In 1987, the philosophies of a U.S. grounded in political liberalism and a Soviet Union grounded in economic redistribution were at odds. Mazrui argues that each superpower's actions ultimately supported the other's philosophy.

Turning to a brief consideration of United States foreign policy, Hoffmann points to particular moral difficulties in U.S. stances and urges the development of superpower rules that are effective and ethical.

The first issue of Ethics & International Affairs was published in 1987, when the Cold War still dominated international affairs. It was appropriate at that time to launch the journal with an issue devoted in part to the theme "superpower ethics." In his introduction to the topic Nye argues that the challenge of establishing an ethics for the United States and the Soviet Union is not met by any traditional Western system. Aristotle's "virtue," Kant's "good intent," and the "good (...) result" of the consequentialists are inadequate to the task of determining right on the superpower playing field. In reference to this insufficiency, Nye sketches the arguments of the subsequent articles by Mazrui, Hassner, and Hoffman, each of whom offers an instructive picture of the state of superpower ethics. (shrink)

The first issue ofEthics & International Affairswas published in 1987, when the Cold War still dominated international affairs. It was appropriate at that time to launch the journal with an issue devoted in part to the theme “superpower ethics.” In his introduction to the topic Nye argues that the challenge of establishing an ethics for the United States and the Soviet Union is not met by any traditional Western system. Aristotle's “virtue,” Kant's “good intent,” and the “good result” of (...) the consequentialists are inadequate to the task of determining right on the superpower playing field. In reference to this insufficiency, Nye sketches the arguments of the subsequent articles by Mazrui, Hassner, and Hoffman, each of whom offers an instructive picture of the state of superpower ethics. (shrink)

ABSTRACT Since World War II, American presidents have consistently advanced a world free‐trade agenda, despite the fierce opposition of domestic interests threatened by free trade, and despite these interests’ ability to mobilize local pressure and nationalist sentiment against free trade in Congress. A theoretical resolution of these paradoxes would consider both the countervailing pressure of domestic interests that benefit from free trade and an international factor: namely, America’s dominance of world trade. This global dominance gives the United States “superpower” (...) status not only economically, but politically, enabling American presidents to get most of what they want in international trade negotiations. Consequently, they can afford to make tactical concessions to American mercantilist interests—defanging congressional opposition to free trade—because in international negotiations, these concessions can be turned into powerful levers against the barriers to free trade that are erected by countries desiring access to the immense American market. (shrink)

This paper presents the results of a research project to understand how a major technology adoption project is taken up in the social setting of Calgary’s three major homeless shelters. An understanding of how technology is used ‘‘on the ground’’ and how it relates to the project’s goals is the key contribution of this research. The results of interviews with clients at the homeless shelters and shelter staff provide the empirical data for an analysis of the major issues concerning the (...) actual and intended use of this Smart Communities project. The research project is influenced by institutional ethnography, which looks at the role of texts in coordinating social relations. This article suggests that information technology could be seen as a text ‘‘superpower’’ in coordinating social relations among socially ‘‘at risk’’ people in particular. It concludes that more transparent dialogue is required on how actions are concerted by information technology. (shrink)

It is important to stress the "government," because the population, not surprisingly, does not agree. That brings up a fourth issue that should deeply concern Americans, and the world: the sharp divide between public opinion and public policy, one of the reasons for the fear, which cannot casually be put aside, that "the American ‘system’ as a whole is in real trouble — that it is heading in a direction that spells the end of its historic values (of) equality, liberty (...) and meaningful democracy," as Gar Alperovitz observes in America Beyond Capitalism. (shrink)

You take care of your belongings. When you make a mistake, you own up to it and tell the truth. Taking responsibility can be hard, but this real-life superpower is worth it. Learn more about it and how you can be a superhero in your daily life.

The paper has two goals. First, I reconstruct Nowak's model of provincialism. Second, I argue that there is no room in this model for an intellectual superpower. An intellectual superpower is not simply a paradigm that is buttressed by economic, political, and social resources. Rather it is a network of paradigms that recognize one another as such. In so doing, they create a new quality on the scientific arena that surpasses all single paradigms.

Volume 19, Issue 2, July - August 2020, Page 163-164.

Discover the power of loving your (Im)perfect self in an (Im)perfect world. This book dares you to experience the liberation, healing, and empowerment that come when you make a spiritual practice out of learning to love yourself. The Self-Love Superpower shares specific, hands-on action steps designed to support your journey from paralyzing self-criticism to expansive self-adoration. But this journey is a spiral and it is not without its challenges. This book is here to offer you support, personal stories, and (...) encouragement as you create a kindness alarm, conduct a self-care audit, engage in a centering and balancing meditation, heal relationship dynamics, and so much more. Each chapter contains accessible exercises, meditations, rituals, self-care practices, and journaling prompts so you can integrate the information in a experiential way, exploring themes such as: Energetic hygiene, grounding and clearing, body positivity, shielding your energy, boundaries, shadow work, clearing clutter, intuitive eating, chakras, stepping into your truth, feng shui. Whether you want to develop greater respect and belief in yourself, connect with your intuition, or regain a sense of excitement and enthusiasm for the things you care about, this guide provides the empowering boost you need to help you get there. -- back cover. (shrink)

The author of Governance in a Globalizing World probes the limits of American power, offering a compelling argument for the world's lone superpower to forge cooperative relationships with nations around the world.

At various times in history, a single power finds itself, at least for its region and time, a 'sole remaining superpower'. This paper explores the parallels between Athens' superpower status at the end of the Persian War and the US's superpower status in the contemporary world. Athens mismanaged her situation in ways that precipitated her own demise in the Peloponnesian War. The question of what might be analogous to Athens' conduct in contemporary US policy is explored to (...) serve as a kind of 'cautionary tale' for modern US strategy. (shrink)

In a revealing TEDxKC talk entitled "How My Mind Came Back to Life—And No One Knew", Martin Pistorius, author of Ghost Boy, shares his harrowing experience of living in a vegetative state with a locked-in syndrome for two long years. When his consciousness returned, Pistorius reflects on how he was unable to communicate the news of his recovery. Using his augmented and alternative communication device, Pistorius observes, "Your personality appears to vanish into a heavy fog and all of your emotions (...) and desires are constricted, stifled and muted within you. … It's a very dark place to find yourself because in a sense, you have vanished."Pistorius's speech is a commentary on voice and identity, and... (shrink)

In an era of fake news, alternative truths and leaked secrets making constant headlines, we are telling stories about ourselves all the time, and we are telling them in so many different ways. From vlogs and blogs to tweets and posts, from photos and gifs to live streams. From instant updates that disappear to rash words that last for ever and data trails that chart every step we take. While people around her shake their heads and mutter bad things about (...) the new levels of day-to-day deceit, Kathleen Wyatt is busy marvelling at how society manages it. How do we do this extraordinary thing - often under the most ordinary of circumstances? How do we convince each other to suspend disbelief? And why do we do it? In this brilliant, wide-ranging study of lies and lying, Wyatt introduces us to a cast of professionals and professional liars - from scientists to investigators, from double agents to journalists, from toddler specialists to a fallen titan of industry - all to help her prove a remarkable thesis: lies hold us together as much as they push us apart and may be vital in a healthy society"--Publisher's description. (shrink)

The British PM Boris Johnson is impressed with the way British science ‘liberated’ the public from Covid-19. He is reported as indicating that never before has the British people owed so much to sc...

Recently published work showed that members of the PAQR protein family are activated by cell membrane rigidity and contribute to our ability to eat a wide variety of diets. Cell membranes are primarily composed of phospholipids containing dietarily obtained fatty acids, which poses a challenge to membrane properties because diets can vary greatly in their fatty acid composition and could impart opposite properties to the cellular membranes. In particular, saturated fatty acids (SFAs) can pack tightly and form rigid membranes (like (...) butter at room temperature) while unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) form more fluid membranes (like vegetable oils). Proteins of the PAQR protein family, characterized by the presence of seven transmembrane domains and a cytosolic N‐terminus, contribute to membrane homeostasis in bacteria, yeasts, and animals. These proteins respond to membrane rigidity by stimulating fatty acid desaturation and incorporation of UFAs into phospholipids and explain the ability of animals to thrive on diets with widely varied fat composition. Also see the video abstract here: https://youtu.be/6ckcvaDdbQg. (shrink)

Business ethicists should examine not only business practices but whether a particular type of business is even prima facie ethical. To illustrate how this might be done I here examine the contemporary U.S. defense industry. In the past the U.S. military has engaged in missions that arguably satisfied the just war self-defense rationale, thereby implying that its suppliers of equipment and services were ethical as well. Some recent U.S. military missions, however, arguably fail the self-defense rationale. At issue, then, is (...) whether a business supporting these latter missions may not be circumstantially unethical. No it is not, say defense industry advocates, for two principal reasons. For one, this business benefits society at large in numerous ways. And, for another, the organizer of these military missions is a superpower which by its very nature is not subject to the ethical constraints of the self-defense rationale. I dispute both reasons, argue against the second, and conclude that the U.S. military-industrial complex (MIC) is circumstantially unethical. (shrink)

Superman has incredible powers and, luckily for us, he chooses to use them for good. But good intentions are not enough to actually do good with his powers—he must know what to do with them as well. The need for judgment is what brings all superheroes down to Earth, and what ultimately makes them relatable to their fans despite their fantastic abilities. Moral philosophy (or ethics) is the area of philosophy dealing with what we should do, what kind of people (...) we should be, and what kind of lives we should live. Despite his superpowers, Superman still confronts ethical dilemmas and still needs to use judgment to solve them. For him, however, the stakes are usually much higher than those the average person deals with. The weight of Superman’s choices is often like that of world leaders’ choices, potentially affecting millions of lives and the future of nations. (shrink)

PART I The superpower and asymmetry PART II Jus ad bellum, jus in bello, jus post bellum PART III Leadership and accountability PART IV Soldiersa (TM) ...

This book articulates a systematic vision of an international legal system grounded in the commitment to justice for all persons. It provides a probing exploration of the moral issues involved in disputes about secession, ethno-national conflict, "the right of self-determination of peoples," human rights, and the legitimacy of the international legal system itself. Buchanan advances vigorous criticisms of the central dogmas of international relations and international law, arguing that the international legal system should make justice, not simply peace among states, (...) a primary goal, and rejecting the view that it is permissible for a state to conduct its foreign policies exclusively according to what is in the "national interest." He also shows that the only alternatives are not rigid adherence to existing international law or lawless chaos in which the world's one superpower pursues its own interests without constraints. This book not only criticizes the existing international legal order, but also offers morally defensible and practicable principles for reforming it. Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination will find a broad readership in political science, international law, and political philosophy. (shrink)

The article deals with `The Symbolic Force of Human Rights'. First, it restricts the meaning of the term `symbolic' and of the expression `symbolic force'. Second, it discusses the concept of human rights. Having established the conceptual framework, the author goes to the core of his argument, characterizing the symbolic force of human rights as ambivalent: on one hand, it serves for their generalized affirmation and accomplishment; on the other hand, it acts as a manner of political manipulation. In this (...) regard, the article focuses, first, on the symbolic force of human rights at the level of national states, and then within the international and worldwide context, on criticizing finally the rhetorical use of human rights by nowadays' only superpower, the USA. Key Words: human rights • interventionism • supranational and national • legal orders • symbolic force. (shrink)

What must the United States do to remain the global superpower and stop alienating the rest of the world? The author of the bestselling "The Paradox of American Power" has one clear answer: soft power.

The dissertation is conceived as a major study of the controversial philosopher of world history, Oswald Spengler, as the exponent of a distinctive variety of political realism. The relationship of his ideas to German historicism and international theory is probed. The question of the historical inevitability of the eclipse of Europe by the ascendant superpowers and the epochal significance of the emergence of the American Century is considered in light of his philosophy. Spengler's many lectures and treatises on politics are (...) carefully examined in order to aid in harvesting his enduring wisdom on the art of statecraft, his insights into its ethical dilemma, and his reflections on the crisis of international politics in the twentieth century. The key thesis that Spengler transformed the cyclical philosophy he originally elaborated in his major work, The Decline of the West, summoning forth an arresting vision of world history as a soaring spiral culminating in the destruction of modern civilization, is buttressed through extensive quotation from posthumously published archival material. The actuality of his profoundly tragic thought, which illuminates the apocalyptic specter which haunts contemporary world affairs--the global ecological crisis, the cessation of economic growth in the overpopulated periphery and the danger of the collapse of the American-sponsored post-World War II international economic order, and the unending peril of a global war waged with thermonuclear, chemical, biological, and conventional weapons is explored. A provocative neo-Spenglerian scenario of the rapid deterioration of American economic power and the disintegration of the pax Americana, based on the classic analogy between Rome and America is adumbrated as an especially pessimistic contribution to the stormy debate about American "relative" decline. Finally, the significance of his philosophy to international political thought, particularly the utility of his pessimism in guiding statesmen in retarding the inevitable decline of the pax Americana as well as its value in exposing the guarded optimism at the core of "pessimistic" modern realist thought and in raising the question of its ultimate exhaustion in the face of the insurmountable crisis of modernity, is summarized. (shrink)

War winning, however, is impossible precisely because of the fact that there is no defense now against all-out nuclear use and probably not for the foreseeable future. A nuclear war could therefore be controlled and won only if one side consciously chose to lose the war, an event as unlikely in the future as it has been rare or nonexistent in the past. It is not necessary to win a nuclear war in order to deter it; one has only to (...) ensure that both are likely to lose it.It takes two to make a war, and of those combatants, one must start it. If nobody starts the war, there won't be a war. This is as true in the nuclear era as it ever was. But if any given party is certain that he would lose any war initiated by him, then presumably he would not initiate a war. One way for A to make certain that B would lose any war B starts is by having an unstoppable superpowerful weapon of retaliation at hand. (shrink)

The article deals with „The Symbolic Force of Human Rights“. Firstly, it restricts the meaning of the term „symbolic“ and of the expression „symbolic force“. Secondly, it discusses two matters: (1) a semantic matter, concerning the meaning of human rights; and (2) a pragmatic matter, related to utterance of human rights’ holders. The article emphasizes that it is not about „eternal“ rights, but rather a legal-political construction and conquest of modernity. Based on such assumptions, the author goes to the core (...) of his argument, characterizing the symbolic force of human rights as ambivalent: on one hand, it serves for the generalized affirmation and accomplishment of rights related to legal inclusion in conditions of structural dissension; on the other hand, it acts as a manner of political manipulation, whether to conceal circumstances involving lack of rights or, more abruptly, to give cause to political oppression. In this regard, the article focuses, firstly, on the symbolic force of human rights at the level of National States, and then within the international and worldwide context. Finally, the author states a brief critique concerning the rhetorical use of human rights by the nowadays’ unique superpower, the United States of America. (shrink)

By focusing on the importance of power relationships between states and emphasising the tendency to injustice and tyranny in any unchecked power, Christian realism in the middle of the twentieth century made sense of an international order structured by rivalry between nuclear superpowers. These lessons remain important for international politics, but a pluralistic Christian realism will have to give more attention in the future to relationships between the state and other primary social forces, especially business and religion. The classic political (...) problem of providing sufficient order without destroying freedom remains central, but it takes on different contours in a world no longer structured by rival superpowers. (shrink)

A chamada corrida espacial remete a um dos mais instigantes eventos da Guerra Fria e da própria história humana. Neste artigo, busca-se explicitar o contexto do pós-Segunda Guerra Mundial em que Estados Unidos e União Soviética decidiram investir em tecnologias para explorar e ocupar o espaço exterior, sobretudo a órbita terrestre, destacando suas estratégias ligadas à obtenção de informações sobre a ação do “inimigo” mediante a constituição de sistemas permanentes de inteligência a um baixo custo político para as tensas relações (...) bipolares. Em meio a demonstrações de superioridade bélico-científica envolvendo o desenvolvimento de mísseis intercontinentais, satélites de pesquisa e os pioneiros voos espaciais tripulados, as superpotências se empenharam para instalar secretos sistemas orbitais de monitoramento dos arsenais nucleares, cuja entrada em operação passou a propiciar tecnologias eficazes para o governo do terror nuclear e para a administração diplomático-militar dos conflitos decorrentes de seu enfrentamento planetário. Além de recuperar informações sobre a Guerra Fria, a problematização da corrida espacial também contribui para o estudo genealógico dos programas sidero-planetários de monitoramento que se afirmam como elementos dos dispositivos de poder das contemporâneas sociedades de controle.Bring data! Space race and Intelligence The so-called space race refers to one of the most exciting events of the Cold War and of the human history. In this article, we try to explain the post-World War II context in which the United States and Soviet Union decided to invest in technologies to exploit and occupy outer space, especially the terrestrial orbit, highlighting their strategies for obtaining information about the action of the "enemy" through the constitution of permanent systems of intelligence at a low political cost for tense bipolar relations. Amidst demonstrations of warlike scientific superiority involving the development of intercontinental missiles, research satellites, and pioneering manned spaceflight, the superpowers worked to install secret orbital systems for monitoring nuclear arsenals, whose entry into operation began to provide effective technologies to the government of nuclear terror and to the diplomatic-military administration of the conflicts arising from its planetary confrontation. In addition to retrieving information about the Cold War, the problematization of the space race also contributes to the genealogical study of the space-planetary programs of monitoring that affirm themselves as elements of the devices of power of the contemporary societies of control. Resumen Bring data! Carrera espacial y inteligencia La carrera espacial lleva a uno de los más estimulantes eventos de la Guerra Fría y de la historia humana. En este artículo, vamos a explicitar el contexto de lo post Segunda Guerra Mundial en lo que Estados Unidos y Unión Soviética decidieron hacer uso de tecnologías para explorar y ocupar el espacio exterior, sobretodo la órbita terrestre, subrayando las estrategias relacionadas a la obtención de información sobre la acción del “enemigo” frente a la constitución de sistema permanentes de inteligencia de bajo coste político para las tensas relaciones bipolares. Entre las demonstraciones de superioridad bélica-científica involucrando el desarrollo de misiles intercontinentales, satélites de investigación y los pioneros vuelos espaciales tripulados, las superpotencias insistieron en instalar secretos sistemas orbitales para monitorear los arsenales nucleares, cuyo inicio de operación proporcionó tecnologías eficaces para el gobierno del terror nuclear y para la administración diplomático-militar de conflictos resultantes del enfrentamiento planetario. Además de recuperar informaciones sobre la Guerra Fría, la problematización de la carrera espacial también contribuye a que el estudio genealógico de programas siderales y planetarios para monitorizar que se afirman como elementos de dispositivos de poder de sociedades de control contemporáneas. (shrink)

In this book, eleven leading theorists debate the normative challenges of preventive war through the lens of important public and political issues of war and peace in the twenty-first century. Their discussion covers complex and topical subjects including terrorism, the 'Bush doctrine' and the invasion of Iraq, Iran's nuclear capabilities, superpower unilateralism and international war tribunals. They examine the moral conundrum of preventive intervention and emphasize the need for a stronger and more effective international legal and political order and (...) a corresponding re-evaluation of the normative status of international law. Together their essays form a challenging and timely volume that will be of interest to scholars in ethics and political philosophy, political theory, international relations, international law and peace studies and to general readers interested in the broader issues of peace and justice in the new world order. (shrink)

This paper explores how the Leviathan that projects power through nuclear arms exercises a unique nuclearized sovereignty. In the case of nuclear superpowers, this sovereignty extends to wielding the power to destroy human civilization as we know it across the globe. Nuclearized sovereignty depends on a hybrid form of power encompassing human decision-makers in a hierarchical chain of command, and all of the technical and computerized functions necessary to maintain command and control at every moment of the sovereign's existence: this (...) sovereign power cannot sleep. This article analyzes how the form of rationality that informs this hybrid exercise of power historically developed to be computable. By definition, computable rationality must be able to function without any intelligible grasp of the context or the comprehensive significance of decision-making outcomes. Thus, maintaining nuclearized sovereignty necessarily must be able to execute momentous life and death decisions without the type of sentience we usually associate with ethical individual and collective decisions. (shrink)

Recent success of Indian engineers, businessmen, as well as other technically qualified professionals has created an obsession with knowledge and creativity. Documents like India as a Knowledge Superpower have proliferated and we continually hear the mantra of investing in and harnessing of human capital. There are, however, several strands of human capital in India and not all of them harness knowledge and creativity. People on whom drugs are being tested represent one such human capital, which, even though it is (...) being energetically mobilized to provide India with a strategic advantage in the world market, also highlights the contradictions within India’s shifting imaginary, economy and politics. Drug trials in India, in the context of neoliberal globalization, not only challenge and complicate, but also operate within a constellation of divisions — labor/capital, west/non-west, colonial/sovereign, national/global and so on. In this article I analyze how the people on whom drug testing is being done in India are being ‘harnessed’ as human capital, which leads to politicization of ‘bare life’ through ‘inclusive-exclusion’. (shrink)

The plot of the first three seasons of the Amazon Prime series The Boys, adapted from the graphic novel by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, makes direct comparisons between its superpowered protagonists, the Nazis, and the modern MAGA movement. As such, the series seems to be an argument from analogy that the modern MAGA movement is fascist. It is the goal of this chapter to examine that argument and evaluate its conclusion. In the end, we will see that the analogy (...) is strong, and that the modern MAGA movement is not even just “fascist adjacent.” Although the historical circumstances are different, the modern MAGA movement belongs to the family of fascist political ideologies, just as much as 1930s German Nazism. (shrink)

Employing a unique dataset of Chinese non-listed firms, this paper investigates the effects of the presence of 19 governance structures on 20 employees’ interest indicators. In general, we find that firms with the governance structures pay workers higher hourly wages, require less monthly working hours, and have a smaller chance of wage arrears. Meanwhile, the shares of total wage and welfare expenditures in total sales revenue are lower in these firms, which results in higher profitability. Moreover, firms with the governance (...) structures invest significantly more into training and provide employees with better fringe benefits. Considering the low labor protection standard and the weak external regulations of China’s labor market, we explain the positive findings thusly: corporate governance structures induce managers to adjust wage payments to the “efficiency wage” level, which is the best balance point for the interests of both shareholders and employees and, therefore, for maintaining the stakeholder relationships. We also find the governance structures that give blockholders superpower are negatively associated with employees interests. These results highlight the importance of giving enough discretion to managers in order to successfully find the common ground for creating mutual values for shareholders and employees. (shrink)

Demographic growth has in recent years been one of the determining characteristics of African development, and if projections are correct, the continent is set to become a population superpower. Its proportion of the world population, especially relative to the “old continent”, is increasing in a historically unprecedented manner, and its inhabitants are younger than ever. Although it is still difficult to assess whether this trend should be regarded as an opportunity or as a potential risk factor, it is already (...) possible to discern the first definitive signs of how this evolving new distribution of demographic power is shifting Africa’s geopolitical and economic position in today’s polycentric world. (shrink)

This special issue brings together a diverse set of cases from Asia with the aim of decentring established historical narratives about science diplomacy. With a critical perspective bringing together the bodies of literature in the fields of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (STM) and critical Asian Studies, we argue that these cases foreground a geopolitical history with multiple forms of sovereignty – often contested ones – and a range of political institutions and actors that enables us to revisit (...) science diplomacy as a means for understanding the relationship between science and international affairs. In doing so, the articles in this issue consciously eschew the normative ‘centring’ of superpowers or Western imperial powers as the primary actors, focusing instead on the agency and subjectivity of actors within Asia, many of whom were prominent in their respective local contexts. Additionally, we argue that the cases presented here, which examine issues from across science, technology, medicine and the environment, collectively demonstrate the further need for the ‘science’ in ‘science diplomacy’ to be interpreted more broadly, incorporating as it does many aspects of human engagement with the material world. (shrink)

Emerging technologies like nanotechnologies are governed in different ways around the world. This article draws attention to an important element that can help to explain the emergence of this diversity in governance practices: the role of nanotechnology in nation-building. By investigating the relation between nanotechnology and the nation in India, the article demonstrates that various particularities of the Indian governance of nanotechnology can be explained by the relation between science, technology, and nation-building. The article discusses four instances in which the (...) governance of nanotechnology in India is informed by the role science and technology has in nation-building: the historical image of India as a country that can attain modernity and development by engaging with modern science and technology supported the government’s decision to free funds for nanotechnology research; the view of India as a country that cannot rely on foreign assistance to get access to the latest technologies reinforced the strategy to pro-actively pursue nanotechnology research and development itself; the historical use of science and technology as crucial elements in overcoming deeply rooted societal divisions enabled the science-centered way in which nanotechnology was governed; and the Indian ambition to become a global superpower informed the governance of nanotechnology as an object of international competition. The governance of nanotechnology in turn defines ‘Indianness’ in a post-liberalization world. (shrink)

1. Introduction The policy of deterrence, at least to avert nuclear war between the superpowers, has been a controversial one. The main controversy arises from the threat of each side to visit destruction on the other in response to an initial attack. This threat would seem irrational if carrying it out would lead to a nuclear holocaust – the worst outcome for both sides. Instead, it would seem better for the side attacked to suffer some destruction rather than to retaliate (...) in kind and, in the process of devastating the other side, seal its own doom in an all-out nuclear exchange. Yet, the superpowers persist in their adherence to deterrence, by which we mean a policy of threatening to retaliate to an attack by the other side in order to deter such an attack in the first place. To be sure, nuclear doctrine for implementing deterrence has evolved over the years, with such appellations as “massive retaliation,” “flexible response,” “mutual assured destruction”, and “counterforce” giving some flavor of the changes in United States strategic thinking. All such doctrines, however, entail some kind of response to a Soviet nuclear attack. They are operationalized in terms of preselected targets to be hit, depending on the perceived nature and magnitude of the attack. Thus, whether U.S. strategic policy at any time stresses a retaliatory attack on cities and industrial centers or on weapons systems and armed forces, the certainty of a response of some kind to an attack is not the issue. (shrink)

21st century India constructs itself as a neoliberal and consumerist superpower. In his cinematic career Shah Rukh Khan has become an icon of a rampant middle class, transforming himself from an antihero into a model story of Indian success. Focusing on identity politics, in this article his persona is utilized as a prism through which some representations of fears connected to 20th century India can be observed.