Social &Political Review

Social & Political Review Trinity College Dublin Vol. XIX Social & Political Review Trinity College Dublin VOLUME XIX Acknowledgements Social & Political Review The Social & Political Review would not have been possible without the Trinity College Dublin financial support of: DU Publications Committee; Department of Political Science; Department of Sociology; Trinity Foundation; Economic and Social Research Institute; Political Studies Association of Ireland. We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Thomas Kinsella, President Auditor of the College Historical Society, and Barry Devlin, President of the Prof. Michael Marsh University Philosophical Society. We would also like to thank Léon of Ex- chequer Street, Maison des Gourmets and Superquinn of Blackrock. Patrons Prof. Michael Gallagher Dr. Hilary Tovey Dr. James Hyland Dr. James Wickham • Editor Hugh Taylor Published in 2009 by the Social and Political Review, Trinity College Dublin Deputy Editor C/O DU Publications Committee Gearoid O’Rourke 6, Trinity College Dublin 2 Section Editors Ireland Caitríona Ní Dhubhda, Alice Anderson Caitlin Crawford, Meghan Brown www.spr.tcdlife.ie • Copyright © 2009 Social and Political Review of Trinity College, Dublin and individual authors of articles. Treasurer Secretary Hillary Allen Lucy Wolahan All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or trans- mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including Committee Members photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, Ciaran Gallagher, Eve Kodyback, Hector Lloyd, without permission in writing from the publisher. Amandine Lobelle, Lorraine Wemyss A catalogue record for this journal is available from Trinity College Library Dublin. Set in Minion. Printed in Kilkenny, Ireland ii Contents Preface vii Rules & bureaucrats: Exploring their effect on international organisations 73 Olivia Russell i. THEORY 3 International affairs: Two core conflicts 79 Patrick David Skinner Globalisation & cultural change: Tempestuous sites of translation 5 Aileen McGroddy IV. SOCIAL ISSUES 85 Questions of punishment & society: 15 Le Rêve ou La Révolution? Feminism & soap opera 87 What can Durkheimian theories contribute to the debate? Conor Gannon Nikki Saarsteiner Developing effective immigration policy: The role of social psychologists 99 David Hume’s political philosophy: The farce of sovereign authority 25 Séamus McManus John Michael Corcoran Lifelong learning, mature graduates & the labour market 109 ii. Europe 31 Aisling McCarthy Exploring the European social model & its ability to reform Europe 33 V. REVIEW 121 Margaret O’Donoghue The Republican dream: On temporary partition 123 Liquid modernity & Italian society 43 & the uncertainty which harms Northern Ireland Aoife Morris Jonathan Wyse The Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty & the EU’s democratic deficit 53 Torture: Prohibited in theory but terrifyingly useful in practice? 131 James Walsh Karen McLaughlan iii. INTERNTAIONAL 61 The modern media: Looking in the mirror in Venezuela 143 Laura O’Connor Democracy in Central Africa: Ethnic divisions & international boundaries 63 Séamus Ó Coigligh Brokerage & TDs: A cause or consequence of governmental weakness in the Dáil? 149 Bobby Talbot iv v Preface warm welcome to the XIX edition of the Social & Political Re- view of Trinity College, Dublin. Its publication has been made possible only by the hard work and enthusiasm of the editorial board members, who have carried out the challenging tasks of fund-rasising, editing and publishing with gusto. It has been a pleasure to work with this team, and my grateful thanks go to them. I must Alikewise acknowledge the widespread support the Review has enjoyed across College, with students, staff and alumni joining to help ensure that this year’s Review is of the highest standard. And in a very difficult financial context, I am extremely grateful to the various bodies, both in and out of College, who contributed to our endeavours. Yet our labours would all be for nought without our authors, whose time, effort and talent is represented here. The range of interests and arguments on offer, from an analysis of the Venezuelan media to an examination of David R Hume’s political philosophy, is remarkable. We intended to create a forum for incisive debate; and we have been fortunate in finding authors who have amply satisfied this aim. It is worth noting that their works are divided into specific groupings. First come the four sections that the review has tradition- ally employed: Theory, Europe, International and Social Issues. Then comes a new addition for this year, a ‘Review’ section. Here, we looked for student commentary on contemporary matters, and encouraged authors to address personal social and political concerns through a rigorous, but more informal style. Perhaps unsuprisingly, it is in the light of these weighty contemporary issues that I will close. It is clear that the need for intelligent sociological and political discourse has rarely been more pressing. As we attempt to navigate our way through the present upheaval, and form a clear plan for the future, it is vitally important for Trinity students to be involved in such a discussion. Hugh Taylor, Editor vii SECTION I. THEORY Edited by R Caitríona Ní Dubhdha “Philosophical concepts nurtured in the stillness of a professor’s study could destroy a civilization.” Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) Theory Globalisation & cultural change: Tempestuous sites of translation AILEEN McGROddy Visiting Student Drama, Sociology & English R Then she told me a story of when Susie was five. Time for her to become a citizen. The child is taken to the naturalization office to be sworn in. When the ceremony is complete and the oath of allegiance taken the judge leans over and says to the five-year-old ‘Susie, you’re now an American.’ The child looks back and says, “When I get my blue eyes?’ —Shishir Kurup, 1995, p.49 s society observes and adjusts to contemporary globalisation, the question of culture – and the change thereof – arises from all sides of the debate. Some worry about Westernisation, or in more extreme cases, “McDonaldization”. Others raise concerns over reactionary cultural polarisation, especially in areas that have a tenuous relationship with the Occidental mainstream. Yet others Aargue that a global melting pot is bubbling away, boiling down to a cultural 3 Theory Theory conglomerate. At the base of all this is the fear of losing something that is Appadurai explores this sticky definition in Modernity At Large: Cultural localised and unique: the web of meaning that we call “culture”’ Therefore, Dimensions of Globalization by arriving at difference. If culture is a quality to address this alarmism, the three aforementioned theses must be brought that envelops a host of other elements, then the deictic utility of this quality into the light and scrutinised. However, we must first sharpen the tools that defines it. Cultural deixis, which is predicated by the habitus, is the predomi- will be utilised in this operation: that is, by defining the terms culture and nant force of the dialectical cultural boundary with which we are concerned. globalisation. Therefore, Appadurai’s definition of “culture” will take precedence in the fol- lowing discussion. i. Honing Our Terms: Culture “Culture is not usefully regarded as a substance but is better regarded as Culture is clearly more than the sum of its phenotypic parts, so we will begin a dimension of phenomena, a dimension that attends to situated and em- with Saussure’s notion of culture as an intricately woven web of meaning; a bodied difference […] culture [should be seen] less as a property of indi- language. And, as a spoken or written language is present from very mun- viduals and groups and more as a heuristic device that we can use to talk dane to very extraordinary scenarios, such is the case with culture: it is utterly about difference.” necessary for intrapersonal communication of all kinds. (Appadurai, 1996, pp.12 – 13) “At the foundation of all systems of belief and all cults, there must neces- Here we have a working definition of culture. Now we turn to globalisation sarily be a certain number of fundamental representations and modes of in its own buzzing nebula. ritual conduct [attitudes rituelles] that, despite the diversity of forms that the one and the other may have taken on, have the same objective meaning ii. Honing Our Terms: Globalisation everywhere and everywhere fulfill the same functions.” (Durkheim, 1995, p.4) Holton puts forth a consolidated definition of globalisation as a period of accelerated movement, interdependence, and consciousness across borders. It is also necessary for the “cult” to agree on the signs for the system to be suc- This sense of the word disassociates it from its pejorative connotations, plac- cessful. This is what gels a culture: the individuals that subscribe to the collec- ing it as an adjective attached to many processes. Globalisation is less a loom- tive. They not only embody it as a facet of selfhood, but they become part of ing monolith, like so many of the multi-national corporations (MNCs) asso- the group identity through (the French is illustrative here) “attitudes rituelles.” ciated with it, but “an ongoing set of processes shaped by human agency, and This feeds into Bordieu’s sense of the habitus, which takes Foucault’s layers far too complex to be encompassed within a single master process” (Holton, of history and puts them into everyday

Load more