Socio-political Embeddings of South Asian Ethnic Minorities' Economic Situations in Hong Kong

This paper aims to develop a better understanding of the economic situations of South Asian minorities in Hong Kong. A theoretical perspective emphasizing the embedding of economic behavior within social relationships and socio-political processes will be employed. This study will examine how three macro-historical processes, namely, colonization, industrialization and globalization, induce the different configurations of three structural factors, namely, government policy, societal reception and co-ethnic community, affecting the economic wellbeing of South Asian minorities in Hong Kong. The authors argue that Hong Kong Chinese and South Asians coexisted peacefully without major conflict or discrimination during the early colonial age. However, when the colonial government started to develop unique Hong Kong Chinese identity and as the HK Chinese became wealthier, well-educated and successful, ethnic tensions began to occur. In this era of globalization, Hong Kong encounters the serious problem of economic restructuring, and the continuous inflows of migrants from developing countries engender keen competition with lower-class Hong Kong citizens for low-end service jobs. South Asians are no longer enjoying positive societal reception from the Hong Kong Chinese. The co-ethnic community factor for Hong Kong South Asians has not significantly changed since the pre-war years. Their sub-communities' internal resources may secure their economic wellbeing through mutual assistance. However, under a very harsh external environment, whether sufficient resources can still be continuously drawn remains questionable.     

Testifying theory: Womanist intellectual thought

Sheila Rowbotham, A Century of Women: The History of Women in Britain and the United States, London: Viking, 1997, £20.

Joan Raphael‐Leff and Rosine Jozef Perelberg (eds.), Female Experience: Three Generations of British Women Psychoanalysts on Work with Women, London: Routledge, 1997, £17.99.     

Debating Asian security: Michael Leifer responds to Geoffrey Wiseman

Abstract The national Councils for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAPs) are fine exemplars of Track II security diplomacy whose mission is to prepare studies on security matters for their governmental Track I counterparts in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). The CSCAPs also provide a test of propositions drawn from the epistemic community literature in inter-national relations which posits that non-governmental experts can influence government decision-making. This study of CSCAP activities and their impact on the ARF provides some support for epistemic community propositions. However, other findings suggest that epistemic community theory requires modification to take account of the blurred line between Tracks I and II in CSCAP. Nevertheless, the CSCAPs have achieved some noteworthy successes, including a definition of preventive diplomacy adopted by the ARF. On balance, then, Track II epistemic communities are playing a significant role in Track I security deliberations in the Asia-Pacific.     

The difficulty with ethics education in public administration

This article suggests that ethics education has not become a regular part of the public administration curriculum for two reasons: (1) the issue has been misperceived as a pedagogical problem, and, more importantly, (2) the field has developed three competing paradigms for moral conduct-do what is right, do good, and do no harm. The origins of each paradigm and the implications for the teaching of ethics in public administration are discussed.