The Revolution and its Discontents: Grenadian Newspapers and Attempts to Shape Public Opinion during Political Transition

Abstract

What role did the newspaper play in attempting to influence public opinion in the early stages of the Grenada Revolution and what are the terms in which printed discourses on the revolution were conceptualised? The Grenada Revolution was a discursive political process where branding and narration were necessary elements in securing the revolution’s authority and legitimacy. This paper argues that Cuba functioned as a metonym through which the revolution was translated in Grenadian periodicals. Even before the coup of 13 March 1979 Grenadian media represented the New Jewel Movement—the revolutionary party—as Cuban-inspired and socialist. In order to examine how socialism in general, and the socialist character of the People’s Revolutionary Government (PRG) in particular, was narrated, a comparison is staged between two newspapers—the government-run Free West Indian and the privately owned The Torchlight. Competing discourses on Cuban communism are analysed for the ways in which they stood-in for the Grenadian people’s hopes, aspirations and anxieties in the midst of radical political change. Issues including race, gender equality, property ownership, freedom of religious practice and freedom of travel are examined in relation to capitalism and socialism, and the PRG’s efforts to maintain narrative authority of the revolution.     

Defining Civil War by Examining Post-Soviet Conflicts

Great many violent events happened during 1991–2005 in the 12 states that emerged after the collapse of the USSR but only a few civil wars are registered in the major datasets. That brings up a number of questions about the operational definitions of civil war that generally point in the direction of shifting the research attention from refining the quantitative parameters to grasping the essense of the phenomena in question. It is proposed that civil war partially overlaps with several other type of violent crisis: inter-state wars, civil unrest and revolutions, internal repression, military coups and mutinies, banditry and organized crime, and terrorism. These overlaps create six ‘gray zones’ where only very nuanced examination rather than application of rigid criteria could help in distinguishing civil wars from other crises. Therefore, data collection based on a single “robust” definition, which incorporates several verifiable parameters, is not necessarily the only path to scientific knowledge about civil wars.     

Something Must be Done-Military Intervention

In the late twentieth century, the United States' federal government responded to the threat of terrorism by passing a wide range of counterterrorist laws. The vigor that accompanied these initiatives echoed at a state level where, virtually unnoticed, states passed similar legislation. This article examines state measures in three areas: the funding of foreign terrorist organizations, the use or threatened use of weapons of mass destruction, and definitions of terrorist activity. While these statutes, as a legal matter, may not violate any specific federal provisions or constitutional prohibitions, they raise important questions about federal supremacy in foreign affairs and the constitutional protections afforded citizens. More significantly, as a policy concern, these provisions threaten America's ability to speak in one voice, introducing divisions into the domestic realm and diminishing the ability of the federal government to negotiate with foreign states and organizations. They also mask an appropriate role for the states in fighting terrorism. Both the policy implications and legal considerations suggest that such measures may ultimately undermine America's ability to counter the terrorist threat.     

青年恩格斯产业工人队伍建设思想及其当代价值

青年恩格斯基于早期英国产业革命的视角,追溯了英国产业工人队伍形成的原因,描绘了产业工人队伍建设遭遇的困境,并就产业工人队伍建设提出了改革思路。青年恩格斯关于英国产业工人队伍建设及其改革的深刻思考,为我们科学认识现代产业工人队伍的历史生成、现实状况和未来使命奠定了坚实的思想基础。重温青年恩格斯曼彻斯特时期对英国工人阶级状况的社会历史性解读,不仅可以深化我们对其产业工人队伍建设思想的理解,而且对推进我国新时代产业工人队伍建设改革具有重要的启示意义和现实价值。     

中国资产阶级革命二重性分析

中国资产阶级革命因其所处历史阶段的性质,使革命的性质、领导阶级、阶段形成了多重二元性。无产阶级取代资产阶级成为领导阶级是革命成功的关键和保证。历史证明,中国的革命和建设需要一个强大的先进的阶级和政党来领导。如此,中国的革命和建设才能取得胜利和成功。     

对意义的追问与心理学研究——兼论“第二次认知革命”的原则和结果

现代西方心理学在经过了行为主义、认知主义的描写后,正在接受一种新的描述方式."第二次认知革命"有可能使心理学向心理学是有关个体或者群体中的积极人的研究这一传统的、常识性观念回归.认知革命明确了一个真理,心理学应该成为对意义的心理研究.然而,在方法论上传承了行为主义的认知心理学,片面地将"意义制造"理解为"信息加工",追求心灵——"自然之镜"——中的"心理表象".话语观念的导入,使得处在语用平台上心理学家认为,语境、社会-语言的约定以及社会交换的模式,是构成意义的唯一决定因素.在这三描述方式中,对意义的理解和建构发挥着关键的作用.话语在心理现象中占有中心地位.这使我们认为,心灵是个动态的观点,植根于历史、政治、文化、社会和人际的语境之中.     

论中国共产党文艺制度的起源

中国共产党文艺制度生成于与国民党争夺领导权的复杂政治斗争.1921至1929年,中国共产党在完成自身政党化的过程中逐渐确立了文艺在整个宣传工作中的地位,不仅通过政策制定和机构设立加强对文艺的组织和领导,而且将体现其政党意识的文艺思想有效地推进到社团、出版、传媒、文学教育和文学论争等现实层面.因此,中国共产党这一阶段文艺制度的建构成为1930年代的"左联"、1940年代的延安解放区以及新中国文艺制度的起源和原型.     

中国新民主主义革命刑法中的资格刑述评

中国新民主主义革命时期的刑事法规中的资格刑经历了萌芽、初创、形成和发展四个阶段。它对新中国刑法中的资格刑的创立和发展奠定了历史基础。     

‘Let them entertain themselves’: the fall of the Mubarak regime seen through Egyptian political cartoons

This article examines the issues underlying the downfall of the Mubarak regime from the perspective of Egyptian cartoonists. A total of 2734 political cartoons published in five leading newspapers between January 2010 and February 2011 are analyzed. Because they form a significant part of the cultural context within which these cartoons are created, popular political jokes are also referenced. The study identifies political stagnation, domestic issues and corruption as the three most significant issues that paved the road to the fall of Mubarak.     

现代农业前瞻：广阔的微生物农业——兼以科技经济学辨析“资源稀缺”、“边际效用”

石化农业已走到尽头,要靠科技创新实现农业产业革命,开拓高端生态农业。近一万年的人类农业主要致力利用生物中的植物、动物（称＂二维农业＂）,对于作为第三界的微生物认知和利用差距甚远。而科技创新可使生态环境的可优化性与资源利用的深广性相统一,冲破资源稀缺和边际效用的绝对化界限,可以拓展和构建新的产业,这就是钱学森提出的微生物农业。它可分为两大部分：一是主要以循环形式优化＂二维农业＂;二是发展为独立的产业,成为未来农业产业革命的一大新兴产业。其发展分近期、中期、长期、远期四步,未来可以克服＂二维农业＂限制,真正实现农业＂工厂化＂。现在起步应当集中优势兵力攻关,逐步推广、提升,远期实现根本性变革。