Australia

European Journal of Political Research -     

The history of African history

Historians and Africanist History: A Critique — Post‐Colonial Historiography Examined by Arnold Temu and Bonaventure Swai Zed Press, London, 1981. xiv plus 187 pp. including bibliography and index. R20, 75 paperback.     

Talking up China: An analysis of China’s rising cultural power and global promotion of the Chinese language

This essay focuses on the remarkable rise of China from a veritable hermit state in the 1960s to a cultural lodestone in the early 21st century. We explore the country's growing cultural power and the implications of the PRC's increasing promotion of the Chinese language as a global idiom. Our findings suggest that while China faces significant internal and external barriers to fully achieving its potential as a global cultural power, recent efforts by Beijing to promote the Chinese language and Mandarin's increasing utility as a lingua franca for trade have significantly increased the resonance of Chinese culture abroad, especially in the Pacific rim. With this increase in cultural influence beyond its borders, we argue that China's “soft power” is also in ascendancy.     

Speaking about sexual abuse in British South Asian communities: offenders,victims and the challenges of shame and reintegration

Abstract

Cultural dynamics have a significant impact on how sexual matters, including sexual abuse, are discussed in British South Asian communities. The ways in which these communities talk about sexual violence often reinforce patriarchal norms and values, especially those concerned with honour and shame. As a result, victims are either silenced or the blame for the sexual violence they have suffered is laid at their own feet. Addressing the fact that these problems are rooted in patriarchal norms and values is key to understanding how to tackle sexual offending effectively in such communities. Both retributive and restorative justice are necessary in responding to sex crimes; retributive approaches help to recognise victims’ suffering, while restorative approaches offer promising avenues for encouraging victims and offenders alike to speak about their experiences. Both approaches are essential components to reintegrating victims and offenders into their communities.