Political Power Structures Research Articles

Feminists in Power: Women Cabinet Ministers in the New Democratic Party (NDP) Government of Ontario, 1990–1995

Faced with power all women, whether feminists or not, are confronted with three possible strategies: to become part of the existing structure of political power and find a position of equality within it; to challenge the existing power structure through parties whose goal it is to preempt such power in order to transform it; or to remain on the fringes of the established structures in order to engage in the pressure tactics of subversion.Sylvie Paquerot, 1983 The difference between quantitative representation and qualitative (or “substantive”) representation has become of interest to scholars exploring the impact of the number of women elected to political institutions. Where once the focus was on the number alone, the most recent work emphasizes the significance of “interest representation.” Ultimately, the question is: Does it make a difference to have substantive representation of women, especially in positions of power? Does it make a difference in terms of policy outcomes? Does it make a difference in terms of institutional change? This research examines a case study of women cabinet ministers in the New Democratic Party government of Ontario, Canada, from 1990 to 1995. Based on lengthy interviews and an analysis of policy outcomes, this paper concludes that it did indeed make a difference, on both fronts, but that those transformations were not as dramatic as the feminist progressive components might project nor as extensive as the women's movement had hoped.

German reunification and the politics of street names: the case of East Berlin

Commemorative street names conflate the political discourse of history and the political geography of a modern city. Renaming streets features prominently in revolutionary changes of political regime. As a ritual of revolution, the renaming of the past is also an effective demonstration of the reshaping of political power structures. This article examines the process of renaming East Berlin's communist past in the years 1990–1994 and the subsequent reshaping of the city's postcommunist political geography as an aspect of the reunification of Germany, and of Berlin in particular. The article investigates the ideological dispositions and political configurations that controlled and directed the renaming process, elaborating on the renaming process as a discourse of German national identity that is articulated in terms of the canonization of a democratic historical heritage. It discusses the renamings accomplished in 1990–1992 at the level of district assemblies and analyzes the attempt made in 1993–1994 by the ‘Independent Commission’ nominated by the Berlin Senate to rename thoroughfares in the center of Berlin, designated to become the seat of the national government of a reunited and democratic Germany.

Rethinking Indonesian Forest Policy: Beyond the Timber Barons

highly concentrated structure of political and economic power controlling Indonesia's forest industry. Many economists now agree that from a social and environmental standpoint, Indonesia's timber operations have been a disaster, bearing a legacy that the nation will carry well into the 21st century. This is reflected in the growing tensions between the Ministry of Forestry (MOF) and the political and economic powers that dominate the industry, and by the increasingly vocal concerns of local and provincial governments that must deal with the problems stemming from forest exploitation policies. In addition, the scattered but expanding incidence of social unrest among forest communities in the Outer Islands, which stem from the inequitable allocation of forest use rights, poses a further threat to the continuation of the industry as it is presently structured. The timber industry in Indonesia reflects the political and economic dynamics of that country and of the larger global market in which it operates. As such, its characteristics are similar to those of other economic sectors in Indonesia as well as mirroring the timber industries of other tropical countries. This article is limited to examining the specific problems of the timber industry in Indonesia, while recognizing that they are not necessarily unique to that country or the global timber trade. The question raised is whether Indonesia will follow the boom-and-bust pattern experienced by the timber industries of Thailand and the Philippines during the 1970s and 1980s and suffer similar environmental and social consequences.

Cultural Relativism and the Construction of Culture: An Examination of Japan

Cultural Relativism and the Construction of Culture: An Examination of Japan Annette Marfording (bio) I. Introduction This article suggests a new approach to the human rights debate on the issue of universalism versus cultural relativism of human rights, which has reached an impasse. Proponents of the universality of human rights rely on the International Bill of Rights incorporating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1 and the International Human Rights Covenants, 2 and argue that the rights incorporated in these international treaties are so fundamental as to constitute natural law that is universal to human kind. 3 Cultural relativism can be traced back to anthropologist scholars such as Melville [End Page 431] Herskovits 4 and Adamantia Pollis and Peter Schwab, 5 who contended that the international human rights treaties reflect ethnocentric Western perspectives and that the imposition of these external standards on other cultures which uphold different values is wrong. In more recent times some Asian government leaders have eagerly adopted the cultural relativism theory, and have voiced their opposition to the universality of human rights at recent forums such as the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993 6 and the ASEAN-EU meeting in Bangkok in March 1996. 7 Their argument is essentially that Western human rights principles are based on the notion of individualism, which is inappropriate for Asian societies, where the interests of the community or the group are given priority over those of the individual. 8 Persuasive arguments can be made in favor of either theory. Relativism seems preferable at first sight, in light of the history of Western colonialism and imperialism, and the ensuing destruction of many cultures. The values espoused in the International Bill of Rights may not be shared by all cultures, and why should different value systems be denied equal validity? Does not the experience of the Third Reich and of the more recent Bosnian crisis suggest that tolerance for diversity is not merely an important value in itself, but a condition precedent to the survival of human life and humanity? On the other hand, the fundamental aim of human rights is to protect the individual from the exercise of public power. In view of the worldwide growth of the modern state, and the ensuing heightened vulnerability of the individual to the exercise of its power, human rights principles and protections have become even more important. In my view there are two reasons why the universalism versus cultural relativism debate has reached an impasse. The first is the apparently equal validity and persuasiveness of arguments for either side. But more importantly, the debate has taken place at a very generalized level. This article suggests that a more constructive approach lies in a sustained examination [End Page 432] of the formation of culture in specific societies. I contend that cultural relativism is not a valid proposition if political and social power structures artificially construct “culture.” If cultural values are not determined by the respective population, but rather by these power structures, cultural relativism gives credence to cultural ideology rather than to culture, and thereby opens the door to state oppression. Thus, my approach to determining the validity of the two theories requires a detailed examination of the formation of culture in each society. In response to Adamantia Pollis’ recent contention that “[t]he limited scope of individual human rights [in Japan] is a result of the psychological imperatives of Japanese values and not a consequence of state coercion,” 9 the subject of this article will be Japan. The question is whether the Japanese people have determined their cultural values for themselves or whether a cultural ideology has been imposed upon them from above. Even though Japan and its legal system have been the subjects of my research for several years now, I am nevertheless an external observer and thus acknowledge the potential for misinterpretation. To reduce this risk, this article relies predominantly on scholarly writing from within Japan. II. Culture in Japan There is a vast body of literature, referred to in Japanese as nihonjinron, on Japanese culture and distinctive Japanese patterns of behavior and thought. The gist of this literature is that Japanese society is very homogenous, characterized by...

Literacy in (Inter)Action

esearch on literacy over the past twenty years has often concluded that literacy is set of social and political (Brodkey 9). Criticizing narrow definitions of literacy as basic reading and writing, this research emphasizes the contexts of literacy: Lunsford, Moglen, and Slevin, for instance, call for research on inextricably embedded literacy is in culture, how context-dependent is its realization ... in the literacy practices of communities, schools, and (3-4). Many studies focusing on the contexts of literacy have been ethnographic investigations, with studies of schools and classrooms (Michaels; Heath and Mangiola; Chiseri-Strater; Rose) complemented by a growing number of studies of communities and workplaces (Shirley Brice Heath; Moss; Fishman; Taylor and DorseyGaines; Gowan; Street). This research has broadened conceptions of literacy considerably: literacy is now defined not as specific abilities but as broad-based bodies of knowledge and sets of practices, including bodies of knowledge as arcane as academic disciplines (Geisler) as well as sets of everyday practices as ordinary as reading labels on aspirin bottles (Gee). This research has also broadened understandings of the complicated relationships between literacy and structures of political power and authority: literacy is now recognized as one of the means by which educational privilege, with its associated social and economic rewards, remains unequally distributed in contemporary society, a class-based distribution which is also, as Linda Brodkey notes, confounded by race and gender (85). Research on literacy within English studies, however, typically investigates contexts in which literacy is foregrounded. Even in recent studies in community

Others, Adults, Censored: The Federal Theatre Project's Black Lysistrata Cancellation

Though it has been almost completely overlooked, the arbitrary cancellation of the Seattle Negro Repertory Company's 1936 Lysistrata provides a remarkable opportunity to explore the connections between a single, seemingly localized action and a network of socially, politically, and racially repressive forces. Lysistrata's closure on ostensibly moral grounds reveals the operation of a set of cultural and social controls masked as standards of decency. An array of racist assumptions as rigid as those anywhere in the country, though somewhat more subtle, obscured the generally repressive ends that the control system served, both in Seattle and nationwide. The incident thus provides clues to the institutionalized antireform mechanisms that soon coalesced in a successful congressional attack on the Works Project Administration's Federal Theatre Project (FTP), of which the Negro Repertory Company (NRC) was a major unit. The Lysistrata cancellation's connection with that broader offensive also demonstrates the manner in which Hallie Flanagan's “free, adult, uncensored” national theatre threatened the nation's essentially conservative political power structure and drew the decisive backlash that eventually overturned efforts at social change during the Depression Era.

Property Rights, Small Woodlot Owners and Forest Management in Nova Scotia

This paper explores the political, economic and social power structure in the forest of Nova Scotia through the history of forest tenures and forest management, focussing on small woodlot owners. In forest management, one assumption holds that small woodlot owners strongly believe in the notion of private property rights; the other holds that it is unacceptable to interfere with such rights except through educational and voluntary programmes. We question these assumptions. In Nova Scotia, the state’s alleged protection of property rights has been rhetorical and highly selective. Property rights have been contested. Individual property rights, common property rights and open access arrangements have been eroded while corporate property rights have been enhanced. The ascendancy and pre-eminence of the latter are not a function of a natural order. There are precedents for different sets of rules, even within capitalism, as illustrated both by the history of Nova Scotia and by conditions in other jurisdictions.

Current Trends and Issues in Studies of Local Economy in Thailand

Many of studies of the Thai economy have so far had little concern for local cities on the premise that Thailand consists of a capital city, that is, Bangkok, and the rural area, that is, the rest of the country. Even when local cities are studied, they used to be regarded just as target areas for administrative control and regional development programs by the central government, and/or for exploitation by external big companies. In short, those studies paid little attention to actors within local economies.In contrast to those studies mentioned above, the current studies increasingly make efforts to understand local economy from some internal viewpoint by putting emphasis on the active behavior of provincial businessmen, some of the most important economic actors in local cities. The aim of this paper is to review the current trends of these studies and to point out issues to be further studied. The results are summarized in the following three respects:First, since the end of 1970's, not a few scholars belonging to the so-called“political economy school (Samnak Setthasat-kanmuang)”have published the results of their research on the history of development and political behavior of provincial businessmen who base their business activities upon local cities.However, these studies statically considered provincial businessmen as merchant capitalists, dependent capitalists, or Jao Pho. As a result, they underestimated the dynamic aspect of their business expansion and the variety of their responses to the changing politico-economic situation.To the contrary, it is necessary to make thoroughly positive researches of the active behavior of provincial businessmen in the changing conditions in the intra-national and international economy, political power structure, the government's economic and industrial policy, and in relation to external capital. At the same time, it is important to avoid defining a priori the existence, form and role of provincial businessmen.Second, full attention should be also paid to the role and function of provincial business associations. It is true that as studies on Jao Pho have already shown, there are big businessmen at the provincial level who can exert great influence (itthiphon) upon provincial government officials and politicians as well as upon the local business world. But at the same time, it should be realized that there are not only such influential businessmen but also many provincial businessmen who make efforts to do business sometimes by cooperating with others through formal business associations at the provincial level (e.g. provincial chambers of commerce). Moreover, provincial business associations increasingly are expanding the scope of their activities.However, those provincial business associations such as provincial chambers of commerce have a relatively short history and have played still limited roles in the policy-making process of the government. It is necessary, therefore, to conduct further research on the roles and limitation of provincial business associations in terms of their historical background of organizing themselves and the relative position of those associations in the local business world.Third and lastly, comparative studies of local cities within Thailand are also necessary. Judging from some cases on which studies of Jao Pho are based, the arguments of those studies may be persuasive. However, studies of other cases indicate that there are at least some cities with a more pluralistic social form to which the Jao Pho model does not apply.What socio-economic factors bring about such differences between areas? This is also one of the issues to be further studied.

Constructing the Self, Constructing America. A Cultural History of Psychotherapy

PHILIP CUSHMAN: Constructing Self, Constructing America. A Cultural History of Psychotherapy. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1995, 430 pp., $27.50. Philip Cushman, member of core faculty of California School of Professional Psychology, Alameda/Berkeley Campus, has alerted us for some years to extent to which psychological theories and ensuing therapeutic practices reflect socioeconomic, historical, and above all, political context of era in which they arise. His massive new book Constructing Self, Constructing America, is devoted to this important subject. The author draws parallel between American socio-political history, mostly of 19th and 20th century and its changing psychological theories and practices, which he views not only as reflecting, but also ultimately serving needs of political and economic power structure of each period. Cushman's particular interest is in many different possible constructions of self of each period. Indeed, highlight of book, and in some ways partial review of its themes, is Appendix: The Self in Western Society (pp. 357-87). Starting with antiquity Cushman uses historical literature to illustrate many steps that have only recently led to t he masterful bounded self of today (p. 357), a self that needs to be 'therapied' (p. 1) and one with...many subjective 'inner' feelings... (p. 357). The whole book presents alternate sections of American socio-economic history and corresponding psychic healing practices. The author demonstrates how Americans have constructed the other, be they African-Americans, Native Americans or Communists to carry repudiated aspects of themselves. Cushman's purpose is to show extent to which most healing technologies in United States have been subtly complicit in sexims, racism, and economic injustice of their eras (p.5). Psychotherapy, here, is not scientifically based, value-neutral enterprise its practitioners claim it to be but instead, a moral discourse with political consequences (p. 281). In course of book we learn about history of healing practices in last two centuries, from establishment, reform, and decline of asylums, (Chap. 4, Healing through Self-Domination) to Mesmerism (Chap. 5, Healing through Self-Liberation) to history of mental-hygiene movement, onward to the Americanization of Psychoanalysis (p. 117) and beyond. Cushman makes an interesting contrast between Melanie Klein who would pave way for Object Relations and Self Psychology with location of psychic conflict inside self, and Harry Stack Sullivan who situated social interactions and psychological problems in the space between people (p. …

Abused Refugee Women: Trauma and Testimony

This article discusses issues generated by authors work as a therapist treating female victims of gender-specific human rights violations arising from war in former Yugoslavia. In order to attempt to understand some of events recounted by her patients and to deal with her own feelings after hearing their testimonies author created a research project involving interviews with 40 refugee women. As part of this project author created a ritual space that she called the blue room which served as a third culture where victims testimony was recorded. The giving of this testimony acted as a form of treatment for symptoms of trauma and created a political weapon against aggressors. The research sought to inform counseling by examining how paradoxical feelings of complicity (self-blame) could be generated in victims by combination of sexual abuse and a cultures sexual and political power structure (that relies on feeling of shame to control behavior). In transcribing testimonies author used metaphors of rooms in a house and of crossing boundaries to symbolize different experiences and dangers. In all cases refugee women experienced oppression and human rights violations through male use of sexuality to control exploit and punish. Their feelings of complicity arose because they felt they had been polluted and were thus polluting and dangerous to others. Thus feelings of shame inculcated into children to legitimize a system of domination define trauma of victimization.

The politics of pharmaceutical reform: the case of the Philippine National Drug Policy.

A national drug policy was formulated in the Philippines after the rise of the Aquino government in 1986. In this article, the author discusses the pharmaceutical situation before the policy was announced, and argues that the major push for a policy came from the confluence of four factors: a change in the structures of political power, especially the rise of a new government and the empowerment of health non-governmental organizations as new participants in the policy process; members of the Department of Health who pushed for a policy; a more conductive social and political climate, both locally and internationally; and a growing body of knowledge about the drug issue. The author discusses the policy's achievements as well as the limitations that have beset the policy from 1987 to 1992.

The power of the gun: the emergence of modern Chinese warlordism

This detailed study offers a new interpretation of the emergence of warlordism in early twentieth-century China. Focusing on the provinces of Hunan and Hubei, Edward McCord shows how the repeated use of the military to settle disputes over the structure and allocation of political power in the early Republic ultimately thwarted the consolidation of civil authority. Warlordism flourished as military commanders took advantage of the growing militarization of politics to establish their dominance over early Republican government. McCord's study brings into sharp focus the social and political context of warlordism and is an essential bridge completing the narrative of events between two revolutionary eras. With the role of the military in modern Chinese politics receiving renewed attention today, this work is especially timely.

Service or Benefice? Officeholders in Poland and Sweden of the seventeenth century

Abstract Exploring the differential structures of social and political power in early modern Europe, this paper examines the contrasting experiences of Poland and Sweden by focusing on the growth of civil office in each country. Central to the study is an understanding of the books of disciplinary regulation imposed on office holders, and how and why these measures were enforced. As the author illustrates, the two case studies give very different conclusions. In Sweden, as exemplified in the trial of leading members of the Swedish Council in 1680, the holder of civic office was constrained by a ‘corset of bureaucratic routine’. Strict, and widely enforced, rules governed activities such as office hours, dress and rates of remuneration. In contrast, Polish office holders pursued appointments not in the name of civic efficiency but to grasp social and political privilege. At the end of the article Kopczynski discusses some of the factors involved in these differences, laying emphasis on the structures of po...

The political dimension of intercultural research - the Australian experience

Australia's linguistic, ethnic and racial diversity presents many interesting and important methodological challenges to social science research. A much neglected or even officially unacknowledged dimension of intercultural research endeavours are the political and ideological power structures which not only focus and direct research projects, but also influence, if not determine, methodological approaches. This paper examines some aspects of the various power relations and power structures that have, and continue to have, a significant impact on methodological issues and hence on the validity and reliability of research findings. Since much of the debate about immigration (past, present and future) about settlement practices, service and welfare provisions etc. in Australia centers and relies on cross-cultural studies, methodological issues, and the enhancement of a projects validity and reliability should be of paramount importance. Available evidence suggests that this is not necessarily or always the case.

Productivity in manufacturing as a determinant of growth: The Indian case

India was probably the first developing country professing political democracy to launch an economic development program. It developed planning models suited to its economic landscape and political environment and for a while India was held as a model for other developing countries. Yet India’s secular growth rate has been modest at best. and disappointing at worst, when seen in relation to growth rates in some of the other developing countries which followed India. The GDP growth rate, which was around 3.5% during 19X&51 and 1983-84, rising to about 5.0% during 1985-92 fell short of that achieved by countries such as Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico, Malaysia, Yugoslavia and Thailand. In per capita terms, their rates of growth over the last two decades have been at least twice that of India and in some cases, even four or five times. In regard to income distribution, India’s performance may not have been worse than that of some of these countries, but certainly it was not better than that of Taiwan, Korea. or Yugoslavia. Considering that India set a specific goal of poverty alleviation through its planning process and devised a policy framework with that goal in view, this achievement should be deemed a distinct failure. There have been various explanations offered for India’s dismal economic performance despite the headstart it had over many other developing countries but three among them gained wide currency. They suggested that the Indian economic policy would engender change only marginally unless there was a more thorough overhaul of the political power structure and process. The first of these explanations advocated by the liberal economists stresses that economic efficiency has been eroded by the instruments chosen for investment allocation (Bhagwati and Desai, 1970; Bhagwati and Srinivasan, 1975; Bhagwati, 1987 and 198X). At the beginning of its planning process, India introduced a series of instruments, such as industrial licensing, for the purpose of investment allocation thought to be sensible on economic grounds. These instruments, were transformed, as time went on, into a straightjacket of regulations and restrictive practices stifling production efficiency and competition, thereby proliferating rent-seeking activities. Somewhat with the same intent, but with a different and wider perspective, Bardhan (1984) focuses on the political constraints on the efficiency of the public sector and agricultural and industrial investments. He traces these consctraints to the existence of a proprietary coalition of the industrial-capitalist class, white-collar bureaucrats and rich farmers, all of whom belong to the top two percentile of the population. There are continuing conflicts among these proprietary classes between urban industrial and professional classes and rural classes of rich farmers, between the professional class in the public sector and the other proprietary classes in industry and trade; and so on. The consequences of these conflicts are reflected in the deceleration of public investment and the rise in the capitaloutput ratio in the economy, both of which accounted for the slowdown of economic growth in India. The third explanation of a political economy nature attributes paralysis of economic policy formulation and execution to the innerworking of the political system, which makes economic policy punitive, at one extreme, but without any sanctions for enforcing it, and at the other, contains incentives but without any built-in mechanism to ensure reward for success (Khatkhate, 1977). While all these explanations for India’s faltering economic growth are relevant in varying degrees, only the Bhagwati-Desai-Srinivasan’s inference about India’s low growth could be empirically tested. The instruments used by the Indian policy makers were industrial licensing,

Réseaux personnels et autorité coloniale : les négociants de Buenos Aires au XVIIIesiècle

Les réseaux de relations personnelles constituent un sujet à la fois rebattu et inédit de l'histoire coloniale hispano-américaine. Ils jalonnent les études consacrées au rôle de la famille dans la vie économique et politique. Évidemment, on s'est surtout préoccupé d'établir l'éventail des normes et des stratégies des groupes ou catégories qui ont servi de base à l'élaboration d'une image de la stratification sociale : commerçants, ploutocrates, familles de notables, etc. Ces catégories sont perçues comme étant constituées d'individus ou d'ensembles corporatifs qui fonctionnent, à la fois, comme agents mus par une exigence de profit et comme acteurs imbriqués dans la logique des liens primaires. Il a pu en résulter des strates d'explications homogènes mais qui, superposées, n'offrent aucun rapport les unes avec les autres.

ETACRATISM: POWER AND PROPERTY—EVIDENCE FROM THE SOVIET EXPERIENCE

This paper is aiming to outline the fundamental features of the Soviet-type system from which the new transitional society is emerging. The Soviet-type system is categorised beyond the `capitalism-socialism' alternative as a system of `etacratism' in which all social and economic relationships are subordinated to the structures of political power. Characteristics reminiscent of the `Asiatic mode of production' and data on top Party functionaries are used to illustrate the essential points of the system under consideration.

The politics of privilege: old regime and revolution in Lille

This study analyzes the political and fiscal origins of the French Revolution by looking at the relationship between the royal government and privileged, corporate bodies at local level. Utilizing a neo-Tocquevillian approach, it argues that the monarchy undermined its own attempts at reform by extending central authority, while at the same time it continued to rely upon corporate structures and monopolies to finance the state. The unresolvable, institutional conflicts had the effect of politicising members of the privileged elite and eventually led many of them to embrace a rhetoric of citizenship, accountability, and civic equality that had far-reaching and unanticipated consequences. When Lille's bourgeoisie consolidated a municipal revolution in 1789, they followed a programme that was politically liberal, but economically conservative. Arranged as a series of case-studies, the book illuminates the structure of political power in the Flemish provincial estates, the growth of royal taxation, the problem of municipal credit, the role of venal officeholders, and the relationship of the revolutionary bourgeoisie to monopolies of the guilds.

Art, pouvoir et politique dans l'ordre augustinien au XVIIe siècle

L'influence réelle de l'image religieuse est un phénomène qui n'est plus aisément accepté et compris. Même les historiens de l'art spécialistes de l'art religieux des premiers temps, le plus grand comme le mineur, sont souvent déroutés quand ils essaient de traduire la fonction et la signification véritables des fresques, peintures et sculptures qui ornaient fréquemment les murs des chapelles et des églises de toute la chrétienté. Il semble que l'on ait perdu la clé de la mentalité qui investissait les objets de cette époque — forme et contenu — d'une fonction, d'un message et par conséquent d'une influence et d'un pouvoir. Pour comprendre cette influence, il faut admettre que ce langage soit à la fois verbal et visuel.

Public Opinion and Foreign Policy in Wilhelmian Germany, 1897–1914

The age of high imperialism was also the age of the emergence of mass journalism. This heralded a steady widening of what might be called the “political nation,” that is, those groups who took an active interest in politics in contrast to the mass of the population still largely outside the political arena. Up to the 1890s politics tended to beHonoratiorenpolitik—confined to “notables” orHonoratioren, a term first applied by Max Weber around the turn of the century to describe the elites who had dominated the political power structure up to that time. Gradually “public opinion” ceased to be, in effect, the opinion of the educated classes, that is, theclasses dirigeantes. In Wilhelmian Germany the process of democratization had been successfully contained, if seen in terms of the constitutional system; the age of mass politics was still far away.