Period Of Political Uncertainty Research Articles

The Dahomean Feast: Royal Women, Private Politics, and Culinary Practices in Atlantic West Africa

Feasting is a central component of elite power strategies in complex societies worldwide. In the precolonial Kingdom of Dahomey, located in the Republic of Benin, public feasts were a critical component of royal strategies to attract and bind political subjects over the course of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, a period of dramatic political transformation on the Bight of Benin. Archaeological excavations within the domestic quarters of a series of Dahomean royal palace sites have yielded diverse faunal and ceramic assemblages that represent clear examples of (1) ritualized food consumption and (2) everyday culinary practices. In this paper, faunal and ceramic evidence from two excavated contexts is marshaled to distinguish the archaeological signatures of feasting in Dahomey, highlighting the importance of private feasts in attempts to build political influence in the domestic zones of Dahomean royal palaces. In particular, this analysis foregrounds how royal women jockeyed for power and influence during a period of political uncertainty.

The Pre-Industrial Cape in the Twenty-First Century

ABSTRACT This special issue of the South African Historical Journal reflects on the state of the field of pre-industrial history at the Cape of Good Hope. It is an opportunity to look back on the previous decade of research, identify accomplishments, and chart future directions. We note a significant historiographical shift from research that focused broadly on colonised peoples, particularly slaves and Khoesan, to emerging literatures that give equally careful attention to colonisers. This shift moves the field toward a more complete picture of colonial society; it accompanies a present period of political uncertainty. The growing body of scholarship on early colonial history is drawing more practitioners. The resulting exploration of new topics and the revision of existing interpretations are producing robust, methodologically diverse work, especially noteworthy for its interdisciplinarity. While this work increasingly situates the Cape in broader regional and global histories, even more intentional efforts are required in order to avoid parochialism. The transition from Dutch to British rule at the Cape also requires further scrutiny. These efforts have the ability to challenge existing periodisations and lead to a re-examination of the continuities before and after the mineral revolutions.

INVESTING IN INSTITUTIONS

Robust institutional change is difficult to achieve. However, it is more difficult for some countries than others. We use data on 69 countries between 1870 and 2000 to show that political instability does not always affect growth outcomes. We then develop a simple model to explain this fact in which the likelihood that “good” institutions are abandoned during periods of political uncertainty depends on the opportunity cost of doing so. We operationalize our model by using contract intensive money as a proxy for this initial investment in growth-enhancing institutions. Cross-sectional and panel growth regressions support the model's predictions.

Does politics matter? The influence of elections and government formation in the Netherlands on the Amsterdam Exchange Index

In stable democratic countries the redistribution of power is institutionalized. Yet, there are periods of increased political uncertainty: During electoral campaigns there is uncertainty about who will win the election. And in multiparty parliamentary systems the uncertainty over who will actually govern usually continues throughout the coalition formation process. This article tries to contribute to answering the question whether and how financial markets react to such political uncertainty. Using a standard econometric tool, a GARCH (1,1) model, I find evidence for reactions of the AEX (Amsterdam Exchange Index) on periods of political uncertainty in the Netherlands. There is strong evidence that the political uncertainty during electoral campaigns is reflected in increased volatility of the AEX. The reactions during the coalition formation period seem to depend on the degree of uncertainty about the expected government coalition. The evidence for reactions on the ideological positions of government is mixed: Participation of left parties in governments seems to increase volatility, but the mean returns are not negatively affected in recent elections.

Women and Men on the Move

Fiji Indians emigrated to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and United States of America as early as 1970 when Fiji gained its independence. Emigration has continued since then with peaks during times of political crises, such as the coups of 1987 and 2000, and periods of political uncertainty, such as national elections and the formulation of a discriminatory Constitution in 1990. It has experienced troughs during periods of political stability and economic growth. Emigration is fundamentally the consequence of deficits in human development, especially in relation to human insecurity encompassing political exclusiveness and socio-political and economic insecurity arising from discriminatory socio-economic policies. This article outlines the magnitude and nature of emigration of Fiji Indians. It also discusses the trends, motivations and consequences of their emigration.

Financials: Noveon reports sales growth in 2002

We examine the relation between political uncertainty and cash holdings for firms in China. We document that, during the first year of a new city government official's appointment, a firm, on average, holds less cash, which is consistent with the grabbing hand hypothesis of politician. Our results are robust to alternative measures of cash holdings, instrumental variable estimation, sub-samples without firms in four major cities, a matched sample approach, and placebo tests. In addition, our additional analyses suggest that a firm holds significantly less cash if: (a) the newly appointed official is from a different city relative to that from the same city, (b) it faces high political extraction risk, and (c) it has strong twin agency conflicts. Lastly, our extended results suggest that the market value of cash holdings is significantly negative during periods of political uncertainty and firms hide their cash by moving it to related firms via related party transactions.

Intergroup vitality Perceptions during a period of political uncertainty: The case of Hong Kong

(1987). Intergroup vitality Perceptions during a period of political uncertainty: The case of Hong Kong. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development: Vol. 8, No. 5, pp. 451-460.

Thailand after Sarit

The death of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat in December 1963 occurred at a particularly unfortunate time for Thailand and its Western allies because of the increasingly dangerous political situation prevailing in Southeast Asia. The Diem regime had been overthrown in Vietnam and the Viet-Cong were taking full advantage of the resulting confusion to press an offensive in the Mekong Delta. Neighboring Cambodia, which had broken relations with Thailand in 1961, appeared to be moving toward an accommodation with Peking; and in Laos, the civil war threatened to erupt again at any time. Burma was encountering increasing difficulties in preventing dissident elements and the students from plunging the country into chaos, and Thailand's partners in the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA), Malaysia and the Philippines, were quarreling with each other and with Indonesia over rights to the North Borneo territories. Thus, the leader who had given the country both political and economic stability for over five years died after a short illness at a time when Thailand found itself surrounded by trouble and in great need of internal stability. For the West, the death of Marshal Sarit meant that the one country in Southeast Asia which seemed capable and determined to withstand the southward push of Chinese influence would enter a period of political uncertainty whose outcome was difficult to predict. Sarit was different in a number of important respects from other prime ministers that have ruled Thailand since the overthrow of absolute monarchy in 1932 and the inauguration of constitutional government for the first time. The three best known political figures-Pibun Songkhram, Pridi Panomyong and Khuang Apaiwong-were educated in France during the 1920s and were part of the small group of conspirators who planned the 1932 coup d'e'tat against the monarchy. Thereafter, each of these men became the leader of a political group or faction and played a prominent role in the politics of Thailand.' In contrast, Sarit received all his education in Thailand, was not a conspirator in the 1932 revolution, and was not the leader of any political group until after he ousted Pibun from the premiership in September 1957. Sarit's entire career had been spent in the Army, and there is little evidence that he aspired to the premiership until political events in 195758 forced him into a decision. Another, and perhaps the most important, difference between Sarit and his predecessors was that he made no pre-

Scientific Research in U.S.A.

IN his report for 1933, the president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington has directed attention to the difficulties which beset scientific research during periods of political uncertainty and retrenchment. “Periods of emergency give rise to shifting conditions which may tend to press toward extinction of research and research institutions through financial weakening, and because of emphasis on what may be considered essentials of life.” But on the other hand, emergencies present tests of adequacy in research as a method and of the human value of specific ideas for the origin of which it is responsible. The president says it is difficult to visualise a situation in which we could retreat from the present position. “The needs of civilisation can never be met by a static condition in which the generations merely settle down to life at a particular level. One can assume that through coming ages the requirement for increased knowledge with new ideas and their bettered application will grow. Unusual constructive ability arising out of what is known as the scientific interpretation will have an increasingly important part in development and organization of society. The investigation process, both as a means of securing ideas and as a method for learning their application, will naturally and properly take its place as one of the most nearly indispensable of all activities upon which the future well-being of mankind depends.”