Gefängnis und Gesellschaft

Im Mittelpunkt des Aufsatzes steht die These einer Kongruenz von Normen, kollektiven Repr?sentationen und Verhaltensorientierungen in sowjetischen und postsowjetischen Haftanstalten („kleine Gesellschaft“) und wichtigen Teilbereichen der russischen Gesellschaft („gro?e Gesellschaft“), wobei der Autor seine Argumentation im Wesentlichen als „institutions-as-norms approach“ entwickelt. Zur Untermauerung der These von der institutionellen Kongruenz von Gef?ngniskultur und „Gef?ngnissubkultur“ in der Gesellschaft, hier vor allem in der Wirtschaft, werden Ph?nomene der fehlenden oder mangelnden Differenzierung von T?tigkeitssph?ren, der Personifizierung sozialer Beziehungen, eines Normendualismus und der unvollst?ndigen staatlichen Gewaltkontrolle herangezogen und analysiert. Dieser These zufolge ist die partikularistische Teilungslogik in „Unsrige“ und „Fremde“ der zentrale Inklusions-Exklusions-Mechanismus, der Gef?ngnis und Gesellschaft in Russland sozial strukturiert. Die zitierten Interviewsegmente entstammen empirischen Untersuchungen, die Ende der 1990er Jahre erfolgten.     

The body as a form of representation

This article explores some discursive constructions of slums and the narrative foundations that sustain them. In such discourses, the distancing function of language demarcates a slum-line that defines and creates a “natural” separation between slums and the rest of urban populations to the extent that some see that the modern concept of slum opens an urban dimension of Orientalism. Slum discourses generate narratives that, after repeated exposure, accrue to become history, culture and knowledge. Drawing from Bruner's work on narrative accrual, this article studies how slum-narratives accrue according to specific agendas that determine lines of socio-political action on slum-dwellers.     

Juvenile sex offenders: a group on its own?

There is some debate about whether sex offenders are similar to non-sex offenders. It is known that sex and non-sex offenders are heterogeneous groups. Comparative studies must take this heterogeneity into account. Based on an aggregated database, a study was conducted among adjudicated juvenile (sex) offenders. The sample consisted of juvenile male sex and non-sex offenders who had been subjected to a psychological assessment at the request of the judge or district attorney. The central question focused on the differences between juvenile sex offenders, in particular rapists and sexual assaulters (n = 57), child molesters (n = 55), and non-sex offenders: violent (n = 85) and nonviolent offenders (n = 80). The results demonstrated that sex offenders differ from non-sex offenders with regard to demographic characteristics, problem behavior, and personality traits. Some reference is made regarding future research.     

Welfare-State Expansion and Conflicts in the Nordic Countries: The Case of Occupational Health Care

The development of occupational health Services in the Nordic countries varied considerably in terms of coverage, content and conflicts during the period 1980–90. The focus is on differences in conflicts resulting from state intervention into the sphere of private employers analysed from three perspectives: policy ambitions, institutional arrangements and employer reaction. The main finding is that the high level of conflict in Norway is related to higher state ambitions, more fragmented institutions and more direct economic costs to the employers than those found in the other Nordic countries. The higher policy ambitions and resulting adversary processes in providing occupational health Services seem to be fundamentally rooted in specific egalitarian values inherent in the Norwegian welfare state in general and the trade union movement in particular.     

Re-enacting “Cossack roots:” embodiment of memory,history, and tradition among young people in southern Russia

This article draws upon ethnographic research which was conducted among young Cossacks (members of officially registered and informal Cossack clubs) in southern Russia. It presents young people’s participation in the Cossack “nativism” as a physical and material mode of socialization into the mnemonic community. The research puts forward an argument that such corporal and sensorial experiences is effective in recruiting some young members to the Cossack movement. At the same time, the performative character of neo-Cossack identity destabilizes contemporary Cossacks’ claims of authenticity related to the status of the legitimate heirs of historical Cossackdom. At the more general level of discussion this paper juxtaposes bodily activities, social memory, and revivalist discourses.     

Ethnic Discrimination and the Discourse of “Indigenization”: The Regional Regime, “Indigenous Majority” and Ethnic Minorities in Krasnodar Krai in Russia

King Alexander's dictatorship in Yugoslavia (proclaimed in January 1929) was an expression of a real political need for consolidation in the country; however, in essence, it was an autocratic and repressive regime. More decisive moves toward a return of democracy did not occur, even later, after the replacement of his regime in June 1935. The political methods in the internal political life followed the pattern from the first half of the 1930s to the very eve of World War II. Such a situation also defined the relationship between the Slovenes and Yugoslavia. Slovene politics continued to look at the state from two angles – a unitary/centralist angle on the one hand and an autonomist/federalist angle on the other. Both camps (as well as other Yugoslav political players), however, failed to create an environment that would enable truly democratic compromises. The state was stuck at a “standstill,” but in spite of all its flaws, in the view of the Slovene political groups it represented the most suitable environment for the political and national life of Slovenes. Any serious political calculations that would go beyond this framework hardly existed.