THE SOCIOLOGY AND POLITICAL ECONOMY OF “ISLAMIC TERRORISM” IN EGYPT

This article has been retracted.     

CHINA''''S ECONOMIC REFORM AND OPENING-UP IN THE 1990S

With the remarks made by Deng Xiaoping during his southern China tour inearly 1992 as the guide,the 14th National Congress of the Communist Par-ty of China(CPC)categorically made the setting up of a socialist market economythe goal for China's economic restructuring.This marks a new stage in China's e-conomic reform,a stage for all-round deepening of reforms and opening up aimed     

THE PARABLE OF THE METAL: DEPLETED URANIUM,NATO, AND THE ISSUE OF “ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY”

In this article, we present a parable about how a metal, depleted uranium (DU), became linked both with a security organization, NATO, and a security concept, “environmental security,” and did so in a most dramatic, if short-lived, manner during late 2000 and early 2001. A parable involves the telling of a story for didactic purpose. It might even be considered a kind of “continued metaphor,” to use the expression sometimes reserved for that related device, allegory. By this is implied that we resort to parable when we want to get across a message, one that seems, on the surface, to be about something else altogether. ¹ 1. H.W. Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, 2nd ed., rev. Sir Ernest Gowers (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968), p. 558. Partly we do this for the dramatic effect produced; partly we do it because it is an economical way of expressing meaning. As a variant of metaphor, parable enables us to see what might otherwise have been obscured, because as the philosopher Earl Mac Cormac reminded us, “explanations without metaphor would be difficult if not impossible, for in order to describe the unknown, we must resort to concepts that we know and understand, and that is the essence of metaphor—an unusual juxtaposition of the familiar and the unfamiliar.” ² 2. Earl R. Mac Cormac, A Cognitive Theory of Metaphor (Cambridge. MA: MIT Press, 1985), p. 9.      

THE MIDDLE EAST:RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT

ⅠThe year 1991 witnessed drastic changes in the Middle East, which beganwith the outbreak of the world-shaking Gulf War(January 17) and culmi-nated in the convening of the spectacular Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid(October 30), which is the first face-to-face meeting between the Arab countries     

ONE TITLE,TWO LANGUAGES: INVESTIGAT ING THE TREND OF PUBLISHING ADULT NON-FICTION TITLES IN ENGLISH AND AFRIKAANS DURING 2010–2014 IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN TRADE MARKET

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the publication of titles in english and afrikaans (one title published in two languages) by looking specifically at three publishers: LAPA Uitgewers, jacana media and NB Publishers. Furthermore, the article examines why some books are more likely to be published bilingually than others in the sector of trade non-fiction for adults specifically; this excludes children's literature as well as titles in the religious trade sector. Bilingual publications from the period 2010–2014 are investigated for the article in order to examine this phenomenon over a relatively recent period of time. the research determines what the reasons are for publishers to publish in both languages, how the decision-making process takes place, and whether the timing of publishing bilingual titles plays a significant role in their publishing strategy. By investigating the reasons publishers use to make their decisions, the possible future of this trend is predicted. this information was collected through an investigation of available literature and also through interviews with key role players at the publishing houses.     

SINO-JAPANESE RELATIONS IN THE LIGHT OF MAO'S ESSAY“ON CONTRADICTION”

September 1997 marks the 25th anniversary of the normalization of diplomaticties between China and Japan. By coincidence, the 60th anniversary of thepublication of the well-known philosophical essay“On Contradiction”by the lateChairman Mao Zedong also falls in August the same year. In commemoration ofthese two significant events, with Mao's masterpiece as his guide, the author     

SECURITY ENVIRONMENT IN NORTHEAST ASIA:ITS CHARACTERISTICS AND SENSITIVITIES

The repercussions of the end of the Cold War have been strongly felt in North-east Asia,resulting in a changing security environment of the region.Com-pared with Europe or other regions,Northeast Asia has been relatively stable—asituation which should be treasured by us.How to maintain and develop thisfavourable situation?It is very important,among other things,to pay great atten-tion to the basic characteristics of the region as well as to its sensitivities.     

SINO-US RELATIONS:THE NECESSITY FOR CHANGE AND A NEW STRATEGY

After several years of stress and strains, a historical opportunity appears on thehorizon for considerable improvement of Sino-US relations. It will determinethe nature of long-term relationship in the post-Cold War years. The imperatives     

ATTITUDES TO COMMUNITY RELATIONS IN NORTHERN IRELAND: SIGNS OF OPTIMISM IN THE POST CEASE-FIRE PERIOD?

This article uses attitudinal data to explore Catholic and Protestant perspectives on community relations and equality since the paramilitary cease fires in 1994. Although attitudes tend to fluctuate with the ‘headline grabbing’ events of the day, the article argues that there are signs that some fundamental changes have taken place in the post cease fire period. Of particular importance in this regard is the positive response recorded by the Catholic community towards government measures to tackle disadvantage and inequality. Equally significant is the protestant response to many of these measures which is often one of ambivalence rather than derision. In so far as the data appear to challenge the ‘zero-sum’ game that traditionally underpins relations between the two communities in Northern Ireland, they provide some grounds for optimism. Yet such optimism is tempered somewhat by the seeds of discontent which are manifest within the protestant community, particularly around issues of equality in employment and cultural traditions. Despite the more positive assessment of community relations and equality in 2002, it is argued that further monitoring will be required to determine the long-term effects of policy reform on relationships between the two communities.     

DISARMAMENT AND BIG BUSINESS: THE CASE OF KRUPP, 1918–1925

Well before 1914, the Krupp Steel Foundry in Essen had gained a world-wide reputation as a major producer of heavy weaponry. The disarmament procedures set in train initially by the armistice and thereafter by the Versailles Treaty would, therefore, impact massively on one of Europe's few large-scale steel producers, whether in terms of output or with regard to its influence in German politics. This article analyses such developments during the early 1920s, with special reference to the activities of the Inter-Allied Military Control Commission (IMCC), including their impact on production and on the workforce at the Krupp factories in Essen. It also investigates efforts by Krupp's management (and also German politicians) to evade military restrictions and also to maintain expertise in the production of heavy weaponry.     

‘JUST FIGHTING TO SURVIVE’: LOYALIST PARAMILITARY POLITICS AND THE PROGRESSIVE UNIONIST PARTY

Throughout the contemporary period, Unionists and Loyalists in Northern Ireland have reacted in contradictory ways to the peace process. This article highlights some of the key political and social dynamics within loyalism. In particular, it considers the positioning of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and their linked political representatives in the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP). The response of the PUP to the peace process has revealed several important tensions within unionism. These include the notions that Loyalists can no longer be assured that the UK government will maintain the Union; expressions of class and gendered identities; a lack of trust of mainstream unionism; and, sectarianism, which although it remains a key element within Loyalist identity, is by no means its only dimension. Finally, the article outlines the broader construction of Loyalist and Unionist ideologies, and positions the PUP within broader politics of contemporary unionism.     

“I know! I live here”: poor women and the work of empowerment

To trace the effects of empowerment programmes in the Global South, attention needs to be focused on the everyday practices of frontline staff, or fieldworkers, who convey empowerment ideas and practices at the grassroots. This is especially critical when fieldworkers work in the marginalised communities where they also live. Instead of looking outward towards a programme’s outcomes, this article turns inward to examine the impact of women fieldworkers’ dual experiences of development on their decisions and practices in the field. The ethnography of women fieldworkers in a government-led women’s empowerment programme for the poor in Delhi, India reveals the uneasy relationship of women’s empowerment to the larger contradictory development paradigm that they work within. Fieldworkers used their experiences as poor women to meet programme quotas, while also side-lining social change in favour of shielding clients from ineffective programme activities.     

“YELLOW PERIL”—A HOAX THEN AND NOW

Frenzied cries of“China threat”have once again cropped up in the West,withsome people in the US media shouting the loudest at a time when we are on thedawn of a new century.These gentlemen fly in the face of historical truth and al-lege that a resurgent China is posing a threat to its Asian neighbors and US position     

Alan Bullock, 1914–2004: “I Only Write Enormous Books” 1

Alan Bullock (1914–2004) was one of Britain’s most distinguished scholars and the author of several extremely important books on recent and modern European civilization, history and culture. His enormous contribution to British, European, and Anglo-Saxon culture and historiography is easily discernible in his many books and essays. Chief among them his biography of Hitler, parallel study of Hitler and Stalin, three volume biography of Ernest Bevin, and the Fontana dictionaries of modern thought. One of Bullock’s greatest achievements was the establishment of St. Catherine’s College in Oxford University, at which he served as the Founding Master for more than a generation (1962–1990). Prior to WW II, recent European history was not considered a respectable research field worthy of serious academic work, nor was it thought that there existed the necessary distance from recent events for historians to deal with such history in a proper fashion. However, Alan Bullock’s books turned the study of modern and recent European history into the mainstream of postgraduate studies at Oxford. Lord Bullock contributed tremendously (together with Hugh Seton-Watson, Bill Deakin, Hugh Trevor-Roper and A. J. P. Taylor) to the breakthrough which turned contemporary history into a focus for academic research and teaching.     

Why “I” became a combatant: A study of memoirs written by Nepali Maoist combatants

This article analyzes combatants’ accounts of their engagement with the Communist Party of Nepal, Maoist—CPN (M). We use Self-Categorization Theory (SCT) as a framework and thematic analysis as a method to examine how social relationships and contextual factors contributed to political party identification during the ten-year-long Maoist insurgency in Nepal. Based on the study of autobiographical narratives written by Nepali Maoist combatants, we demonstrate that a) key social and political experiences cumulatively evoked feeling positively inclined to partisan attachment; b) CPN (M) party ideology, which was presented as a cure-all to socio-political difficulties, actuated the predisposed people’s partisan alignment; c) families were largely unsupportive of their members’ intention to take part in the war; and when they participated, the family responded with antagonism; and d) party ideologues of the CPN (M), who met the partisan-leaning individuals as close friends, accelerated and sustained their friends’ motivation to become involved in the armed conflict. Together the findings culminate in a view that engagement with CPN (M) during the insurgency occurred despite resistance from family and increased exponentially because of societal and political experiences, the strong appeal of party ideology, and social network dynamics.     

曲婉婷:“叛逆”女孩

爽直简单,亲切自然,言语中不时流露出东北大妞儿的范儿。谈起个人的成长史,一个词从她口中冒出:"叛逆"。她就是曲婉婷,《我的歌声里》的原创和原唱,一路寻着音乐的梦想成长起来的音乐原创人。我爱音乐,但我不喜欢被逼迫1983年,曲婉婷出生在哈尔滨市一个普通家庭。5岁时,曲婉婷在姨妈家第一次见到钢琴,就流畅地弹出"一闪一闪亮晶晶,满天都是小星星"的旋律,在一旁的大人惊喜不已。妈妈觉得不能埋没女儿在钢琴上的特长,就拿出家中的全部积蓄为曲婉婷添置了一架钢琴。就这样,6岁的曲婉