STEVEN SHAPIN and SIMON SCHAFFER, Leviathan and the air-pump. Hobbes, Boyle, and the experimental life. Including a translation of Thomas Hobbes, Dialogus physicus de natura aeris, by Simon Schaffer, Princeton University Press, 1985, 8vo, pp. xiv, 440, illus., £43.00. In his History ofthe Royal Society ofLondon, published in 1667 as an explanation and defence ofmen who spent their time weighing...

The Dutch Paradox. History and Memory of the Holocaust in the Netherlands Prof.dr. Ido de Haan, Political History, Department of History and Art History, University of Utrecht. Email: [email protected] In this paper I present an outline for a book on the Dutch paradox in the history of the Holocaust. On the one hand, the Netherlands developed a reputation of tolerance and liberality, in particular...

Although popularly perceived as a positive force, social capital may also produce socially undesirable outcomes. Drawing on Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, this article shows that participation in its violence was partly determined by the features of individuals’ social networks. Perpetrators possessed larger networks in general and more connections to other perpetrators in particular. The quality as w...

Economic reports from international financial institutions suggest that Africa can harness globalization, achieve more rapid poverty reduction and faster growth. Such assumptions, however, ignore the fundamental role that democracy plays in the distribution of welfare, especially in this era of globalization. Based on the analysis of various social, political, and economic data on 44 African co...

In the established landscape of research in social sciences, populism is seen as a type politics that chiefly revolves around distinction between “people” and “elite”.1 Within this, different forms can be distinguished—ranging from right-wing authoritarian to liberal-centrist religious varieties. camp political left, often cast essentially democratic endeavor. Drawing on conception inclusive pe...

Starting from the 15 century in the Atlantic slave trade, black people have been treated by lighter-skinned counterparts as commodities to be sold and bought. The effects of the trade and the resulting dehumanization can still be seen in subsequent historical events and in today’s society. Analyzing the Haitian Revolution in the late 18 century through literature such as The Grateful Negro by M...

This article discusses the relationship between certain institutional regulations of voting rights and elections, different levels of electoral participation, and the degree of political instability in several Latin American political experiences. A formal model specifies the hypotheses that sudden enlargements of the electorate may provoke high levels of political instability, especially under...

Few of Shakespeare's tragic characters have had so marty detractors as Richard II, who has been variously dismissed as a capricious tyrant, a self-absorbed poet, and a Protean dramatic forcé whose unpredíctable actions at times threaten the structural integrity of the play. This perception has in turn influenced the interpretation of Bolingbroke as a competent antagonist who brings much-needed ...

Using the world-systems perspective, this essay discusses the trajectories of several types of globalization over the last 100 years and the recent surge in public cognizance of global processes. It is found that different types of globalization have different temporal characteristics. Some are long-term upward trends, while others display large cyclical oscillations. The factors that explain t...