My articles on political science and philosophy. Some of the articles may no longer represent my current views and exist here as a record.
Machiavelli’s The Prince has risen to become one of history’s most controversial books. Its contents are, no doubt, seen as immoral to our modern sensibilities, but where the controversy arises, is the value of Machiavelli’s study. This essay will be arguing that Machiavelli’s empirical examination of the machinations of power is highly valuable, not only …
Renowned sociologist Max Weber established an important distinction between authority and legitimacy in politics. Weber (1922) highlighted legitimacy as a relationship between the rulers and the ruled (Hague, Harrop & Bresslin 1992:10). He proposed three systems in which governments held authority and were thus given legitimacy. Traditional Authority exists because, as Haywood put it, “[it] …
Read more “Brief Explanation of Weber’s Authority and Legitimacy”
Herbst and Mills (2009) make a compelling argument to provide a solution to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (henceforth: Congo) problems by no longer treating it as sovereign (Herbst & Mills, 2009). This was put forth in the simple phrase that there should be no Congo. Their reason was that Congo does not possess the …
The state should not control the means of production due to the innovation and efficiency that arises from private ownership (Shleifer, 1998:135), the necessity for non-regulated prices creating proper indicatators (Friedman & Friedman, 1980:14) and the dangers of central planning (Hayek, 2007:124). People are more likely to work hard if they are given proper incentives. …
The debate over Humanitarian Intervention (henceforth: HI) pits two opposing sides against one another: those against it uphold the principle of Sovereignty, while those for it espouse its virtues with regards to morality and pragmatism (Hoffman, 2000: 152). HI is simply a process whereby external actors intervene in the domestic affairs of a state on …
The value of Machiavelli’s The Prince can be construed in a number of ways – prominently, in the practical application of its advice, its historical significance as the founding work of political science and its philosophical illumination of the phenomenon of power. This essay will be discussing the first and third of these themes, examining …
In his article, Mearsheimer (2006) argues that China’s attempts to gain power as a nation-state will spur the United States into action against them (Mearsheimer, 2006: 162). His reasoning for this is based on his formulated theory of Offensive Realism. This essay will be briefly outlining the theory of Offensive Realism; after that, it will …
Everything is in flux. As Gartzke and Weisiger (2013) argue, change is constant, but it isn’t a constant (Gartzke & Weisiger, 2013: 2). The international system, if one sees it as in anarchy or some form of order, is still subject to change. The reason for this is that the world in which the system …
Leo Strauss and Wendy Brown both wrote on the topic of politics at vastly different times. Strauss wrote much earlier, publishing the article in question in 1957. Brown published her text in 2005. As such, the approaches of either author depend on the trends of political theorists and philosophers of their respective days and the …
Read more “Comparing Leo Straus and Wendy Brown’s Political Philosophy”
State collapse has been a prevalent and dangerous phenomenon throughout the world, but never so much as in Africa. This literature review will be outlining theories revolving around the question of if there are common causes of state collapse in Africa. In examining common causes of state collapse in Africa, we can begin to understand …