Local Political Field Research Articles

Undignified names: caste, politics, and everyday life in North India

ABSTRACT Focusing on the experiences of the marginalised castes in North India, this article examines the use of given names in intercommunity micro interactions and how it shapes the practices of everyday humiliation. With ethnographic data from Dalit activist discourses as well as everyday life in an urbanising village in Rajasthan, this article analyses how the upper castes tend to deform the given names of the members of the Dalit community to produce undignified names, and how the community claims their right to be addressed with appropriate names. I engage with the complexity of the formation and use of undignified names by analysing their function in shaping the local political field to regulate participation in the public sphere and how they are linked to valuable names in the production of social distinctions and their economic benefits. Taking names as an important symbolic object, this article foregrounds the politics of humiliations in everyday intercaste vyavahar to understand the micro dynamics of caste reproduction and how it is negotiated and contested.

Municipal socialism and the impact of urban decay: the case of Nevers, a mid-sized town in Central France (1971–2020)

Nevers, a medium-sized city of 33,000 inhabitants in the centre of France, has long been regarded as a laboratory for municipal socialism as well as for the union of the left. The socialist party has dominated the local political scene for more than four decades. In 2014, however, a list without any party label put an end to this hegemony by winning the election. The 2020 municipal election confirmed the changeover: the outgoing list won the election, this time in the first round. How to explain this lasting change in a city that has long been a socialist city, in favour of an "apolitical" list that does not benefit from partisan resources? If this change is part of a more general movement, characterized by the decline of the “Parti socialiste” (PS) and the “Parti communiste Français” (PCF), we will show that it is also rooted in the socio-demographic transformations that the city has undergone in recent decades. Such as many medium-sized French cities, Nevers is indeed confronted with a long-standing phenomenon of urban decline, particularly marked in the central districts. The departure of managers and middle-level professions and the arrival of precarious populations has contributed to the transformation of the electorate, while the theme of decline has become one of the main issues of the last elections. This article thus proposes to examine the evolution of the local political field in the light of the social, economic, and demographic transformations of the territory. To do so, several databases are used in order to quantify and map these transformations: the results of municipal elections since 1971 and census data at municipal level since 1968 and at the neighbourhood level (Iris) since 1990. These data will be put into perspective with archives relating to municipal elections from 1971 to 2020 as well as interviews and observations conducted during the 2014 and 2020 campaigns. In conclusion, the urban decline, in the case of Nevers, has contributed to bring down municipal socialism in two ways: (1) by weakening its electoral base, (2) by imposing a political agenda that the socialist municipal team cannot keep, which will be blamed on them in 2014.

Представительный орган местного самоуправления малого города: анализ состава депутатского корпуса в экономическом контексте (случай Кировской области)

Introduction: at municipal level the public authority institutions are represented by the elected collective government bodies − City Dumas and Assemblies of Deputies. The composition of the deputy corps of local government representative bodies is one of the key parameters characterizing the political situation in municipalities. This article presents results of the study of elections to local government representative bodies in numerous small towns, typical for Russia, based on the data on Kirov region. Objectives: to identify local actors applying for positions in representative bodies of local government in small towns; to assess the impact of the town status (which defines the functionality) and its economy structure on the composition of the representative bodies of local government. Methods: the role of socio-economic profile and current socio-economic situation in the formation of the deputy corps in small towns was assessed based on the analysis of data from nine towns of Kirov region; all towns selected for the study are comparable in term of comparable population, but differ in status and functionality, and not all are equally prosperous in economic terms. Results: the main categories of deputies represented in Deputy Assemblies of small towns are highlighted and reasons for the prevalence of each category in the composition of the deputy corps are identified, as related to local economies features. Conclusions: in different socio-economic contexts, the composition of representative bodies differs significantly. Strong economic actors retain a high level of control over the local political field and dominate Deputy Assemblies in single-industry towns. The composition of Deputy Assemblies is more diverse in towns with diversified economies, but their Assemblies are also composed mainly of private business representatives. In towns with a difficult socio-economic situation Deputy Assemblies are composed mainly of budgetary institutions representatives.

Beyond Self‐Evident: Recognising the Problematic Political Context of Accrual Accounting Adoption in South Korea

AbstractThis paper responds to a recent call by researchers that we need to move beyond both advocacy of and technical arguments about the value of accrual accounting to more fully recognise the institutional forces, key change agents and the local political fields. We draw on elements of institutional theory and the practice theory of Pierre Bourdieu to explore the ‘problematic’ aspects of institutional forces, key organisational change agents and the local political field associated with the adoption of accrual accounting in the South Korean public sector. We found that accrual accounting was driven by many factors including a local financial scandal, the advocacy of a civil society group and the ambitions and the ideology of key actors. The contribution of this paper is that it shows how the practices of accounting cannot be separated from their political and personal context.

Les chemins de la décolonisation aujourd'hui : perspectives du Pacifique insulaire

Contemporary Oceania is simultaneously marked by the persistence, birth and resurgence of struggles for self-determination. The separatist, autonomist, regionalist and “native” demands that rub shoulders there (without excluding one another) evolve in keeping with the reconfiguration of local political fields. This article seeks to understand the very diverse manners in which these separatist mobilizations have been given expression by focusing on the various levels and fields that determine them: colonial history, the demographic weight of native populations, the recent emergence of a culture of apology, recognition of indigenous peoples law at the international level, contemporary forms of capitalism and the identity-based demands they favor, the ideology of “less state”, “custom” as a form of regulation and so on. The idea is to hold together this bundle of opportunities. Drawing upon the theoretical model of world-systems anthropology developed by Jonathan Friedman, the present article examines the influence of the colonial experience on the postcolonial imaginary, the weight of regional and international contexts in the choice of types of sovereignty and, finally, the role played by an ever less “visible” – but still just as present – state. ?

Mobilizing globalization in local political fields: The strengthening of the central bank in Israel

ABSTRACT The strengthening of central banks is frequently considered as a direct consequence of globalization. This paper offers an alternative explanation which considers this process as the result of political processes taking place first and foremost within local political fields. Yet we consider globalization as an important component in the politics of institutional reforms, by serving as a resource mobilized by political actors striving to improve their position in the local political field. We show how the central bank in Israel appealed to the normative power of worldwide accepted institutional models, to the authority of international financial organizations, and to the disciplinary power of global financial markets, claiming that the adoption of central bank independence is imposed by the imperatives of globalization. We claim that the ability of central banks to conduct a credible politics of inevitability is based on their privileged location as nexus between the global and local fields.

The Bruce Report and Social Welfare Leadership in the Politics of Toronto’s “Slums”, 1934–1939

Slum clearance and rebuilding first became a serious political project in Toronto during the 1930s. Following the release of a systematic housing survey known as the Bruce Report (1934), a set of actors distinguished by their planning authority with respect to social agencies, influence over social work education, coordination of social research, and role as spokespersons of religious bodies inaugurated a political struggle over state power. While the campaign failed, it called forth a reaction from established authorities and reconfigured the local political field as it related to low-income housing. This article gives an account of these processes by drawing upon correspondence and minutes of meetings of city officials and the campaign’s organizers, newspaper clippings, and published materials.

Conselheiros do Orçamento Participativo nas franjas da sociedade política

Este artigo sugere a necessidade da mudança de enfoque dos estudos sobre as novas instâncias de participação na gestão de políticas públicas, surgidas na redemocratização brasileira. Afastando-se da literatura que preconiza o papel da sociedade civil nessas instâncias, são revistos os estudos sobre o Orçamento Participativo (OP) que indicam como tais experiências são marcadas pelas dinâmicas da sociedade política. O argumento é reforçado pela apresentação de pesquisa realizada junto a conselheiros do OP de Osasco-SP, pela qual se percebe uma atuação permeada pelos processos políticos próprios da democracia representativa. A maioria dos conselheiros compõe as franjas da sociedade política, situam-se em ascensão a ela, buscando melhor posicionamento no campo político local, no âmbito das disputas internas aos partidos e ao governo municipal. Apontam-se, então, os limites do potencial democratizante do OP, pois a ampliação da participação nas decisões sobre o orçamento se daria apenas para dentro da própria sociedade política.

Mobilisation identitaire et représentation politique des « Turcs » en Thrace occidentale : les élections législatives grecques de mars 2004

Western Thrace is a Greek region bordering Bulgaria and Turkey. Two of its administrative divisions (nomos) – Rhodopi and Xanthi – are mainly inhabited by members of the so-called ‘Muslim minority’. Muslims remained in Greece after the 1924 compulsory population exchange with Turkey. Most of them are Turkish speakers and their electoral momentum has implications on the resonance of their political leaders’ demand concerning the recognition by the Greek state of their ‘Turkishness’. Since the beginning of the year 2000, in a context of European integration, claims linked to the ‘Turkish’ identity of the minority have been considered legitimate in the local political field, and are even taken over by some local ‘Christian’ politicians during electoral campaigns. These claims are still officially considered, however, as an element of national divide and consistently denounced in the courts by Greek state authorities. Despite the fact that both ‘Greek’ and ‘Turkish’ candidates suggest that voters have to vote along ethnic lines, the proportion of Muslim voters, that may theoretically allow the election of three ‘Turkish’ MPs, only one of them was elected in 2004. And yet, the electoral results show a proportionate increase in the votes for the ‘Turkish’ candidates. We have constituted a representative sample of the Muslim electorate in each nomos and made hypotheses in order to try to understand such a situation. These hypotheses deal with, on the one hand, the running rules of the local political field and the role of the ‘Turkish’ discourse in these rules; on the other hand, the Greek voting system’s specificities.

Political socialization and influence at the mercy of politicians

This article explores the following research questions: do local participation projects, such as youth councils, have a socializing effect on young people's political awareness; and do the young people involved attain power and influence in the local political field? The earliest and widely acknowledged political participation project among young people in Norway — the Porsgrunn Model — is used as a case study. This study includes two surveys supplemented by qualitative material. Based on a theoretical framework related to political socialization, democracy and political influence, the author discusses the status of youth councils in general and the Porsgrunn Model in particular. The findings imply that the local participation projects do not have an effect on young people's political awareness in general. However, young people who are directly involved in the participation process have a higher degree of political awareness than those who are outside this process. It is argued that this may be a cumulative effect where young people who are already politically active are also attracted to these structures. Furthermore, the author claims that these youth councils occupy an unclear position in the democratic process, which leaves the young people's possibilities to attain political influence at the mercy of politicians. Their ‘potential power’ seems to be valuable only if they operate in an ‘elite–directed way’, when the formal political rules, norms and communicative competence are used.

Keeping Ethnography Alive in an Urbanizing World

How do we preserve wide-ranging ethnography, and not retreat to interviews alone, in the dense and increasingly enormous cities of our urbanizing world? Interview-based fieldwork presents several dangers, as well-delineated by Barth. On the other hand, rising demands for historical, political-economic, and theoretical contextualization threaten to overwhelm the distinctive contribution of systematic ethnography. As one solution, several settings for productive urban fieldwork that were utilized in a team study of a multiethnic New York City neighborhood are discussed—commercial locations, houses of worship, secular rituals, and local political fields and arenas. In conclusion, ways are identified in which research in such settings is generative of new fieldwork, more precise contextualization, and more powerful theory.

The role of decentralization and cultural revival in post-communist transformations: The case of Cieszyn Silesia, Poland

During the first four years of post-communist transformations (1989–1992), despite intense opposition, the basic features of the Balcerowicz economic plan remained unchanged. One main reason the plan's opponents failed to defeat it was the decoupling of central and local political fields, which shielded local communes from the volatility of central politics where the criticisms of the government's economic policies were most eloquently articulated. Left partially to their own devices, some communes fared better under new conditions than others. The reasons for this differential economic revival are to be found in the differences of: (1) political cultures (“revolutionaries” versus “reformists”) revealed in voting patterns; (2) historical and cultural traditions, and (3) “civicness.” The empirical material to test these theses comes from the author's own fieldwork in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland.