Subaltern connections: Brazilian critical geographers,development and African decolonisation

Abstract

This article explores the relations to Africa and African decolonisation of three key figures in Brazilian critical geographies and development studies, Manuel Correia de Andrade (1922–2007), Josué de Castro (1908–1973) and Milton Santos (1926–2001). Based on an analysis of their works and unpublished archives, I argue the radical Third World perspectives these intellectuals expressed anticipated later critiques of development as a neocolonial device. Drawing upon current literature on decolonisation, international conferencing and anti-racist solidarity networks, I discuss these matters in relation to these authors’ interest in cultural diversity and internal colonialism. Crucially, they developed this sensitivity in the Brazilian Northeast, a region especially shaped by Afro–Brazilian and Indigenous cultural legacies. While supporting anti-imperialist nationalisms in the Third World, these Brazilian scholars fostered multilingual, internationalist and cosmopolitan activism and scholarship. This is revealed by the study of the transnational networks they developed during exile and the various persecutions that many of them suffered after the 1964 military coup. Finally, I argue these works can substantiate recent claims to ‘decolonise’ geography and development studies, on the condition that these fields of study take seriously their anti-imperial traditions and their ‘voices from the South’.     

Recreating the Third World Project: possibilities through the Fourth World

Abstract

In this paper, we make a theoretical argument that the Third World be returned to its political origins to inspire an updated Third World Project (TWP), revived as a global movement for progressive, anti-imperialist forces, through the Fourth World movement, which highlights internal colonialism. Both the TWP and the United Nations recognise only nation states as full members. We examine how a Third World strategy that brings in the Fourth World, or indigenous, minority and/or stateless groups, can help oppressed groups gain more autonomy and rights through a transnational solidarity rooted in empathy. We trace the intellectual roots and history of the TWP and consider obstacles in bringing together the TWP and the Fourth World movement. A Fourth World strategy corrects the TWP’s implicit approval of an underlying imperialism, and the TWP provides the Fourth World movement a model to accomplish its goal of resisting uncritical modernity.     

‘I can’t remember a more depressing time but I don’t blame anyone for that’: remembering and commemorating the wartime internment of enemy aliens in Britain

ABSTRACT

In October 2000, David Cesarani decried the unnecessary internment of refugees from Nazi Germany in Britain during the Second World War on the BBC Radio 4 programme Behind the Wire. Until the last few decades, little was known about the internment of enemy aliens by the British during the war. However, in recent years, novels such as David Baddiel’s The Secret Purposes, published in 2004, and exhibitions such as ‘Schwitters in Britain’ at the Tate Britain in 2013, have introduced a wider audience to this oft-forgotten part of the British wartime narrative. Some of those interned in Britain were sent to Canada and Australia, which led to the greatest tragedy of the entire internment debacle, the sinking of the Arandora Star. The year 2015 marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of this tragedy, and the memory of those who were lost lives on in the British–Italian community. However, outside those affected by the Arandora Star disaster, little is commemorated or understood by the general public. Yet the legacy of the former internees is all around us. Who has not, on visiting the British Library, walked past former internee’s Eduardo Paolozzi’s statue of Newton? What connoisseur of classical music has not enjoyed the sound of the Amadeus Quartet, perhaps the only positive outcome of internment? Pistol’s article will examine the memory of the camps and consider the differences between how internment has been remembered and commemorated by former internees and the general public.     

Skeletal evidence of the ethnic cleansing actions in the Free City of Danzig (1939-1942) based on the KL Stutthof victims analysis

In the early days of World War II, many of the prominent and influential people of Polish nationality from the Free City of Danzig were arrested by the Germans and sent to the nearby concentration camp KL Stutthof. Nearly a hundred of them died within the next seven months upon their arrival, and were buried in a clandestine mass grave in a nearby forest. However, the exact nature of their death is unknown, as it is unclear what the attitude of the aggressors was toward the victims. We do not know whether there was only one executioner or there were several assassins, nor if the killing methodology was consistent with the other state-regulated executions.The studied material represents the commingled remains of a minimum thirty-four people, possibly all male, aged from under eighteen to over sixty at the time of death. Perimortem traumatic lesions are shown mainly on the skull bones. We asked whether the perimortem trauma lesions visible on the victims’ skeletons could be informative on the cause and manner of their death.Our results show the prevalence of the perimortem trauma inflicted by a blunt object are on the parietal bones above the Hat Brim Line (HBL), which is commonly associated with a violent attack. The gunshot trauma was usually localized on the occipital bone or posterior parietal, which could indicate a shot to the back of the head, and this was commonly encountered during executions. No signs of defensive injuries can be explained either by restraining of the hands or by a surprise attack. The abundance and variability of the trauma type can be evident of multiple assailants. Moreover, the multiple impact points detected on several crania prove unnecessary overkill and brutality, which reflects the personal attitudes of the executioners towards the victims.     

日本的皇位继承制度与《皇室典范》

《皇室典范》是基于宪法制定的天皇皇位继承等有关皇室事务的法律。明治时代出于建立天皇专制主义政权的需要,于1889年颁布的《皇室典范》结束了皇位继承混乱无序的历史,作为与宪法具有同等效力的最高法规,确立了天皇至高无上的地位。第二次世界大战结束后,根据新宪法制定的新《皇室典范》,天皇的地位和性质发生了本质变化,但在皇位继承制度方面依然沿袭了明治《皇室典范》的基本原则。这一战后改革不彻底的后果,束缚了皇室的发展,也是当今日本皇室出现继承危机的根源。     

繁荣发展农村文化 建设社会主义新农村——学习党的十七届三中全会精神的体会

加强农村文化建设,是新农村建设的必然要求和全面建设小康社会的需要,贫瘠的文化不会孕育出高速增长的经济,没有文化的现代化,就不可能实现真正意义的现代化。加强农村文化建设,是促进农村经济、政治、社会全面发展建设社会主义新农村的重要手段和有效措施。     

“第三次国共合作”解读

现在有不少人希望能够通过“第三次国共合作”实现祖国和平统一,这种可能性是否存在？本文从国民党对“国共合作”的历史记忆、台湾现行的政治体制、国民党的政治转型、民进党以及台湾社会对国民党的看法、共产党的态度等五个方面进行分析,得出结论：通过“第三次国共合作”实现祖国统一的可能性已经不存在,但以两岸关系和平发展为目标的国共合作则是可行的。     

Remembering A Year of Anniversaries, 2015

2015 was a year of significant anniversaries and commemorations related to the Commonwealth, Magna Carta, World War II and the United Nations. In this article the author reflects on these events, on his personal participation and on the media coverage of the events.     

第三人欺诈与民事行为效力瑕疵--来自比较法角度的观察与评析

能够成为民事行为效力瑕疵的第三人欺诈将导致民事行为无效或者被撤销。就这种欺诈而言,法国法认为其不能够成为民事行为效力瑕疵;德国法认为其在对方当事人知道或应当知道其存在的情形下即能够成为民事行为效力瑕疵;意大利法则认为其无论对方当事人是否知道其存在均能够成为民事行为效力瑕疵。我国法对此问题的看法在实际上相同于意大利法,但有关立法中的不合理因素应当予以克服。     

相互依存式霸权：“第二世界”和金砖国家的崛起透析

在全球化背景下,以金砖五国等新兴国家为代表的“第二世界”崛起对全球产生广泛影响,并由此带来了国际关系与国际政治经济的变迁。葛兰西的核心理论框架——“霸权”概念以及以考克斯为代表的新葛兰西主义学派对探究新兴国家崛起的问题是有启发作用的,但是全球化与跨国资本主义的深化对新葛兰西主义学派提出了挑战。在整合新葛兰西霸权理论和后霸权批判理论,并将“第二世界”和“相互依存”加入分析框架之后,理论界提出一种新观点,即新兴国家作为一种新型反霸权的国际政治经济力量,在全球资本主义时代,尚不能建立起替代性的独立霸权,而“相互依存式霸权”将主导当今这个时代。“相互依存式霸权”定义为根植于金砖国家的崛起所带来的基于地区合作所形成的联盟型关系,这一联盟型关系的形成主要为了牵制并超越由单一国家或单一权力中心（西方）所产生的霸权。届时在国家利益、地区走向、共同政治议程、政治联盟以及潜在危机管控等方面,“第一世界”（西方国家）和“第二世界”（新兴国家）将相互影响、相互制约,共同重塑国际安全与国际政治经济秩序。