Category Archives: republicanism

Leveson’s fatal flaw: the Queen

Posted on October 3, 2012 by

Looking back on the Leveson Inquiry, it is clear that the review was fatally flawed from the start.  Although the terms of reference focused on the press, media relationship, the underlying issue was the way power is distributed and used … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, philosophy, republicanism, statesmanship | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Why we need governments in cyberspace: a response to the Strongest Tribe article

Posted on June 5, 2012 by

In the article, you set out a serious of arguments, implicit and explicit, about the need, or lack thereof, for governments in cyberspace.  In particular, you argue that the United States is the strongest tribe. There are some concerns with … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, military, occupy wall street, republicanism, statesmanship, war | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Obama, Reagan, and Huey Long: What has really changed in American Politics?

Posted on March 5, 2012 by

In his vote-harvesting season, it is important to reflect on the American political past to understand what has changed and what needs to be changed.  What connects these three men does not seem as obvious at first.  Reagan and Obama … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, occupy wall street, public sector, republicanism, statesmanship | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An extreme political camping trip or renegotiating the social contract: thoughts on Occupy Wall Street

Posted on November 15, 2011 by

My thoughts on the Occupy Movement is that it is dangerously close to being like an extreme sport like snowboarding in being an extreme political camping trip and not an intellectually coherent attempt to renegotiate the social contract.  From the … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, occupy wall street, republicanism | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A response to Andrew Rawnsley’s article: the future of the UK economy

Posted on October 30, 2011 by

Rawnsley piece is on the borderline of demagogic rhetoric and spirited opinion and its good reading. He taps into the mood and in doing so, he displays the same problem as the financial system. He offers a lot of feel … Continue reading →

Posted in local government, public sector, republicanism | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Some tentative thoughts on why the Occupy Wall Street Movement will fail to change America

Posted on October 16, 2011 by

What has struck me about reading the blogs and the tweets about the Occupy Wall Street movement in the United States is thebelief that protests will lead to immediate and lasting political and social change.  I am not sure where … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, republicanism, scholarship, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The open data delusion: can we find meaning in the data?

Posted on October 1, 2011 by

The open data delusion is a phenomenon in which we believe that increasing the amount of data published or accessible will increase the public understanding of the issues. What the financial crisis shows is that the data was out in … Continue reading →

Posted in linked data, open data, public sector, republicanism | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Social media and the political regime: the rise of republicanism?

Posted on September 19, 2011 by

What effect does social media have on the political regime? Are some countries better at adapting social media than others because of their political culture? The argument, in brief, is that the UK’s parliamentary sovereignty creates an institutional limit on … Continue reading →

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