Origins and evolution of Maoism in Argentina, 1968–1971

An apparently strange phenomenon in the history of ideas, Maoism was the only new ideological current to emerge in the western Hemisphere after the Second World War. With constant references to popular China, but situated in a local context, Maoism developed as a unique ideology with a particular physiognomy that was forged in the sphere of the political left. In Argentina, the principle organisations that represented it – the Communist Vanguard and the Revolutionary Communist Party – were deeply involved in the class struggles of the industrial proletariat of Córdoba. Following an explication of our understanding of the role of political ideas in labour struggles through the work of the Chilean historical sociologist Tomás Moulian, we describe two foundational phases for these parties: the organisational and ideological. We situate these in the broader context of both the historical development of the working class in Córdoba and the explosive moments of Cordobazo. From here, we assess the tensions and contradictions in these phases and discuss the impact on their efforts to become the ‘vanguard’ party of the working class, thereby showing the importance of tracing the origins and evolution of Maoism for understanding the radical labour history of Córdoba.     

“The Higher You Fly,the Further You Fall”: White-Collar Criminals, “Special Sensitivity” and the Impact of Conviction in the United Kingdom

The resilience of some high-profile white-collar criminals in the media gaze after prison may lead some to conclude, particularly as some research also supports this notion, that this group of offenders generally manages well after conviction. Research in this area is, however, small and largely American. The authors seek to add to this small body of research by offering findings on the impact of conviction on 17 UK convicted white-collar criminals after completion of their sentence. It provides a unique insight into the consequences of conviction, showing that although there were some offenders who did experience limited impact and coped well, there was also a significant group who suffered a decline in status, financial losses, negative media coverage, and relationship and mental health problems, to name some. The authors argue more research is needed on this group and their needs as they are often neglected by the criminal justice system.     

Injustice and outcomes: a comparative analysis of two major disputes

Abstract

Injustice is said to be the cornerstone of collective action, but why is it so important, and how does the way in which it is framed for mobilisation affect the outcomes? This paper compares two lengthy disputes in the Australian electricity industry which demonstrate that a sense of injustice and a history of successful industrial action do not guarantee that a dispute will be resolved to employees’ satisfaction when the wider context is unfavourable. Although leaders of both disputes expressed confidence in success predicated on the outcomes of previous industrial activity, there were specific factors within the industrial, economic and political context which provoked determined employer and government counter mobilisation leading to unsuccessful outcomes for the workers in dispute. The reasons for the poor outcomes are discussed within the context of the framing of the injustice by leaders and the effect of the response of a determined government.     

Trading in development: norms and institutions in the making/unmaking of European Union–African,Caribbean and Pacific trade and development cooperation

This paper offers a contribution to recent debates on European Union (EU) external trade and development policy, with a specific focus on the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries. The question asked is why the EU encountered such difficulties in the attempt to translate its normative preferences for freer trade and closer economic integration into a series of binding agreements? Drawing on both economic constructivist and historical institutionalist insights, it is argued that the case for reform initially rested on a strong convergence between institutions and ideas, enabling the EU to discursively present desired policy reforms as necessary to satisfy World Trade Organisation trade rules. However, in due course, the institutional dynamics behind the latter began to diverge from the EU's policy preferences and blunt its norm-based argument – thus creating the space for transnational coalitions to, first, question and, ultimately, undermine aspects the EU's trade and development prospectus for the ACP.     

Unfulfilled promises of the consultation approach: the limits to effective indigenous participation in Bolivia’s and Peru’s extractive industries

Indigenous peoples’ right to prior consultation and to informed consent represents the basis of the new global model shaping state–indigenous relations. Consultation processes promise to enable indigenous people to determine their own development and are especially promoted when extraction projects with significant socio-environmental impacts are planned on indigenous lands. In this article we draw on debates on participatory development in order to analyse the first state-led consultations in Bolivia’s and Peru’s hydrocarbon sectors (2007–14). The analysis shows that effective participation has been limited by (1) an absence of indigenous ownership of the processes; (2) indigenous groups’ difficulties defending or even articulating their own visions and demands; and (3) limited or very general outcomes. The study identifies real-life challenges, such as power asymmetries, a ‘communication hurdle’ and appropriate timing – as well as simplistic assumptions underlying the consultation approach – that account for the unfulfilled promises of this new model.     

Contested Resource Extraction,Anti-Corporate Protests and the Politics of Movement Alliance in Bangladesh

Why do activist groups form alliances and why do some alliances later fall apart? This article asks these questions in the context of a popular mobilisation against resource extraction in Bangladesh. It focuses on the dynamics of a strategic alliance between a locally organised community mobilisation against a British mining company and an urban radical activist group, known for its anti-capitalist activism, to explore the subsequent collapse of the alliance and the demobilisation of one group. Based on the qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with activists and organisational documents, the article probes the underlying causes of rupture. Although several individual and organisational factors are identified, it is argued that Bangladesh’s confrontational political culture and its authoritarian party system played a critical role, with local activists vulnerable to co-optation or being silenced by powerful political actors. The article contributes to social movement scholarship by emphasising that specific political cultures can undermine efforts to build strategic alliances between diverse social movement organisations.     

浅谈保安业突破发展的几点构想

中国保安业已走过22年的风雨历程,取得了可喜的成绩和迅速的发展,但仍存在着职业化水平低,经营业务范围狭窄,经营者管理理念落后,职业稳定性差,从业人员教育训练不到位等诸多问题。寻求保安业的突破与进一步发展,其核心问题：一是政府对保安的社会职能如何规定,对保安职业怎样定位;二是社会公众对保安的理解问题。     

特殊防卫制度若干问题研究

我国刑法中的特殊防卫制度在打击犯罪、保障人权方面起到了积极的作用,但由于其在刑法典中的规定不够严谨,长期以来在司法实践过程中存在诸多争议。因此有必要对特殊防卫制度中存在的若干疑难问题,如特殊防卫条款法律术语的含义、特殊防卫的主体、权限、举证责任等,加以研究、解释,以维护法制的统一和权威。     

榆林建设低碳城市的战略思考

建设低碳城市是榆林市的重大战略选择,榆林建设低碳城市具有显著的比较优势、后发优势和政策优势。榆林全面建设低碳城市的战略路径须从制定低碳城市规划、推进产业低碳化发展、实施更严格的低碳生产技术标准、打造低碳示范社区和消费低碳化等方面入手。     

Sensory speculations:Visual discourse and the vision of visuality

It is now commonplace within the discipline of art history and visual culture to speak to theories of vision and visuality. Recent questions concerning the subject of vision, sexed positionalities and discourses of viewing are indebted to theories of visuality, which now occupy a privileged place within the study of visual culture. Theories of visuality have revealed both the terms of cultural visibilities and significantly the how of what we see. And yet despite this engagement of the opacity and duplicity of the visual, recent work into visuality has been plagued by a re‐occurring myopia regarding the corporeal This oversight within the visibilites of visual discourse is the unchallenged idea of a ‘human vision’ within the social constructivist project. In this article I assess how this universal operates as the matter for theories of visuality and of the ramifications of this for the project of the critique of vision.