After post-development

Along with ‘anti-development’ and ‘beyond development’, post-development is a radical reaction to the dilemmas of development. Post-development focuses on the underlying premises and motives of development; what sets it apart from other critical approaches is that it rejects development. The question is whether this is a tenable and fruitful position. Taken up first in this article are major overt positions of post-development—the problematisation of poverty, the portrayal of development as Westernisation, and the critique of modernism and science. The argument then turns to discourse analysis of development; it is argued that, in post-development, discourse analysis from a methodology turns into an ideology. Next the difference between alternative development and ‘alternatives to development’ is examined. The reasons why this difference is made out to be so large are, in my interpretation, anti-managerialism and dichotomic thinking. The article closes with a discussion of the politics of post-development and a critical assessment.     

Self-Determination After Kosovo

This article discusses the meaning of self-determination in its historical and contemporary contexts and examines the different options available for the accommodation of contested self-determination claims. Among these, the creation of a new state, arguably, is the most radical of options and one that has significant regional and global implications beyond the territory to which it is applied. Detailing these implications in relation to the case of Kosovo, we make a broader argument that, even if secession is one mechanism to resolve self-determination disputes, this does not do away with the need to continue exploring settlements short of secession as alternatives to changing established international boundaries.     

America After Utopia

The French social critic and lapsed sociologist Jean Baudrillard, who died in 2007, is author of the highly acclaimed America and Cool Memories . One of the more poignant observers of America since his compatriot Alexis de Tocqueville roamed these lands, Baudrillard's insights, in the manner of the parochial universalism of Parisian post-Marxist intellectuals, dazzle some-where between the brilliant and impenetrable. Back in 1990, I sat down with him in the haute tacky Royal Palace motel in Los Angeles, which Baudrillard claimed was his favorite city. For him, LA was the closest thing to a center in this heterogeneous, ex-centric world.     

The Arab Spring After Osama

Just as the Arab Spring blossomed, the al‐Qaeda‐led era of terrorism came to an end with the killing of Osama Bin Laden in his Pakistani lair by American special forces. We asked two of the most contentious experts on all things Islamic—Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Tariq Ramadan—to assess the meaning of these historic moments on the future. Amr Moussa, the leading candidate for Egypt's presidency, and Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister, also offer their views. Two top former intelligence agents from MI6 and the CIA look at the next turn of events—the Saudi counter‐revolution.     

Peasant flood in China: internal migration and its policy determinants

A survey was undertaken by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1986 to explore the composition and patterns of rural population movements. 230 villages were selected from 84 townships in 59 counties scattered across 11 regions. Because of incomplete information, only data for 222 villages were used. Population flows were classified into: 1) intramigration or intraflow within the boundaries of their own townships; 2) out-migration, emigration, or outflow involving those who left the townships; and 3) in-migration, immigration, or inflow that affected those who moved into the 222 villages from outside. Age, sex, education, postmigration occupation, and duration of stay details were obtained for every migrant. Some 43,223 persons were involved in intraflows and 26,993 emigrated from the surveyed townships in 1986. The volume of internal migration in China seemed to be related to the distance between the origins and destinations of migrants. Among 70,216 migrants, about 74% were males and only 26% were females. Over 57.38% of the migrants from 222 villages shifted into industrial (34.31%) and construction (23.07%) activities. The service sector (food providers, stall holders, door-to-door retailers, barbers, and small shops) attracted 9.73%. Only 565 were engaged in cropping and 1614 in forestry, animal husbandry, sideline production, and fishery. As to age groups, 1688 (2.4%) were aged 17 years or under, 61,530 (88%) were aged 18-45, and 6999 (9.9%) were 46 years old or older. In 1986 seasonal migrants accounted for some 80% of all emigrants from the surveyed villages. Education did not play a significant role in promoting migration in the mid-1980s. 39% of the labor force had received primary education and the same percentage of out-migrants had acquired primary school education. The younger the age group, the more of them tended to move away from home: for those aged 17 or under if 100 persons migrated within the township, 113 moved out of town. A nationwide network should be established to provide information for migrants regarding their rights and obligations, job prospects, and cultural differences.     

Working with Caribbean Immigrants After the World Trade Center Tragedy

SUMMARY

Caribbean immigrants were among those transfixed by the destruction and human suffering caused by the World Trade Center tragedy. An emergent cliché is that life will never be the same after September 11th. This study explores the issues that impact the health and well-being of English-speaking Caribbean immigrants and challenges social workers to reassess their intervention with immigrant populations in the Post 9/11 era.