Contemporary Power Relations Research Articles

Probing Tagore in 21st-century Bangladesh: Shifting Faces of Metaphysical Reality and the Role of New Media

This study explores the shifting faces of reality in 21st-century Bangladesh as propagated by the questionable role of new media. The research hypothesizes that the stakeholders of the new media are fragmented into disparate groups, and the faces and aspects of metaphysics have been substantially altered to fit the motives of those in power, reversing the original intent. The study critically analyses the role of faith in goodness in human life, compares the views of Tagore to contemporary power relations, and investigates how the new media acts as a catalyst in perpetuating these mechanisms. The findings suggest that further research is needed to comprehend the potential benefits and limits of new media in these subjects.

An incongruous intervention: Exploring the role of anti-institutionalism in less-educated individual's limited uptake of nutrition information.

Despite many efforts, nutritional health interventions have been largely unable to reduce health inequalities between less‐ and more‐educated individuals, since their effectiveness among the former is often limited. Conventionally, adverse financial circumstances and poorer health literacy are argued to explain this. Drawing on recent sociological insights, we propose a complementing and novel sociocultural explanation based on how contemporary power relations in society breed anti‐institutionalism among less‐educated individuals. Using a survey of a representative sample of the Dutch population (n = 2398), we focus on the strategic case of the lower uptake of nutrition information among less‐educated individuals. We find that two aspects of anti‐institutionalism, i.e. institutional distrust and antipaternalism, substantially account for the educational gap in the uptake of nutrition information. This indicates that current nutrition information inspires opposition among less‐educated individuals. More generally, it suggests that the development of nutritional health interventions should avoid invoking institutional connotations, to increase their acceptance by those who commonly need these most.

Perspectivas de (não) soberania em Michel Foucault: da sociedade disciplinar às técnicas de governo pastoral

The present study aims to analyze the insufficiency of a juridical-sovereign model as a way of analyzing con-temporary power relations. Oriented by the archaeo-logical method, the research presents as a hypothesis the insufficiency of the models of legal-sovereign analysis to understand the dynamics of power, con-sidering that these have their best functioning from a microphysics of power. To this end, a bibliographic re-view of Michel Foucault's vast work constitutes the base material for research. In the itinerary proposed by this study, the theme will be addressed at first with the characterization of the microphysics of power, followed by a reading of the transition from the an-cien regimento the so-called disciplinary society -as-sociated with the biopolitical device -and ending in the techniques of consciousness direction, in pastoral power, that is, in the dimension of subjectivity that becomes the focus of relations between government and governed, explaining the difference that consti-tutes the modern government / population paradigm in face of the legal analyzes organized by the idea of sovereign / people.

Can Mindfulness really change the world? The political character of meditative practices

ABSTRACT Mindfulness – the Buddhist derived meditative practice of cultivating attention to the present moment – has become a secular global phenomenon. Analysis of Mindfulness’s political significance remains rare, despite its take-up by political actors and popular critiques of commodified, instrumentalised ‘McMindfulness’. This article argues that Mindfulness exemplifies how technologies of the self occupy a key, contested space between reproducing and challenging contemporary power relations. Critiques of McMindfulness are extended via themes of de-politicization and the construction of neoliberal subjectivity. But more cognitively focused accounts of meditation practice, and wider critical-theoretical concepts, are then used to reconstruct Mindfulness, indicating its expansive political potential. ‘Micro Mindfulness’ is shown to enhance the neglected area of individual agency within deliberative democratic theory. Further, ‘Macro Mindfulness’ resonates with the radical democratic understanding of political subjectivity and ‘democracy to come’. Most expansively, Mindfulness is a resource for developing critical consciousness and even prefiguring alternative futures.

Crossing Boundaries in Fact and in Fiction

ABSTRACT This article examines four novels by Peter Abrahams which discuss themes of conquest, liberation, and postcolonial challenges. Abrahams criss-crosses a variety of boundaries in Africa and its diaspora, some policed by harsh white rule. In his struggle for political freedoms he explores the formidable challenges of building a new society and explores a variety of contradictions imposed not only by history but by contemporary power relations.

Governing Through Relationship: A Positive Critique of School Social Work Practice in Post-Earthquake, Christchurch, New Zealand

AbstractThis article outlines some findings from an inquiry undertaken in the aftermath of 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which positive critique was used to examine the practice accounts of twelve school social workers alongside characteristics of recovery policies. Consistent with Foucault’s (1988, 2003a,b, 2013a) mode of critique and his theorisation of biopolitics and pastoral power, positive critique recognises the multiplicity and productivity of contemporary power relations operating at the populational, collective and individual levels of life. A feature of the participants’ accounts of their practices with affected schoolchildren in the recovery space is their commitment to restoring and protecting their clients’ well-being through therapeutically inclined relational practice. The Christchurch earthquake recovery strategy also sets out the provision of specialised, individual assistance for vulnerable populations excluded from ‘normal’ psychosocial recovery processes because of their inability to participate in community self-help initiatives. The findings presented in this article provide a critical space for social workers to reflect on the dimensions of their relational work that function as therapeutic governance practices that can both strengthen and resist the normative notions of vulnerability and recovering well.

Neo-colonial dynamics in global professional service firms: a periphery perspective

ABSTRACT This article analyses neo-colonial dynamics at peripheral units of a Western global professional service firm. Drawing on postcolonial theory, an empirical study at global news agency Reuters’ subsidiaries in Mumbai and Bangalore shows how socio-ideological and technocratic control mechanisms allow subsidiary workers to elevate their status, while still cementing their role as dominated in the global hierarchy and silencing any resistance. Thus, on the one hand, it might appear that the global service firm provides periphery units the opportunity to become equals of core units, representing a ‘nurturing’ role achieved by instilling aspirational values and shaping imaginations. On the other hand, coercive and universalising routines such as performance assessments highlight the ambivalent nature of global firm initiatives to incorporate the periphery on an equal footing with core units, demonstrating the countervailing nature of contemporary power relations.

Recalling hydraulic despotism: Hun Sen’s Cambodia and the return of strict authoritarianism

Mirroring trends elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Cambodia has witnessed a pronounced shift towards stricter authoritarianism over recent years. The state appears more firmly ruled by prime minister Hun Sen than at any time during the past three decades, while the de facto status of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) more closely resembles the single party regimes of neighboring states. One of the major tools of political control and expansion of authority employed by the hierarchical CPP network is the construction of major infrastructure projects, most notably hydropower dams and irrigation schemes. This article focuses attention on the hydraulic infrastructure aspects of exacting political authority and social control by the elite over the nation, drawing upon Wittfogelian perspectives for a conceptual framework. It maintains that Cambodia increasingly represents a modern variant of a hydraulic society, but primarily functions as a satellite hydraulic state of China. The growing influence of China over Cambodia’s hydraulic development has helped elevate Hun Sen to resemble a neo-classic hydraulic despot. Hydraulic society concepts help provide partial understanding of contemporary power relations and party-state ascendency, including the longevity and resilience of Hun Sen’s supremacy.

Deleuze and Guattari's Absent Analysis of Patriarchy

Feminist philosophy has offered mixed opinions on the collaborative projects of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. But although there has been much discussion of the political expediency of what Deleuze and Guattari do say about sexual difference, this article will outline what is absent fromAnti‐OedipusandA Thousand Plateaus(the two volumes comprisingCapitalism and Schizophrenia). Specifically, I will argue that though Deleuze and Guattari offer a historical account of a range of power structures—most notably capitalism, but also despotism, fascism, and authoritarianism—they give no such account of the development of patriarchy. Secondarily, this article will argue that Deleuze and Guattari's analysis of contemporary power relations could be improved by adding an accompanying analysis of the institution of patriarchy. After offering a detailed account of the technical vocabulary used by Deleuze and Guattari for the analysis of political institutions, I will argue that what their work requires is an account of how patriarchy is historically produced by an “abstract machine” of masculinity. This article will finish with some suggestions for the way that such an account could be given via an analysis of the abstract machine ofphallusization.

Biopolitics, ideology, and citizenship

ABSTRACTThis article aims to prove that debates on the concept of citizenship eventually demonstrate the ideological underpinnings of biopolitics. Citizenship, discussed especially in the context of bioethical considerations, reflects an ideologically polarized conflict about human nature rather than the simple mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion typical for post-ideological biopolitics. The article describes such a perspective and investigates post-socialist Polish biopolitics to outline the possible levels of analysis and to present how the concept of citizenship may be used to better understand contemporary power relations.

Critical medical ecological perspectives on diabetes in the Pacific Islands: colonialism, power, and balance in human-environment interaction over time

Abstract Background Diabetes is endemic in Pacific Island jurisdictions where complex colonial relationships arose from the Spanish Empire, Japanese and German occupation in World Wars 1 and 2, and the Pacific Trust Territory era of the USA. Since diabetes reflects a cluster of ecological processes involving sociobehavioural, medical, and environmental constructs, interpretation of the diabetes epidemic requires both an ecological and intervention framework with an economic and political perspective that accounts for historical and contemporary power relations. Methods We conducted qualitative interviews with 272 local residents (totalling 3440 h) of seven Pacific Island communities (Majuro, Pohnpei, Palau, Kayangel Atoll, Saipan, Tinian, and Rota). Interviews were recorded and an inductive analytical plan implemented (analysed for themes within and across sites). An ecological interpretive framework that situates humans within their bodily and environmental context—combined with historical socioeconomic power dynamics (and agency)—informed the generation of findings and implications. Findings Communities attribute diabetes in their islands to the direct result of rapid shifts in lifestyle brought from the Japanese (World War 2) and US (Trust Territory) periods of colonial history. The replacement of local starches with rice during the Japanese period, combined with the replacement of local protein sources with US canned meats, fish, and instant foods, catalysed a diabetogenic diet. Shifts in food economies replaced local forms of trade, barter, and reciprocity. Local forms of physical activity—procurement of local food (fishing, gardening)—became devalued in the new food environment, further creating metabolic disease. Individuals from more remote locales are more likely to see their way of life as healthier than their counterparts in central population hubs, and attribute this asset to the slower reach of development, the subsequent lower processed food consumption, greater engagement with traditionally meaningful local activities, and a stronger reliance on local medicine, with less access to Western medicine. Interpretation Island communities are aware of the dynamics historically that led to their present food and health environment. Cultural and community assets—perceived as resilience by community members—could be promoted to support social norms that contribute to growing local pride, traditional thinking and behaviours, and a redefinition of healthy. Funding US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Research Center Program.

The Generation of Postmemory. Writing and Visual Culture After the Holocaust

The Generation of Postmemory. Writing and Visual Culture After the Holocaust

Emilu rozwijaj się, albo… Poza edukacyjną dyscyplinę

In my paper I will argue that the development and the need of support of development (also in Rousseau sense) takes a strategic position in the contemporary power relations. The pedagogical thinking built on the need/demand of support of development can justify the mechanisms of power in a legal scheme, and consequently, to justify them in terms of natural human right. My paper assumes the following order: Firstly, pay attention to the specifics of contemporary power relations. Secondly, problematize the need of support the development and show how educational dispositif works. Thirdly, I ask about the emancipatory potential of Rousseau’s pedagogical ideas.

The Community of Others or What is a Humanist Critique of Empire?

The essay argues that the perceived waning of the influence of the Humanities (Literature, Continental Philosophy, Art, and Religion) and their irrelevance to contemporary problems of globalization and environmental issues is due to a limited exploration of the notion of interdisciplinarity. The essay suggests that, insofar as contemporary power relations pose a problem for our conception of human-being, the resources offered by the humanities acquire a renewed value and power for thinking through the era of the anthropocene.

Moving Biopolitics

In this article, the authors engage with three emerging debates germane to contemporary biopolitics: (a) How do we advance the critical interrogation of the biopolitics of human movement? (b) How and in what ways might we “move” about (and ideally against) regimes and systems of biopolitical subjectivity? and (c) How might “moving” methods of writing, representation, and performance bring light to contemporary biopolitical struggles, contestations, and power relations?

The cult of Phaya Narin Songkhram: Spirit mediums and shifting sociocultural boundaries in northeastern Thailand

Sociocultural boundaries come in many forms, and crucially, are responsive to power and constantly in flux. This article focuses on the production of space and unmarked sociocultural boundaries linked to spirit mediums in a historically contested area of northeastern Thailand who are possessed by the spirits of Phaya Narin Songkhram — a key ‘Lao’ military leader of Chao Anou's famous Vientiane revolt against Siam between 1826–28 — and those of his subordinates. Spirit mediums linked to ethnic ‘Thai’ leaders are also found to the south of this area. Through channeling and performing these historical persons, spirit mediums keep alive and reproduce group memories with space-making implications. This article also shows how the mediums' positioning has shifted over time and varies in relation to contemporary power relations, altering the sociocultural boundaries between ethnic Lao and Thai.

Cyborgs from Fiction to Reality: Marginalized Other or Privileged First?

In this paper I will offer an analysis of cyber technology, cyberspace and cyborg from its appearance in fiction to its contemporary realizations, in order to show symbolic place of cyborg has changed, in the light of contemporary power relations. I will focus on the cyborg figure in literature and film, mainly the cyberpunk genre characteristic for fictionalization of the relations between individual, society and technology.
 Author(s): Aneta Stojnić
 Title (English): Cyborgs from Fiction to Reality: Marginalized Other or Privileged First?
 Journal Reference: Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 10, No. 1-2 (Summer-Winter 2013)
 Publisher: Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities – Skopje 
 Page Range: 49-53
 Page Count: 5
 Citation (English): Aneta Stojnić, „Cyborgs from Fiction to Reality: Marginalized Other or Privileged First?,” Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 10, No. 1-2 (Summer-Winter 2013): 49-53.

Power is Everywhere: Social Inequality from Discursive Formations to Patterns of Activation

According to Foucault, discourse is centrally important for the formation and maintenance of power relations and for the construction of identities. That is to say, the language that we use to make sense of the world both reflects the contemporary power relations and affects the kind of selves we become. This element of Foucauldian theory has been generally accepted by contemporary political theorists. However, as Judith Butler notes, Foucault’s own theorizing cannot explain the way in which socially constructed subjectivity functions. As a result, Foucauldian theorizing leaves open the question of the way in which the social construction of the self affects how people perceive and think about the world. In this paper, I offer a theoretical model of the way in which socially constructed subjectivity functions. Drawing upon both Foucauldian theory and research from social cognitive psychology, I present a model of the functioning of subjectivity that illustrates the way in which power relations shape who we are at the most fundamental, cognitive level. I conclude the paper by considering the political implications of the model for social justice activists and theorists concerned with creating more just, equitable, and humane power relations.

The Uses of Roman Heritage in Brazil

Over the past two decades Public Archaeology has helped shape new approaches to the past. The idea that archaeology helps to foster a sense of modern identity and different types of nationalisms has challenged archaeologists to rethink their epistemological approaches and enabled them to consider the political and social aspects of their practices. In this context, the aim of this paper is to examine the practical value of the Roman past in shaping Brazilian identities. The Roman world has long been interpreted in ways that have shaped contemporary social practices and power relations. In Brazil, the Roman past is used not only in the academy, but also in museums such as MAE/USP (the São Paulo University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology) and the Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro National Museum). Considering heritage-inspired identity and the relationship between feelings of heritage identity and modern behavior, we explore how the Roman world has been used to shape Brazilian's place in western culture, and how a more critical approach to the Roman past can help us to improve educational programs. We argue that by constructing new ways of understanding the Roman past, it is possible to awaken empathy in young people towards those with different backgrounds and lifeways, and demonstrate that the relationship between the past and the present is not simply one of continuity.

Power, realism, and the ideal of human emancipation in a climate of change

AbstractMost attempts to formalize climate politics have focused on the reform of current governance regimes, including norms, rules, regulations, political will, and decision‐making procedures. Emphasis on reform entails a realist political approach, which only accounts for those incremental changes in power that can be objectively justified in terms of solving practical problems. This paper argues that political realism implicitly supports developmentalist logics of perpetual material growth which are precisely at the root of global environmental problems. Therefore, climate researchers have to move beyond this tradition of political thought, and engage in ‘critical theories’ and idealist approaches that question contemporary power relations. A few scholars have drawn on critical theory, historical materialism, Foucault, and Gramsci to explore power and human emancipation in the context of global environmental politics. These scholars identify hegemonic structures as essential causes of climate change. Accordingly, current power relations need to be fundamentally challenged, not only whenever extreme poverty averts the basic exercise of adaptive capacities, but, more broadly, whenever modernity and globalization set societies on unsustainable paths. This entails, on the one hand, redefining climate change as an opportunity to transform the structures under which modernity and global capitalism take place. On the other hand, it calls for reinterpreting adaptation within a broader project of universal emancipation from the structures that constrain our essential freedom and, with that, hinder effective and just societal responses to the challenges of climate change. WIREs Clim Change 2010 1 781–785 DOI: 10.1002/wcc.87This article is categorized under: Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge > Sociology/Anthropology of Climate Knowledge