Latvia, 1918–1920: A Civil War?

The post–World War I conflict that took place in Latvia between 1918 and 1920 was variously described as “struggle for freedom,” “war for liberty,” “independence war,” “civil war,” and so on. This article reviews the various concepts by discussing alternatives of statehood in Latvia. Its primary objective is to provide more evidence to the argument that the postwar conflict that took place in Latvia between 1918 and 1920 may be considered “a civil war.” By focusing on the Red and White terror campaigns, the author suggests that terror is one of the most overlooked aspects of the conflict that provides significant evidence for the perspective of “civil war.” He claims that the war was not “a class struggle,” as argued by Soviet historians, and calls for alternative explanations that would include the discussion of moral crisis, ideological conflict, ethnic and social hatred, clash of values, and the explosion of terror in Latvia.     

Policing the ‘suspects’: Ottoman Greeks and Armenians in Istanbul, 1914–18

During the First World War, a primary domestic political aim for all belligerent countries was to preserve the socio-economic status quo in order to provide appropriate conditions for the survival of the state. Therefore, war governments paid particular attention to the maintenance of internal order. While doing this, the central authority of governments became paramount and this situation had remarkable repercussions on state–society relations. This article examines the wartime public order policies of the Ottoman government specifically concerning the Ottoman Greeks (Rum) and Armenians living in Istanbul. During the Great War, these non-Muslim elements were officially regarded as ‘suspects’, in other words, as ‘potential political criminals’ threatening the internal order of the capital. To control the Ottoman Greeks and Armenians, the war government implemented a number of policing strategies that consisted of deportation of individuals and groups, strict control on travel, and close surveillance of ‘suspects’.     

Edward Gough Whitlam, 1916–2014: An Assessment of His Political Significance

Gough Whitlam’s political significance lies in the first instance in his leading the Australian Labor Party into office at federal level in December 1972 after 23 years in opposition. As prime minister he instituted wide-ranging domestic reforms expanding the involvement of the Commonwealth government into many areas affecting the lives of ordinary Australians. He faced a declining economic situation and a parliamentary opposition determined to impede his reforms; the blocking of supply in the Senate culminated in Whitlam’s dismissal by the governor-general on 11 November 1975. In foreign policy, Whitlam repositioned Australia as an active middle power. His opening to China coincided with the Sino-American normalisation, leading to a new direction in Australian foreign policy that gained momentum in subsequent years; the fundamentals of the Australian relationship with the United States remained intact. Whitlam was motivated by a vision of ‘positive equality’ in government services as the basis of social democracy. From a contemporary perspective there is less faith in the efficacy of government action than was the case with Whitlam. His government bears comparison with the great reform governments in the Australian Labor tradition, as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, and even the United States.     

Deserters,Converts, Cossacks and Revolutionaries: Russians in Iranian Military Service 1800–1920

Russians entered Iranian military service in this period in two waves, each wave characterizing a specific period in Iranian–Russian relations. The first was subaltern in origin and came in the form of the deserters from the Russian imperial army who fled to Tabriz in the early nineteenth century and who made a significant contribution to Iranian efforts to build a modern army. The second took place in the late nineteenth–early twentieth century and consisted of representatives of the tsarist military elite, Russian Cossack officers, who came to Iran between 1879 and 1920 and formed the Iranian Cossack Brigade, and their opposites, Caucasian revolutionaries who joined the constitutional movement in order to continue their struggle against the Russian imperial regime. The article raises a series of questions, not only about the extent of Russian influence suggested by the presence of Russian soldiers, but also about its character. Why did Iran place such a high value on Russian military expertise? Who were the Russians who served in the Iranian military? How were they received in Iran? What effect did Iranian society exercise on them and to what extent did the changes transforming Russia affect the roles they played in Iran?     

Russian-Speakers in Ukraine and Kazakhstan: “Nationality,” “Population,” or Neither?

A political scientist examines the level of attachment to the “Russian-speaker” label among Russians and Russian-speakers who live outside of Russia within the former Soviet Union. Also examined is the proposition that this label is the main alternative to assimilation and that those who accept it think differently from those who do not about issues such as the independence of their state of residence. Survey and focus-group data collected in 1998 and 1999 in Ukraine and Kazakhstan are examined to analyze whether “Russian-speaker” is a more important identity marker than citizenship and ethnic group.     

Chinese and Japanese development co-operation: South–South,North–South,or what?

This article compares the evolution and characteristics of Chinese and Japanese aid, assessing the impact of their aid policies in sub-Saharan Africa from the 1950s to the present. It argues that China and Japan's aid programmes share more similarities than dissimilarities. Both pursue aid strategies that spread allocations across a region rather than concentrating upon specific countries. The article seeks to clarify the following questions. In what way are Chinese and Japanese aid strategies different from each other and Western donors? Should their aid be seen as a form of South–South co-operation that provides an alternative to the West's hegemony in Africa? Or is aid from these donors simply another strategy to control African resources and state elites in the guise of a partnership of equals?     

Some allied misunderstandings in the Middle East, 1918–1920

Mizh—A Monograph. By Sir Evelyn Howell, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. Published by Government of India Press, Simla, 1931.

The Culture and Art of India. By Radhakamal Mukerjee. Published by George Allen and Unwin. 1959. Pp. 447. 55 illustrations. 50s.

Sources of Indian Tradition. Compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary, Stephen Hay, Royal Weiler, Andrew Yarrow. Columbia University Press, New York, and Oxford University Press, London. Pp. 961. Indexed. U.K. price 55s.

Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism. By Lama anagarika Govinda. Published by Rider and Co., 1959. Pp. 310. Index, bibliography. 30s.

The Revolt in Tibet. By Frank Moraes. Macmillan Co. of New York. 1960. Pp. 223. (Price not given.)

The Naked Hills. Tales of Afghanistan by Charles Beardsley. Peter Davies. Pp. 275. 16s.

Riding to the Tigris. By Freya Stark. John Murray. 21s.

Ottoman Imperialism and German Protestantism, 1521–1555. By Stephen A. Fischer‐Galati. O.U.P. for Harvard University Press. 1959. Pp. viii +140. 32s.

The Soviet Union and the Middle East. By Walter Z. Laqueur. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London. Pp. x + 360. Index. 35s.

A Political Study of the Arab‐Jewish Conflict. The Arab Refugee Problem. By Rouy E. Gabbay. Published by Librairie E. Droz, Geneva. Bibliography, index. Pp. 611. Swiss Frs. 50.

History and Tribes of Jordan. By F. G. Peake. Published by University of Miami Press. Pp. 253. Maps.

Lebanon in the Last Years of Feudalism, 1840–1868. A contemporary account by Antūn Dahir al‐'Aqiqi, and other documents translated by Malcolm H. Kerr. Published by the American University of Beirut, 1959. Pp. 159. Index.

Sun and Shadow at Aswan. By Herbert Addison. Chapman and Hall. 1959. Pp. 166. 18s. Indexed and illustrated.

Bankers and Pashas. International Finance and Economic Imperialism in Egypt. By David S. Landes. Heinemann. 1958. Illustrated. Pp. 344. 30s.

The Tales of Marzuban. Translated from the Persian by Reuben Levy. Thames and Hudson. Pp. 254. 25s.

Human Relations Area Files Incorporated. Subcontractor's Monograph. Afghanistan. Edited by Donald N. Wilber (1956). 2 vols. Indexed. 460 and 842 pages.

The Foundation of Dutch Power in Ceylon, 1638–1658. By K. W. Goone‐wardena. Under the Auspices of the Netherlands Institute for International Cultural Relations. Amsterdam, Djambatan. 1958. Pp. xx+196. Maps and illustrations. Dfl. 30 (57s.).

Dutch Power in Ceylon, 1658–1687. By S. Arasaratnam. Under the Auspices of the Netherlands Institute for International Cultural Relations. Amsterdam, Djambatan, 1958. Pp. xxii + 246. Maps and illustrations. Dfl. 32 (60s.).

The Junkman Smiles. By G. R. G. Worcester. Chatto and Windus, London. Pp. 254. 8 Plates, drawings and map by the author. 21s.

Chinese Art and Culture. By Rene Grousset. Published by André Deutsch. 55s.     

Payoffs,Parties, or Policies: “Money Politics” and Electoral Authoritarian Resilience

A key part of what sustains electoral authoritarianism over the long term is genuine popular support. Dominant parties, particularly in a developmental context (the primary setting for such regimes), and especially where elections are more than minimally meaningful, curry performance legitimacy and loyalty not just through skewed rules and coercion, but through material incentives: “money politics.” If challengers can find a way to de-emphasize support based on material inducements, they stand a chance of securing gains via elections, rather than relying on economic downturns to shrink patronage coffers. Drawing on extensive original ethnographic and survey data from electoral-authoritarian Malaysia, I explore campaign finance and distributions on both sides in the latest, most regime-threatening general election, which was held on May 5, 2013. Evidence suggests that it was by disentangling clientelist networks from the patronage they so often serve to disseminate, allowing a focus on more programmatic than particularistic appeals, that the opposition Pakatan Rakyat alliance so nearly bested the long-dominant Barisan Nasional regime. Persona – being known and seen among the electorate – still matters as much as before, but relies less consistently than in the past on targeted patronage as a premise for loyalty.     

Defending national sovereignty against two Russias: Estonia in the Russian Civil War, 1918–1920

Abstract

This article examines the establishment of Estonian independence from a wider perspective including the Petrograd front of the Russian Civil War which had a decisive influence on securing Estonia's independence. The contradictory military cooperation between the Estonian army and the White Russian troops under command of General Iudenich, who was an ardent fighter for a Greater Russia that also included Estonia, was skillfully used by the Estonians in order to secure their own borders. Based on primary sources from Estonian and Russian archives, this article sheds new light on Estonian Russian policy during the years 1918–1920, arguing that in the given framework of international policy it was the Estonian side that in decisive moments managed to set the rules of the game.     

They Were Prepared: The Palestinian Arab Scout Movement 1920–1948

This article explores different historical aspects of the Palestinian scouting movement, mainly during the British Mandate (1920–1948). I begin with the general contours of the movement's development and its deteriorating relationship with the Mandate government. I then proceed to reconstruct and analyze scouting culture, showing how it exposed Palestinian boys and young men to a vast array of socializing practices which solidified identification with local communities, parent organizations, and the Palestinian Arab nation. The article also shows that scouting was a visible and powerful component of the Palestinian public sphere. This article explores a historical phenomenon significant to the broader history of Palestinian society and the development of the national movement.     

Hobsbawm's social banditry,myth and historical reality: A case in the Malaysian state of Kedah, 1915–1920

Abstract

Although the current worldwide recession began to affect Japan in the mid-1970s, the typical social consequences were not visible there until very recently. One of the reasons for this was that Japanese corporations were able to shift the burden of the crisis onto vulnerable sections of the working class at home, especially part-time women workers, and vulnerable workers abroad, particularly in Asia and Latin America. This article examines one aspect of the latter displacement—Japanese direct investment in the three currently most-favored countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Space limitations preclude discussion of the impact of this displacement on other affected ASEAN nations: the Philippines, where the influx of Japanese capital followed the rise of Marcos and ended with his fall; Brunei, which is exceptional in any context; and Singapore, which is more appropriately examined in the context of the so-called NICs (newly industrialized countries). After looking briefly at the crisis in Japan to show the links between the two developments, I will argue that foreign direct investment (FDI) in ASEAN is an expression of a growing and mutually beneficial alliance between the Japanese capitalist class and their counterparts in ASEAN. Unfortunately I do not have the space to show how the ordinary people on both sides increasingly suffer as a result of this alliance.     

‘No Allies’: The Lithuanian Taryba and The National Minorities 1916–1918

The call for ‘national self-determination’ exercised enormous moral attraction during and after the First World War but at the same time also caused tensions between individual national groups, especially in ethnically mixed East Central Europe. This article examines the function and importance that the Lithuanian Taryba attached to national minorities during its existence. It illustrates the problematic attitude of the Taryba concerning the minorities from the onset. The Lithuanian example obviously cannot be seen as unique in Eastern Europe. In that respect the founding fathers of the modern Lithuanian state hardly differed from the trend of their era.     

Sites of power,instruments of public intervention: the Palace of Congress and the construction of federal power in Argentina, 1880–1916

SUMMARY

This article intends to provide an analysis of the process of building a house for the Argentine congress between 1880 and 1916. After the presidential campaign and revolution of 1880, Argentina entered a new political era that saw the definition of a political system under the hegemony of the Partido Autonomista Nacional and the consolidation of the federal state. The defeat of porteño militias in 1880 represented the end of the project of a national state controlled from Buenos Aires and the transformation of the city into the federal capital of the country. This new role meant that the city now needed buildings to accommodate new functions, a house for parliament among them. This article explores the significance of building the Palace of Congress as part of a broader plan by politicians, urban planners and bureaucrats to place symbols of republican greatness in central areas of the new capital. This study also focuses on the parliamentary debates that discussed the allocation of public funding for the construction of congress and the importance of giving the new capital examples of monumental architecture as a way to underscore its new political status. Finally, this article analyses the impact of the debates in congress and in the press about allegations of embezzlement and corruption that surrounded the building of the Palace of Congress.     

Risk Factors and Pathways to Imprisonment among Incarcerated Women in Victoria, 1860–1920

Criminological studies have found that men’s and women’s pathways to imprisonment differ, with risk factors such as substance abuse, mental illness, socioeconomic circumstances and past victimisation more strongly associated with female prisoners. However, limited quantitative or longitudinal research exists on how the risk factors associated with female offending may have shifted over time. This article investigates the criminal careers and pathways to imprisonment of 6,042 women incarcerated in Victoria between 1860 and 1920, and the risk factors associated with subsequent recidivism. The findings suggest that, while many of today’s risk factors were present historically, there have been notable shifts across time.     

“Os Bons Colonizadores”: Cuba's Educational Mission in Angola, 1976–1991

This article examines the rhetorical construction of race and racial identities by letter writers in a US-based, South African newsletter. I highlight the rhetoric of crime, the strategic rhetoric of implying race, the construction of blackness, the rhetoric of white victimization, and the relationship between whiteness and nationality. I conclude with a brief query as to whether these letters are exemplary of racist discourse.