Food and agriculture problems for Japan and the World in the twenty-first century

This article examines the relationship between agriculture and food, agriculture and the environment and agriculture and trade, and discusses the various circumstances that affect the global supply of food. Japan's decline in international competitiveness and food self-sufficiency and the influence that may have on future food security is then discussed. The article concludes with recommendations for structural agricultural policy reform.     

Haiti's Post‐Earthquake Transformation: What of Agriculture and Rural Development?

This article examines post‐earthquake aid to agriculture and food security in Haiti. It argues that the much‐heralded increase in assistance to rural development is likely to fall short of expectations because it comes with a superficial rebranding of a not very useful approach. Macroeconomic policy content remains largely nonnegotiable, full trade liberalization is still favored, and a reliance on free market forces that tend to favor relatively well off, export‐oriented farmers still lingers. Furthermore, conflicting approaches to addressing food insecurity highlight an already severe democratic deficit. It appears that the contours of agricultural and food security policy, and hence the destinies of rural Haitians, stand to be shaped from the outside yet again. While new aid resources may offer some modest relief, they hold out only limited opportunities for addressing the profound deprivations and disparities that afflict the rural hinterland.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this issue. The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy , by John L. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt. Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the U.S., and the Twisted Path to Confrontation , by Barbara Slavin. Power and Succession in Arab Monarchies: A Reference Guide , by Joseph A. Kechichian. Beyond the Façade: Political Reform in the Arab World , edited by marina Ottaway and Julia Choucair‐Vizoso. Democratization and Development: New Political Strategies for the Middle East , by Dietrich Jung, ed. Worlds at War: The 2,500‐Year Struggle between East and West , by Anthony Pagden.     

Food Import Dependency in Cuba: Still the ‘Achilles’ Heel of the Revolution'?

The ‘Special Period in Peacetime’ plunged Cuba into an austerity programme of great severity. The crisis forced agriculture to shift dramatically from a model based on trade dependency (sugar exports providing most of the foreign currency) to one prioritising food import substitution. This alternative brought about major transformations in the country's agriculture. It revolutionised food production and decentralised land ownership. This article asks whether or not these changes reduced food dependency in Cuba. It provides an updated picture of Cuba's food import dependency, with a particular emphasis on the increased role of small farmers in food production during the 2000s.     

Die Gabe — ein neues Paradigma der Soziologie?

To give, to receive and to reciprocate - that’s the basic formula of gift exchange developed and elaborated in the Essay on Gift published in 1925 by Marcel Mauss. The Mouvement Anti-utilitariste dans les Sciences Sociales, shortly M.A.U.S.S., a group initiated by the French sociologist Alain Caillé and the Swiss anthropologist Gérald Berthoud, continues Mauss’s work in a specific way. The object of this group, hardly known in Germany, is to establish a third paradigm, the paradigm of the gift, which is meant to overcome the dualism between methodological individualism and holism. After contextualizing the M.A.U.S.S. group in the field of contemporary French sociology, the article explores the sociological-historical basis of the group, the gift theorem of Mauss. In the following step the article analyzes the theoretical premises of the M.A.U.S.S. group which are thought to substantiate the paradigm of gift. The basic theoretical approach of the group will be introduced and its position in the field of French sociology specified by an analysis of Caillé’s crtitique of Pierre Bourdieu. In the final part, a couple of critical remarks on the M.A.U.S.S.-group’s methodological and sociological impetus are made.     

The Impact of WTO Accession on Russia's Agriculture

The article analyzes the impact of WTO accession on Russia's agricultural sector. Three aspects of WTO rules that will affect Russian agriculture are examined: (1) financial support from the Russian government, (2) market access for foreign imports, and (3) market access for Russia's food exports. Addressing the question of positive and negative impacts on Russia's agricultural sector, the article asks if a pessimistic view that sees primarily negative consequences as a result of accession is justified. Claims made by skeptics who are dismissive of the impact WTO entry will have on Russian agriculture are also considered.     

South African Growing Pains: A Second Assessment

Professor W. M. Macmillan, M.A., Hon.D.Litt., sometime professorof history of the University of the Witwatersrand and Directorof Colonial Studies, St. Andrew's University, gave the followingaddress before a joint meeting of the Royal African Societyand the Royal Commonwealth Society on October 2, 1959. Sir Perci-valeLiesching, C.M.G., a former U.K. High Commissioner in SouthAfrica, took the chair.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this issue. Edward L. Cleary, The Rise of Charismatic Catholicism in Latin America. Gabriela Ippolito‐O'Donnell, The Right to the City: Popular Contention in Buenos Aires. Gianpaolo Baiocchi, Patrick Heller, and Marcelo K. Silva, Bootstrapping Democracy: Transforming Local Governance and Civil Society in Brazil. LaDawn Haglund, Limiting Resources: Market‐Led Reform and the Transformation of Public Goods. Ana María Bejarano, Precarious Democracies: Understanding Regime Stability and Change in Colombia and Venezuela. Judith A. Teichman, Social Forces and States: Poverty and Distributional Outcomes in South Korea, Chile, and Mexico. Kathleen Staudt, Julia E. Monárrez Fragoso, and César M. Fuentes, eds., Cities and Citizenship at the U.S.‐Mexico Border: The Paso Del Norte Metropolitan Region. Jason Seawright, Party System Collapse: The Roots of Crisis in Peru and Venezuela. Jennifer McCoy and Francisco Diez, International Mediation in Venezuela. Sebastián M. Saiegh, Ruling by Statute: How Uncertainty and Vote Buying Shape Lawmaking.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Campbell, Bruce B., and Arthur D. Brenner, eds. Death Squads in Global Perspective: Murder with Deniability. Pollack, Marcelo. The New Right in Chile, 1973–97. Siavelis, Peter M. The President and Congress in Postauthoritarian Chile: Institutional Constraints to Democratic Consolidation. Díaz‐Briquets, Sergio, and Jorge Pérez‐López, Conquering Nature: The Environmental Legacy of Socialism in Cuba. Schwab, Peter. Cuba: Confronting the U.S. Embargo. Jiménez Polanco, Jacqueline. Los partidos políticos en la República Dominicana: actividad electoral y desarrollo organizativo. Cornelius, Wayne A., Todd A. Eisenstadt, and Jane Hindley, eds. Subnational Politics and Democratization in Mexico. Harvey, Neil. The Chiapas Rebellion: The Struggle for Land and Democracy. Ward, Peter M., and Victoria E. Rodríguez, with Enrique Cabrero Mendoza. New Federalism and State Government in Mexico: Bringing the States Back In.     

The Russian monument at Ayastefanos (San Stefano): Between defeat and revenge,remembering and forgetting

Legal and documentary Arabic reader. By M. Mansoor. 2 Vols. Leiden: E. J. Brill. 40 guilders.

Modern Arabic Short Stories. Selected and translated by Denys Johnson‐Davies. London, O.U.P. 1967.     

Union Africaine des Arts et des Lettres

In many ways, the Belgian Congo leads the rest of Africa, ina really serious effort at the mingling of cultures. It is,for example, significant that despite Makerere, neither SouthernRhodesia nor Kenya, main areas of British Settlement, have anythingapproaching the Centre d'Etudes des Problémes SociauxIndigénes, on which we had a note in April, 1949. Thisarticle describes another Belgian initiative. It is by the founderof the U.A.A.L., who is also editor of its journal Jeune Afrique.The translation is by M. H. C. Willems.     

The New Research on Civil Wars: Does It Help Us Understand the Colombian Conflict?

The article synthesizes contributions from the recent comparative research on civil war and the case‐specific literature on Colombia to argue that too often, commentators on this conflict overlook some of its key dimensions. A comprehensive analysis shows that no fewer than six factors are fueling violent conflict in Colombia: economic forces, state weakness, landscape, U.S. policies, long‐duration and spin‐off violence, and malicious opportunism by non‐combatants. The first three are the ones that matter most. The case made here is that when analysts disregard the range and interrelat‐edness of the factors involved, the result is a distortion of reality and a tendency to support policies that will not enhance the prospects for peace.     

Macroeconomic Policies and Agricultural Terms of Trade,Bangladesh, 1952–2005

Agricultural prices in Bangladesh have had a tendency to rise at a faster rate than industrial prices since the early 1950s. The resulting rising trend in the agricultural terms of trade has been pronounced since the mid-1980s when Bangladesh introduced IMF- and World Bank-supported deregulatory economic reforms. This rising trend in the agricultural terms of trade is inconsistent with the Prebisch-Singer thesis in the context of domestic economy, which suggests a secular deterioration in the terms of trade for primary products vis-à-vis manufactured products. It is, however, consistent with the view of classical economists who saw the possibility of an upward trend in the terms of trade for agricultural products (food) because of diminishing returns in agriculture. In fact, the classical idea of the rising terms of trade for primary products makes sense in a land-constrained growing economy with increasing population, such as Bangladesh, which remained semi-closed until the mid-1980s. This article reviews macroeconomic policies in Bangladesh since the 1950s, examines the time-series properties of agricultural prices, industrial prices and the agricultural terms of trade and draws inference on the issue whether the agricultural sector was squeezed systematically by turning the terms of trade against agriculture for industrialisation of the country.     

B. reviews and notes of recent bibliographies

i. Islam in sub‐Saharan Africa; a Partially Annotated Guide. Compiled by M. Zoghby. Washington D.C., Library of Congress, 1978. pp.viii + 318. Price: $8.50

ii. The United States and Africa: Guide to U.S. Official Documents and Government‐Sponsored Publications on Africa, 1785–1975. Compiled by Julian W. Witherell. Washington D.C., Library of Congress, 1978. pp.xix + 949. Price $14.75 (including 25 per cent additional for overseas postage).     

The local impacts of large-scale land acquisitions: a review of case study evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) are controversially discussed with respect to their local impacts. On the one hand, they are regarded as an opportunity for employment creation and a transfer of knowledge and technology, which enhances productivity and output in agriculture. On the other hand, they are said to impair food security and to foster land conflicts and environmental degradation. Despite the existence of numerous case studies, systematic evidence on the impact of LSLAs on local communities is not available. In this paper we review the existing literature in order to provide a summary of the characteristics of LSLAs and of the impact they have on local livelihoods. We find that while positive effects arise through employment creation and the provision of public goods and services, these benefits are offset by inadequate compensation, land conflicts, and environmental degradation. Overall, most case studies find a negative impact of LSLAs on local livelihoods.     

The United States as a Plural Society: Towards a Consociational Solution?

Although the United States is not a consociational democracy, it is of considerable interest to consociational scholars. Not only is it in many respects a plural society, its political practice and thought include rudimentary elements of consociationalism’s four defining characteristics. That these institutions and practices have not developed further is unsurprising, given the generally unfavorable conditions for racial or ideological consociationalism there. Furthermore, factors such as the U.S.’s competitive political culture and its history of racial inequality present special challenges for consociational theory and practice. Meanwhile, the possibilities for addressing current ideological polarization by consociational means are limited, while ideological cleavage as such presents its own challenges. Nevertheless, several areas for reform remain possible, while changing ethno‐demographic conditions could make U.S.‐American consociationalism more likely in the next several decades. Furthermore, these considerations open up several potentially fruitful lines for further research into consociational democracy and the conditions that foster it.     

Moving Beyond the Policy of No Policy: Emigration from Mexico and Central America

Do Caribbean Basin states influence U.S. immigration policy? Although the terrorist attacks of September 2001 eventually derailed migration talks, before that time Mexico and the United States appeared poised to negotiate a major bilateral agreement, largely on Mexico's terms. Drawing on 88 detailed interviews conducted with Mexican and other Caribbean Basin elites, this article examines sending‐state preferences for emigration and their capacity to influence policy outcomes. The informants considered migration to be the most problematic issue on the bilateral agenda, but also saw migration policy as relatively open to source‐state influence. A case study of Mexican emigration policymaking details the national and transnational changes that make migration increasingly an inter‐mestic policy issue.     

Agrarian adaptations in Tajikistan: land reform,water and law

In Central Asia, agriculture and water management have ranked as the two most important economic activities in this arid environment. These activities gained even more prominence during the Soviet era as planners expanded irrigation into previously marginal land that bolstered their vision that the best land be allocated exclusively for cotton production. In the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan has enacted laws meant to expand and clarify land use categories to meet the dual targets of expanding food production within the country while maintaining as much land as possible in cotton production – their economic mainstay. To this end, the Tajik government instituted five categories of land tenure. Though comprehensive, these new dispositions merely mask a continuation of top-down agrarian decision making implemented during the Soviet period. Consequently, this change has created new problems for farm labourers as they struggle to adapt to post-Soviet life and negotiate with the new bureaucracy in the face of ‘de-modernization’ and the loss of jobs, wages, and in many cases, access to productive land. This research demonstrates that the means by which the Tajik government expanded food production has contributed to agricultural problems apparent at the time of independence.     

Other publications received

(a 28‐page pamphlet, in the series Fifty Years of Soviet Oriental Studies, published in 1967 by Nauka Press for the Institute of the Peoples of Asia of the USSR Academy of Sciences).

N. A. Kuznyetsova and L. M. Kulagina, and entitled Iz istorii Sovyetskogo Vostokovyedyeniya 1917–1967

(From the History of Soviet Orientalism, 1917–1967),

(Moscow, Nauka Press for the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1970, 252 pp.).

Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 7, no. 3, October 1971, pp. 363–65

(see Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. VII, no. 2, May 1971, pp. 237–39).

V. V. Lyebyedyev's Pozdniy sryednyearabskiy yazik (XIII‐XVIII vv.)

(The Late Middle‐Arabic Language: The 13th‐18th Centuries), Moscow, Nauka Press, 1977; 92 pp.

A. A. Kovalyev and G. M. Gabuchan, was published by Moscow University Press in 1968 and comprises 208 pages.

V. S. Khrakovskiy's Ochyerki po obshchyemu i Arabskomu sintaksisu (Essays on General and Arabic Syntax), (Moscow, Nauka Press for the Institute of Linguistics of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1973; 290 pp.).

V. M. Byelkin's Arabskaya Lyeksikologia (Arabic Lexicology), (Moscow University Press, 1975; 200 pp.).

F. L. Shapiro and edited by B. M. Grande, entitled Ivrit‐Russkiy slovar’ (Hebrew‐Russian Dictionary), (Moscow, Government Press for National and Foreign Dictionaries, 1963, 768 pp.).

B. M. Grande's Kurs Arabskoy grammatiki v Sravnityel'no‐istorichyeskom osvyeshchyenii (A Course of Arabic Grammar, From a Comparative Approach), (Moscow, Oriental Literature Press for the Institute of the Peoples of Asia of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1963, 596 pp.).

A. A. Kovalyev and G. Sh. Sharbatov, entitled Uchyebnik Arabskogo Yazika (Textbook for Learning Arabic), (Moscow, Nauka Press for the Institute of Oriental Languages at Moscow University, 1969, 688 pp.).

E. Dz. Myemmyedov's Al‐Lugha al‐'Arabiyya (The Arabic Language), (Baku, Ma'arif Press, 1971, 404 pp.).

G. V. Tsyeryetyeli, entitled Arabskaya Khryestomatiya (An Arabic Anthology), (Tiflis University Press, 1975; 107, 16pp.).

O. B. Frolova's Mi govorim po‐Arabskiy (We speak Arabic), (Moscow, Nauka Press for the Oriental Faculty of Leningrad University and for the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1972, 303 pp.).

I. S. Danilov, V. I. Ridzkov and M. G. Anisimov, entitled Arabsko‐Russkiy i Russko‐Arabskiy voyenniy slovar’ (Arabic‐Russian and Russian‐Arabic Dictionary of Military Terms), (Moscow, USSR Ministry of Defence Press, 1965, 704 pp.).

Kh. K. Baranov's Arabsko‐Russkiy slovar’ (Arabic‐Russian Dictionary), (2nd edition, Moscow, Government Press for Foreign and National Dictionaries, 1958, 1189 pp.)

T. A. al‐Farhi and V. N. Krasnovskiy, entitled Karmanniy Russko‐Arabskiy slovar’ (Pocket Russian‐Arabic Dictionary), (Moscow, Government Press for Foreign and National Dictionaries, 1959, 695 pp.).

G. Sh. Sharbatov's Russko‐Arabskiy uchyebniy slovar’ (A Russian‐Arabic school dictionary), (Moscow, The Soviet Encyclopaedia Press, 1964, 1056, 140 pp.).

V. M. Borisov's Russko‐Arabskiy slovar’ (Russian‐Arabic Dictionary), (Moscow, The Soviet Encyclopaedia Press, 1967, 1120 pp.).