Traditionally, African kings had no political function.

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The forces had decided that they would give up their "socio-political" function.

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Barring major technological developments, though, nuclear power will continue to be a creature of politics not economics, with any growth a function of political will or a side-effect of protecting electrical utilities from open competition.

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These tasks require a scientific body to function as free from political maneuvering as humanly possible, knowing full well the difficulty of achieving such a goal.

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That the competent performance of this essential function may be fraught with political complications is supposed to be a challenge for our politicians, not our intelligence agents.

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But its critics often fail to acknowledge that hip hop is neither sociological commentary nor political criticism, though it may certainly function in these modes through its artists' lyrics.

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But the absence of redneck representation is also partly a function of Britain's recent political convergence.

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The region's more open systems - Thailand and the Philippines- have also been able to maintain political stability because their democratic mechanisms were permitted to function.

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An obvious sticking point in the scientific, political and legal worlds is whether global warming is a function of man-made emissions.

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When money is created for political purposes, including the purposes of special-interest groups, it is less useful for its natural social function, the facilitation of trade.

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