Around the Web

• Iran: Threats to Free, Fair Elections | Human Rights Watch →

  Serious electoral flaws and human rights abuses by the Iranian government undermine any meaningful prospect of free and fair elections on June 14, 2013. Dozens of political activists and journalists detained during the violent government crackdown that followed the disputed 2009 presidential election remain in prison, two former presidential candidates are under house arrest, and authorities are already clamping down on access to the internet, having arbitrarily disqualified most registered presidential and local election candidates.

• Robert Talisse interviews Philip Pettit, on his book, “On The People’s Terms: A Republican Theory and Model of Democracy” (Cambridge UP, 2012) - New Book in Philosophy →

  Pettit articulates a conception of democracy to accompany the fundamental republican commitment to freedom as non-domination. The book examines the full range of topics, from justice to legitimacy and institutional design. This is a highly detailed and meticulously argued book.

• Religion und Gewalt: Eine Kritik des "Neuen Atheismus", by David Martin - Eurozine →

  "Wie konnte das Christentum, das in seinen Gründungschriften keinen Ehrenkodex kennt und Gewalt wider den Nächsten kategorisch ablehnt, gerade mit dem in Zusammenhang gebracht werden, was es am vehementesten ablehnt? Wie konnten die Worte der Bergpredigt zur Heiligen Schrift der Kreuzfahrer werden, ohne dass dieser Widerspruch die Gesellschaft erschütterte? Wie konnten Aristokratien, die auf Blutsbande und den Fronpflichten von Leibeigenen gegenüber dem Leibherrn gründeten, eine Liturgie zulassen, die im Magnificat tagtäglich verhieß, dass die Mächtigen vom Thron gestürzt und die Niedrigen erhöht werden?"

• Revolution in Bad Times, by Asef Bayat - New Left Review →

  "It may then be worth considering another understanding of ‘revolution’, along the lines developed by Raymond Williams in The Long Revolution—that is, a process which is ‘difficult’, in the sense of complex and multifaceted, ‘total’, meaning not just economic but social and cultural transformation, and ‘human’, involving the deepest structures of relationships and feeling. Consequently, rather than looking for quick results or worrying about set demands, we might view the Arab uprisings as ‘long revolutions’ that may bear fruit in ten or twenty years by establishing new ways of doing things, a new way of thinking about power."

• Translating Truth, by Maeve Cooke | Reset Dialogues on Civilizations [published in Philosophy&Social; Criticism, vol 37 number 4 May 2011] →

  The article considers the role of translation in encounters between religious citizens and secular citizens. It follows Habermas in holding that translations re-articulate religious contents in a way that facilitates learning. Since he underplays the complexities of translation, it takes some steps beyond Habermas towards developing a more adequate account. Its main thesis is that the required account of translation must keep sight of the question of truth. Focusing on inspirational stories of exemplary figures and acts, it contends that a successful translation makes truth appear anew; further, that it is the central role of truth in translation that enables the prospect of learning from the inspirational messages of religion.

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