What if we've been wrong when reading Agamben? Mathew Abbott argues that Agamben's thought is misunderstood when read in terms of critical theory or traditional political philosophy. Instead, he ...shows that it engages with political ontology: studying the political stakes of the question of being. Abbot demonstrates the crucial influence of Martin Heidegger on Agamben's work, locating it in the post-Heideggerian tradition of the critique of metaphysics. As he clarifies it, Abbott links Agamben's philosophy with Wittgenstein's picture theory and Heidegger's concept of the world-picture, showing the importance of this for understanding - and potentially overcoming - the forms of alienation characteristic of the society of the spectacle.
This book offers an empirical and theoretical study of the Koizumi administration, covering such issues as the characteristics of its political style, its domestic and foreign policies, and its ...larger historical significance. The key questions that guide its approach are: what enabled Koizumi to exercise unusually strong leadership, and what structural transformations of Japanese politics did he achieve?
Uchiyama looks at policy-making processes, newly created institutional arenas such as the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, Koizumi’s populist strategy, foreign policy, and neo-liberal convictions to assess the historical significance of his administration and seek out the basis for its wide public support.
Finally, the book undertakes a normative evaluation of the merits and demerits of the Koizumi administration’s political style, and compares it with the Abe and Fukuda administrations that came after. This book will be of interest to scholars and students with an interest in comparative politics, administrative reform, and contemporary Japan.
Yu Uchiyama is Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Japan.
"Uchiyama sees Koizumi's ability to seize upon the expanded prerogatives of the prime minister as a function of his political orientation, a Japanese-style Thatcherism, and his leadership style. Koizumi's call for reform of Japan's financial and health care systems and the privatization of significant government-run enterprises tapped into the public's search for an alternative solution to existing social and economic ills. This work is highly recommended for private collections and library collections on Japan. Highly recommended. Graduate, research, and professional collections." J. M. Peek, Glenville State College, Choice Reviews Online, www.cro2.org
"Detail is quite literally the word for this book as, throughout the chapters, there is an immense amount of information... the book's strongest features are its detailed description of the Koizumi era and its perceptive analysis of the outcome of his time in power... Its value is in its detail and the way it attempts to explain Koizumi." - Sarah Hyde, Asian Affairs, Nov 2011
1. Koizumi’s Management of Politics 2. Domestic Affairs: The Battle over Neoliberal Reform 3. Foreign Relations: Closer to America, Farther from East Asia 4. The Koizumi Administration in Historical and Theoretical Perspective 5. Legacies of the Koizumi Administration Postscript: The Koizumi and Abe Administrations
Challenging the prevalent account of Agamben as a pessimistic thinker, Catastrophe and Redemption proposes a reading of his political thought in which the redemptive element of his work is not a ...curious aside but instead is fundamental to his project. Jessica Whyte considers his critical account of contemporary politics—his argument that Western politics has been "biopolitics" since its inception, his critique of human rights, his argument that the state of exception is now the norm, and the paradigmatic significance he attributes to the concentration camp—and shows that it is in the midst of these catastrophes of the present that Agamben sees the possibility of a form of profane redemption. Whyte outlines the importance of potentiality in his attempt to formulate a new politics, examines his relation to Jewish and Christian strands of messianism, and interrogates the new forms of praxis that he situates within contemporary commodity culture, taking Agamben's thought as a call for the creation of new political forms.
More Than Heavy Rain brings together poems of intense observation culled from a life lived mostly outside. Set mostly around the poet's home along the Watauga River in northeast Tennessee, the poems ...also reach out to such distant locations as Montana, Alaska, and post-war Germany. Some of them reconstruct the poet's childhood in rural West Virginia. Some examine his family history, the events and relatives who helped determine the way he views the world.LIKE TURNING ON A SWITCHIn a day and a night the leaves of all fourGingko trees in the courtyard fell,Fanned out in one direction by a south windAs if they had been deliberately laid.Even in half-light they glowedAs if a door had been opened at mid-courtSpilling brightness onto the grass.But there was no door, no room into whichOne might lead, no light to shine out,Just yellow leaves, four shadow-anchoredBoats, straining to pull away with the tide.
In the early years of World War II, Germany shocked the world with a devastating blitzkrieg, rapidly conquered most of Europe, and pushed into North Africa. As the Allies scrambled to counter the ...Axis armies, the British Eighth Army confronted the experienced Afrika Corps, led by German field marshal Erwin Rommel, in three battles at El Alamein. In the first battle, the Eighth Army narrowly halted the advance of the Germans during the summer of 1942. However, the stalemate left Nazi troops within striking distance of the Suez Canal, which would provide a critical tactical advantage to the controlling force. War historian Glyn Harper dives into the story, vividly narrating the events, strategies, and personalities surrounding the battles and paying particular attention to the Second Battle of El Alamein, a crucial turning point in the war that would be described by Winston Churchill as "the end of the beginning." Moving beyond a simple narrative of the conflict, The Battle for North Africa tackles critical themes, such as the problems of coalition warfare, the use of military intelligence, the role of celebrity generals, and the importance of an all-arms approach to modern warfare.
Winston Churchill was under pressure. The Soviets felt that they were fighting the Germans by themselves. Stalin demanded that Britain should open a second front to draw German forces away from the ...east. Though the advice Churchill received from his staff was that an invasion of France would not be possible for at least another year, the British Prime Minister knew he had to do something to help the Russians.The result was a large-scale raid upon the port of Dieppe. It would not be the second front that Stalin wanted, but at least it would demonstrate Britain's intent to support the Soviets and it would be a useful rehearsal for the eventual invasion. Dieppe was chosen as it was thought that the success of any invasion would depend on the capture of a major port to enable heavy weapons, vehicles and reinforcements to be landed in support of the landing forces.After an earlier postponement, the raid upon Dieppe, Operation Jubilee, was eventually scheduled for 19 August 1942. The assault was the most ambitious Allied attack against the German Channel defences of the war so far. Some 6,000 infantry, 237 naval vessels and seventy-four squadrons of aircraft were involved.Though the debate surrounding Jubilee's purpose and cost has raged in the years since the war, many vital and important lessons were learnt. All of these factors are covered in this official battle summary, a detailed and descriptive account of the Dieppe Raid, which was written shortly after the war and is based on the recollections of those who were involved.
