Mitja Sardoc

This collective paper on radicalization and violent extremism part of the ‘Philosophy of education in a new key’ initiative by Educational Philosophy and Theory brings together some of the leading contemporary scholars writing on the most pressing epistemological, ethical, political and educational issues facing post-9/11 scholarship on radicalization and violent extremism. Its overall aim is to move beyond the ‘conventional wisdom’ associated with this area of scholarly research best represented by its many slogans, metaphors and other thought-terminating clichés. By providing conceptual lenses on issues previously compartmentalized primarily [or even exclusively] in security and intelligence studies or at the fringes of scholarly interest, radicalization and violent extremism turn out to be much more complex than ‘radicalization studies’ has been eager to acknowledge.

This Handbook provides an authoritative exposition of key contemporary conceptions of equal opportunities. It presents the different concepts most commonly associated with equality of opportunity, and discusses the many problems dominating the controversies on equality of opportunity at the theoretical, policy or practical level. The chapters give a concise exposition of the different conceptions and basic concepts of equal opportunities. They clarify variables that are part of the 'algorithm of equal opportunities', e.g. opportunity, equality, non-discrimination, obstacles, fairness, responsibility, chance and choice, excellence, qualifications, effort, talent, merit, desert, inequality, and risk. The idea of equality of opportunity has traditionally been associated with a set of largely unquestioned ideals, and over the last 50 years, it has been at the very centre of the major progressive social changes and firmly entrenched in political rhetoric. Yet, the idea of equality of opportunity is far from unquestionable or unproblematic as the only solid assumption different conceptions have in common is their rejection of fixed social relations but not hierarchy itself. Disagreements over the fundamental principles, criticism over the inefficiency of policies aiming to ensure equal opportunities, and objections to their unfairness, all pose questions that current conceptions answer in different ways. This Handbook examines a wide variety of questions about issues of motivation, procedures, genealogy, taxonomy, and compensation.

The Palgrave Handbook of Toleration aims to provide a comprehensive presentation of toleration as the foundational idea associated with engagement with diversity. This handbook is intended to provide an authoritative exposition of contemporary accounts of toleration, the central justifications used to advance it, a presentation of the different concepts most commonly associated with it as well as the discussion of the many problems dominating the controversies on toleration at both the theoretical or practical level. The Palgrave Handbook of Toleration is aimed as a resource for a global scholarly audience looking for either a detailed presentation of major accounts of toleration, the most important conceptual issues associated with toleration and the many problems dividing either scholars, policy-makers or practitioners.

For much of its modern history, the notion of talent has been associated with the idea of ‘careers open to talent’. Its emancipatory promise of upward social mobility has radically transformed the distribution of advantaged social positions and has had a lasting influence on the very idea of social status itself. Nevertheless, unlike concepts traditionally associated with distributive justice, e.g. fairness, (in)equality, desert, equality of opportunity as well as justice itself, the notion of talent has received only limited examination. This article discusses some of the most pressing problems and challenges arising out of a reductionist understanding of talents’ anatomy and a distorted characterization of their overall distributive value. In particular, it aims to address those issues revolving around talents’ anatomy existing conceptions of distributive justice leave either neglected or outrightly ignored. The introductory part outlines the basic egalitarian conception of equal opportunities and then proceed with the examination of fairness embedded in it. The central part of the paper identifies the key elements of talents’ anatomy. We then discuss some of the implications egalitarianism either leaves out of the discussion or neglects. In particular, we challenge the idea of moral arbitrariness as the key mechanism to discard talents as a form of unfair advantage in the process of competition for advantaged social positions. In the final part, we outline two fundamental problems that call into question the cogency of egalitarian conceptions of talent(s) as a form of unfair disadvantage.

This essay reviews Michael Peters' book The Chinese Dream: Educating the Future, an edited collection of his articles exploring the concept of the Chinese Dream. The essays starts with the analogy between dreams and their role in psychoanalysis and dreams as an ideal representation of a nation's ethos. The introductory part illustrates this analogy with the example of the growing importance of the Chinese Dream. The central part of the essay examines the most important aspects of Peters' book The Chinese Dream: Educating the Future. The concluding part raises the importance of education in the national dream narrative.

In _Citizenship, Inclusion, and Democracy_, six expert contributors explore the conceptual and empirical significance of the work of leading contemporary political philosopher, Iris Marion Young, and her work in the field of education. Illuminates the discussion about the centrality of public education. Explores the idea of an inclusive, publicly mandated, system if education by looking at the topics of citizenship, group-based politics, social justice, difference, democracy, equality, and inclusion in education. Includes a thorough introduction from editor Mitja Sardoc, and a response essay from Iris Marion Young

Michael Walzer is currently at the School of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey. Professor Walzer has written Just and Unjust Wars; The Revolution of the Saints and has edited Toward A Global Civil Society. In this interview, he discusses some of the current concerns about education, political theory and the current state of the art of toleration, and acceptance and accommodation of different racial, ethnic, social and minority groups. He has published extensively and his work has been translated in several other languages. In this interview, he responds to questions about his work, his writings and his current concerns