Among political theorists there is a dispute over the status of ideal theory [see, for instance, Pennington (2011), Tomasi (2012)]. Ideal theory is characterized by its reliance on abstract arguments and thought experiments concerning questions such as: What is justice? or What rights do we owe each other? As such, ideal theory will always have a place in philosophy departments. However, recent...

since the beginning of human history, one of the basic dilemmas that every political institution must solve is how to exercise legitimate authority- that is, how to govern with the consent. “you can’t sit on bayonets,” goes an old political expression. this is a way of saying that although a state can exercise its power through the use of police force or coercion, in the long run the use of for...

This paper argues that current efforts to study and advocate for a change in energy technologies to reduce their climate and other environmental impacts often ignore the political, social, and bodily implications of energy technology choices. Framing renewable energy technologies exclusively in terms of their environmental benefits dismisses important questions about how energy infrastructures ...

The concept of legitimate peripheral participation was developed by considering informal learning contexts. However, its applicability to school classrooms is problematic. This is particularly so when teacher centred and decontextualised procedural practices predominate as they do in usual school mathematics classrooms. Different meanings of participation in community of practice theory are ide...

Criticism of contract theory has always played an important role in Hartmut Kliemt’s writings on political philosophy. Notwithstanding his objections to a consent-based justification of the state he has never subscribed to an anarchist position. In Hartmut Kliemt’s view, a minimal state which protects the basic liberties of its citizens has to be considered legitimate. The article begins with a...

Good governance has been the subject of theoretical and pragmatic discourses during the last three decades. Recently the indeterminate terms "Governance" and Good governance are being gradually used, in the literature of political science, administrative sciences and development studies. It is being increasingly recognized that Good governance is legitimate, accountable and effective ways of ob...

The Thai coup of 19 September 2006 derived ideological legitimacy from the view that the Thaksin government’s electoral mandate was illegitimate because it had been ‘‘bought’’ from an unsophisticated and easily manipulated electorate. There is nothing new about this argument, nor its use in justifying military interference. Political commentators have asserted regularly that the Thai populace l...

Many cross-national surveys examine the extent to which citizens of new democracies believe that democracy is always preferable to any other form of government. There is little evidence, however, regarding how such attitudes affect citizen behavior. This article examines the case of Bolivia, asking whether and how Bolivians’ attitudes toward democracy affect participation, including contacts wi...