Sally J. Scholz

Feminist Political Solidarity

This article examines some of the conceptual history of collective political action within feminist movements beginning with sisterhood and moving to feminist political solidarity. I argue that feminist political solidarity is built on a commitment by individuals to form a unity in opposition to injustice or oppression. Three moral relations emerge from this understanding of feminist political solidarity: the relation to the cause, the relation among members of the solidary group, and the relation between the solidary group and the larger society. These relations evoke certain obligations and responsibilities which I present and defend. Feminist political solidarity is informed by the particularities of the cause and thus any theoretical account of the moral obligations is necessarily limited, but by looking at these three relations together with a sociological account of transnational feminist political solidarity drawn from Clare Weber’s sociological description of the Women’s Empowerment Project, a clearer picture of some of the moral requirements of a commitment to feminist political solidarity emerges.

Transnational feminist solidarity and lessons from the 2011 protests in Tahrir Square

Transnational feminist solidarity can be and has been very effective at bringing about social change in local and regional contexts. Transnational feminist activists, however, must be attentive to cultural differences in the means and methods of protest employed to challenge unjust or oppressive social and political conditions. In this article, I offer a discussion of some of the key theoretical elements of a transnational feminist solidarity. I then use the protests in Tahrir Square in 2011 to problematize transnational feminist solidarity. This exercise reveals both the power of transnational alliances and some of the obstacles – cultural, political, and gender based – that must be addressed by feminist transnational solidarity efforts.

Reconceptualizing Work and Building Ruddick's Feminist Solidarity Transnationally

I offer a reading Sara Ruddicks account of feminist solidarity as grounded in her reconceptualization of “work” in order to suggest that she provides a framework for transnational feminist solidarity that offers an important augmentation to other contemporary theories of transnational feminist solidarity. Feminist solidarity, according to Ruddick, forms through struggles to work. But what she means by work has not been fully appreciated in the literature on Ruddick. Scholars who focus solely on maternal thinking or even the work of mothering obscure the fact that such work is just her prime example of the reconceptualized notion of work she develops. I unpack her notion of work and show how it functions in a theoretical account of transnational feminist solidarity and feminist resistance movements.

Iris Marion Young on responsible intervention: reimagining humanitarian intervention

ABSTRACT Iris Marion Young took a strong stance against humanitarian intervention and other so-called legitimate instances of what she calls ‘official violence’. Nevertheless, she was also aware that there may be some situations for which military humanitarian intervention should at least be considered. Young was concerned that some states will use their obligation to defend against human rights violations as a mechanism in securing or maintaining global dominance. In addition, she recognized that what counts as a violation of human rights is not uncontroversial; human rights norms and conventions are interpreted, negotiated, and otherwise contested. In this article, I build on Young’s arguments for a social connection model of responsibility by applying it to a situation where a forceful response to violence might be justified. I juxtapose Young’s position with the emerging international standard called ‘the responsibility to protect’ in order to suggest an account of intervention for global governance relations.

Philosophical perspectives on democracy in the 21st century

Table of Contents.- Acknowledgement.- About the Authors.- 1. Philosophical Perspectives on Democracy in the 21st Century: Introduction Ann E. Cudd and Sally J. Scholz.- Part I. The Meaning of Democracy.- 2. Democracy: A Paradox of Rights? Emily R. Gill.- 3. Rights and the American Constitution: The Issue of Judicial Review and its Compatibility with Democracy Rex Martin.- 4. Democracy as a Social Myth Richard T. DeGeorge.- Part II. The Current Polarization.- 5. Political Polarization and the Markets vs. Government Debate Stephen Nathanson.- 6. Two Visions of Democracy Richard Barron Parker.- 7. Proportional Representation, the Single Transferable Vote, and Electoral Pragmatism Richard Nunan.- 8. The Problem of Democracy in the Context of Polarization Imer B. Flores.- Part III. Democracy, Capitalism, and the Influence of Big Money.- 9. Is Justice Possible under Welfare State Capitalism? Steven P Lee.- 10. Rawls on Inequality, Social Segregation and Democracy Mark Navin.- 11. Mass Democracy in a Postfactual Market Society: Citizens United and the Role of Corporate Political Speech F. Patrick Hubbard.- 12. A Tsunami of Filthy Lucre: How the Decisions of the SCOTUS Imperil American Democracy Jonathan Schonsheck.- 13. Democracy and Economic Inequality Alistair M. Macleod.- Part IV. Democratic Decisions and the (Un) Informed Public.- 14. Epistocracy Within Public Reason Jason Brennan.- 15. Journalists as Purveyors of Partial Truths Russell Waltz.- 16. Motivated Reasoning, Group Identification, and Representative Democracy Kenneth Henley.- 17. Republics, Passions and Protests Wade L. Robison.- Index.

Philosophical Perspectives on Democracy in the Twenty-First Century: Introduction

Recent global movements, including the Arab Spring, the Occupy Movement, as well as polarizing events in the US, such as the Citizens United ruling, invite a rethinking of the meaning, desirability, and feasibility of democracy in the twenty-first century. Technological changes have increased democratic participation, but have yet to improve democratic deliberation. Ideological differences have engendered incivility and unwillingness to compromise. Philosophical reflection offers opportunities not only to scrutinize the implications of these changes for democracy but also to reevaluate the nature and meaning of the core concepts of political theory. This chapter interprets the contemporary context of democracy in light of recent developments, and offers an overview of the issues considered in the chapters of this book.

Rousseau on Poverty

This paper presents Rousseau’s account of poverty as a means of demonstrating the connection between economic and political justice in his political writings. After briefly presenting some of the causes of poverty that he identifies, I look at three key features of poverty. Poverty is relative in nature, it adversely affects the virtue of the individual and the security of the state, and it demands both individual and collective response informed by equity.