Bandits,warlords, national heroes: interpretations of the Basmachi movement in Tajikistan

The history of the Basmachi movement has occupied a prominent place in the construction of a collective past in Soviet and post-Soviet Tajikistan. This article traces the evolution of its representations in the dominant narrative from the 1950s to the present day. It argues that official discourse in contemporary Tajikistan situates the Basmachis in the mould of a national struggle against Turkic oppression, rather than portraying them, in the manner of earlier prevalent models, as part of a class-based or anti-colonialist resistance. Among many public counter-narratives, the one focusing on the local appeal of the Basmachi leaders has the greatest potential to challenge the government-sponsored reading of Tajikistan's past and thus the image of a unified nation it seeks to support.     

Creating and contesting meanings of place and community in the Ylay Talaa Valley of Kyrgyzstan

Formal schooling was virtually non-existent before the Soviet power in nomadic Kyrgyzstan, as communal life and learning was organized informally at the household and clan level. During the Soviet period, however, educational success became an avenue to a new form of upward social and geographical mobility, and the school provided new and prestigious positions for local teachers and administrators. This paper explores how the externally imposed Soviet collectivization policies reshaped the understandings and meanings of place and community during the twentieth century, a reshaping that centrally involved redefining education and the importance of ‘the school’. In the post-Soviet period, the utility of secondary and higher education in local and national labour markets has diminished, as has the power and prestige of educators. Yet the appeal of education lingers on. The authors seek to document these claims using oral histories, ethnographic interviews and participant observations in the Ylay Talaa Valley of the Kyrgyz Republic.     

Right place,right time: Increasing the effectiveness of agricultural development support in sub-Saharan Africa

This paper suggests that smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are well placed to seize the opportunities from expanding global and regional demand for agricultural products but that this will require a shift from extensive to more intensive production systems. The ability of SSA's smallholder farmers to increase on-farm investments in productivity is, however, constrained by their capacity to manage the risk-return trade-offs in moving towards intensified agriculture. While stakeholders are increasing their investments to assist smallholders in SSA to participate in integrated supply chains, the returns in terms of technical and financial results from these investments are generally lower than in other developing regions. This paper suggests that this is, at least in part, a consequence of problems associated with the role of spatial and temporal coordination in program delivery. Hence, much more focus needs to be devoted to delivering goods and services for smallholders at the right place and the right time, and this should be better monitored and evaluated in the context of development programs.     

Feminism, Property in the Person and Concepts of Self

In this article, I examine the role of the fiction of property in the person in recent feminist debate, comparing Carole Pateman's position with those who are more sympathetic to the image of contract for feminist/anti-racist political theory, such as Charles Mills, Jean Hampton and Susan Moller Okin. I then turn to the question of selfhood. As a fiction, property in the person does not say anything regarding what it is to be a 'self'. However, I explore Balibar's rich analysis of Locke's position on identity. I then extend Balibar's analysis to argue that the fiction of property in the person is associated with an image of a self that is 'bounded' against the outside in a way that is disrupted by this view of identity.     

Whiteness and shades of grey: erasure,amnesia and the ethnography of Zimbabwe's whites

A growing number of scholarly studies have been published about Zimbabwe's white population, especially since the highly publicised state-driven land takeovers which began in 2000. Much as these studies have produced useful insights into the histories, attitudes, experiences and lives of white Zimbabweans, aspects of these representations also raise important questions and concerns. Looking critically, particularly at recent ethnographic works on white Zimbabweans by anthropologists, this review essay discusses some of the social and historical amnesia and certain erasures apparent in these works. These have often produced homogenised and essentialised, or unfair, representations of white Zimbabweans. This essay suggests that an uncritical use and perpetuation of certain myths and discourses that have powerfully come to the fore in the political, social and economic crisis of the last 15 years has led to the problems evident with these ethnographies.     

Battles over boundaries: the politics of territory,identity and authority in three Ugandan regions

In Uganda, contested relations between the central government and sub-national regions have, since independence, shaped state formation and national identity in fundamental ways. Today, the country is characterised by regionally uneven state presence, and distinct sub-national identities and ongoing contestation over territorial demarcations, loci of authority and political identities. This article explores the politics of territory, identity and authority in three Ugandan regions in this context, in order to analyse the implications for exclusion and conflict at the sub-national level. This involves struggles over the territorial and administrative demarcations of and within regions; the loci and scope of authority with regards to these units; struggles over access to land; and the (non-)recognition of various cultural–political identities in these regions.     

Afro‐Cuban Religion,Ethnobotany and Healthcare in the Context of Global Political and Economic Change

‘Globalisation’, driven by neoliberal‐based policies, can be seen to have significant impacts on ethnobotanical practices, particularly through the commercialisation of traditional knowledge and rise in identity‐based social movements. Despite its relative political and economic isolation in comparison to more ‘neoliberalised’ areas of Latin America, local‐level shifts occurring in post‐Soviet Cuba are similar to those occurring elsewhere in the region. Afro‐Cuban ritual activities have proliferated, particularly in Havana, leading to an increased dependence on the rich magico‐medicinal pharmacopoeias employed in hybridised religions such as santería and palo monte – suggesting that ‘globalisation’ may have profound, albeit indirect, implications for even the most economically marginalised countries such as Cuba.     

Count us! Ethnic Activism in South-Eastern Estonia,and the Census of 2011

The ethnic activists of south Estonia (the Seto and Võro movements), challenging traditional concepts of the Estonian nation, tried to exploit the last national census (2011) for their cause, but were only partly successful because of opposition from decision-makers at Statistics Estonia, who have demonstrated a spontaneous conservatism in regard to questions of ethnicity and language. The government’s response to the initiatives of the ethnic activists was inconsistent, passive, and reactive. This matter has simply not been thought through at the state level.     

Re‐articulating Identity: The Shifting Landscape of Indigenous Politics and Power on the Ecuadorian Coast

The Levantamiento Indígena of 1990 was a defining moment in the advancement of indigenous politics in Ecuador. Following the uprising of 1990, scholars have paid close attention to the politics of identity and indigenous representation in Ecuador with the main focus being placed on the highland and Amazonian regions of the country. Based on fieldwork conducted in Ecuador's Manabí province, this article provides preliminary insight into the growth of an indigenous discourse on the Ecuadorian coast. I focus on the process of re‐indigenisation in the coastal community of Macaboa. This research is significant because while a great deal of scholarly attention has been paid to indigenous movements in Ecuador's highland and Amazonian regions, indigenous politics on the coast have gone largely unnoticed. The case outlined in this article is emblematic of the shifting nature of identity and the way in which ethnic discourses are increasingly being adopted by marginalised groups in their attempts to negotiate with the state.     

Ambiguities of xenophobia in a border town: inner city informal traders and Ekasi shopkeepers in the city of East London,South Africa

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the livelihoods, experiences and identities of immigrant informal traders and shopkeepers in the Buffalo City Metropolitan area, which encompasses the centres of East London, Mdantsane and King Williams Town. We primarily use a socio-spatial perspective to analyse informal activity, and offer a particular perspective on how informality has encouraged a type of ‘informal citizenry’ among traders. We argue that informal trading has a very particular history in the region, and that East London’s notoriety as a ‘border city’ and a regional frontier has created a fractured space, which is best expressed through the experiences of migrants and entrepreneurs. We point out that informality is a driver of economic empowerment and equality among traders, but also of xenophobia and difference.     

From the Port of Ventspils to Great Courland Bay: The Couronian Colony on Tobago in Past and Present

In the seventeenth century, Duke Jakob Kettler of Courland embraced the mercantile theories of his age and engaged in overseas colonialism. After several aborted attempts, the Courlanders managed to establish a settlement on Tobago in 1654 only to lose it to the Dutch five years later. European competitors and indigenous resistance frustrated the Duke’s attempts to regain control over the colony. Despite its limited scope and success, the Couronian colonization of Tobago left a strong impact on the historical imagination. This paper aims to document the traces and remembrances of Duke Jakob’s Caribbean endeavor on Tobago as well as in Latvia.     

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the questions of identity,territory and political destiny of the indigenous Nuba of the Sudan

ABSTRACT

The Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005 was successful in ending the longest war in contemporary Africa. However, its implementation has been below the expectations of several communities, particularly in the war-torn regions of the Nuba Mountains, the Southern Blue Nile and the Abyei Area, widely referred to as ‘contested’, ‘marginalised’, ‘transitional’ areas or ‘border territories’. While many interwoven causes were behind the eruption of the protracted civil wars in the Sudan (Elnur 2009; Johnson 2006; Khalid 1987), the political question of sub-national identities and their intrinsic link with specific territories (Murphy 1991; William and Smith 1993) is hypothesised here as a prime factor in extending the civil war into these three areas. Taking the Nuba and their claimed territory of the Nuba Mountains as an example, this article will, first, trace the political striving of the Nuba people and their shift from peaceful political movement to armed struggle; second, it will examine their political status during the peace negotiation process; and third, it will analyse their political responses to the outcome of the CPA and its impact on their future political choices in view of the April 2010 election results, and the projected right to self-determination for the people of Southern Sudan, to be exercised through the referenda in 2011.     

Unproductive Activities and the Rate of Surplus Value at the Industry Level in Korea, 1995–2015

ABSTRACT

In order to explain how the Korean economy underwent structural change through the two crises of 1997– 1998 and 2008 within the context of globalisation, this article focuses on class analysis and inter-sectoral value transfer by estimating the sectoral rates of exploitation along with the sectoral monetary expressions of labour time. Our data indicate the possibility that the expansion of unproductive activities, accompanied by intensification of exploitation within the unproductive sectors, might not have overtaken capital accumulation in Korea during 1995–2015. It can also be concluded that the condition for manufacturing’s capital accumulation steadily improved since the 1997–1998 crisis but started to deteriorate after 2011. Our value-theoretic analysis provides a foundation for understanding the context of the regime change, which may plausibly characterise the Korean economy in the last couple of decades.     

Peasants and their leaders; Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor,by by Walter Hauser,ed. Swami Sahajanand and the Peasants of Jharkhand: A View from 1941, by Walter Hauser

Abstract

The prime movers of these movements do not in their hearts desire that the agricultural labourers should get real relief. They seek only their own ends. Then how will the poor be benefited? They will be benefited in the long run because despite the determined efforts of these false leaders to the contrary, this movement will gradually cause the oppressed to awaken. And when they begin to understand the reality of what is happening and who is at the root of their sorrows and sufferings, their dishonour, disgrace, hunger and disease, and when they also understand how to eradicate them, then their goals are certain to be realized. (Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Central Jail Hazaribagh, 1941)     

Post-colonial folk dancing: reflections on the impact of stage folk dance style on traditional folk dance variation in Soviet and post-Soviet Estonia

ABSTRACT

The focus of this article is on traditional folk dance in Soviet and post-Soviet Estonia. Dance variation is analyzed through the prism of postcolonial theories to reveal the sequential effects of the colonial situation developed during the Soviet period. Specific causes and characteristic traits of the Soviet influence are explored. Colonialist echoes of the Soviet regime within contemporary Estonian culture are reflected in two trends in the variation of traditional folk dance: first, “contamination” of traditional folk dance with stage dance elements promoted during the Soviet era and, second, a regular search for “genuine” folk dance as a reaction to Soviet colonial heritage.     

Urbanization,education, and the politics of space on the Tibetan Plateau

This article provides an introduction to a special collection of five articles showcasing the work of rising scholars in the geography and anthropology of Tibetan regions in China (Eveline Washul, Andrew Grant, Tsering Bum, Huatse Gyal and Duojie Zhaxi, published in Critical Asian Studies 50: 4 and Critical Asian Studies 51: 1). It contextualizes the authors’ contributions in the recent promotion of planned urbanization in Tibetan regions as the key to achieving the “Chinese Dream” under President Xi Jinping. The paper calls attention to these authors’ focus on Tibetan experiences of new urbanization policies and practices, as well as their less-appreciated entanglement with shifting education priorities. Providing brief summaries of each author’s case study and arguments, it points to the ways in which all five articles address the relationship between space and subjectivity, as well as the issue of constrained agency (versus simple notions of “choice”), in statist urbanization processes.     

海外华人与侨乡关系研究的路径探索——评《多重网络的渗透与扩张——海外华侨华人与闽粤侨乡互动关系研究》

侨乡研究长期以来一直是中国华侨华人研究的重要内容,但经过20多年的发展,其研究的瓶颈开始显现,主要表现为缺少理论体系的支撑.郑一省教授的<多重网络的渗透与扩张--海外华侨华人与闽粤侨乡互动关系研究>一书力图从侨乡研究最薄弱的理论环节入手,在"网络学"等相关理论的基础上,提出"多重网络"概念和理论,对海外华人与侨乡关系研究进行了理论上的新探索,"从理论上弥补了侨乡研究的不足",也对推动华侨华人学科的理论建设起到积极的作用.     

从“北溪-2”项目看德俄关系及俄美欧三方博弈

作为两个重要的地区大国,德国与俄罗斯的关系对彼此和欧洲都有着重要影响。在双边关系中,能源因素因其对国民经济生产的决定性意义长期发挥着“稳定器”的作用。2018年9月,由德俄牵头,法国、奥地利与荷兰合资建造的“北溪-2”天然气管道项目正式动工铺设。该项目将使输往欧洲的俄罗斯天然气绕开乌克兰,经过波罗的海海底直接连通德俄两国,德国由此成为俄罗斯天然气最重要的转运国。此举虽然在双边层面上保证了德俄的能源经济安全,但在多边层面却招致欧盟、美国等多方反对。因担心会进一步加深对俄罗斯能源的依赖,欧盟委员会及中东欧国家欲诉诸法律对该项目施以约束;美国在制裁项目企业的同时转而向波兰、乌克兰等国出口液化天然气,在利用政治机遇抢占欧洲市场的同时试图制衡俄罗斯的影响力。在多方力量博弈中,德国需要在平衡俄美欧关系中付出更多努力。     

菲律宾2010年经济、政治与外交形势回顾

2010年的菲律宾,经济复苏形势喜人,总体表现好于预期;在国内政治方面,冲突与犯罪不断,和解稳定之路任重道远;外交方面,虽然在发展菲中经贸关系、配合美国东南亚政策以及在南海问题维护本国利益等方面有所斩获,但也因香港游客人质事件与中国关系紧张。     

中美日三角关系在亚太:理论检视与前景展望

要展望某一种三角关系,首先要弄清楚这一三角关系的构成要件是什么,然后根据这些要件一一检视.本文将沿着这一思路,对中美日三角关系及其未来进行探讨.