Love,sex and the spaces in-between: Kepri wives and their cross-border husbands

In the Riau Islands of Indonesia significant numbers of women have entered into marriages with men from the nearby countries of Singapore and Malaysia. In many cases, neither spouse migrates after marriage: instead, husband and wife continue to reside in their country of origin. Their close geographical proximity means that the couples can see each other regularly while at the same time taking advantage of the economic opportunities presented by living on different sides of the border. These cross-border marriages challenge the normative model of the nuclear cohabiting couple/family. Our research into the motivations and desires of these cross-border couples living in the Riau borderlands reveals that space and mobility mediate their interactions with the Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian states, thus producing localized accounts of citizenship in which class mobility (rather than physical mobility) becomes the dominant frame through which they view state regulation of marriage and migration. This research challenges the state-centric tendencies in some of the scholarly literature on international and transnational marriage which places overwhelming emphasis on the ability of states to regulate access to citizenship rights. In presenting a view of inconsistent and sometimes incoherent states, we highlight the significant differences between perceptions of state influence and actual state practices in relation to the regulation of international marriages.     

Resistance and Creativity in Social Interaction: For and Against Memory in Poland, Israel–Palestine, and the United States

In this paper, I present an analysis of Adam Michnik’s notion of “Amnesty without Amnesia”. His was a wise political judgment presented at a critical moment in the struggle to constitute a democratic polity in Poland. Mine is an appreciation of his political position, along with a sociological analysis that highlights the empirical difficulties of its realization in practical action. I will show how at critical moments of social change creative political action works to erase memories of the relevant past, which act as a repressive force, while “re-remembering” (to use Toni Morrison’s formulation). Three cases will be compared, Michnik’s, after the fall of the communist regime in east central Europe, and cases drawn from the Palestinian–Israeli conflict and the American presidential campaign. A paper prepared for presentation at Cerisy, France, Summer, 2008.     

福建省明溪县新移民社会调查

本文在实地调查的基础上,分析了福建"旅欧第一县"明溪县内陆新侨乡的形成、发展过程.针对我国改革开放后不断涌现的新移民现象,注重从一个新兴侨乡的视角来剖析新移民产生的原因及对当地社会所产生的影响,并力图寻求伴随新移民现象产生的诸多问题解决的方式、方法.     

试论当代菲律宾天主教社会行动之肇始

现代天主教社会学说之创立与发展是天主教应对工业革命以来全球政治经济与社会发生深刻变化的重要表现,教会积极的“人世”姿态与实践反映了教会回应现代社会发展及其挑战的世俗化特征与趋势。当代菲律宾天主教会的社会行动,既是现代天主教社会理论推动的结果,更是菲律宾教会面对20世纪初期菲律宾政治经济与社会变迁挑战的自觉回应,它反映了现代菲律宾教会关注民族国家社会现实的本土化与世俗主义趋势,同时也体现了宗教在现代社会参与解决政治经济与社会问题,探索社会发展途径的实践与范式。     

马华文化/文学本土性的建构策略及其限度析论

作为一个极富争议和内涵的概念,本土(性)在概念、在不同的时空中都可显示出本土内外操作中的艰难、复杂与吊诡,本文力图立足马华文化/文学时空,通过对本土性的建构策略与限度的讨论,希望可为前者的发展提供理论借鉴和警醒。为此,相关讨论将以较有代表性的两种模式,即吉尔兹C lifford Geertz和巴赫金M.M.Bakhtin展开论述,同时兼顾现实考量,期望可以探寻出一条可能行之有效的路径来。     

Farmers,peanuts, and aflatoxins in Uganda: A gendered approach

This article describes a collaborative research for development project that used participatory methods to engage smallholder farmers in Uganda in post-harvest aflatoxin management. It is based primarily on qualitative research with peanut growers tracing ‘the path of the peanut’ through their hand-drawn maps and journal writing. By focusing on everyday life and including recipes and drawings, this research encouraged women's participation and emphasised women's roles. A unique partnership among universities, women's organisations, and farmers created an environment of mutual learning and produced a book documenting food preparation and other post-harvest practices as part of a study and capacity-building effort on peanuts and aflatoxins.     

The utility of bonding social capital

Abstract

In most studies of social capital, bridging social capital is emphasized as ‘good’ for democracy and economic performance. It is rarer to find studies showing that bonding social capital can bring positive effects. Mostly, bonding social capital is either overlooked or depicted as the ‘villain’ that leads to ethnic conflict, intolerant behaviour and poor economic and democratic development. In this article, it is argued that this picture needs to be revised. If we assume that bonding trust is a negative force for development and democracy, we ignore a substantial portion of the political history of the West. Also, new empirical evidence from India suggests that bonding social capital is related to good governance. High levels of bonding trust cannot only facilitate political cooperation. They may also work as a shield against public sector employees who attempt to exploit citizens in a corrupt or clientelistic manner. The conclusion drawn in the article is that the view of social capital as a prime mover with inherent normatively attractive qualities should give way to a perspective where social capital is more properly regarded as an intermediate variable where the way it is combined with, or interacts with, other factors determines outcomes.     

中国食品安全规制政策的社会学习——以“馒头国标”为例

以"馒头国标"事件在我国引起的公众和媒体的热议为出发点,结合了政策学习和社会建构的理论,从政策学习的地方性即承认不同的行动者由于其不同的传统和利益对相同的政策学习范本有着不同的认知的角度,对我国传统食品行业通过标准化的形式进行食品安全规制的过程进行了分析。认为行动者对于标准的异质的地方性认知,导致了标准在形成之前、之中和之后所承载的社会功能发生了显著的变化;而这种偏离也最终背离了实现保护消费者食品安全的初衷,在标准的执行中也注定面临着一定的困难。结合行动者产生地方性认知的背景,认为,社会对于标准的片面认同来源于通过规制获得资源的计划经济的遗毒,以及"超一流企业做标准"口号下标准相关知识匮乏的延伸;结合案例进一步反思了对于政策学习的地方性的"忽略",以及对于标准的社会功能的"夸大"所可能造成的危险。     

侵权行为法的社会功能

我国大多数学者认为侵权法的社会功能包括惩罚和预防功能,甚至有很多人主张将惩罚性损害赔偿制度全面引入我国的民事法律制度中。但是,在现代社会,侵权法的基本功能应是填补损害,传统侵权法中的预防功能已经成为填补损害的反射作用,惩罚功能在侵权法中已消失。     

法律认知和法律原则：情感、效率与公平

情感、效率、公平是人们认知活动中惯常的三个进程。对应这三个进程,人们对法律的认知有一些基本的原则。这些认知互动既可能形成社会自发秩序,也可能为法学提供一个基于认知背景的分析框架,有助于法学应对实践问题。“公平主导”的一个简单回答是,面对不同场合,情感、效率、公平三种进程被激活的程度不同。大体上,家庭场合激活情感,工程场合激活效率,市场和法律则更激活公平。在实践中,公平主导的法律原则由于比较接近主流社会认知,所以法律规范在社会中往往可能“自执行”,无需全靠外界监督或者激励。公平原则也有其自身的局限。虽然规范和原则很重要,是社会秩序的母体。但是,公平原则并不能解决所有问题。缺乏制度上的法治,光靠情理法是不足的。所以现代社会形成了规则化解决纠纷的机制,这就是二阶意义上的法律。