B Bowden
Biographic Data
| ID | 57951 |
|---|---|
| NAME | B Bowden |
| GIVEN NAMES | B |
| FAMILY NAME | Bowden |
| SIGNATURE | BOWDEN B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Western Sydney University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2544-0171 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 64 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
The Role of Frontier Territories in Geopolitics
More than two-thirds of all the world’s states are involved in at least one territorial dispute. Overall, there are approximately 175 disputes involving competing claims to more than 100 distinct territories. If maritime boundaries are included, the number of disputes multiplies more than two-fold. Since at least the thirteenth century, frontier buffer zones with length and breadth have been an important mechanism in managing territorial disputes…
History as Philosophy: The Search for Meaning
One of the reasons for our interest in the past, or history, is our concern for the future, including the future of our planet and its many and varied inhabitants. It has been suggested that “historians are particularly suited” to exploring and teaching about the future. This suggestion recalls earlier ideas of philosophical approaches to the study of history that sought to find patterns or purpose in history. These approaches are associated with…
Benjamin D. Hopkins: Ruling the Savage Periphery: Frontier Governance and the Making of the Modern State
A Case for the History of Ideas
As a graduate student, I undertook my doctoral training in a Political Science Program [...]
Frontiers-Old, New, and Final
The enduring idea of the frontier brings with it thoughts of adventure, discovery and romance, but also of hardship, solitude, and the struggle against the forces of nature. Similarly, the idea that there is a final frontier out there, just waiting to be explored and conquered, is as persistent as the idea of endless new frontiers, all waiting to be explored. The search for new frontiers arises out of humankind’s longing to discover, explore and …
Once Within Borders: Territories of Power, Wealth, and Belonging since 1500 by Charles S. Maier
Civilization: It Means Just What I Choose It to Mean
To Rethink Standards of Civilisation, Start with the End
Many people recognise that there is a need to distinguish between states in the international system, such as on the basis of legitimacy. For much of the system’s history the means of drawing such distinctions have been standards of civilisation. For some, the need to divide and separate is unavoidable; others are more critical of standards of civilisation because of the consequences that come with exclusion or the pressure to conform. On both si…
Poisons Disguised with Honey’: European Expansion and the Sacred Trust of Civilization
For many centuries now, those considering themselves civilized have carried out numerous atrocities—from abductions to dispossession to massacres—against those thought to be less civilized, all in the name of civilization. This has particularly been the case in the last 500 years when Europeans came into contact with indigenous peoples in their voyages of discovery and subsequent settlement. One of the justifications for these offences was often …
The Thin Ice of Civilization
It is widely accepted that as time passes, the more we progress as both a species and as individual human beings; the more we progress, the more civilized we become individually and collectively; the more civilized we become, the further we are removed from the vestiges of savagery and barbarism. But is this really the case? It is also generally accepted that civilization is a good thing, both in terms of a process and as a destination. The marke…
The Empire of Civilization: The Evolution of an Imperial Idea
Wendy M. Sargent: Civilizing Peace Building: Twenty-first Century Global Politics
Civilization and Savagery in the Crucible of War1
The casting of the war on terrorism as a war fought on behalf of or for Civilization against some less-than-civilized Other—terrorists and their cohorts—is a significant point. The image being generated and marketed is one of a war between the civilized defenders of everything that Civilization represents and the savage terrorists who oppose it and want to tear it down. Right or wrong, this image is not exactly new, and thus the 'war on terror' i…
The river of inter-civilisational relations: The ebb and flow of peoples, ideas and innovations
As a tool for understanding the world in which we live the study of the history of political thought is stunted because of a preoccupation with the Western canon as the history of political thought to the exclusion of other histories and traditions. This ongoing exclusion is itself facilitated by a deeply entrenched select reading of the Western canon; a reading that overlooks a tendency within the canon to not just ignore but suppress and dismis…
The Terror(s) of our Time(s)
In the midst of an age of terror and counter-terror, this article seeks to better understand the current moment of terror by comparing and contrasting moments and epochs of terror throughout history. The paper asks: What do we mean by terror? How is it described, measured and experienced? Is the post-September 11 phenomenon something altogether new? Is the current terrorist threat unprecedented? To address these questions the paper explores the p…
Civil society, the state, and the limits to global civil society
Just as domestic civil society is widely regarded as serving the greater common good of a national democratic political community, global civil society is also promoted as a vehicle through which a host of humanity's ills may be remedied. This article argues that the pinning of such high hopes on global civil society is mistaken, for its proponents have failed to recognise that global civil society is insufficiently analogous to domestic civil so…
The Colonial Origins of International Law. European Expansion and the Classical Standard of Civilization
The ideal of civilisation: Its origins and socio‐political character
There has been a revival in the use of the terms ‘civilisation’ and ‘civilisations’ to describe and explain events in the social sciences and humanities, nowhere more so than in politics and international affairs. This revival has seen the terms interpreted and applied in a variety of manners and different contexts. In too many cases this endeavour has been less than effective because of an oversimplification of what the terms mean and what they …
In the Name of Progress and Peace: The “Standard of Civilization” and the Universalizing Project
Robert Wright has written that more closely we examine the drift of biological evolution and, especially, the drift of human history, the more there seems be a point all. In explaining arrow of the history of life, from the primordial soup the World Wide Web, he argues, Globalization ... has been the cards not just since the invention of the telegraph or the steamship, or even the written word or the wheel, but since the invention of life. (1) Th…
Nationalism and cosmopolitanism: Irreconcilable differences or possible bedfellows
Sparked by the recent reinvigoration of the long-running debate over the competing ideological merits of nationalism and cosmopolitanism by leading Western philosophers, this article presents an argument as to how these two adversarial projects might be reconciled. In a review of both ideological perspectives, it is argued that neither paradigm is adequate in its own right, and that both contain potential dangers. However, both nationalism and co…
The Perils of Global Citizenship
The notion of global citizenship has been with us since around 450 BC when Socrates claimed that his country of origin was 'the world'. About 100 years later Diogenes the Cynic made a similar declaration as a 'citizen of the world'. These sentiments were echoed in the second century AD when Marcus Aurelius issued his famous declaration, 'my city and country so far as I am Antonius is Rome; but so far as I am a man, it is the world'. More recently…
The Perils of Global Citizenship 1
The notion of global citizenship has been with us since around 450 BC when Socrates claimed that his country of origin was 'the world'. About 100 years later Diogenes the Cynic made a similar declaration as a 'citizen of the world'. These sentiments were
In the Name of Progress and Peace: The “Standard of Civilization” and the Universalizing Project
Robert Wright has written that more closely we examine the drift of biological evolution and, especially, the drift of human history, the more there seems be a point all. In explaining arrow of the history of life, from the primordial soup the World Wide Web, he argues, Globalization ... has been the cards not just since the invention of the telegraph or the steamship, or even the written word or the wheel, but since the invention of life. (1) Th…
Nationalism and cosmopolitanism: Irreconcilable differences or possible bedfellows
Sparked by the recent reinvigoration of the long-running debate over the competing ideological merits of nationalism and cosmopolitanism by leading Western philosophers, this article presents an argument as to how these two adversarial projects might be reconciled. In a review of both ideological perspectives, it is argued that neither paradigm is adequate in its own right, and that both contain potential dangers. However, both nationalism and co…
The Colonial Origins of International Law. European Expansion and the Classical Standard of Civilization
Civil society, the state, and the limits to global civil society
Just as domestic civil society is widely regarded as serving the greater common good of a national democratic political community, global civil society is also promoted as a vehicle through which a host of humanity's ills may be remedied. This article argues that the pinning of such high hopes on global civil society is mistaken, for its proponents have failed to recognise that global civil society is insufficiently analogous to domestic civil so…
The ideal of civilisation: Its origins and socio‐political character
There has been a revival in the use of the terms ‘civilisation’ and ‘civilisations’ to describe and explain events in the social sciences and humanities, nowhere more so than in politics and international affairs. This revival has seen the terms interpreted and applied in a variety of manners and different contexts. In too many cases this endeavour has been less than effective because of an oversimplification of what the terms mean and what they …
To Rethink Standards of Civilisation, Start with the End
Many people recognise that there is a need to distinguish between states in the international system, such as on the basis of legitimacy. For much of the system’s history the means of drawing such distinctions have been standards of civilisation. For some, the need to divide and separate is unavoidable; others are more critical of standards of civilisation because of the consequences that come with exclusion or the pressure to conform. On both si…
The Perils of Global Citizenship
The notion of global citizenship has been with us since around 450 BC when Socrates claimed that his country of origin was 'the world'. About 100 years later Diogenes the Cynic made a similar declaration as a 'citizen of the world'. These sentiments were echoed in the second century AD when Marcus Aurelius issued his famous declaration, 'my city and country so far as I am Antonius is Rome; but so far as I am a man, it is the world'. More recently…
Civilization and Savagery in the Crucible of War1
The casting of the war on terrorism as a war fought on behalf of or for Civilization against some less-than-civilized Other—terrorists and their cohorts—is a significant point. The image being generated and marketed is one of a war between the civilized defenders of everything that Civilization represents and the savage terrorists who oppose it and want to tear it down. Right or wrong, this image is not exactly new, and thus the 'war on terror' i…
The river of inter-civilisational relations: The ebb and flow of peoples, ideas and innovations
As a tool for understanding the world in which we live the study of the history of political thought is stunted because of a preoccupation with the Western canon as the history of political thought to the exclusion of other histories and traditions. This ongoing exclusion is itself facilitated by a deeply entrenched select reading of the Western canon; a reading that overlooks a tendency within the canon to not just ignore but suppress and dismis…
Nationalism and cosmopolitanism: Irreconcilable differences or possible bedfellows
Sparked by the recent reinvigoration of the long-running debate over the competing ideological merits of nationalism and cosmopolitanism by leading Western philosophers, this article presents an argument as to how these two adversarial projects might be reconciled. In a review of both ideological perspectives, it is argued that neither paradigm is adequate in its own right, and that both contain potential dangers. However, both nationalism and co…
The Perils of Global Citizenship
The notion of global citizenship has been with us since around 450 BC when Socrates claimed that his country of origin was 'the world'. About 100 years later Diogenes the Cynic made a similar declaration as a 'citizen of the world'. These sentiments were echoed in the second century AD when Marcus Aurelius issued his famous declaration, 'my city and country so far as I am Antonius is Rome; but so far as I am a man, it is the world'. More recently…
The Perils of Global Citizenship 1
The notion of global citizenship has been with us since around 450 BC when Socrates claimed that his country of origin was 'the world'. About 100 years later Diogenes the Cynic made a similar declaration as a 'citizen of the world'. These sentiments were
The ideal of civilisation: Its origins and socio‐political character
There has been a revival in the use of the terms ‘civilisation’ and ‘civilisations’ to describe and explain events in the social sciences and humanities, nowhere more so than in politics and international affairs. This revival has seen the terms interpreted and applied in a variety of manners and different contexts. In too many cases this endeavour has been less than effective because of an oversimplification of what the terms mean and what they …
In the Name of Progress and Peace: The “Standard of Civilization” and the Universalizing Project
Robert Wright has written that more closely we examine the drift of biological evolution and, especially, the drift of human history, the more there seems be a point all. In explaining arrow of the history of life, from the primordial soup the World Wide Web, he argues, Globalization ... has been the cards not just since the invention of the telegraph or the steamship, or even the written word or the wheel, but since the invention of life. (1) Th…
The Colonial Origins of International Law. European Expansion and the Classical Standard of Civilization
Civil society, the state, and the limits to global civil society
Just as domestic civil society is widely regarded as serving the greater common good of a national democratic political community, global civil society is also promoted as a vehicle through which a host of humanity's ills may be remedied. This article argues that the pinning of such high hopes on global civil society is mistaken, for its proponents have failed to recognise that global civil society is insufficiently analogous to domestic civil so…
Civilization and Savagery in the Crucible of War1
The casting of the war on terrorism as a war fought on behalf of or for Civilization against some less-than-civilized Other—terrorists and their cohorts—is a significant point. The image being generated and marketed is one of a war between the civilized defenders of everything that Civilization represents and the savage terrorists who oppose it and want to tear it down. Right or wrong, this image is not exactly new, and thus the 'war on terror' i…
The river of inter-civilisational relations: The ebb and flow of peoples, ideas and innovations
As a tool for understanding the world in which we live the study of the history of political thought is stunted because of a preoccupation with the Western canon as the history of political thought to the exclusion of other histories and traditions. This ongoing exclusion is itself facilitated by a deeply entrenched select reading of the Western canon; a reading that overlooks a tendency within the canon to not just ignore but suppress and dismis…
The Terror(s) of our Time(s)
In the midst of an age of terror and counter-terror, this article seeks to better understand the current moment of terror by comparing and contrasting moments and epochs of terror throughout history. The paper asks: What do we mean by terror? How is it described, measured and experienced? Is the post-September 11 phenomenon something altogether new? Is the current terrorist threat unprecedented? To address these questions the paper explores the p…
The Empire of Civilization: The Evolution of an Imperial Idea
Wendy M. Sargent: Civilizing Peace Building: Twenty-first Century Global Politics
The Thin Ice of Civilization
It is widely accepted that as time passes, the more we progress as both a species and as individual human beings; the more we progress, the more civilized we become individually and collectively; the more civilized we become, the further we are removed from the vestiges of savagery and barbarism. But is this really the case? It is also generally accepted that civilization is a good thing, both in terms of a process and as a destination. The marke…
Poisons Disguised with Honey’: European Expansion and the Sacred Trust of Civilization
For many centuries now, those considering themselves civilized have carried out numerous atrocities—from abductions to dispossession to massacres—against those thought to be less civilized, all in the name of civilization. This has particularly been the case in the last 500 years when Europeans came into contact with indigenous peoples in their voyages of discovery and subsequent settlement. One of the justifications for these offences was often …
To Rethink Standards of Civilisation, Start with the End
Many people recognise that there is a need to distinguish between states in the international system, such as on the basis of legitimacy. For much of the system’s history the means of drawing such distinctions have been standards of civilisation. For some, the need to divide and separate is unavoidable; others are more critical of standards of civilisation because of the consequences that come with exclusion or the pressure to conform. On both si…
Civilization: It Means Just What I Choose It to Mean
Once Within Borders: Territories of Power, Wealth, and Belonging since 1500 by Charles S. Maier
A Case for the History of Ideas
As a graduate student, I undertook my doctoral training in a Political Science Program [...]
Frontiers-Old, New, and Final
The enduring idea of the frontier brings with it thoughts of adventure, discovery and romance, but also of hardship, solitude, and the struggle against the forces of nature. Similarly, the idea that there is a final frontier out there, just waiting to be explored and conquered, is as persistent as the idea of endless new frontiers, all waiting to be explored. The search for new frontiers arises out of humankind’s longing to discover, explore and …
History as Philosophy: The Search for Meaning
One of the reasons for our interest in the past, or history, is our concern for the future, including the future of our planet and its many and varied inhabitants. It has been suggested that “historians are particularly suited” to exploring and teaching about the future. This suggestion recalls earlier ideas of philosophical approaches to the study of history that sought to find patterns or purpose in history. These approaches are associated with…
Benjamin D. Hopkins: Ruling the Savage Periphery: Frontier Governance and the Making of the Modern State
The Role of Frontier Territories in Geopolitics
More than two-thirds of all the world’s states are involved in at least one territorial dispute. Overall, there are approximately 175 disputes involving competing claims to more than 100 distinct territories. If maritime boundaries are included, the number of disputes multiplies more than two-fold. Since at least the thirteenth century, frontier buffer zones with length and breadth have been an important mechanism in managing territorial disputes…
Political science (16 works) · Sociology (16 works) · Law (15 works) · Philosophy (15 works) · Epistemology (11 works) · History (11 works) · Civilization (9 works) · Politics (9 works) · Law (8 works) · Philosophy (8 works)