The feminist movement in Taiwan, 1972–87

Abstract

The definition of the women's movement has caused a certain degree of confusion in the women's studies community in Taiwan. Before 1986 it was debated whether there was or had ever been a women's movement at all on the island, for gender equality had been guaranteed by the 1947 Constitution, and hence some people questioned the desirability and potential impact of such a movement. Afterwards, as social movements collected momentum and popular support, the tendency has been to define the women's movement broadly to include all types of women's group activities.     

The ‘Arab Uprising’, Islamists and Democratization

This article surveys political activities of selected Islamists in three Arab countries in the Mediterranean region: Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco. Each is notable for recent growth in Islamist political activity in the context of democratization (Tunisia, Egypt) and political liberalization (Morocco). Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco are undergoing political changes consequent to the recent ‘Arab uprising’. The ‘Arab uprising’ involved country-specific yet variable outbursts of popular political anger, although not necessarily with a clear and consistent democratizing focus. Generally, protests focused on interrelated political and socio-economic demands, including: greater ‘freedoms’, improved human rights, better social justice and economic progress, especially more jobs for millions of unemployed youths. The aim of the article is to explain recent developments in relation to the ‘Arab uprising’ in three Mediterranean Arab countries – Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco. The purpose is to complement the individual foci on these countries in subsequent papers in this special issue by providing a thematic overview and to locate the activities of Islamist entities in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco in comparative context.     

The South in Sudanese politics, 1946–1956

Islam and Democracy by John L. Esposito and John O. Voll. New York Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1996. Pp.232, index and bibliography. £16.99 (paper).

The Merchant Republic of Lebanon: Rise of an Open Economy by Carolyn L. Gates. London: I.B. Tauris, 1998. Pp. xvi + 248, bibliography, index. £39.50.

The Political Economy of Market Reform in Jordan by Timothy J. Piro. Lanham, Maryland and Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield, 1998. Pp. xvi + 131, bibliography, index. $54.00 (cloth); $19.95 (paper).

Sephardi and Middle Eastern Jewries. History and Culture in the Modern Era by Harvey E. Goldberg (ed.). Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996. Pp. xv + 346. £31.50 (cloth); £14.99 (paper).

Memoirs of Baghdad, Kurdistan and Turkish Arabia, 1857: Selections from the Records of the Bombay Government, No.XLIII. — New Series by Cdr. James Felix Jones, I.N. Slough: Archive Editions, 1998. Pp.xlvii + 504. £595.

Secularization of Iran: a Doomed Failure? by Azadi Kian‐Thiébaut. Paris: Peeters, 1998. Pp. 296, bibliography, index.

Partner to Partition: The Jewish Agency's Partition Plan in the Mandate Era by Yossi Katz. London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 1998. Pp. xii + 209, bibliography, index. £35.00 (cloth); £17.50 (paper).

Between Jerusalem and Hebron: Jewish Settlement in the Pre‐State Period by Yossi Katz. Ramat‐Gan: Bar‐Ilan University Press, 1998. Pp. 295, bibliography, index.

Heirs of the Greek Catastrophe: The Social Life of Asia Minor Refugees in Piraeus by R. Hirschon. Oxford: Berghan, 1998 (first published 1989). £14.95 (paper).     

The Slowdown in Soviet Industry, 1976–1982

Growth rates of industrial production in the USSR have been falling since 1950, and the drop was especially large in 1976–1982. The falloff was associated with a pronounced deterioration in factor productivity. The most important explanatory factors seem to have been the economy's unfavorable response to a major cutback in the growth ot investment, unexpected shortages ot key raw materials and energy, and transportation bottlenecks. Mistakes in investment policy seem to have been responsible for many of these difficulties. The secular decline in industrial growth probably will continue since the causes of the slowdown are imbedded in the system of socialist central planning and systemic reform is not likely. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: 052, 113, 124.     

The Ottoman Identity: Turkish,Muslim or Rum?

It is awkward for historians to depict a clear-cut portrayal of Ottoman identity. Scholarly analyses by and large lay emphasis on the Islamic and Turkish character of the Ottoman Empire. However, it would be reductionist to evaluate an empire that lasted for six centuries, on three different continents, with solely monolithic ethno-religious tools. A new approach around the term Rum may help to get rid of this reductionism and to understand the sui generis structure of the Ottoman identity. Instead of focusing on ethnic and religious aspects, this novel approach would add both a territorial dimension of Ottoman hegemony and also a social component regarding the relations between the rulers and the ruled. The Rum, with a meaning above Orthodoxy, Greek or Roman Empire, can highlight the ingredients of Ottoman identity and help to overcome the influence of modern nationalist discourses in historical readings.     

The Baltic Question in West German Politics, 1949–90

While previous research by international lawyers has emphasized Bonn's value-neutral legalistic approach to the Baltic question from 1949 to 1990, this article–based on documents from the German Foreign Ministry archives–shows that the West Germans saw the Baltic issue as a political problem that interfered with their highest national aim: German unification. It addresses the following questions: first, why Bonn never made an official announcement of, and never publicly gave a justification for, its stance on the Baltic question; and second, why Bonn granted Baltic refugees the same rights that it offered other Heimat-less foreigners, whereas the remnants of Baltic diplomatic services or self-proclaimed exile governments found no official recognition in Germany. Finally, it comments on the role of the so-called German Balts in West German politics, and in Bonn's Baltic policies specifically.     

One Namibia,one nation? The Caprivi as contested territory

The second of August 2009 marked the tenth anniversary of the failed secessionist attempt by the Caprivi Liberation Movement (CLM). It resulted in Namibia's sole state of emergency since independence. Ten years on, the high treason trial for what began as more than 130 accused drags on. Namibia thus has the longest serving political prisoners within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) without their having been convicted. This article draws attention to a widely neglected failure in Namibia's nation-building effort and thereby highlights a special challenge left by the colonial legacy to the independent government. It presents a summary of events leading to the secessionist attempt and a historical overview of issues around the so-called Caprivi Strip and explores the shortcomings in an unresolved relationship between the central state and the local perspectives and identities of people living at the margins. By doing so, it uses the case study of the Caprivi region as an example for the challenges of bringing about ‘One Namibia, One Nation’.     

The German Question and the International Order, 1943–48

In this article, I address two salient issues in IR trust research: first, I introduce a longitudinal, content analysis to measure foreign policy trust. Second, I provide an in-depth analysis of how recent crises affected German political elites’ trust of the United States. I begin with a brief conceptual sketch of foreign policy trust and argue that treating it as a trusting discourse is a useful way to bridge the micro–macro gap. Next, I introduce a content analysis to measure trust, present coding rules and discuss advantages and problems of the approach. The empirical section consists of data generated from coding German Bundestag speeches and newspaper op-eds from 2000 through 2014. By disaggregating the data to specify who trusts whom and regarding which issues, I propose the following: First, there is a significant decline in trust among the traditionally pro-American German center-right politicians. Second, there is a steady decline in trust in the United States as a state entity, as opposed to strongly fluctuating trust in different U.S. presidents. Third, the NSA crisis directly affected German elites’ trust in the bilateral security partnership, an area where trust was stable even during the Bush presidency.     

The Origins of the Soviet Oil Crisis, 1970–1985

Soviet oil production peaked in 1983 and declined in 1984, chiefly because the growth of West Siberian output has nearly stopped. The root of the problem is two decades of unbalanced policy favoring near-term payoff over long-term preparation. Exploration has been systematically neglected in favor of development, and the West Siberian oil industry has been built on too narrow a base. Despite warnings from local officials as early as 1970, this led to a first crisis in 1976-1977. Moscow responded with an emergency increase in development drilling. This approach prevented output from dropping between 1978 and 1983 but only aggravated the deep-seated imbalance, preparing the way for a new crisis in 1983-1985. The underlying causes of this near-sighted approach are analyzed and the implications for a deeper understanding of Soviet decision-making spelled out. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: 052, 124, 721.     

The Transformation of Labor Party Immigration Policy, 1901–1945

ABSTRACT

The Commonwealth Labor government’s introduction of a program of mass immigration after the Second World War was a pivotal moment in the nation’s history. The program itself and the experiences of those who settled in Australia have been studied closely by historians and social scientists. Less attention has been given to the fact that the postwar policy represented a transformation of Labor’s traditional attitude to immigration. Since its foundation in the 1890s, the Australian Labor Party had been suspicious of immigration and opposed to programs of assisted immigration on the basis that migrant labour threatened the wages and conditions of Australian workers. This article traces Labor’s attitudes to migration before the Second World War and shows how economic and security exigencies compelled the party to repudiate its decades-long opposition to assisted immigration. The article suggests that the reason that the postwar immigration program does not receive greater prominence in histories of the Labor Party is because the policy and its chief architect, Arthur Calwell, are diminished by their association with the White Australia policy.     

The Iranian Revolution, 1977–79: Interaction and Transformation

Within a short time after the Iranian revolution of 1977-79, a number of studies were published concerning the dramatic process. It was presumably the spectacular turn of events, comprehensive media coverage, and relatively long period of time over which the revolution took place that enhanced the attention it received, and still receives from academic research. Taking its point of departure in theories of revolution by Theda Skocpol, this article discusses the character of the revolution. The article problematises Skocpol's theories through a discussion of the special characteristics of the Iranian Revolution, thus adding new dimensions to the comprehensive discussions of the dramatic developments. It is the article's perspective that the revolution must be conceptualised as a complex and dynamic process involving a high degree of internal dynamism and unpredictability, which made possible a radical break from the past, the development of new constructs, and unintended consequences. The execution of a revolution resulting in a clerical dictatorship was made possible by the dialectical and creative interaction between the groups involved, an interaction that took place over the two years during which the revolution occurred.     

The Birth of Cultural Autonomy in Estonia: How,Why, and for Whom?

The 1925 law on cultural autonomy of minorities guaranteed Estonia's most significant minorities the right to independently decide how they wanted to arrange their own national-cultural matters. In this article I will focus on why Estonia decided to pass a law that was exceptional in the atmosphere of that time. To find an answer, it is necessary also to analyze how (through what process) the law was shaped and for whom the law was ultimately intended. In summary, it can be said that there were about ten factors, which were different, yet interconnected and similar in their impact, and only together did they provide sufficient impetus to make it possible to approve autonomy.     

The Trump-Kim Summit,Future Scenarios,and Japan’s Policy toward the Korean Peninsula

On June 12, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (hereafter DPRK or North Korea) leader Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, met in Singapore for the first time. The two men signed a joint declaration and pledged to work toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and improving bilateral relations. These developments raise several questions. What impact will this summit meeting between the two leaders have on regional security? What sorts of opportunities and risks will that impact produce for Japan? How should Japan deal with this fluid regional situation?     

The Dead Hand of the Treasury: The Economic and Social Development of the Trucial States, 1948–60

This paper addresses an aspect of British policy in the Trucial States that has received scant scholarly attention. It examines British attempts to promote economic and social development in the Trucial States, and places this policy within the context of British attitudes towards the economic development of the colonial empire. During the 1950s Britain's interest in the Arabian Peninsula expanded, in notable contrast with the rest of the Middle East. One aspect of this expanded role was British efforts to improve the economic and social conditions prior to the discovery of oil in Abu Dhabi in 1958. British officials on the ground were concerned to improve the lot of the population of these impoverished shaikhdoms for a combination of political and strategic and ethical reasons. This article shows that attempts to introduce a modicum of economic and social development in the Trucial States were hindered by the Treasury's refusal to provide adequate funds, and because of inherent problems in finding suitable development projects. Nonetheless, the plans put in place during the 1950s did provide the foundations for subsequent development programmes, which, in turn, drastically expanded as a result of oil wealth.     

The Emergence of the Lithuanian Radical Right Movement, 1922–1927

The article discusses the origins and development of the interwar Lithuanian radical right-wing movement before the coup d’état of December 1926. During the second half of 1922, the first sporadic outbreaks of Lithuanian ultra-patriotism occurred. They were carried out by veterans of the independence wars and students – both representatives of the “tautininkai (patriotic) stream.” In parallel, during the period 1923–1927, another two separate groups started operating as right-wing political parties: the pro-fascist movement coordinated by the Christian Democrats, and the “Secret Officers Union” allied with the “Lithuanian Nationalist Union” (Tautininkai). These three groups and their interrelations comprised the core of the early Lithuanian radical right. By focusing on the destabilizing role of war veterans, the author is explicit about the connection between the war and the radicalization of politics in interwar Lithuania.