Suchergebnisse

Introduction -- Ontology from the perspective of complexity theory: auto-eco-organisation -- The strengths and limitations of the concept of social construction -- The ontological status of the living: a renewed foundation for epistemology and representation -- The standard social science model (SSSM) -- The social, structure and the emotions -- The challenge of ecological economics -- Philosophy and method for an ecological-political economy.

Introduction -- Ontology from the perspective of complexity theory: auto-eco-organisation -- The strengths and limitations of the concept of social construction -- The ontological status of the living: a renewed foundation for epistemology and representation -- The standard social science model (SSSM) -- The social, structure and the emotions -- The challenge of ecological economics -- Philosophy and method for an ecological-political economy

Introduction -- Ontology from the perspective of complexity theory: auto-eco-organisation -- The strengths and limitations of the concept of social construction -- The ontological status of the living: a renewed foundation for epistemology and representation -- The standard social science model (SSSM) -- The social, structure and the emotions -- The challenge of ecological economics -- Philosophy and method for an ecological-political economy

Much has been written about the "deterrent" role of international courts and tribunals in preventing potential atrocities. Since the establishment of thead hoctribunals and the International Criminal Court, the international community has sought to anchor the legitimacy of international justice in the "fight against impunity". Yet recent studies have suggested that an overly broad characterization of international courts and tribunals as "actors of deterrence" might misplace expectations and fail to adequately capture how deterrence works – namely, at different stages, within a net of institutions, and affecting different actors at different times.1TheReviewinvited two practitioners to share their perspectives on the concrete effects of international criminal justice on fostering compliance with international humanitarian law. Chris Jenks questions the "general deterrence" role of international criminal justice, contending that the influence of complicated and often prolonged judicial proceedings on the ultimate behaviour of military commanders and soldiers is limited. Guido Acquaviva agrees that "general deterrence", if interpreted narrowly, is the wrong lens through which to be looking at international criminal justice. However, he disagrees that judicial decisions are not considered by military commanders, and argues that it is not the individual role of each court or tribunal that matters; rather, it is their overall contribution to an ever more comprehensive system of accountability that can ultimately foster better compliance with international humanitarian law.

This article argues that Durkheim's founding insight – uniquely social phenomena – presents us with both a foundation for the discipline of sociology and the risk that the discipline will become isolated. This, we argue, has happened. Our contention is that the emergent social phenomena need to be understood in relation to, but not reduced to, their biological and psychological substrates. Similarly, there are a number of other characteristics, notably of self-organization, which are distinguishing properties of social phenomena but also of quite different phenomena. The comparison is instructive. We therefore argue for an ecological approach to sociological theory, which has important relationships to the general theories and philosophy of ecology and biology. We explore a number of terminological and conceptual parallels that may inform our understanding of the relation of social theory to these and other disciplines.

This article contributes to understanding the effect of complexity theory on the social sciences. It analyses the relationships between complex processes of self-organization and the environment or ecology in which these dynamics take place. Two factors are prioritized: the role of information in the formation of complex structure and the development of 'landscapes' or topologies of possibility (and impossibility). The authors argue for an ontology that founds both material and informational structures, and for a radical continuity between the general thermodynamics of emergent complex orders, cognitive theory and the complex structures of human thought and culture.