Notes toward a nomad subjectivity: The poetics of Gu Cheng (1956–1993)

In this paper, Deleuze and Guattari's notions of desiring‐production and nomad subjectivity are applied to the work of the contemporary People's Republic of China poet Gu Cheng, a writer who attempted to formulate an ‘aimless’ self engaged in endless becoming. In addition, the concept of ‘Mao style’ proposed by Li Tuo is discussed with regard to Mao Zedong's Talks at the Yan'an Conference on Art Literature in order to demonstrate the repressive nature of the dominant discourse in China after 1949, and to show that its essential purpose was to trap individual desiring‐production within the restricted scope sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party. The features of Gu Cheng's evolving model of subjectivity are discussed and evaluated in terms of their resistance to the effects of Mao style. Finally, there is a brief discussion of the reasons for Gu Cheng's failure to arrive at a positive conception of nomad subjectivity.     

Moving out of poverty: Expanding mobility and choice through tenant‐based housing assistance

Abstract

Historically, federal housing policy has contributed to the concentration of poverty in urban America. Moving out of poverty is not the right answer for every low‐income family, but tenant‐based housing assistance (Section 8 certificates and vouchers) has tremendous potential to help families move to healthier neighborhoods. This article explores the role of tenant‐based housing assistance in addressing the problem of concentrated inner‐city poverty.

The Section 8 program by itself does not ensure access to low‐poverty neighborhoods, particularly for minority families. Supplementing certificates and vouchers with housing counseling and search assistance can improve their performance; a growing number of assisted housing mobility initiatives are now in place across the country. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) should continue to fund these initiatives and increase their number over time. HUD should also strengthen incentives for all housing authorities to improve locational outcomes in their Section 8 programs.     

Citizenship as a weapon

The focus of this article is on citizenship in its juridical sense. Other theorists, especially communitarians and civic republicans, have attempted to expand the idea of citizenship to include a social/political sense; they advocate expanding citizenship beyond its juridical confines to include civic participation as one of the hallmarks of citizenship. A new stage of expansion has begun; it is represented by those who want to make citizenship more multiple and flexible, to see citizenship in a more ethical/normative sense. These expansionist approaches do not jettison the juridical sense of citizenship. In fact, they build upon it. Therefore, these conceptions of citizenship become problematic to the extent that the juridical building block becomes problematic. Thus, the first task is to problematize this juridical sense of citizenship. This article explores a different critical path than the ones typically taken. It pushes the envelope by thinking about citizenship as a weapon. While more exposés of administrative and political abuses involving citizenship claims and issues are needed, this analysis unearths deeper, more fundamental problems with the concept of citizenship. Minimally, it pushes the debate beyond how inclusive or expansive citizenship should be made. It calls for a radical reappraisal of citizenship by recognizing citizenship as a weapon.     

The Defining Elements of Advocacy Coalitions: Continuing the Search for Explanations for Coordination and Coalition Structures

As the theoretical and practical interest in policy networks increases, so does the need for further research into how, and based on what rationales, actors within a policy subsystem engage in interorganizational collective action and form political coalitions. The aim of this paper is to continue the search for explanations for coordination and coalition structures in the setting of Swedish carnivore policy. Based on the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) and a previous case study within the same policy subsystem, the study investigates a set of hypotheses regarding actors' coordinating behavior and the defining elements of coalitions. The empirical analysis indicates, in support of the ACF, that perceived belief correspondence is a better predictor of coordination than perceived influence. Moreover, the explanatory power of empirical policy core beliefs in general, and normative policy core beliefs in particular, is further reinforced, while deep core beliefs seemingly do not influence coalition structure. The relevance of more shallow beliefs for coalition formation cannot be dismissed and therefore calls for additional research.     

The Persistence of Social Differentiation in the Philippine Uplands

Certain drivers of social and economic differences facilitate the reification of ethnic identity between so-called uplanders and lowlanders on Palawan Island in the Philippines. Drawing on case studies, in this paper we examine how two seemingly distinct social groups – Christian migrants and indigenous Tagbanua – use their respective positions in society to mark differences in ethnic identity and livelihoods. We then argue that as non-governmental organisations build on notions of indigeneity as a means to facilitate their programmes, they further reinforce how each group articulates difference. We demonstrate that the tendency of NGOs to construct and reify notions of indigeneity in support of land claims and conservation has in fact polarised ethnic differences and, in turn, reinforced inequality between each group. We conclude that although non-governmental organisations have tried to remedy social and economic disparities between social groups, their simplification of local ways of life reinforces stereotypes of these people and their land uses.     

Information Exchange,Headquarters Economy and Financial Centers Development: Shanghai,Beijing and Hong Kong

Over the past several years, China has consistently maintained economic growth and at the same time emerged as a new global giant in the international arena, despite the distractions caused by the global financial crisis, which was triggered by the US Sub-prime Mortgage Crisis of 2007 and the recent bond crisis that emerged in the European Union in 2011. Concurrent with China's growing interaction with the global economy and robust growth of its domestic economy, competition for the status of national and even international financial centers in the region has become fierce. This study focuses on a ‘local’ examination of internal conditions for the emergence and growth of Chinese financial centers over the next 10–20 years. Cities contending for the top slot in the roster of Chinese cities, like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, are striving to become international financial centers and are trying to compete with Hong Kong. This study investigates the development potentials, future prospects and division of functions between different financial centers within China regarding Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, with special reference to the role of information and locations of MNCs' regional headquarters.     

Sailing with Northern Winds: Party Politics and Federal Reforms in Italy

Territorial reforms have been on the political agenda in Italy for the last two decades, becoming a stable issue of party competition. The breakthrough of Lega Nord (LN) in the party system has represented the main driver for federal reforms. The article argues that the bipolar and majoritarian institutional environment of the Second Republic has compelled the main state-wide parties to adopt an electoral logic that led them to accommodate the LN’s claims. However, the ideological orientations and the territorial interests of centre-left coalition proved more compatible with this accommodative strategy than those of the centre-right coalition. The majoritarian and adversarial style of government–opposition relations has made compromise on territorial reforms difficult, contributing to their rising salience in party competition.     

MI(R), G(R) and British covert operations, 1939–42

The Military Intelligence (Research) department of the British War Office was tasked in 1940 with encouraging and supporting armed resistance in occupied Europe and the Axis-controlled Middle East. The major contention of this paper is that, in doing so, MI(R) performed a key role in British strategy in 1940–42 and in the development of what are now known as covert operations. MI(R) developed an organic, but coherent doctrine for such activity which was influential upon the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and its own sub-branch, G(R), which applied this doctrine in practice in East Africa and the Middle East in 1940–41. It was also here that a number of key figures in the development of covert operations and special forces first cut their teeth, the most notable being Major Generals Colin Gubbins and Orde Wingate.