The myth of the narco-state

Despite being used repeatedly in different contexts, the term “narco-state” has never been satisfactorily defined or explained. In fact, the existence of the narco-state is almost always taken for granted. This article will argue, on the basis of a review of existing definitions and of selected case studies, that there is no such thing as a narco-state and that using the term tends to oversimplify if not mask the complex socio-political and economic realities of drug-producing countries. The narco-state notion will be debated and opposed in terms of politics, territory, and economics.     

Singapore and the myth of the liberalizing middle class

Fiji: Coups in Paradise: Race, Politics and Military Intervention, by Victor Lal. Zed Books, London and New Jersey, 1990. xv + 268 pp., maps. £32.95 hardback, £10.95 paperback. ISBN 0–86232–776–8 and 0–86232–777–6.

A Fragile Paradise, by Andrew Mitchell. Fontana, London, 1990. 256 pp., colour plates, maps. £9.99 paperback. ISBN 0–00–637655‐X.

Overreaching in Paradise: United States Policy in Palau since 1945, by Sue Rabbitt Roff. Denali Press, Juneau, Alaska, 1991. ix + 244 pp., maps. $27.50. ISBN 0–938737–22–8.     

The calculus of piratical consent: the myth of the myth of social contract

Is a genuine social contract mythical? I argue that pirates created genuine social contracts that established a system of constitutional democracy based on the same decision-making calculus and with the same effects that Buchanan and Tullock’s contractarian theory of government describes in The Calculus of Consent. Pirates’ constitutional democracy is the “holy grail” of social contract theory. It demonstrates that the contractarian basis of constitutional democracy is more than a mere analytic device or hypothetical explanation of how such a government could emerge. In pirates’ case, Buchanan and Tullock’s social contract theory describes how constitutional democracy actually did emerge.     

Reframing privatisation: Deconstructing the myth of efficiency

In the context of ongoing scandals about public versus private ownership, we review the rise and fall of British nationalised industries, and the subsequent rise of privatisation based on perception of market-based efficiency as a means of improving public service. We evaluate the theoretical and empirical arguments around privatisation and find that the argument of privatisation as a vehicle for efficiency gains is a myth. Instead, we suggest that efficiency is not solely a matter of ownership, but requires a complex interplay of social and commercial variables to make it possible. We call for a more inventive and flexible approach in the search for efficiency in the public sector.     

The myth of German hegemony in the euro area revisited

Abstract

This paper contributes to the scholarly debate on hegemony and leadership in international relations and elaborates on an analytical framework to assess the nature, scope, functions and causal mechanisms of hegemonic and non-hegemonic leadership in general terms. Based on this framework, it takes issue with the interpretation of Germany’s role during the euro area crisis as being a hegemonic one. Discussing the concepts of hegemony, leadership and dominance, it argues that Germany proved dominant during the euro area crisis on selected issues, mainly using its veto power. On other issues, Berlin provided non-hegemonic leadership, more often than not asymmetric co-leadership shared with France. It did not play the role of a hegemon, however, lacking the resources and being unable to shape decisively the economic constitution of the euro area along the lines of its core preferences.     

The myth of a “Stolen Legacy”

She is writing a book titled Mythistory: The Deconstruction of Ancient Greece.     

The myth of social capital in community development

Abstract

This article argues that contemporary interest in social capital by community development theorists, funders, and practitioners is misguided and needs to be thoroughly rethought. It argues that social capital, as understood by Robert Putnam and people influenced by his work, is a fundamentally flawed concept because it fails to understand issues of power in the production of communities and because it is divorced from economic capital. Therefore, community development practice based on this understanding of social capital is, and will continue to be, similarly flawed.

The article further argues that instead of Putnam's understanding of social capital, community development practice would be better served by returning to the way the concept was used by Glenn Loury and Pierre Bourdieu and concludes with a discussion of how these alternative theories of social capital can be realized in community development practice.     

The myth of recovered innocence in US intelligence history

David E. Murphy, Sergei A. Kondrashev and George Bailey, Battleground Berlin: CIA vs KGB in the Cold War (New Haven, Conn. and London: Yale University Press, 1997). Pp. 530, index. £19.95. ISBN 0–300–07233–3.

James G. Blight and Peter Kornbluh (eds.) Politics of Illusion: The Bay of Pigs Invasion Reexamined (Boulder, Colo, and London: Lynne Rienner, 1998). Pp. 284, index. £35.95. ISBN 1–55587–783–4.     

Telling tales: the construction of nature and Alpine myth in text and image in eighteenth-century Zurich

This article examines the significance of nature for two male societies in Zurich during the eighteenth century. By focussing on Salomon Gessner and Johann Caspar Füssli, the father of Anglo-Swiss artist Henry Fuseli, it explores the synthesis of classicist and romanticist forms of nature in their works. I show how their constructions of nature help shape early forms of Swiss national identity as part of the campaign of resistance against Napoleonic invasion. By doing so, I demonstrate how nature as sign in both text and image shifts from a male pursuit formed out of opposition to authority, to nature as signifier of Swiss resistance at national level. This resistance is epitomised by the Alpine figure Wilhelm Tell.     

Comparative nationalism: the Basques in Spain and France

Abstract. Little research on peripheral nationalism goes beyond the case study approach. Comparative studies provide greater understanding of national self-identification by comparing different ethnic groups, yet encounter difficulties in rigorously delineating specific non-group causal factors. This study adds to our insights into peripheral nationalism by comparing self-identification within the same group but in two different political systems. Study of the Basques in both Spain and France permits a comparison of the same group, thus imposing an analytical control on ethnicity, under two different sets of state policy directions. Utilizing survey data, this investigation found sharp differences in national self-identification in the Basques in Spain and France. The argument is advanced that, even when other explanatory factors are considered, this difference in Basque identification should be understood in light of the different policy stances taken over time by the central governments in Paris and Madrid toward their respective Basque minorities. While initially counter-intuitive, it is suggested that toleration and non-repressive policies toward such minorities may actually serve in the long term to decrease peripheral national identification.     

Recent problems of the historic centres in Spain

In the last thirty years, historic centres that were considered as impoverished urban structures that ought to be replaced are now viewed as crucial enclaves of urban identity that ought to be protected. The singularity of the old city increases its importance in our global world. The value of the city as a living cultural legacy, with all its embedded symbolism, is thus recognised. We can find some problems within these spaces, as for example, depopulation and dwelling price increase with their consequences： degradation in some parts and revaluation in others, especially in those with progressive increase in the service economy.     

谈我国少数民族日月关系神话的类型及文化意蕴

世界上几乎每一个民族都有日月神话,而我国少数民族的日月关系神话更是绚烂多彩,在研究日月关系神话的过程中,我们发现日月间的关系是很亲密的,呈现出多种关系,并折射出深厚的文化意蕴,它对我们考察和探究我国古代产生此类神话的民族的社会形态和精神状态具有参考价值。