Cities shape the lives and outlooks of billions of people, yet they have been overshadowed in contemporary political thought by nation-states, identity groups, and concepts like justice and freedom. The Spirit of Cities revives the classical idea that a city expresses its own distinctive ethos or values. In the ancient world, Athens was synonymous with democracy and Sparta represented military discipline. In this original and engaging book, Daniel Bell and Avner de-Shalit explore how this classical idea can be applied to today’s cities, and they explain why philosophy and the social sciences need to rediscover the spirit of cities.

Bell and de-Shalit look at nine modern cities and the prevailing ethos that distinguishes each one. The cities are Jerusalem (religion), Montreal (language), Singapore (nation building), Hong Kong (materialism), Beijing (political power), Oxford (learning), Berlin (tolerance and intolerance), Paris (romance), and New York (ambition). Bell and de-Shalit draw upon the richly varied histories of each city, as well as novels, poems, biographies, tourist guides, architectural landmarks, and the authors’ own personal reflections and insights. They show how the ethos of each city is expressed in political, cultural, and economic life, and also how pride in a city’s ethos can oppose the homogenizing tendencies of globalization and curb the excesses of nationalism.

The Spirit of Cities is unreservedly impressionistic. Combining strolling and storytelling with cutting-edge theory, the book encourages debate and opens up new avenues of inquiry in philosophy and the social sciences. It is a must-read for lovers of cities everywhere.

According to scientists global warming will yield rise in sea level, desertification in some areas, and floods in others, all of which will imply that millions will have to be evacuated from their homes and never return to them. To this I refer here as "environmental displacement." Some people argue that displacement (whether or not due to global warming) is not the end of the world, since people often move from one place to another, whereas others argue that displacement is tragic, at least for the displaced. I subscribe to the latter view. However, most people who picture environmental displacement as tragic do so because they regard displacement as yet another case of environmental injustice, in the sense that some people will be displaced while others will not. Thus, these people claim, the world has to prepare to compensate displaced people.

In her previous book on environmental justice, the American philosopher and scientist, Kristin Shrader-Frechette (2002), argued that while environmental injustice was caused by firms and governments, it was up to the citizens to stand up and resist it. In her most recent book, Taking Action, Saving Lives, Shrader-Frechette follows the same line of argument. It is one of the most powerful academic books I have read and heard of. It is philosophically sound and coherent, but if this was all I said about it, I am not sure Shrader-Frechette would regard it as a compliment. She wants more than that. She hopes her book will inspire the readers to act. ‘Philosophically sound and coherent’ is just not enough. I shall come back to this point below, but first let us review the way the book opens. The story captures the entire book's message.

The crashing of two jet airplanes into the Twin Towers in New York is vividly remembered by most people in the world today. Similar powerful images have come through videos of bombing in Kosovo, Moslem riots in Europe, brutal reprisals of protest in China, terrorist attacks in Israel, Kenya, Thailand, Turkey, Spain, India, Russia and England. These global events have challenged the beliefs of people in the Western world, and many have found themselves grappling with the perennial questions of modernity: Where is the world going? Are we attaining perpetual peace, or are we simply in the midst of ‘perpetual war’? How can we come to terms with seemingly opposing historical shifts, one pointing toward a globalizing and integrated world, the other toward tribalism and balkanization? This book celebrates S.N Eisenstaedt's works in sociology while addressing these questions. It brings together highly qualified and esteemed scholars to revisit the questions above in a nuanced, comparative, and empirically supported manner.

Shmuel Noah Eisenstadt is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the 2006 winner of the Holberg International Memorial Prize.

The crashing of two jet airplanes into the Twin Towers in New York is vividly remembered by most people in the world today. Similar powerful images have come through videos of bombing in Kosovo, Moslem riots in Europe, brutal reprisals of protest in China, terrorist attacks in Israel, Kenya, Thailand, Turkey, Spain, India, Russia and England. These global events have challenged the beliefs of people in the Western world, and many have found themselves grappling with the perennial questions of modernity: Where is the world going? Are we attaining perpetual peace, or are we simply in the midst of ‘perpetual war’? How can we come to terms with seemingly opposing historical shifts, one pointing toward a globalizing and integrated world, the other toward tribalism and balkanization? This book celebrates S.N Eisenstaedt's works in sociology while addressing these questions. It brings together highly qualified and esteemed scholars to revisit the questions above in a nuanced, comparative, and empirically supported manner.

Shmuel Noah Eisenstadt is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the 2006 winner of the Holberg International Memorial Prize

Political science has been detached from philosophy in general and political philosophy in particular. The latter has also ‘celebrated its purity’. But should political philosophy cooperate with empirical political science? This article argues that since political philosophy is part of the study of politics, if it does not cooperate, political philosophy might lose its relevance, create a distorted notion of politics, and commit a methodological mistake. It is further argued that democratising political philosophy is the way to encourage such cooperation.

Terror threats and fear of ethnic and religious outbursts, combined with the aspirations of governments to better integrate immigrants into society, have led a growing number of Western states to adopt the practice of citizenship tests as a prerequisite for full citizenship. These tests require the immigrant, usually of non-Western origin, to demonstrate advanced language skills as well as comprehensive civic and cultural knowledge of the host society. While existing literature focuses either on internal inconsistencies within civic integration policies or on the models of citizenship reflected in the exams, the present article offers a critical and power-centered approach to the subject. Using a Foucauldian perspective, we analyze the tests as a sign of authority, a technology of naturalizing authority, and a disciplinary tool. This study joins a growing body of literature on the concept of governmentality, putting the spotlight on the `microphysics of power', specifically at borders and liminal points where the state's presence is prominent.

What does it mean to be disadvantaged? Is it possible to compare different disadvantages? What should governments do to move their societies in the direction of equality, where equality is to be understood both in distributional and social terms? Linking rigorous analytical philosophical theory with broad empirical studies, including interviews conducted for the purpose of this book, Wolff and de-Shalit show how taking theory and practice together is essential if the theory is to be rich enough to be applied to the real world, and policy systematic enough to have purpose and justification.

The book is in three parts. Part 1 presents a pluralist analysis of disadvantage, modifying the capability theory of Sen and Nussbaum to produce the 'genuine opportunity for secure functioning' view. This emphasises risk and insecurity as a central component of disadvantage. Part 2 shows how to identify the least advantaged in society even on a pluralist view. The authors suggest that disadvantage 'clusters' in the sense that some people are disadvantaged in several different respects. Thus identifying the least advantaged is not as problematic as it appears to be. Conversely, a society which has 'declustered disadvantaged' - in the sense that no group lacks secure functioning on a range of functionings - has made considerable progress in the direction of equality. Part 3 explores how to decluster disadvantage, by paying special attention to 'corrosive disadvantages' - those disadvantages which cause further disadvantages - and 'fertile functionings' - those which are likely to secure other functionings.

In sum this book presents a refreshing new analysis of disadvantage, and puts forward proposals to help governments improve the lives of the least advantaged in their societies, thereby moving in the direction of equality.

Power to the People examines the teaching of political philosophy in what is taken to be skeptical times. Author Avner de-Shalit encourages political philosophers to remain committed to the analytical achievements of political philosophy while also revising and improving the teachings of the discipline to be more in tune with the demands of democratic society. Using highly accessible language, de-Shalit argues that distinguishing political philosophy from politics is methodologically and normatively wrong; that political philosophy can empower its students; and that political philosophy should be democraticized. De-Shalit's radical and provocative theory will fascinate anyone involved in politics, philosophy, and education.

What are the basic values that bind Israel's diverse citizenry? What characterizes Israeli citizenship, a State that incorporates a society with a Jewish majority and an Arab minority? What are the sources of inspiration guiding the civics curriculum taught in Israel's schools? How can higher education enrich Israel's civic tongue?
Avner de-Shalit offer innovative perspectives on the public arena and on the responsibility of higher education (and educators) to empower the critical capacities of Israel's citizens.
All who feel a need to deepen civic consciousness in Israel - of the individual, of groups and of civic society associations, of students and of teachers - will find in this book a fresh civic language: educated, reasoned, equal, diverse and sensitive to the needs of Israel's citizen.

Thirty years ago the American philosopher Holmes Rolston published a seminal article in Ethics announcing the birth of a new sub‐discipline in philosophy: environmental ethics. However, while environmental ethicists focused on meta‐ethical questions, the public needed answers to many political questions and dilemmas. This gave rise to some fascinating works in environmental political theory. This essay analyses their achievement – what has been solved and what still remains to be studied – focusing on three main topics: justice and the environment, democracy and the environment, and globalism and the environment.

Should lecturers who teach political philosophy hide their personal political beliefs? This question becomes interesting when lecturers face what seems to be morally repugnant policies, such as massive human rights violations. In such cases is there a conflict between a lecturer’s civic and political obligations and his/her academic and pedagogical ones? This article argues that while university lecturers should not adhere to academic neutrality, they should be impartial. While arguing this a distinction is drawn between paternalism and empowerment through teaching.