Traditionalization as a response to state-induced development in rural Tibetan areas of Qinghai,PRC

ABSTRACT

The current state-induced and top-down-implemented development and modernization of the predominantly rural areas of western China can be perceived as a clear demonstration of Chinese power in Tibetan areas, resulting in the repression of expressions of minority culture. This article argues that the local population’s various practices of traditionalization, as demonstrated through an emphasis on the maintenance or (re)invention of representative cultural forms can be understood as efforts to counteract the socio-economic and cultural assimilation measures or even as a form of political resistance. At the same time, in the context of the economic opportunities brought on by the rapid development, in tourism for example, traditionalization has become an important economic asset for both the state and local Tibetans. These (revived) traditions could enhance cultural awareness among visitors to minority areas and strengthen local people’s sense of cultural security and their self-understanding as Tibetans.     

Population changes in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (1949-1984)

Population developments in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China from 1948 to 1984 are analyzed. Comparisons are made with China as a whole to illustrate the region's unique demographic characteristics. Large-scale migration from elsewhere in China has affected the region's spatial distribution, ethnic composition, and urbanization levels. The author also notes differences in demographic trends among the region's minority nationalities.     

Urbanization,Rural Mobility,and New Class Relations in Darjeeling,India

Throughout the developing world, rapid urbanization is leading to new social relations and new conflicts between urban and (formerly) rural populations. This paper examines this process of change through a detailed examination of changing rural–urban relations in the town of Darjeeling, in the Himalayan foothills in Eastern India. In Darjeeling, increased rural mobility, accelerated rural-to-urban migration and the increased participation of rural people in local politics have led to major changes in the town. We demonstrate that the upward trajectory of rural classes who were previously subordinate is leading the more established urban residents to feel threatened, resulting in a redrawing of local political issues along rural–urban lines and a reconfiguration of class consciousness and social relations. The urban middle class, whose opportunities in the town have stagnated or declined, see rural migrants as a source of competition for increasingly scarce resources and blame them for the overall decline in the quality of urban life. They mobilize their (predominantly cultural) capital to reinforce markers of cultural distinction between them and the rural migrants and to delegitimize the political gains they have made. We argue that rural–urban conflict is emerging as the chief source of tension in the town and that this tension is largely grounded in class issues.     

The bridge that divides: local perceptions of the connected state in the Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan–China borderlands

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought profound changes to the borderlands of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Xinjiang. In eastern Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan region, present-day weaknesses in territorial control of the post-Soviet state’s edges are directly wedded to borderlanders’ memories of Soviet-era practices of bordering, perceived locally as both systemically stronger and cognitively more beneficial to local lifeworlds than contemporary ‘Chinese penetration’. Across the border in Xinjiang, a formerly distant state has been brought into borderlanders’ locales and inscribed into everyday lifeworlds through novel manifestations of the state, which significantly affect cross-border interaction. By comparing how borderlanders on both sides of this frontier themselves choose to characterize border processes between ‘their’ states in the initial two decades of connections to Xinjiang, I explore how and why Kyrgyz and Tajik/Pamiri borderlanders voice strong opinions about what it is they feel has changed in these administrative-territorial homelands. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork on both sides of this frontier, I argue that the gradual bridging of this formerly sealed border has led to neither the development of a new trans-frontier identity nor locally established trans-frontier networks but, instead, reconfirmed borders between China and Central Asia.     

Central Asia and Xinjiang,China: Emerging energy,economic and ethnic relations

On an energy‐equivalent basis Central Asia is predominantly a gas producing region, with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan contributing substantially to the regional total. Kazakhstan is the primary oil producer in the region. Xinjiang, one of the poorest areas of China, is noted for its vast oil, gas and coal resources, though still largely undeveloped. As a means of facilitating economic development and prosperity in Central Asia and nearby Xinjiang, officials are promoting trade and investment among the countries in the region. This paper examines emerging economic relations within Central Asia and Xinjiang, with a focus on the lucrative oil and gas sectors. Importantly, the cooperation is being influenced by centuries‐old cultural and ethnic ties.     

Dispossession and displacement of migrant workers: the impact of state terror and economic development on Uyghurs in urban Xinjiang

ABSTRACT

The media often focuses on the visible aspects of state violence. However, the invisible aspects of everyday struggle often go under-reported. How does dispossession and displacement occur for Uyghurs in Xinjiang? What is the role of their dispossession in securing state territorial control? Some Uyghurs from rural areas in Xinjiang, China have experienced a triple dispossession: displacement from the countryside, alienation in the city, and eviction from the city. The stories concern the agony people feel as they move from rural to urban settings and back again, pain caused by severe hardship in the economic, political and cultural senses. This case shows how economic development works together with interventionist state power to violently dispossess and displace the most vulnerable poor minorities from their homes and livelihoods.     

MAINTAINING A UNITARY STATE: COUNTER-TERRORISM,SEPARATISM, AND EXTREMISM IN XINJIANG AND CHINA

This essay reviews the history of Uighur related terrorism in Xinjiang as well as elsewhere in China and discusses the political motivations and effectiveness of the Chinese government in suppressing terrorism. The essay assesses both the motivations of the Uighurs engaged in terrorism, as well as the motivations for counter terrorist by the Chinese authorities. A key objective of the essay is to determine what are the political and other reasons that drive the Chinese government’s counter terrorism strategy and tactics and whether these have been effective or counter-productive. The essay assesses the counter terrorism strategy of the Chinese government in Xinjiang Province and across China, the political motivations for the strategy, the impact and success or otherwise. The essay discusses if the government is combatting terrorism, or separatism, or extremism, the confusion of these terms, and whether this has had any impact on the effectiveness of counter terrorism.     

‘Bilingual’ education and discontent in Xinjiang

Efforts to promote and impose Mandarin Chinese as the language of instruction in ethnic minority schools in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, aimed at further integrating the state and raising regional educational and economic quality, have had mixed success. The 2004 plan to consolidate Han Chinese and minority elementary and middle schools and to make Mandarin the universal language of instruction in those schools is fostering an immersive second-language environment without prior preparation for students, bringing native speakers of Mandarin into unfair competition with non-native speakers. The increased focus on Mandarin has already had grave consequences for ethnic relations, especially in urban Uyghur schools, where the project is focused, while the mandate for change in educational curriculum and methodology has also been poorly planned and remains under-resourced, negatively impacting educational quality. The Chinese government has available to it other language policy solutions that are both more workable and friendlier to minority sensibilities.     

Struggles for Citizenship? Peasant Negotiation of Schooling in the Sierra Norte de Puebla,Mexico, 1921–1933

This article identifies four different responses to educational policy in peasant villages. Acceptance, appropriation, resistance and opposition to schools are considered as forms of negotiating the educational contract. Peasants contributed to education through legal and customary practices. In return, they sought to influence the terms of schooling. However limited, such influence was possible because the Mexican state had scarce resources and depended on villagers' support. Taking into account the difficulties of peasants' subordinate position, their struggle over schooling is defined as a defence of autonomy rather than an exercise of citizenship.     

Old ‘counter-revolution’, new ‘terrorism’: historicizing the framing of violence in Xinjiang by the Chinese state

ABSTRACT

China has declared a war on terrorism in Xinjiang, identifying violence in the region as a top security threat. However, what nowadays is officially constructed as ‘terrorism’ was framed as ‘counter-revolution’ in the past. Informed by the concept of macrosecuritization and the agenda of critical terrorism studies, this article examines the changing nature of Chinese state framing of violence in Xinjiang. Through a comparative analysis of the discursive construction of the Baren (1990) and Maralbeshi (2013) violent incidents, I find that the terror lexicon has replaced old narratives of counter-revolution to legitimize a sustained crackdown under a novel geopolitical context. The construction of violence in Xinjiang as terrorism, I argue, is contingent, limited and unstable. It marginalizes factors other than an extremist or separatist agency in the incubation of the violence, in particular the frictions created by the crackdown with which the Chinese government is trying to placate the unrest.     

Landlords,sharecroppers and agricultural labourers: Changing labour relations in Rural Java

It has mainlv been the large landowners in Gondosari who have been in a position to take advantage of the modernisasi of agricultural production. Long before the seventies they enjoyed a dominant economic, social and political position in the village. Closely linked by family ties,⁷ they have occupied all the important positions (such as village head and members of the village administration) since the end of the last century. In this way they have been able to maintain and enlarge their economic power. Although several of them attempted to engage in commercial farming in the past, particularly in the twenties, until recently such efforts did not always meet with success. The cultivation of cash crops such as peanuts and kapok was practically under their complete control, but because profit margins were narrow, this did not lead to accumulation on a large scale. In the period 1930 to 1950, when monetized trade practically disappeared as a consequence of economic depression, war and revolution, commercial production was rather unattractive. Although the Indonesian government tried to create an “agricultural middle class” in the first years of independence, the efforts soon failed in Gondosari because of monetary inflation and the lack of an adequate economic infrastructure (roads, marketing) on the one hand and the political mobilization of small peasants and landless on the other. It was not until after a second major effort was made to increase commercial rice production through the Bimas programme in the wake of the 1965 military coup that the large owners in Gondosari could make the transition to “rural capitalism”. Capital investments were shown to bear fruit provided that production costs could be reduced by limiting the number of labourers and by cutting down wage in cash or in kind. Given its virtual monopoly of land ownership, the government support it has received, the growing number of landless households and the destruction of the peasants' unions, the village élite was able to carry its strategy into effect without too much opposition. The landlords are becoming “entrepreneurs” not only in agriculture, but also outside it. In Gondosari and some other villages they have introduced new rice hullers; purchased ‘Colts’ (pick-ups adapted for public transport) that visit all the main villages in the district; acquired diesel-powered generators, the electricity from which they sell to other villagers; and engaged in trade in agricultural produce (peanuts, chillies, cloves and citrus fruits). On the other hand, it is also they who purchase the imported luxury goods such as televisions, radios, motorbikes, cassette-recorders and amplifiers. In the houses of the village élite these have become common status symbols in recent years.

The agricultural labourers have seen only the negative effects of this transition to rural capitalism, namely a drastic decrease in employment as the rationalization of rice and peanut production on the lands of the large landowners where they used to work has gradually resulted in the expulsion of their “superfluous labour”. In the absence of any other employment prospects they are increasingly driven into the marginal sectors of the village economy such as petty trade, various forms of handicrafts and cottage-industry and the illegal felling and selling of teak wood from the government forest. Such forms of activity generally provide much lower returns on labour.

For the sharecroppers, commercialization of agriculture has led not to a decrease in employment, but ironically to its very opposite. Sharecroppers are now expected to make a greater financial and physical contribution to production for a proportionately smaller share in the harvest. The mode of production debate in India has shown that a developing rural capitalism does not necessarily put an end to precapitalist relations of production, but sometimes reinforces them (McEachern, 1976: 453). The case of Gondosari also shows that sharecropping for the large landowners is the most profitable relationship and is therefore also maintained in a commercial context.     

Informal payments and connections in post-Soviet Kazakhstan

In Soviet times, useful contacts had more value than money, and getting things done through unofficial channels of personal relations was a socially accepted norm. What changes have market reforms brought to Kazakhstan in these areas? This article details the use of informal payments and connections in Almaty and examines why non-monetary exchange of favours is increasingly being replaced by the immediate exchange of cash for assistance. This article argues that urban residents are becoming more inclined to quickly return a favour through cash and evade the lengthy exchanges involved in building reciprocal relationships, a practice widely accepted during Soviet times. This article also focuses on the importance of personal contacts in monetized exchange and demonstrates that cash payment is not a least preferred strategy for those who lack necessary networks. Urban residents in Kazakhstan in fact actively mobilize their personal networks to effectively and securely exchange monetary rewards.     

朝鲜族乡村社会的集中村建设及其社会共同体的质变

城镇化进程将导致传统村落共同体的解体与巨大社会变迁.引导乡村社区的整合与重构,摸索乡村社会可持续发展模式是必要的.朝鲜族乡村社会在城市化进程中经历了巨大社会变迁.为了克服社会变迁带来的阵痛,朝鲜族社会自发组织起集中村建设运动,通过集中村的形式实现就地城镇化的道路.尊重经济结构形式与社会共同体形式之间关系的规律,成为城镇化背景下乡村社区重构的关键因素.集中村建设经验对于处于社会转型期的中国乡村社会,具有启示性的意义.     

韩国新农村运动的成功要因分析

韩国在韩国20世纪70年代实施的新农村运动被誉为发展中国家农村建设的成功范例。本文从韩国建国后的社会经济环境,推动主体之间形成的善治特征,变革目标和战略选择等角度,全面分析韩国新农村运动的成功要因,以及韩国经验对中国所具有的启示意义。     

Modern education and literary traditions: a comparative view on the development of modern Uyghur and Tibetan literature

ABSTRACT

In 1949, illiteracy among both Uyghurs and Tibetans was similar to that throughout China and estimated as higher than 90%. Since then, the rate of illiteracy in Xinjiang has shrunk considerably, while in Tibet it has remained the highest in China. This gap can explain the difference between the small volume of literature published annually in Tibet and the extensive literature that appears yearly in Xinjiang. A major reason for the high literacy rate and the emergence of a thriving modern literature in Xinjiang is the system of modern education that developed in the region at the start of the twentieth century. In contrast, in Tibet, the religious conservatism of the Buddhist elite prevented the introduction of modern education in order to retain local cultures. The comparison of the influences of modern education on the creation of literary traditions allows us to examine the continuity of Uyghur and Tibetan cultures in the context of contemporary China.     

DISPLACEMENT,RESETTLEMENT, AND MULTI-LOCAL LIVELIHOODS

This article examines shifting attitudes toward rural migrants in Lampung Province, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, in the context of a history of enclosure, commercial expansion, and dispossession. The author examines how contemporary multi-local livelihoods in Lampung reflect an adaptation to the vulnerabilities associated with being a migrant, as people position themselves to qualify for livelihood resources. The author's interpretation draws on Michel Foucault's analysis of the production of governable subjects and, in particular, norms of conduct that produce subjectivities and identities that “fit.” The article explores how different policy phases associated with environmental governance in Lampung have created contrasting positionings and norms of conduct for migrants, as they have been defined, on the one hand, as pioneer entrepreneurs, bringing progress to Indonesia's hinterland, and, on the other, as forest squatters, threatening the cultural and ecological integrity of the province. The author suggests that rural migrants have attempted to resolve their problematic positioning through multi-local livelihoods, which combine access to nonlocal income through temporary migration with the maintenance of a foothold that signals belonging and legitimate entitlement to state resources.     

Pakistan,economic change and social scientists

Abstract

The classic works on modern China—by Harold Isaacs, Edgar Snow, Jack Beiden, even Mao Tse-tung himself—have all led us to believe that the revolutionary ferment which surged through China in the twentieth century was the result of rural impoverishment, economic stagnation and governmental weakness and decay. All of them stressed the crucial role of Western and Japanese imperialism which had reduced China to such a sorry state in the first half of the twentieth century.     

The gender agenda: NGOs and capitalist relations in highland Cambodia

Cambodia’s mountainous northeastern province of Ratanakiri, which only twenty years ago was home to mainly indigenous minority groups largely focused on subsistence production, has undergone rapid ecological, social, and economic transformation. Deforestation and land alienation in the context of large-scale plantation agriculture, land speculation, and smallholder cash cropping have led to concerns that indigenous communities are being alienated from their land and not benefitting from economic changes. This has resulted in a significant number of NGO and government programs that attempt to protect and “empower” indigenous people, particularly women. This article examines a one-year research project which explored the relationship between indigenous women and land change in two indigenous villages. It discusses how indigenous women as well as Khmer and landless Cham immigrants have dealt with the commoditization of land and labor. It focuses on the differentiated way capitalist relations have pushed men, women, landless laborers, and increasingly wealthy landowners on increasingly divergent life trajectories. Compelled by donors to focus on gender and indigenous women as an object of governance, the NGO that directed this project struggled to keep up with the realities of capitalist relations on the ground.     

The integration of cooptation and coercion: China’s Taiwan strategy since 2001

In the past half-decade, China has developed a careful balance of cooptative and coercive power in its attempts to dampen the Taiwan independence movement and pursue political unification. In essence, attempts to curry favor with politically relevant constituencies on Taiwan have been paired with attempts to diplomatically isolate and militarily threaten the island's top policymakers. This balance is risky because of the possibility that it may appear too lenient to PRC nationalists, and too provocative to ROC residents. Nevertheless, the current structure of carrots and sticks has emerged for three reasons. First, the institutional coherence of Chinese decision-making and implementation has allowed for the viability of an adaptive, long-term approach. Second, the constraints on both unreinforced cooptation and coercive diplomacy have mediated toward a posture in which the former is enhanced and the latter downplayed. Third, expanded external opportunities in recent years have made it possible to exploit this middle ground.     

Export Growth and Development to Poor Rural Regions: a Meso-Scale Analysis of the Upper Limari

Abstract — The aim of this article is to explore the recent social and economic evolution of a rural region that was formerly one of the poorest in Chile but has been transformed by a productive specialisation in table grapes for export markets. The region is that of the Upper Limari in Chile's semi-arid Norte Chico. The analysis focuses on changes in four interrelated variables: productive investments; land markets; labour markets; and population distribution. Rapid growth in investment, the emergence of dynamic land markets, dramatic increases in labour productivity have transformed the agricultural sector. Small-scale farming has survived poorly due to lack of capital, technical problems and lack of bargaining power with the international fruit companies. The large-scale farmers have enjoyed better conditions and a reconcentration of land has occurred. However, the emergence of new productive activities in an area where labour alternatives have been historically scarce has provided new sources of income. Population is increasing in rural settlements linked to irrigated agroexportation and quality of life indicators have improved. Rural depopulation is not a feature of the region as a whole.