Elite Interpretations Research Articles

The Specter of the Casualty: Elite Misreading of British Public Perceptions of the Soldier 2001–2014

During military operations between 2001 and 2014, British political and military leaders came to believe that the public were casualty-averse and viewed soldiers sympathetically as victims. Recent scholarship has demonstrated that this interpretation of public opinion altered the way that British combat operations were conducted in Afghanistan. This study finds that this elite interpretation was inaccurate. Providing a first analysis of British media representations of soldiers at key moments throughout the whole campaign, it finds that this interpretation misjudged the nature of soldier victimhood. Where political and military elites attributed public disquiet to military casualties, this research finds that the public was more likely to be concerned with contextual factors (notably competent management) and argues that casualty-aversion was a symptom of this concern rather than its cause—a finding which sees the U.K. experience as supporting and extending U.S.-based theory.

Punching above their weight, but why? Explaining Denmark and Estonia in the transatlantic relationship

This article asks why Denmark and Estonia have eagerly attempted to ‘punch above their weight’ in the transatlantic relationship since the end of the Cold War and shows how they differ in their strategies to do so. Using neoclassical realism as a theoretical point of departure, the article explains how a combination of changing constraints in the strategic environment and elite interpretations of how these changes affected national security resulted in ‘super atlanticist’ alliance policies in the two countries. Following this analysis, we discuss the future of super atlanticism.

Book Review: The Political Economy of News in China: Manufacturing Harmony by Jesse Owen Hearns-Branaman

The Political Economy of News in China: Manufacturing Harmony. Jesse Owen Hearns-Branaman. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2015. 162 pp. $75.00 hbk. $74.99 ebk.The Political Economy of News in China: Manufacturing Harmony sets out to undertake three tasks: an exploration of the political economy of news media in the People's Republic of China (PRC), an assessment of Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky's Propaganda Model (PM) as a tool in comparative media research, and an implied criticism of the U.S. news media system.Hearns-Branaman's application of the PMs' five filters-size, ownership and profit motive, sourcing, advertiser's influence, flak, and dominant ideology-to the case of the media environment of the PRC not only reveals that the model remains an effective tool in comparative research of media in different settings, but also illuminates specific aspects of the media of the PRC, some similar to and others diverging from the case of the United States. As outlined extensively in the book, the ownership structure of both settings acts to limit diversity while creating a hierarchy of elite agenda setting that attracts affluent audiences that are attractive to advertisers. While sourcing patterns in the PRC privilege elite mainstream voices, entrenching elite interpretations of the world, the struggles inherent in such processes occur, in the case of the PRC, within political systems rather than across them. The underdevelopment of a civil society in the PRC means a lack of externally generated flak directed at the media; similarly, advertiser influence works to promote a consumption consciousness while passively censoring material viewed as harmful to advertisers. Finally, the aspect of a dominant ideology filter-a belief in the market and a powerful nationalist sentiment-a basic element of the PM, is similar between the United States and the PRC, a reflection of the truth that the only real difference in the media between these global leaders is simply a different set of elites with different legitimation that both work toward reification of market mechanisms. Thus, while the PRC is without doubt a unique system, with characteristics that differ from those inherent to most media studies-oriented theoretical viewpoints and the models associated with them, the results of the examination reported on in The Political Economy of News in China points to a fairly universal outcome: a description of a media system that works to persuade people to accept the naturalness of the existing order, an ongoing project that is essential for the benefit of society's elites.Hearns-Branaman, a lecturer of media and communication at the Graduate School of Language and Communication at the National Institute of Development Administration in Thailand, largely succeeds in the dual purpose of descriptively analyzing PRC media while assessing the PM as a comparative model by virtue of an exhaustive application of the model to the history and current practices of media in the PRC. …

Routledge handbook of Southeast Asian democratization

Part 1: Stunted Trajectories and Unhelpful Milieus 1. Democracy's Mixed Fortunes in Southeast Asia: Torpor, Change, and Tradeoffs William Case 2. Dead idea (still) walking: the legacy of the democracy and values debate Mark R Thompson 3. Democratization & Human Rights in Southeast Asia Sorpong Peou 4. ASEAN, Regionalism and Democracy Mark Beeson and Kelly Gerard 5. The Global Context of Regime Change Thomas B. Pepinsky Part 2: Wavering Social Forces 6. Demystifying 'People Power': An Elite Interpretation of 'Democratization' in Southeast Asia Yuki Fukuoka 7. The Middle Class and Democracy in Southeast Asia Aim Sinpeng and Aries A. Arugay 8. Conflict, Oppositional Spaces and Political Representation in Southeast Asia Garry Rodan 9. Civil Society and Democratisation in Southeast Asia: What is the Connection? Meredith L. Weiss 10. Ethnicity and Democracy Joel Sawat Selway 11. Islam and Political Democracy Robert W. Hefner 12. Women and democracy in Southeast Asia Susan Blackburn 13. Hype or Hubris? The Political Impact of the Internet and Social Networking in Southeast Asia Jason Abbott Part 3: Uncertain Institutions 14. Electoral Systems in Southeast Asia Benjamin Reilly 15. Rethinking Party System Institutionalization in Southeast Asia and Beyond Allen Hicken and Erik Martinez Kuhonta 16. Democracy, Hybridity, and Accountability in Southeast Asia's Legislatures William Case 17. Courts and Judicialization in Southeast Asia Bjoern Dressel 18. Democracy, the Rule of Law and Governance in Southeast Asia Natasha Hamilton-Hart 19. Money Politics: Patronage and Clientelism in Southeast Asia Edward Aspinall 20. Southeast Asian Militaries in the Age of Democratization - From Ruler to Servant? Aurel Croissant Part 4: Country cases and democratic guises 21. Can the Philippines' Wild Oligarchy Be Tamed? Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 22. Democracy in Thailand: Theory and Practice Federico Ferrara 23. Indonesia: Democratic Consolidation and Stagnation under Yudhoyono, 2004-2014 Marcus Mietzner 24. Singapore: from hegemonic to competitive authoritarianism Stephan Ortmann 25. Malaysia: Pseudo-democracy and the making of a Malay-Islamic State James Chin 26. Myanmar: Transition, Praetorian Politics, and the Prospects for Democratic Change Renaud Egreteau 27. Democracy and Vietnam Benedict J. Tria Kerkvliet

The Grandchildren of Solano López: Frontier and Nation in Paraguay, 1904–1936

Bridget Chesterton's study of how rural soldier-agriculturalists helped shape twentieth-century Paraguayan nationalism is a welcome addition to the historical literature on this understudied country. Chesterton posits that the desire to defend Paraguayan territory and to honor the nation led rural agriculturalists to fight in the Chaco War (1932–1935) and that, due to this shared experience, the rural classes transformed the memory of Francisco Solano López from the liberal elite's interpretation of a selfish tyrant who led the country into the unwinnable War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870) to a vision of a hero who saved the nation from oblivion from foreigners seeking to destroy it. Chesterton builds her argument by creatively using an assortment of sources, including visual images, songs, poetry, theater, literature, letters, articles, and reports. Particularly noteworthy are the exceptional images from the time period (a postcard, postage stamps, historical maps, cartoons, and photographs) that illustrate her argument and make for enjoyable reading.After an introductory background chapter, Chesterton dedicates the following four chapters to explaining the Paraguayan elite's idea of nationalism and the Chaco frontier. Given that Paraguay does not have a central archive for the period, Chesterton has done an admirable job tracking down sources in order to document how the liberal elite justified Paraguay's claims to the Chaco region prior to the war. A potential weakness is the near omission of the perspective of the Chaco Indians. Much of chapter 4 studies how early twentieth-century scientists, naturalists, and anthropologists viewed the native peoples of the Chaco, but it fails to explore the Indians' views of Paraguay, Paraguayans, and other outsiders. Chesterton references the military explorer Juan Belaieff's claim that the Indians of the Chaco liked Paraguayans more than Argentines and Bolivians, but she goes no further. Similarly, in chapter 5 Chesterton discusses the missionaries working among the Indians of the Chaco but again does not address the topic from Indians' perspective. Chesterton's work could also have benefited from an analysis of the rural agriculturalists' perspective on the Chaco prior to the war, as she did for the elite perspective. That said, Chesterton's contribution to the cultural history of nonindigenous Paraguay is significant.The following two chapters focus on Paraguay's rural soldier-agriculturalists and are the most original. In chapter 6, Chesterton draws out the voices of Paraguay's “subaltern” class (p. 113), for whom there are few sources, by creatively using songs and poetry published in Ocara poty cue-mí, a small literary magazine whose authors and audience were Paraguay's soldier-agriculturalists. It would be interesting to explore how these ideas fit with the oral histories that veterans of the Chaco War recounted to Chesterton. Chapter 7 explains how the Chaco War veterans' disenchantment with Liberal Party rule led to the revolution that brought the Febrerista Party to power and transformed Paraguayan nationalism by enshrining Francisco Solano López and Chaco War soldiers as brave defenders of Paraguay and its unique culture and values. While Chesterton makes a convincing argument that the Chaco War shaped Paraguayan nationalism and helped glorify the memory of Francisco Solano López, I am not fully convinced that such sentiment can solely be attributed to the rural agriculturalists of Paraguay. Rural agriculturalists made up the majority of those who fought in the Chaco, but a number of elites likely served as members of the officer corps. To what degree did they and other elites influence ideas of Paraguayan nationalism? Were Paraguay's rural agriculturalists encouraged or manipulated to embrace this form of nationalism? As Chesterton describes, prior to the war Lopista elites such as Juan Emiliano O'Leary held strikingly similar ideas about Paraguayan nationalism and the heroic actions of Francisco Solano López to those that prevailed after the Chaco War. I also wonder about the degree to which rural classes had such nationalist ideas prior to the war. Chesterton describes a full-page cartoon glorifying Solano López printed in El Porvenir, a newspaper of Paraguay's rural classes, three decades before the war.Chesterton makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of contemporary Paraguay by showing that post–Chaco War nationalism resulted in the prevailing view that the uniqueness of Paraguayan culture needed to be preserved and protected. As the author reveals, such national pride led to the promotion of Guaraní language, music, and the arts. Future studies will hopefully provide in-depth exploration of how Paraguayans reconciled the continued existence in the Chaco of both Anglican missionaries and Mennonites with such nationalist sentiment. Chesterton has written a strong book that is of great value to historians of Paraguay. With her innovative and convincing readings of a diversity of primary sources, she has helped us better understand Paraguayan nationalism.

Varieties of Liberalism: Keynesian Responses to the Great Recession in France and Germany

This article argues that distinctive liberal traditions shaped France and Germany's Keynesian policy responses to the post‐2007 economic crisis. In France, “statist liberalism” privileges an activist state that favors macroeconomic intervention and investment. German “corporate liberalism,” by contrast, is more pluralist and emphasizes the powers and responsibilities of social and economic groups, who are viewed as the fundamental components of the social order. The article argues that these traditions shaped elite interpretations of the crisis and played central roles in defining policy trajectories. They informed a modest French response focused on macroeconomic stimulus that relied on existing income support and a larger German effort centered on a microeconomic strategy of group subsidization. It concludes that these outcomes are inconsistent with traditional institutional accounts and highlights the importance of research on the role of ideas in shaping national responses to economic crises.

Continuity or Change? The Strategic Culture of Australia

Important puzzles remain in security policy literature, including whether strategic culture can change over time, and if so, under what conditions. This study proposes a model of strategic cultural change that identifies key actors and conditions at work in the process. The article then applies the model to chart the evolution of Australian security policy in the past two decades. We find that structural changes, including geostrategic situation and new security threats, coupled with elite interpretation and discourse, have produced a new “regional defense plus” strategic cultural frame for Australia. This, in turn, has led to measureable changes in defense policy. This work concludes with insights on the implications of change for the broader literature on strategic culture and constructivist security studies.

Female Suicide, Subjectivity and the State in Eighteenth‐Century China

This article examines the social and political significance of female suicide in Qing Dynasty China and its implications for women's agency, feminine subjectivity and the state's interpretation of violence. Tracing the development of state and elite interpretations of the propriety of women's suicides, it situates the discourse on female suicide in the context of state efforts to control the definition and enactment of moralised violence and pervasive rhetoric about women's incapacity for moral agency. Demonstrating the problematic ethical and judicial status of suicides committed in the wake of a violation of chastity, in particular, it argues that such suicides represented a distinctively female definition of moral order and the role of violence within it.

Japanese Interest Group Politics: An Institutional Framework

Prevailing notions about the structure of power and the role of interest groups in Japanese politics derive from two opposing paradigms in the political science literature on Japan. One is the power elite model that argues that Japan is run by a triple alliance of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the bureaucracy, and big business with participation in policy making restricted to the members of this cohesive ruling group; the other is the approach suggesting that public policy in Japan is the product of a much more open process, accessible to a range of participants who make inputs into the political system and exercise leverage in different policy areas. The power elite interpretation has been attacked on numerous grounds: for reducing highly complex processes of governmental decision making to an oversimplified stereotype, for ignoring the existence of other power centers in the Japanese polity, and for being unable to account for a variety of policy outcomes. The pluralist view, on the other hand, is incorporated in a number of case studies that have documented the activities of agricultural, medical, teachers' and antipollution groups and discussed national budget, education, and foreign policy making. It is less a systematically developed model than a compound of individual analyses. The framework outlined in this article draws on the contributions of both the power elite and pluralist models. To the elitists it owes its implicit distinction between groups who are incorporated into the policymaking system and those who are not, and to the pluralists, its conception of political influence as being primarily reflected in terms of participation in the policy process. At the same time, it develops new perspectives on

U.S. Marxist scholarship in the analysis of health and medicine.

This article makes a review of 1.) dominant analyses of health and medicine in the social sciences of the U.S. and 2.) Marxist critiques of these analyses. It presents the roots of Marxist scholarship in the study of health and medicine and discusses the main Marxist critiques of the hegemonic pluralist and power elite interpretations of the institutions of medicine and of their corporatization. It also reviews Marxist studies of 1.) the crisis of medicine; 2.) the relationship between production, work, and health; and 3.) imperialism, health, and medicine. It concludes with a discussion of the operational meaning of Marxism in health and medicine, with presentation of current Marxist debates on socialist medicine and their consequences for political praxis.