Populism,ontological insecurity and Hindutva: Modi and the masculinization of Indian politics

Abstract

In an era increasingly defined by insecurity and populist politics, India has emerged as a forceful ontological security provider under the leadership of Marendra Modi. If ontological security is about finding a safe (imagined) haven, then ontological insecurity is about the lack of such a space in narrative terms. Drawing on Lacanian understandings of ‘the imaginary’ as something that can fill and naturalize this lack of space, the article is concerned with how memories, places and symbols of narrative identity constructions are used in populist discourse. More specifically, it attempts to understand the relationship between ontological insecurity and the imaginaries of populist politics in India. In so doing, it argues that the re-invention of ‘nationhood’, ‘religion’ and ‘Hindu masculinity’ along gendered lines has created a foundation for governing practices aimed at ‘healing’ a number of ontological insecurities manifest in Indian society. It specifically looks at how the Modi doctrine has formulated and expanded its foreign policy discourse into one that privileges populist narratives of nativism, nationalism and religion as forms of ontological security provision at home and abroad, but also how everyday practices can challenge such narratives, thus allowing different imaginaries of the Indian state.     

Understanding Modi and minorities: The BJP-led NDA government in India and religious minorities

In the May 2014 general elections in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the majority party. The BJP has formed a coalition with regional parties (the National Democratic Alliance), but many view the event as a “critical election,” presaging the realignment of Indian politics along Hindu nationalist values. This article reviews the approaches used to understand the BJP-led NDA government’s policies toward religious minorities and argues that far from marking a radical departure, there are more continuities than discontinuities in these policies with previous administrations.     

梵——美，印度教美学的核心范畴

印度教美学的最高范畴就是梵,本文主要讨论了梵在印度教美学中的主要意义,其中包括梵的无限性、梵的显与不可显以及梵之和谐美等几个主要方面。     

移民的印度教认同及其对印度政治的影响——以在美国的印度教徒移民为例

随着印度国内印度教民族主义运动的兴起及向海外的扩散,海外印度移民逐渐重视印度教认同的建构。美国的印度移民通过坚持印度教徒的生活方式、参加印度教民族主义背景的组织和建立印度教网络空间实现印度教认同。移民的印度教认同不仅影响了印度的海外印度人政策,也影响了印度国内选举和地方政治势力。     

Dissolving the difference between humanitarianism and development: The mixing of a rights-based solution

The conventional (but false) dichotomy between humanitarianism and development, hitherto grounded in the perceived differences between international humanitarian law and international human rights law, respectively, is not merely unhelpful in practical terms but also serves to diminish our understanding of the shared issues underlying the two discourses. There are welcome signs, however, of a growing recognition that all development and relief work is essentially rights-based, and of efforts to integrate thinking and practice under one common set of principles.     

国际金融中心:上海与莫斯科的博弈

基于对世界金融体系、区域金融布局、本国经济金融发展和政治影响力等方面的考虑,中俄两国相继提出要建立国际金融中心。通过对两国经济、金融、政策、基础设施和人才等多方面的现状比较可以发现,上海相对于莫斯科在建设国际金融中心的综合优势更加明显。但作为战略目标相近、地理位置相邻的两个大国,在未来两国建设国际金融中心的过程中,对于战略空间、金融资源、金融创新和货币领域的竞争将不可避免。因此,建议在竞争的同时,还要加强政策、资本市场、货币领域的合作,力争实现错位发展。     

The birth of ANZUS: America's attempt to create a defense linkage between Northeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific

This article discusses the ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand andthe United States) security treaty negotiations, with specialemphasis on the 1951 Canberra talks, and examines why the USentered into a formal security alliance with Australia and NewZealand. It argues that the US concluded the security treatywith Australia and New Zealand in order to obtain their politicalsupport for a proposed American peace treaty with Japan, whichwould allow unconditional revitalization of Japanese militarypower. It is also the argument of this article that the US createdANZUS as a means of consolidating its own strategic positionin Northeast Asia by committing Australia and New Zealand tothe defense of US bases and forces stationed on the Japaneseislands.     

Contradictions between economic liberalization and democratization: The case of South Korea

This article examines the relationships between economic liberalization and democratization in South Korea. The two processes are often correlated, but in Korea liberalization has been problematic for democratization. Domestic liberalization initially expanded space for labour organizations, but after they appeared to become too active, the process was so managed as to block political activity. This also resulted from pressures brought on by international liberalization, which made competitive wage costs increasingly important and raised the prospect of disinvestment by Korean and foreign firms. Liberalization has not reduced the power of business (the chaebol). Deregulation and privatization have encouraged a transfer of public economic power to the private sector. The increased political role of business is not necessarily beneficial, and the chaebol's economic power represents a threat to democratization in a variety of ways. In previous decades state power rested on economic controls; and the main impetus for democratization has come from the expansion of civil society through economic development, rather than from economic liberalization. State intervention in the economy may continue to be required to protect the position of certain civil society groups and to control business power, but domestic and international liberalization have challenged both of these functions and may increasingly curtail them in the future. Thus, close examination of the specifics of liberalization in South Korea show no automatic positive correlation can be made between economic and political reform without risking either reductionism or reification.     

越南与印度关系:制衡外交的一个范例

越南和印度长期以来一直保持着亲密、友好的关系,并将这种良好的双边关系视为传统友好关系。越南革新开放以来,越印关系又有新的发展,最终演进到战略伙伴关系。根本原因是两国在外交战略的选择上有共同的需求:都希望借重对方的力量来达到制衡大国的目的。笔者认为,越印关系就是一种有实用目的的制衡外交的一个范例。     

The GATS and internet-based services: between market access and domestic regulation

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) has attracted much attention in public and academic debate. The aim of this article is to analyse the application of the GATS to internet-based services, thus providing a lens through which important issues concerning the GATS can be highlighted. This article reviews the far-reaching implications of the recent US—Gambling dispute for the regulation of (internet-based) services. It argues that World Trade Organization Members need to make a greater effort to delineate the key GATS obligations (market access, national treatment, and disciplines on domestic regulation) in order to provide national law- and policy-makers and trade negotiators with more legal certainty and predictability in the application of the GATS.     

明至清中期中国与西属美洲丝银贸易的演变及其影响因素

明至清中期以马尼拉为转运中心的中国与西属美洲的丝银贸易经历了兴盛、危机、复兴与衰败几个时期.西班牙占领马尼拉后,以中国生丝和丝织品为代表的商品物美价廉,迅速占领了美洲市场,中国与西属美洲的贸易进入兴盛期.明末清初的动荡造成了中国生丝生产的下降,贸易停滞,也使中国与西属美洲的贸易陷入危机.清朝开海以后,与西属美洲的贸易重新恢复,但此时也遇到了来自其他国家的竞争.随着英国工业革命大幅度提高了劳动生产率,以及大量美洲白银流入中国,中国商品的价格优势不复存在,中国与西属美洲贸易也因此彻底衰落.     

中柬“特殊关系”的形成(1954-1965)

1954年日内瓦会议以后的10年是中国和柬埔寨关系发展的重要时期。在这一时期中,两国关系经历了一个从彼此缺乏了解到在国际事务中密切合作的过程。在冷战时期,中国领导人视美国为对中国革命和中国国家安全的主要威胁,因此,他们对外政策的一个主要目标就是要打破美国对中国的孤立和封锁。为了反对和削弱美国这个主要敌人,中国领导人在外交领域中运用统一战线策略,分化对手并争取中立势力。就柬埔寨而言,中国领导人的主要考虑就是如何赢得西哈努克对中国的好感,争取他的合作,防止柬埔寨加入美国组织的反华包围圈。此外,中国领导人也希望通过柬埔寨来扩大中国在亚非中立国家中的影响。     

能源与环境:智利与中国合作模式探索研讨会综述

2009年10月14日,智利驻华使馆和中国社科院拉美所主办的能源与环境:智利与中国合作模式探索研讨会在拉美所举行.智利驻华大使费尔南多·雷耶斯·马塔出席了研讨会.拉美所副所长宋晓平研究员主持了研讨会.     

占婆与马来世界的历史文化关系——兼评《占婆与马来世界的文化交流》一书

本文主要从宏观的视角论述占婆与马来世界的历史文化关系,并简要评述《占婆与马来世界的文化交流》一书。     

Market Rules: The Incidental Relationship between Democratic Compatibility and International Commerce

Democracies trade more with other democracies than they trade with closed political systems, but why they do so is unclear. We present a "gravity equation" that disentangles foreign policy from country-specific influences on trade by adding explanatory variables to control for traits of both the mass public and the domestic political system. We apply the resulting model to a data set covering 50 years (1948–1997) and 72 countries. The estimated effect of joint democracy, which appears in the absence of the country-specific variables, drops out when these control variables are added to eliminate omitted variable bias. Democracies do not trade together any more than they would incidentally given the usual social, economic, and political influences on commercial activity, calling into question explanations for their mutual trade activity that rely on foreign-policy favoritism or institutional compatibility.     

试析近年来印度尼西亚与马来西亚的关系

一、近年来印尼与马来西亚关系的特点 建构主义学派在分析国家行为和国家间关系时，特别强调国家的身份认同，认为一个国家对自己身份的定位决定着该国家的对外行为。而一个国家如何定位自己的身份，不是一成不变的，而是不断变化的，这种变化来源于国家的学习（和反思）。此外，国际间关系也不是一成不变的，而是随时都在变化的，而促成这种变化的就是国家间的互动，这种互动过程就是一种学习过程。     

WTO与政府之间的关系

中国正式成为世贸组织成员 ,既标志着我国进入了一个全方位、多层次、宽领域的对外开放新阶段 ,也是当前各级政府所共同面临的十分重要而又十分现实的重大理论问题。为此 ,各级政府必须按照WTO规则的要求 ,顺利实现职能转变和政府转型 ,推进贸易自由化 ,参与国际分工 ,加强立法工作 ,调整与WTO不相适应的法律 ,使之尽快与国际惯例接轨 ,组建WTO事务咨询机构 ,学习WTO向有关知识 ,研究WTO运作规律 ,以适应新形势的要求。     

印巴全面对话任重道远

印巴全面对话在反复和曲折中延续,并且取得了一些成果。在克什米尔问题上两国积极的互动,又给人们一线新的希望。但是,前进的道路不会平坦,速度不会很快;印巴关系可能继续缓和,两国之间的重大争议,特别是克什米尔争端则较难在短时间内彻底解决。