or transmission of ideas and institutions across state lines through inter-state contacts. More importantly, the transmission is not predominantly through Greece but from the ancient Near East, particularly modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon, to North Africa and finally to Italy. The modern-day Western model of representation traces itself most closely from the model of the Roman Republic.
Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 2018
ABSTRACT. Are the principles of international relations applicable to history? How are they appli... more ABSTRACT. Are the principles of international relations applicable to history? How are they applied? What do we learn when we do so? The three connected case studies in this article help answer all three of these questions. The Assyrian Empire was the superpower of the 9th, 8th, and 7th centuries BC. The story of its fall, as well as that of the system that attempted to replace it, and that of the rise of the new superpower Achaemenid Persia show how domestic pressures affect international system change across time periods. This article explores, through case study and regime analysis methods, how regime type affects both the stability of domestic regimes when they are under international pressure and the international system itself. The concepts of representation and balance of power are essential to this analysis. This article explores the idea of bureaucratic representation, whereby diverse groups of person are represented through the bureaucracy rather than relying on formal or electoral institutions. Also, the concept of domestic balance of power is linked to the literature on republicanism. This article questions the democratic/authoritarian regime dichotomy and sets up further debate and research on how modern states could engage in political development with concepts in addition to democracy.
This paper looks at how domestic politics impacts the international system, particularly how anci... more This paper looks at how domestic politics impacts the international system, particularly how ancient states rose and fell. it also looks at the how polity type in the ancient world affected the ability of a state to survive internationally by being able to deal both with domestic and foreign interest groups, such as ethnic and religious groups. It uses the examples of the Assyrian Empire, the post-Assyrian balance of power system, and the Persian Empire, which all together form one large case as well a three distinct cases.Additionally, the implications for political theory are discussed.
Representation is the basis for all popular regimes, whether they be oligarchies, democracies, or... more Representation is the basis for all popular regimes, whether they be oligarchies, democracies, or republics. Greece is often seen as the birthplace of representative government. Here, I show this not to be true. Representation in the modern Western sense originated in the ancient Near East and spread along with the Phoenician colonists to Carthage in North Africa and eventually to Rome. The Roman Republic is the fusion of the historical lien for representation stemming from the ancient Near East and other ideas from Greece and Italy, that led to the mature theory of representation that I and others use in their studies. This work should be of interest to theorists of republicanism as it explores the foundations of a major key mechanism of republicanism, representation.
This paper is about the European Union and its historical precedents, the Byzantine, Frankish, an... more This paper is about the European Union and its historical precedents, the Byzantine, Frankish, and Holy Roman Empires. The article works on some laws of politics that can be derived from these cases. Additionally, it shows the cyclical or circular nature of imperialism. The paper talks about four fundamental political forces at work in empires.
This is a draft. I am having trouble finding citations for it and feel that it is missing something. I would love to have a co-author on it. Please contact me at cbinetti@terpmail.umd.edu to help or give me advise. I am not claiming this work as done or completed in anyway as it is not done or cited.
This article challenges the notion that representative government originated primarily in Greece.... more This article challenges the notion that representative government originated primarily in Greece. I argue instead that modern Western representation originated in the ancient Near East, before spreading to Carthage and eventually Rome. In Rome, the Near Eastern ideas mixed freely with native Italian ideas and yes, Greek ideas to create the epitome of modern notions of representation and republicanism in the Roman Republic.
This article looks at how domestic politics can lead to huge consequences at the international le... more This article looks at how domestic politics can lead to huge consequences at the international level. It also looks at how different regime types affect this process. Three interlocked cases- Assyria, the post-Assyrian balance of power system ,and Persia, provide one giant case of how these dynamics work. Interest groups in one polity can be used to bring down that polity and the entire international system in favor of another polity. This article also looks at the implications for democratic theory of the fact that it was the most responsive regime, Persia was the successful one in this case.