The manufacturing of Islamic lifestyles in Tajikistan through the prism of Dushanbe's bazaars

ABSTRACT

This article traces the multiple ways of ‘manufacturing’ Islamic lifestyles in the urban environment of Tajikistan's capital city, Dushanbe. The city's bazaars serve as a lens through which to observe the conjunction of its booming trade business with Dubai alongside its growing Islamic commodity culture and a religious reformism that is inspired by the materiality and non-materiality of a progressive and hybrid Dubai Islam. Bringing together long-distance trade, urban consumption practices and new forms of public piety in the mobile livelihood of three bazaar traders and sellers, the article provides insights into how the commodification of Islam informs notions of urbanity and modernity in Tajikistan. These notions correspond to the launching of urban renewal and the meta-narrative of Dushanbe's future as a modern city on the rise. Furthermore, the article illustrates the ways in which Dushanbe's Muslims turn bazaars into an urban laboratory for religious agency and cultural identities.     

Manufacturing Black-on-Black Violence in Africa: A Decolonial Perspective on Mfecane and Afrophobia/Xenophobia in South Africa

The phenomenon of “black-on-black” violence among the people of Africa has, ever since the advent of modernity/coloniality, been articulated in such a way that it presents victims as perpetrators. Thus, from the Mfecane violence of the “pre-colonial” era to the xenophobic/Afrophobic violence of the “post-colonial” era in Africa, incidents of black-on-black violence have always attracted explanations that cast doubt on the humanity of the black subject, through the colonial strategy of inventing and inverting causation. This colonial strategy entails both mis-presenting the epochal history of coloniality by representing it in terms of rupture instead of continuity, as well as representing the indigenous African subject as inherently violent. I argue in this article that black-on-black violence is a product of coloniality—a racist global power structure that makes incidents of “non-revolutionary violence” among the oppressed black subject inevitable. Thus, I deploy the case of the Mfecane violence of the “pre-colonial” era in southern Africa, and the Afro-phobic attacks on foreign nationals in “post-apartheid” South Africa to unmask the longue durée of coloniality, and its role of manufacturing blackon-black violence among the black people of Africa.     

“Korean Japanese”

Until recently, resident Koreans in Japan, former colonial subjects and their offspring, have had only two options for staying in Japan: naturalization, which required assimilation and the adoption of a Japanese identification, or zainichi status, which meant remaining Korean nationals and keeping their own ethnic identity. Choosing the zainichi option was a way for resident Koreans to express their resistance to Japan's naturalization system, which they saw as a legacy of assimilationist colonial policy. In the early 1990s, however, greater numbers of resident Koreans began to seek naturalization. In part, this was because they were beginning to redefine ethnicity as separate from nationality. Thus, they thought, they could retain their Korean identity even after naturalization. This development, coupled with the rise of a multiculturalism movement in Japan, set the stage for the recent emergence of a third option for staying in Japan, “Korean Japanese,” that is, Japanese nationals with Korean ethnic identification. By analyzing articles written by Sakanaka Hidenori, an influential immigration official who has expressed support for the Korean Japanese option, this article demonstrates that this new identity option as presented by government officials is actually in line with the earlier colonial discourse of ethnic hierarchy and assimilation. While cautioning against an easy acceptance of the government's calls for the Korean Japanese option, the author explores its potential for revitalizing the political presence of resident Koreans in Japan.     

侨务与外交:对中国侨务政策的思考——以中印(尼)关系为例

自20世纪50年代以来,"侨务服从外交"一直是中国处理对外侨务的指导原则。在中国与印度尼西亚的双边关系中,中国为了建立包括印尼在内的国际反帝统一战线,在侨务政策上作出让步,以换取印尼在中国对外战略上的支持。随着冷战后两极体制的终结,以及中国在经济上的崛起,中国实施侨务政策的大环境发生变化,侨务政策也因此出现调整的空间,但中国侨务政策调整的限度和可能性依然受制于一系列因素。     

欧盟碳排放交易体系的结构缺陷、制度变革及其影响

欧盟碳排放交易体系(EU ETS)经历了第一、二期两个阶段的发展,将在2013年正式进入第三阶段。尽管欧盟在减排和市场建设方面取得了不小的成就,但是前两个阶段发展中所暴露的问题也反映出欧洲碳排放交易体系内在的结构缺陷。为了解决这些设计上的结构缺陷,提升碳排放交易体系未来第三阶段的可信度,欧盟通过修订碳排放交易指令对该体系进行了大幅度的制度变革。新指令的实施必将对欧盟内外产生重要影响。本文将具体阐述和系统分析欧盟碳排放交易体系的结构缺陷、制度变革及其影响,并归纳其对中国建立碳排放交易市场的启示。     

To Bowl a Mexican Maiden Over: Cricket in Mexico, 1827–1900

The Mexico City Cricket Club was founded in 1827 by a mixed group of British and foreign nationals. This article traces its origins, rules and regulations, membership, progress and activities through to the 1870s and again in the revival of the 1880s and 1890s. It reveals that although the game of cricket was adopted by few Mexicans, it was enthusiastically played by the British community in Mexico throughout the nineteenth century. The Club continues to the present time in Mexico City.     

An overview of the EU–SA Strategic Partnership 10 years on: Diverging world views,persisting interests

ABSTRACT

The European Union–South Africa (EU–SA) Strategic Partnership has entered its 10th year. It is a product of its time and particular regional and international circumstances. These having changed somewhat over the course of the last decade, it is not surprising that the dynamics of the relationship, expressed through the strategic partnership's parameters, have undergone commensurate changes. Based on the recognition that the partnership is between a multilateral institution and a state, the difference in their respective strategic positions is inevitable. The challenge, therefore, is for the EU–SA Strategic Partnership to maintain a flexibility that allows for continued contestation, development and relevance. This paper reviews the historical context of the partnership and the challenging dynamics that have evolved over the lifespan of the partnership, providing the basis for the thematic discussion which follows in this issue. The analysis in this article demonstrates that, in spite of acknowledged challenges, the functionality of the strategic partnership based on persisting interests remains intact.     

Xenophobia across the class divide: South African attitudes towards foreigners 2003–2012

In May 2008 anti-immigrant riots in South Africa displaced more than a hundred thousand people. Despite the media attention that the riots attracted, there has been no study that presents trend data on anti-immigrant sentiment for the period after 2008. This paper uses data from the nine rounds of the South African Social Attitudes Survey over the period 2003–2012 to fill this gap and test the success of government commitments to reduce anti-immigrant prejudice. The results reveal that attempts to combat xenophobia have been ineffectual, with anti-immigrant sentiment prevalent and widespread in 2012. Afrophobia was observed, with a majority of citizens identifying foreign African nationals as the group they least wanted to come and live in South Africa. The government is advised to urgently address the alarming and widespread pervasiveness of anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa.     

抗日战争时期日本强掳劳工民间诉讼的困境与突破

2007年4月27日,日本最高法院做出＂根据中日联合声明中国国民的请求权已经被放弃＂的判决,使得二战受难者在日民间战争赔偿诉讼陷入僵局。此种境遇下＂和解＂成为战后遗留问题工作者寻求突破的无奈选择。安野和解正是在此背景下达成。虽然和解取得了如企业承认强掳劳工的历史事实、表示谢罪、经济赔偿等一些成果,但受日本政府态度的影响,和解只能存在于受难者与企业间,就必然使得和解带有不彻底性,这也恰恰成为和解饱受争议的根源。彻底解决这一问题的方法在于以诉讼推动战争赔偿立法,以实现日本政府与企业两个层面上承认强掳华工法律责任基础上的全面解决,诉讼的根本目标及意义也在于此。     

Living in the Marikana world: The state,capital and society

Abstract

The ‘Marikana massacre’ that happened on 16 August 2012 at Lonmin mine near Rustenburg in the North-West province of South Africa, in which the South African police shot dead 34 mineworkers for protesting against low wages and other unbearable employment and/or living conditions, cannot be understood as merely an accidental event. It may therefore be useful to view the massacre as one of those tragedies that dramatises, in visible ways, the generally hellish conditions which the peoples of the non-Western world have come to endure ever since the advent of Western modernity. The ‘voyages of discovery’ undertaken by figures such as Christopher Columbus after 1492 marked the commencement of a world system characterised by a Western-centred modernity whose ‘darker side’ inflicted hellish conditions on the non-Western subject, while its ‘brighter side’ in the West saw positive developments – from the 16^th-century ‘rights of people’ to the 18^th-century ‘rights of man’, up to the late-20^th-century ‘human rights’. This article is a decolonial critique on the Marikana massacre and seeks to explain how the modern world system has, since its advent in 1492 as global power structure, been producing a series of ‘Marikana-like’ conditions and events on the part of the non-Western subject that underlies its hierarchical arrangement. The article's point of departure is that rather than understand the Marikana massacre as a unique event or accident, it can better be characterised as a sign of the non-Western subject's subjection to Western-centred modernity. The article explicates how the modern South African state and capital are part of the same ‘colonial power matrix’ (Quijano 2000a), hence the two were bound to be on the same side against labour during the Marikana massacre.     

A Divided Family: Race,the Commonwealth and Brexit

Abstract

The Commonwealth has long been conceptualised as ‘a family of nations’ in a reflection of the size, diversity and shared values of the organisation. As the discussion in post-Brexit Britain engages with questions of race and immigration, it is important to consider the role the Commonwealth played in the referendum campaigns. The combination of the Leave campaign’s promises to reinforce ties with ‘kith and kin’ in Commonwealth countries with the xenophobia that defined the campaign prompts the question what exactly does the Commonwealth mean in modern Britain? The EU referendum revealed two Commonwealths—one reflecting the backgrounds of Britain’s ethnic minorities, and one centred on the three majority white nations of Australia, New Zealand and Canada. This article will offer an investigation of these conflicting visions of the Commonwealth in the referendum, as well as the voting motivations of Commonwealth nationals and British citizens of Commonwealth descent.     

The Colonial Strut: Australian Leaders on the World Stage

In his influential account of modern nationalism, Benedict Anderson emphasises the role of the press in creating a sense of "imagined community". But the nation's identity is also constituted through the performances of representative nationals for an international audience. The visits of Australia's political leaders to London and Washington are carefully stage-crafted events, designed to elicit, or at least create an impression of, a favourable reception by its "great and powerful friends". This essay examines the international debuts of several Australian political leaders from Alfred Deakin (1887) and Robert Menzies (1935) to Bob Hawke and John Howard. It focuses especially on the interplay between the leaders' private and public selves; how they have crafted their public appearances and utterances to capture the attention of the desired international audience, and how their performances have been seen by the audience that, in the last resort, mattered most to them, the Australian one.     

Jerusalem in the Qur'a¯n

The focus of this article is Jerusalem and its status in Islam through the verses of the Qur'a¯ n (the holiest text in Islam), hadi¯th literature, and early Islamic history. The importance of this study is two-fold. First, it deals with all the Qur'a¯ nic verses which include either unambiguous references to Jerusalem and al-Masjid al-Aqsa¯ (the Furthest Mosque), or those that imply ambiguous but likely references to the same, or else those that imply ambiguous but unlikely references. Second, it shows why Jerusalem is so intrinsically important to Muslim beliefs and mentality. Therefore, it tries to help readers at large to understand the Muslim attitude in relation to this city. This article is divided into an introduction, four major sections and a conclusion. In the Introduction, the article tries to explain the status of Jerusalem in Islam and why it is regarded as holy by the one billion Muslims now living on earth. The first section illustrates the merits of Jerusalem in Islam through the Qur'a¯ n, hadi¯th literature, and early Islamic history. It also discusses the construction and the purposes behind building the Dome of the Rock. The second section illustrates and discusses the Qur'a¯ nic verses which imply unambiguous reference to Jerusalem. The third section deals with the verses which imply ambiguous, but likely, references to the same. The fourth section deals with the verses that imply ambiguous, but unlikely, references. It was found that there are about 70 places in the Qur'a¯ n which fall into these two last categories. These places are scattered through 21 s u¯ ras . In order to discover and explain the verses related to Jerusalem, I have relied on various sources of exegeses, hadi¯th , history and geography. Further, contrary opinions about the interpretation of any verse have been addressed and a sort of balance between them has been provided. Finally, in the conclusion, the writer of this article expresses a desire for justice without which a comprehensive peace cannot be established in this holy city, so that all the followers of the three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, will have their rights equally.     

Social Capital and Political Support: A Reassessment of the Putnam Thesis in East and West Germany

A sizeable scholarly literature has generally uncovered weak, statistically trivial connections between social capital and political support, in spite of its logical appeal. Much of this research, however, has adopted an overly restrictive research design. It has overwhelmingly focused on the impact of social trust on political trust, from which broad inferences about the utility of the social capital perspective have been made. Rarely, however, has the impact of social capital been systematically assessed on indicators of political support which are more diffuse in character. Using data drawn from the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS), the present study analyses the impact of different measures of social capital on political support in the Federal Republic of Germany. The results strongly support the conclusion that social capital influences diffuse support.     

Critical Observations on Neo-liberalism and India’s New Economic Policy

Abstract

Neo-liberalism is capitalism without leftist illusions (i.e. illusions that there can be such a thing as humane capitalism on a long-term basis). The article makes a series of critical comments on India’s neo-liberalism expressed in the form of the so-called New Economic Policy. It argues, New Economic Policy is more than a governmental policy. It is rather a policy of capital, mediated and implemented by the state. Neo-liberalism is a social-spatial project. Neo-liberalism in rural areas (agrarian neo-liberalism) is particularly ruthless. Neo-liberalism is implemented through, and entails, the transformation of space, and thus produces enormous spatial unevenness. Neo-liberalism is also a part of the imperialist project. Given New Economic Policy’s adverse impacts, it has inspired massive resistance from below. Interestingly, in spite of offering some opposition, the left has been, overall, a conduit through which New Economic Policy has worked. The article shows how a critical discussion on neo-liberalism has implications for understanding macro-structural changes in societies such as that of India, which have suffered not only from economic backwardness but also incomplete revolutions. A dialectical view of neo-liberalism and the New Economic Policy connects them both to the democratic and agrarian questions, the national question, and the question of socialism itself.     

Assemblages of mobility: the marshrutkas of Central Asia

ABSTRACT

This article addresses reconfigurations of urban space in Central Asia through the lens of marshrutka mobility. Marshrutka-based transport is – together with the bazaar trade – a major sector of Central Asian economy. Although precise data are not available, estimates propose that one family in ten gains its income through it. In spite of its economic and social importance, there has barely been any research on marshrutka mobility so far. The marshrutka mobility phenomenon appears at once wide-ranging and elusive. In order to grasp its complexity, we propose a theory framework based on John Law's concept of fluidity and assemblage. Providing empirical insights from Khujand, in northern Tajikistan, the article addresses marshrutka mobility from a local perspective, notably with regard to regulatory processes of marshrutka-based transport. It also covers the trans-local perspective, with particular attention to global flows of ideas, vehicles, and people.     

机制设计与国际卫生合作中的困境

本文运用情景结构主义分析工具对传染性疾病国际通报合作长期止步不前这一问题进行了研究。尽管《国际卫生条例》将传染性疾病的国际通报合作塑造成具有良好合作前景的"猎鹿游戏",但由于国际合作的专业性与主权国家利益的复合性之间存在矛盾,国家往往将贸易利益的考虑置于健康的价值之上,从而使得合作陷入相互背叛的僵局。通过改善机制的设计,这一困境可以得到缓解。     

Impact of the 1993 Chinese student protection act on American and Chinese societies

To protect Chinese students from possible political persecution, in 1993 a U.S. presidential executive order took effect, declaring that all Chinese nationals who came to the States before April 12, 1990, were eligible to apply for permanent residency in the United States. It is estimated that 50,000 Chinese students and their dependents obtained green cards, and the number is still growing today. This article analyzes how this group of immigrants changes the Chinese American community in its overall educational and occupational attainment, and how it affects China in its democratic progress. Due to their high educational achievement, these student immigrants will be a positive input to the Chinese American community in its educational and occupational attainment, and their stay also diversifies Chinese America in its demographic composition. On the other hand, although their stay in America will not severely affect China’s scientific development, since they can and do come back to China to offer help in that respect, it does have a detrimental effect on the growth of a news-born professional class in China and thus generates a negative impact on China’s long-term democratic progress. From this perspective, the article concludes that the Protection Act was politically short-sighted.     

2011年中欧关系的回顾与展望

2011年,中欧关系在欧洲债务危机中稳定发展。中欧贸易保持良好增长,双方在经贸领域的法律合作加深,但分歧和争端犹存;中欧科技领域的合作继续深化,中欧政治交往呈现多层次和宽领域的特点;中欧公众相互认知的鸿沟有所加大,但社会合作进展平稳,文化交流逐渐走向战略性和常态化;中国与中东欧国家务实合作得到加强,中欧战略伙伴关系进一步深化。总体来看,中欧关系的发展前景良好,但在一些传统领域的分歧仍然存在,并将持续对中欧关系产生负面影响。     

The Exceptional Case of the British Military Bases on Cyprus

As is widely known, Cyprus was the place used as springboard for all the US–British air operations in the region surrounding it, in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and so on. However, neither the Republic of Cyprus, nor the breakaway regime in the north of the island had anything to do with that. The logistical hub for those activities were the so-called Sovereign British Military Bases conceded to Britain in the 1960 Zurich Agreement in return for the independence Cyprus gained in the same year. Cyprus is the only place on the planet where the United Kingdom maintains as a legacy of British colonial rule sovereign military bases and a military presence secured as a result of a multilateral treaty of guarantee far surpassing those rights that the United Kingdom had managed to have recognized in the installation of military bases in Burma, Malta and Ceylon. Nevertheless, two things are very remarkable: why has the United States, despite its numerous other facilities in the Near East, preferred those bases for its activities? Why have the British clung on to their bases in Cyprus – in spite of the retreat of British forces from so many bases originally built by the United Kingdom in so many places around the world since 1960, although in comparison with other overseas garrisons still left of the British Empire, the one in Cyprus is the biggest and the most expensive to maintain? The article tries to illuminate the background of this paradox. It examines, based on primary and secondary sources from several countries, the historical evolution and regime of the UK Sovereign Military Bases on Cyprus, which constitute an exceptional case in both international relations and international law. It argues that the operation of the British bases in Cyprus has been exceeding the legal framework determined by the Treaty of Establishment and hardly complies with the British obligation to decolonize the entire territory of the island of Cyprus as well as the right of the Cypriot people to self-determination.