Politics In Historical Perspective Research Articles

Demographic change and backlash: Identity politics in historical perspective

Why are backlash politics so prevalent in the context of demographic change? And so that we may understand how to mitigate social conflict, what role do government and political actors play in their inflammation or reconciliation? Drawing from a larger study of six societies that have dealt with significant demographic change, I review the ways that government and political leaders’ actions can produce three different social cleavages: (1) an overriding and enduring cleavage between ethnic constituencies in national politics, (2) an overriding cleavage that is suppressed by political actors, or (3) a new definition of social cleavages that re-constructs public understandings of the nation. I find that the drivers of these different trajectories relate to state actions in the construction of national identities, which either exclude certain subgroups or absorb them into a state of coexistence. I identify five ways governments channel backlash politics towards exclusion or coexistence, and provide examples from Hawai‘i, a case where historical cleavages between natives and immigrants nearly disappeared. Ultimately, I find that these politics are subject to competing understandings of the nation – the pivotal sense of ‘we’ – that can unite or divide a multiethnic society.

Article V Conventions and American Federalism: Contemporary Politics in Historical Perspective

AbstractThis article examines the federalism implications of state-initiated calls for an Article V convention. Article V of the U.S. Constitution allows two-thirds of the states to call for a convention to consider one or more Constitutional amendments. This article explores the framers’ intent in adding this provision to the Constitution, the history of state efforts to call an Article V convention, and the politics of contemporary efforts to promote such a convention. It utilizes a unique database of 354 state calls for an Article V convention to analyze the evolving politics of this constitutional mechanism. It argues that recent state efforts to promote an Article V convention mirror some historical patterns, particularly the focus on limiting federal government powers in some way. At the same time, Article V initiatives since 2010 diverge from historical practice in their exceedingly partisan nature, which may alter their implications for the federal system.

Book Reviews

Jared Rubin of Chapman University reviews “Islam Instrumentalized: Religion and Politics in Historical Perspective,” by Jean-Philippe Platteau. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Examines the relationship between state and religion in the history of Islam, religious and political relationships, comparisons between Islam and other religions, and the history of Islam (and Christianity), using a theoretical framework from political economics with a multidisciplinary approach.”

American environmental politics in historical perspective: introduction to the symposium

American environmental politics in historical perspective: introduction to the symposium

The New Media and Malaysian Politics in Historical Perspective

This essay is a critical examination of the ability of Malaysia’s new media to promote political liberalization. Drawing on a historical approach to Malaysia’s political development since independence, it argues that the political effects of the rise of Malaysia’s new media are best understood as being parallel to those of modernization and socio-economic change from previous decades, which augured important changes in the political strategies of incumbent and opposition politicians, but did not upset the fundamental logic through which the Barisan Nasional (BN) regime has ruled since the 1970s. That logic of rule is closely attuned to Malaysia’s cleavage structure, which centres on ethnicity and the economy and which has pervaded the country’s politics since independence. Malaysia’s new media — despite being far more open to critical voices than its establishment print and broadcast media — serve as venue in which more basic political conflicts are waged. Although Malaysia’s 13th General Elections may spell further losses for the ruling BN, this essay argues that the rise of Malaysia’s new media is unlikely to be responsible for political liberalization. Instead, liberalizing pressures are most likely to be effective when groups targeting democratic processes and procedures, thereby superseding Malaysia’s cleavage politics.

Contemporary Chinese Politics in Historical Perspective.Brantly Womack

Previous articleNext article No AccessReviewsContemporary Chinese Politics in Historical Perspective. Brantly Womack Graham YoungGraham Young Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 31Jan., 1994 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/2949908 Journal History This article was published in The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs (1979-1995), which is continued by The China Journal (1995-present). Copyright Australian Journal of Chinese AffairsPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Acting out Democracy: Political Theater in Modern China , and: Protest in Beijing , and: The Tiananmen Tragedy: the State Society Relationship, Choices and Mechanism in Historical Perspective (review)

164 SAIS REVIEW account." Tibi argues that the superpowers "were able neither to prevent the outbreak of war nor to influence its course," a contention not supported by the record. As he himself notes, the willingness of the superpowers to supply thenclients with weapons was among the most "salient" factors in the conflict, as it enabled Egypt to conduct the War of Attrition and Israel to turn the tide in 1973. Tibi is not only concerned with the causes of wars, but with their outcome. Here too the book falls short. As he notes, the 1967 war brought about significant changes in the Middle East. He gives particular attention to the decline in Egypt's influence, and an increase in that ofthe oil producing states. Yet this is somewhat undercut when he quotes John Waterbury as writing that "the [economic] crisis that overtook Egypt in 1965-66. . .was exacerbated, but not caused, by Egypt's military defeat in 1967." If such is the case, then there likely would have been a power shift in any case. And while Tibi argues that the 1990-91 Gulf War was "the major event in the Middle East since the First World War," he provides little evidence for this contention, and much to indicate that not much has changed. Given that Tibi uses a systemic approach to the dynamic relationship between superpower patrons and regional clients, whose interests are not always constant, it is odd that this receives little elucidation in the historical description, which mainly relies on domestic political factors, the misperceptionor stupidity ofleaders, and mistakes or fate. Also odd is his identification ofvarious authors, at one point noting that an "American political scientist ... an American Jewess, disputes the thesis that Israel's interests are identical to those of the USA." To argue that American foreign policy makers had not thought through the possible "incompatibility " between support for Israel and US relations with the Arab world prior to 1967 is inaccurate, as is the contention that neither the Iraqi invasion of Iran nor the Israeli invasion of Lebanon were "strategically thought out acts based on a political concept. The issues raised in Conflict and War in the Middle East are important. Unfortunately , because the book is discursive, at times disorganized, and marred by inaccuracies, it neither contributes to our understanding of the dynamics of the Middle East, nor to how small states pursue their security, nor to the development of international relations theory. "Acting out Democracy: Political Theater in Modern China" by Joseph W. Esherick and Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom (The Journal ofAsian Studies, Vol. 49, No. 4, November 1990) pp.835-862. "Protest in Beijing"by David Strand [Problems ofCommunism, May-June 1990) pp. 1-19. "The Tiananmen Tragedy: the State Society Relationship, Choices and Mechanism in Historical Perspective," by Tsou Tang in Contemporary Chinese Politics in Historical Perspective, Brantley Womack, ed. (Cambridge University Press, 1991) pp. 265-327. Reviewed by Matthew S. Flynn, MA. Candidate, SAIS. As in the analysis of democratization of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, studies of the Democracy Movement China have focused on how the development BOOK REVIEWS 165 of"civil society" serves to challenge the monolithic state structure. The perspective common to the study of the democratization of socialist countries is that when the totalitarian state withdrew from its penetration ofsociety—either because ofshear exhaustion or due to economic reforms—a "public sphere" was created that allowed private interests to organize and challenge authoritarian rule. This avenue of inquiry continues to be extremely relevant as the world wonders whether civil society is vigorous enough either to protect its recently gained independence, as in Eastern Europe, or rebound from state suppression or in China. This review will examine three articles that use a historical perspective to profile the political actors ofthe Tiananmen massacre in a state-society framework. Twentieth-century China has experienced the rise ofa modern state, nation building , civil war, foreign occupation, and industrialization. All three authors use their knowledge of modern Chinese history to illuminate the present crisis. DavidStrand's "Protest in Beijing" echoes his earlierworkoncorporate interest groups in Beijing during the second and third decades ofthis century. In the May 4th, 1919 protests...

Contemporary Chinese politics in historical perspective

Journal Article Contemporary Chinese politics in historical perspective Get access Contemporary Chinese politics in historical perspective. Edited by Brantly Womack. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1991. 334pp. Pb.: £12.95. ISBN 0 521 42282 5. Kjeld Erik Brødsgaard Kjeld Erik Brødsgaard 1University of Copenhagen Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Affairs, Volume 69, Issue 1, January 1993, Page 174, https://doi.org/10.2307/2621191 Published: 01 January 1993

Contemporary Chinese politics in historical perspective

Contemporary Chinese politics in historical perspective

Conference Panel: On Political Identity

In May, 1990, a conference was held at UCLA on the theme of “American Politics in Historical Perspective.” Panels were organized on political institutions and social history, on periodization, and on political identity. The panel presentations on political identity are printed below, along with some of the exchanges among the conference group. Slightly edited for clarity, they are offered to readers in the interest of conveying some of the intellectual ferment currently surrounding the focus on political identity and its use as an approach in historical study. The editors of Studies in American Political Development do not endorse any of the views or interpretations expressed.

A Rope of Sand: The AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education, 1955-1967

Labor Politics in Historical Perspective From PAC to COPE A Rope of Sand The Formative Years From Victory to Defeat

The Church and American Politics in Historical Perspective

The Church and American Politics in Historical Perspective