http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/authors/2767/tristan-smaldone Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Wed, 12 Aug 2026 23:13:25 -0400 Wed, 12 Aug 2026 23:13:25 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1329/the-occupation-of-common-sense-from-neoliberalism-to-radical-democracy By Tristan Smaldone - Conceiving neoliberalism as a form of constructivism, an ideological project rather than a doctrine prefigured by ‘human nature’, illuminates a promising path towards countering its impoverishing effect on both the citizen subject and the ethos of democracy. This involves a concerted intervention at the level of discourse, aimed at reestablishing the importance of sociality and political community building over the fallacious, insular self. In the midst of the recent financial crisis, the Occupy Wall Street movement began this intervention but faltered over the question of representation... Wed, 20 Jan 2016 11:41 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1329/the-occupation-of-common-sense-from-neoliberalism-to-radical-democracy http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1056/radical-populism-in-crisis-era-greece-examining-the-impact-of-populist-movements-on-greek-democracy By Tristan Smaldone - This study looks at populist movements in Greece that formed in reaction to the failures of elite statist politicians. Beginning with the 2008 student uprisings in Athens, this narrative follows the escalation of social and political activism as the country entered a period of economic crisis. The impact of austerity measures, imposed in 2010 and 2012 by the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank, is examined in relation to the prevalence of social indignation and the development of nation-wide social solidarity networks. The role of the deficient Greek... Sat, 18 Jul 2015 05:42 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1056/radical-populism-in-crisis-era-greece-examining-the-impact-of-populist-movements-on-greek-democracy http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1044/the-arab-uprisings-and-the-blossoming-of-a-global-imaginary By Tristan Smaldone - The social uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that unfolded in late 2010 and early 2011 were the catalyst for a political awakening that soon after encompassed the globe. The same logic that allowed for localized social populism to flourish, in these cases, was at play in the subsequent blossoming of protest movements around the world. In Jacques Lacan’s terms, a ‘social imaginary’ or illusive unity was constructed, forming into a counter-hegemonic force of global proportions. This conceptual framework has been integrated into Ernesto Laclau and Chantel Mouffe’s discourse analysis... Mon, 01 Jun 2015 10:41 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1044/the-arab-uprisings-and-the-blossoming-of-a-global-imaginary