Charismatic women in religion. Power,media and social change

ABSTRACT

‘Charisma’ can be a catch-all term that obfuscates more than it reveals. What it does reveal often says more about the historical and cultural context in which ‘charisma’ was deployed than about its subject. In this introduction we trace the concept’s contextual shifts across its intersections with gender, religion and power. We explore the different ways in which women in the religious sphere have been considered charismatic, thereby addressing Max Weber’s definition of ‘charisma’ as well as its subsequent reinventions in the social sciences and the humanities. Particular focus goes to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when the mediatization of ‘charisma’ created new opportunities and risks for women in religion.     

Interpreting perimortem blast trauma from skeletal remains: Complications and considerations

Blast trauma results from highly variable events that can lead to similar effects in the skeleton. Clinical literature, which largely focuses on soft tissue, provides limited efficacy for interpreting fully skeletonized cases. Interpretation of skeletal blast trauma is hampered by the low number of fully skeletonized case studies and experimental replication studies, which mainly use nonhuman proxies. The purpose of this study is to discuss fracture patterns on two individuals from WWII as a means to better understand and identify fracture patterns associated with blast trauma. Existing clinical and anthropological criteria are reviewed and applied to two World War II cases, both presumed to exhibit blast trauma based on historical contexts. These case studies exhibit combinations of complicated and extensive signs of blunt-force and projectile trauma, reflecting the diversity of skeletal trauma resulting from blast-related events. This analysis emphasizes the arguably impossible task of establishing a diagnosis based on the available literature and lack of prior knowledge about specific losses. Ultimately, analysts must consider the totality of skeletal trauma, combining biomechanical theory and relevant clinical and anthropological literature to arrive at useful yet defensible assessments of trauma. However, refined criteria and additional studies are needed to assess complicated trauma from blast-related events in anthropological contexts.     

Crop sales,shortages and peasant portfolio behaviour: An analysis of Angola

The article focuses on the influence of economic factors on sales of agricultural products in Angola. Between the early 1970s and the mid‐1980s the volume of sales declined by around 90 per cent, while during the late 1980s there was a significant recovery. This was partly due to non‐economic factors such as war and drought. However, the rural economy also experienced extraordinary regulatory changes which led to a severe shortage of consumer goods. The theory of peasant supply response in a rationed economy therefore provides a starting point for the analysis and is further extended to incorporate features particular to Angola.     

Gendering moral capital: Morality as a political asset and strategy of top female politicians in Asia

Abstract

In contrast to social capital, moral capital remains an under-researched topic in political science. In Asia, however, moral capital is one of the core assets of women politicians on their way to power. Kane defines moral capital as a specific political value of virtue that inclines others, in particular the political public and followers, to bestow (ethical) prestige, respect, loyalty, and authority on a political actor or the representative of an institution that the actor herself/himself can use as a resource to mobilize for political goals, activities, or support. This article addresses two questions. First, in which circumstances does moral capital become a significant asset for women on the rise to the top echelons of political power in Asia? Second, how do women politicians use moral capital as a political strategy, campaign instrument, and/or asset of public imaging? The authors discuss four case studies of female opposition politicians — Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi, Malaysia's Wan Azizah, South Korea's Park Geun-hye, and Japan's Tanaka Makiko — in three types of political systems: democratic, semi-authoritarian, and authoritarian. All four women are descendants of political dynasties and each of them used moral capital to reach top political offices in their countries. But significant differences emerge regarding the importance of moral capital as a prime asset in the development of each of their political careers. These differences originate from (a) the power configurations in the political context in which each woman operates, and (b) the legacies of their fathers or husbands.     

Alcohol-related crime among college students: a review of research and fruitful areas for future work

College and alcohol are a potent mix. This paper reviews what is known and unknown about college students’ involvement in alcohol-related crime as both offenders and victims. There are three types of alcohol-related crime: psychopharmacological; economic compulsive; and systemic. Research on college students, however, has focused entirely on the first type. Why are the latter two types untouched in the literature? After reviewing research on alcohol-involved psychopharmacological crime among college students, we address this question by drawing on Lewis & Lewis’ taxonomy of ‘negative evidence.’ We outline and assess reasons for the dearth of information on these topics, and draw on these explanations to suggest fruitful areas for future research.     

The Chinese problem as seen by the WEU

Europe has been the privileged economic and political partner of Africa, but more recently China has increased its foothold in Africa through important financial investments and trade agreements. Against this backdrop, the empirical research conducted in 2007-08 in Kenya and South Africa as part of a pioneering international project investigates the perceptions of public opinion, political leaders, civil society activists and media operators. While confirming their continent's traditional proximity to Europe, African citizens are increasingly interested in China and its impact on Africa's development. Europe is criticised for not having been able to dismiss the traditionally ‘patronising’ attitude towards Africa. While African civil society leaders and media operators describe China as an opportunity for Africa to break free of its historical dependence on European markets, other opinion leaders warn against too much enthusiasm for the Asian giant. There is a suspicion that the Chinese strategy might, in the long run, turn into a new form of economic patronage.     

Book reviews

Toward a Global Civil Society edited by M. Walzer. Providence, RI and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 1995. Pp.341. £31. ISBN 1 57181 05 4

Politics UK by Bill Jones, Andrew Gray, Dennis Kavanagh, Michael Moran, Philip Norton and Anthony Seldon. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall, 1998 (3rd edn). £16.50 (paperback). Pp.xiv + 571; index. ISBN 0132696061

Athens on Trial: The Antidemocratic Tradition in Western Thought by Jennifer Tolbert Roberts. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994. Pp.426. £38 (hardback); £13.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 691 05697 8 and 02919 9

The Rise and Fall of State Socialism: Industrial Society and the Socialist State by David Lane. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1996. Pp.viii + 233; index. £45 (hardback); £12.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 74560 742 X and 743 8

Government and Politics in Africa by William Tordoff. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997. Pp.xxii + 326; notes and references; index. £45 (hardback); £14.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 333 69473 2 and 69474 0

Democracy in Zambia: Challenges for the Third Republic edited by Owen Sichone and Bornwell C. Chikulo. Harare: SAPES Books, 1996. Pp.237; index. NP (paperback). ISBN 1 77905 047 X

Mapping the Women's Movement edited by Monica Threlfall. London: Verso/New Left Review, 1996. Pp.vii + 312; index. £44.95 (hardback); £13.95 (paperback). ISBN 1 85984 984 9 and 120 1

Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy by Robert Putnam. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1993. Pp.xiii + 258. £11.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 691037388

Culture and Politics by Oliver H. Woshinsky. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995. Pp.xv + 205; index. £15. ISBNO 13 311366 3

Political Ideas in Modern Britain by Rodney Barker. London: Routledge, 1997 (2nd edn). Pp.352; index; bibliography. £45 (hardback); £14.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 415 161665 and 07121 6