Showing papers on "Modernization theory published in 2004"

Mandarins of the Future: Modernization Theory in Cold War America

Abstract: Introduction - modernization theory and American modernism Contests - the European past and the American present The Harvard Department of Social Relations SSRC's Committee on Comparative Politics The MIT Center for International Studies The collapse of modernization theory The postmodern turn and the aftermath of modernization theory.

Why Europe needs a constitution

Abstract: Larry Siedentop's book Democracy in Europe expresses a more cautious mood: as he puts it, 'a great constitutional debate need not involve a prior commitment to federalism as the most desirable outcome in Europe. This chapter begins with a question: why should we pursue the project of an 'ever-closer Union' any further at all? The rational expectation of mutual benefits within Europe and of differential competitive advantages on world markets could, to date, provide a legitimation 'through outcomes' for an ever-closer Union. The political tradition of the workers' movement, the salience of Christian social doctrines and even a certain normative core of social liberalism still provide a formative background for social solidarity. Modern Europe has institutionalized a comprehensive spectrum of competing conservative, liberal and socialist interpretations of capitalist modernization, in an ideological system of political parties. Economic globalization, shares with all processes of accelerated modernization some disquieting features.

Why the Middle East is Economically Underdeveloped: Historical Mechanisms of Institutional Stagnation

Abstract: Amillennium ago, around roughly the tenth century, the Middle East was an economically advanced region of the world, as measured by standard of living, technology, agricultural productivity, literacy or institutional creativity. Only China might have been even more developed. Subsequently, however, the Middle East failed to match the institutional transformation through which western Europe vastly increased its capacity to pool resources, coordinate productive activities and conduct exchanges. True, the institutional endowment of the Middle East continued to evolve. But in certain areas central to economic modernization change was minimal, at least in relation to the structural transformation of the West and, for that matter, the Middle East’s own evolution during the early Islamic centuries. In eighteenth-century Cairo, credit practices hardly differed from those of the tenth century. Likewise, investors and traders were using enterprise forms essentially identical to those prevalent eight centuries earlier. By the nineteenth century, the entire Middle East was clearly “underdeveloped” relative to western Europe and its offshoots in the new world; and by the twenty-first century, it had fallen markedly behind parts of the Far East as well. This essay offers reasons why the Middle East became underdeveloped. In particular, it points to certain Middle Eastern institutions, including ones rooted in the region’s dominant religion, as past and in some cases also continuing obstacles to economic development. The institutions that generated evolutionary bottlenecks include: 1) the Islamic law of inheritance, which inhibited capital accumulation; 2) the strict individualism of Islamic law and its lack of a concept of corporation, which hindered organizational development and contributed to keeping civil society weak; and 3) the waqf, Islam’s distinct form of trust, which locked vast

Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in the 2003 UNESCO Convention: a critical appraisal

Abstract: This critical article expounds on what 'intangible cultural heritage' is and the historical background of UNESCO's attempts to safeguard and protect the world's living cultural heritage in the wake of modernization, global mass culture and the diminishing of national identities. By the mid-1990s, as international awareness dramatically increased, UNESCO sponsored surveys of national actions (1995-99) as well as regional conferences, which led to a List of Intangible Masterpieces (2001) and a Convention (2003). The latter is still considered as a work in progress wherein experts and community members, policy-makers and scholars will try to figure out how to improve its provisions over the coming years. Indeed, the Convention looks idealistic and very challenging for several reasons: the conceptual distinction of the tangible and intangible can be problematic among the diversity of the world's people; intangible heritage must be consistent with human rights, exhibit the need for mutual respect between communities, and be sustainable; nations are expected to develop inventories and action plans for safeguarding this heritage; and those who practice the traditions should have the major responsibility for their safeguarding. The Convention imposes obligations upon states that may construct unintended negative consequences and obstacles to its success. The call to take 'necessary measures' to 'ensure the viability of intangible cultural heritage' is unrealistic as culture changes and no coercive measures may stop this evolution. More appropriate is giving aid to traditional cultural practices and their practitioners to ensure survival without influencing the outcome. In addition, the discussed inventories and UNESCO lists may have value for recognizing and valorizing various traditions, but they alone will not save them. This causes the author to question whether the Convention is adequate for the task of safeguarding living cultural practices.

Cosmopolitical Realism: On the Distinction between Cosmopolitanism in Philosophy and the Social Sciences

Abstract: In the article I outline a wide range of challenges, both normative and analytical, that the rise of globalism represents for the social sciences. In the first part, a distinction is drawn between ‘normative’ or ‘philosophical’ cosmopolitanism on the one hand and an analytical-empirical social science cosmopolitanism, which is no longer contained by thinking in national categories, on the other. From such a perspective we can observe the growing interdependence and interconnection of social actors across national boundaries, more often than not as a side effect of actions that are not meant to be ‘cosmopolitan’ in the normative sense. In the second part I focus on the opposition between methodological nationalism and the actual cosmopolitanization of reality and outline the various errors of the former. In the third and final part of the article I outline a research programme of a ‘cosmopolitan social science’ around four topics: first, the rise of a global public arena resulting from the reactions to the unintended side effects (risks) of modernization; second, a cosmopolitan perspective allows us to go beyond International Relations and to analyse a multitude of interconnections not only between states but also between actors on other levels; third, a denationalized social science can research into the global inequalities that are hidden by the traditional focus on national inequality and its legitimation; finally, everyday or banal cosmopolitanism on the level of cultural consumption and media representation leads to a growing awareness of the relativity of one's own social position and culture in the global arena.

Toward a Theory of Indigenous Entrepreneurship

Abstract: Indigenous populations throughout the world suffer from chronic poverty, lower education levels, and poor health The 'second wave' of indigenous development, after direct economic assistance from outside, lies in indigenous efforts to rebuild their 'nations' and improve their lot through entrepreneurial enterprise This paper suggests that there is a distinguishable kind of activity appropriately called 'indigenous entrepreneurship' We believe that entrepreneurship among the indigenous-approximately 300 million strong worldwide-has a rich potential for rebuilding indigenous communitiesWe begin by defining the indigenous population and noting some general facts about their numbers and distribution In an effort to discern the potential for economic development on indigenous peoples' own terms, we then explore three frameworks for understanding efforts at development, including indigenous development: modernisation theory, dependency theory and (at somewhat greater length) regulation theory After distinguishing 'indigenous' from 'ethnic' entrepreneurship, we conclude by identifying a number of lead questions that present themselves at the outset of an enquiry into the nature of indigenous entrepreneurship

‘Social Exclusion’ Discourse and Chronic Poverty: A South African Case Study

Abstract: This article questions the export of ‘social exclusion’ discourse to the field of development and poverty studies. It considers the findings of ongoing research into chronic poverty in the Western Cape district of Ceres, one of the centres of the South African deciduous fruit export industry. It explores the links between the livelihood options of poor people and processes of global integration, agro-food restructuring and the modernization of paternalist farming styles. In this context the concept of ‘social exclusion’ is of only limited utility, and has significant disadvantages. Although it has the potential to focus attention on the disabling effects of poverty, its most common usage often fails to capture how poverty can flow not only from exclusion but also from processes of integration into broader economic and social networks. The author argues that these are better captured by the notion of ‘adverse incorporation’, and calls for a more cautious approach to the modernizing myths and moralizing narratives that shape policy debates.

The Enlargement of the European Union and NATO: Ordering from the Menu in Central Europe

Abstract: Introduction: ordering from the menu in Central Europe 1. The new institutionalisms and theories of emulation 2. Emulation as rapid modernization: health care and consumer protection 3. Emulation under pressure: regional policy and agriculture 4. The struggle for civilian control 5. Military professionalization in war and peace 6. Using theory to illuminate the cases 7. Theoretical syntheses 8. Conclusions and extensions.

Socio-historical paths of the male breadwinner model - an explanation of cross-national differences.

Abstract: It is often assumed that in the historical transformation to modern industrial society, the integration of women into the economy occurred everywhere as a three-phase process: in pre-modern societies, the extensive integration of women into societal production; then, their wide exclusion with the shift to industrial society; and finally, their re-integration into paid work during the further course of modernization. Results from the author's own international comparative study of the historical development of the family and the economic integration of women have shown that this was decidedly not the case even for western Europe. Hence the question arises: why is there such historical variation in the development and importance of the housewife model of the male breadwinner family? In the article, an explanation is presented. It is argued that the historical development of the urban bourgeoisie was especially significant for the historical destiny of this cultural model: the social and political strength of the urban bourgeoisie had central societal importance in the imposition of the housewife model of the male breadwinner family as the dominant family form in a given society. In this, it is necessary to distinguish between the imposition of the breadwinner marriage at the cultural level on the one hand, and at the level of social practice in the family on the other.

Towards a theory of indigenous entrepreneurship

Abstract: Indigenous populations throughout the world suffer from chronic poverty, lower education levels, and poor health. The 'second wave' of indigenous development, after direct economic assistance from outside, lies in indigenous efforts to rebuild their 'nations' and improve their lot through entrepreneurial enterprise. This paper suggests that there is a distinguishable kind of activity appropriately called 'indigenous entrepreneurship'. We begin by defining the indigenous population and noting some general facts about their numbers and distribution. In an effort to discern the potential for development on indigenous peoples' own terms, we then explore three frameworks for understanding efforts at development, including indigenous development: modernisation theory, dependency theory and (at somewhat greater length) regulation theory. After distinguishing 'indigenous' from 'ethnic' entrepreneurship, we conclude by identifying a number of lead questions that present themselves at the outset of an enquiry into the nature of indigenous entrepreneurship.

‘Late Development’ Experience and the Evolution of Transnational Firms in the People's Republic of China

Abstract: In the wake of China's modernization and economic reforms since the early 1980s, a growing number of firms based in the People's Republic of China (PRC) are now in the process of diversifying spati...

The Quest for Ecological Modernisation: Re‐Spacing Rural Development and Agri‐Food Studies

Abstract: To what extent are we witnessing the application of a more ecologically modernising development process in advanced economies? This paper suggests that we are, and begins to assess what this means for rural development processes and their realities. Such a process requires, it is argued, more theoretically engaged rural and environmental social science which attempts to reconstruct conceptual frameworks to 'progress' as well as to 'critically interpret' the new modernisation process it confronts. The paper outlines six key conceptual starting points: environmental and territorial justice, community and association, exclusion and empowerment, consumption and production relations, corporate responsibility and accountability; and regulation and bureaucratic professionalisation. Significant potentialities now exist to further deepen the theoretical and conceptual engagement between environmental social theory and rural sociology, not least to strengthen what might be new pathways for rural development.

Globalization and State Transformation in China

Abstract: Globalization has thrown up challenges and opportunities which all countries have to grapple with. In his 2004 book, Yongnian Zheng explores how China's leaders have embraced global capitalism and market-oriented modernization. He shows that with reform measures properly implemented, the nation-state can not only survive globalization, but can actually be revitalized through outside influence. To adapt to the globalized age, Chinese leaders have encouraged individual enterprise and the development of the entrepreneurial class. The state bureaucratic system and other important economic institutions have been restructured to accommodate a globalized market economy. In rebuilding the economic system in this way, Zheng observes that Chinese leaders have been open to the importation of Western ideas. By contrast, the same leaders are reluctant to import Western concepts of democracy and the rule of law. The author argues that, ultimately, this selectivity will impede China's progress in becoming a modern nation state.

The Forgotten Factor: The Uneasy Relationship between Religion and Development

Abstract: Religion has been ignored and sidelined in international development theory and strategy, supported by the discourse of social theory during the development era. The dominance of modernization and secularization theories has been key to this marginalization, but if, as recently asserted, we are to recognize the impact and influence of culture on development strategy, we must account for the specific role of religion in this. This article argues that religion is a defining force within culture, and asks if in a postmodern era, where religion seems to be impacting on all areas of society, religion can be addressed; and if so, how this should be managed. By exploring the roots of development and its historical avoidance of religion, the article seeks to determine a course of action that encourages the social significance of religion to be recognized and handled in a constructive manner.

Medical modernisation, scientific research fields and the epistemic politics of health social movements

Abstract: As health social movements (HSMs) and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) professions increasingly mount challenges to the authority of medical knowledge, the tendency for the medical research community and medical profession to dismiss such epistemic challenges (termed here 'paternalistic progressivism') and the corresponding response from challengers that medicine is corrupt (termed here 'medical devolution') has given way to a process of incorporation of challenges under the rubric of evidence-based research (termed here the epistemic dimension of 'medical modernization'). Under conditions of medical modernization the distinction between lay/alternative knowledge and scientific knowledge, upon which the epistemic authority of medicine rested, is submerged in a more complex field of competing scientific networks and research programmes. Furthermore, the older policy of transmitting science to an illiterate public and suppressing dissidents is replaced by an emerging system of the 'public shaping of science', in which there is both greater agency of social movement/lay advocacy organisations and greater recognition of the legitimacy of that agency. Indirect and direct forms of the public shaping of science are discussed, as are emergent problems of co-optation. Understanding the emergent epistemic politics that are characterised here as medical modernization requires an ongoing theoretical integration of medical sociology and the sociology of science.

The UN and Global Political Economy: Trade, Finance, and Development

Abstract: 1. The UN Trade and Development Debates of the 1940s 2. The UN Recruits Economists 3. Michal Kalecki, the World Economic Report, and McCarthyism 4. From Full Employment to Economic Development 5. The Early Terms-of-Trade Controversy 6. ECLA, Industrialization, and Inflation 7. Competitive Coexistence and the Politics of Modernization 8. The Birth of UNCTAD 9. UNCTAD under Raul Prebisch: Success or Failure? 10. World Monetary Problems and the Challenge of Commodities 11. The Conservative Counterrevolution of the 1980s 12. What Lessons for the Future?

Think Global, Act Local: Scalar Challenges to Sustainable Development of Marine Environments

Abstract: Among the social sciences, long-standing debates continue about the effects of economic globalisation. Part of that discussion is about the principles and practices by which to be modern and exhibit stewardship over economic, social and environmental well-being. Often 'sustainability' describes the principles of such care, and 'sustainable development' denotes the practices by which these are enacted. Debating the worth and consequences of economic globalisation involves asking to what extent the state is best placed to address the challenges of modern life. This question informs concerns about democracy and citizenship. Supra-statists advocate investing more power in structures and processes of global governance and government, suggesting more centralising and authoritarian strategies for 'the greater good'. Sub-statists are equally committed to devolving power to subnational systems of decision-making that privilege the local (Wapner 1995). Advocates of both positions attribute to existing state systems the vast majority of environmental woes, calling for the reorganisation of political life and the transference of power up or down spatial scales. Differences between supra-statists and sub-statists bring into sharp relief questions about the scale at which sustainable development is best deployed. The catch-cry think global, act local captures this uncertainty, suggesting that economic, social and environmental problems are transboundary, and the need to engage andempower via democratic and civic rights and responsibilities for sustainable development. Nowhere are such issues better etched than in relation to archetypal trans-boundary domains, the global commons, including the marine environment. Over 70 per cent of Earth is aquatic: oceans, coasts and islands are gravely at risk from processes of modernisation and economic globalisation, Despite the proliferation of mechanisms to advance sustainable

Explaining Criminalization: From Demography and Status Politics to Globalization and Modernization

Abstract: Organizing scholarship both chronologically and thematically, this article provides a review and critical evaluation of the literature that examines factors influencing criminalization. The first part of the paper examines three streams of inquiry and theorizing: (a) classic work that has shaped decades of scholarship on criminalization by focusing on the relationship between demographic changes, material and symbolic politics, and the emergence of criminal law; (b) contemporary work that unpacks the nature of the relationship between organizational, social movement, and state-related factors that structure and mediate the outcome of definitional and political processes involved in efforts to criminalize elements of social life; and (c) more recent work that envisions criminalization as a social process intimately connected to, and indeed arguably derivative of, larger processes of institutionalization, globalization, and modernization. The discussion and conclusion section summarizes the consequences of ...

Nature and the City: Making Environmental Policy in Toronto and Los Angeles

Abstract: Pollution of air, soil, and waterways has become a primary concern of urban environmental policy making, and over the past two decades there has emerged a new era of urban policy that links development with ecological issues, based on the notion that both nature and the economy can be enhanced through technological changes to production and consumption systems. This book takes a new look at this application of "ecological modernization" to contemporary urban political-ecological struggles. Considering policy processes around land-use in urban watersheds and pollution of air and soil in two disparate North American "global cities," it criticizes the dominant belief in the power of markets and experts to regulate environments to everyone's benefit, arguing instead that civil political action by local constituencies can influence the establishment of beneficial policies. The book emphasizes 'subaltern environmental justice concerns as instrumental in shaping the policy process. Looking back to the 1990s when ecological modernization began to emerge as a dominant approach to environmental policy and theory Desfor and Keil examine four case studies: restoration of the Don River in Toronto, cleanup of contaminated soil in Toronto, regeneration of the Los Angeles River, and air pollution reduction in Los Angeles. In each case, they show that local constituencies can develop political strategies that create alternatives to ecological modernization. When environmental policies appear to have been produced through solely technical exercises, they warn, one must be suspicious about the removal of contention from the process. In the face of economic and environmental processes that have been increasingly influenced by neo-liberalism and globalization, Desfor and Keil's analysis posits that continuing modernization of industrial capitalist societies entails a measure of deliberate change to societal relationships with nature in cities. Their book shows that environmental policies are about much more than green capitalism or the technical mastery of problems; they are about how future urban generations live their lives with sustainability and justice.

Transforming Korean Politics: Democracy, Reform, and Culture

Abstract: 1. Introduction: Ideas Matter in Korean Politics 2. Taking Culture Seriously: Confucian Tradition and Modernization 3. Democratization by Launching the Sixth Republic of Korea (ROK) 4. "Reform Half-Way Down?": Cultural Context of Democratic Consolidation 5. Responses to Globalization: Sustaining Democracy through Economic Reform 6. Global Political Economy and the Korean State 7. Foreign Policy and Democracy: From Nordpolitik to Engagement 8. New Democracy for Korean Society and Politics 9. Transforming Korean Politics?: Conclusion

Gender Practices in Contemporary Vietnam

Abstract: Confucianism, colonialism and socialism have all contributed significantly to gender relations in Vietnam. More recently, political and social change associated with modernization and globalization have also had an impact. How do the Vietnamese display their social positions and their identities as male or female? This volume examines negotiations, and transgressions, of gender within Vietnamese society, looking at gender, family, social and work relations, bodily displays, body language and occupation of space. Of special interest is a discussion of sexual harassment in schools and the workplace, and the strategies women adopt to deal with it, the first discussion of this issue by a Vietnamese scholar. The essays reflect a wide range of scholarly viewpoints (American, Vietnamese-American, Australian, Scandinavian, Canadian and Vietnamese), as well as analytical perspectives as diverse as those offered by Simone de Beauvoir and the second wave of Western feminism.

The Future of Social Theory

Abstract: The basic concept of society has come under attack - political acts, critical theory, new media and even history itself have undermined what we think of as the social. The Future of Social Theory brings together new interviews with the world's leading social theorists on what society means today: Zygmunt Bauman, John Urry, Saska Sassen, Bruno Latour, Scott Lash, Nikolas Rose, Judith Butler and Francoise Verges. The topics covered include: liquid modernization and the individualization of the society; the shift towards global forms of chaos and complexity; the displacement of the social into global city networks; the shift away from a theory of the social to a theory of space; the transformation of society with the rise of new technology; the continuing influence of historical forms of political power; society as a gendered idea; and society as a product of Empire.

The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia: A New History

Abstract: The modern states of Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, and East Timor were once a tapestry of kingdoms, colonies, and smaller polities linked by sporadic trade and occasional war By the end of the nineteenth century, however, the United States and several European powers had come to control almost the entire region - only to depart dramatically in the decades following World War II The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia offers a new and up-to-date perspective on this complex region Although it does not neglect nation-building (the central theme of its popular and long-lived predecessor, In Search of Southeast Asia), the present work focuses on economic and social history, gender, and ecology It describes the long-term impact of global forces on the region and traces the spread and interplay of capitalism, nationalism, and socialism It acknowledges that modernization has produced substantial gains in such areas as life expectancy and education but has also spread dislocation and misery Organizationally, the book shifts between thematic chapters that describe social, economic, and cultural change, and "country" chapters emphasizing developments within specific areas Enhanced by scores of illustrations, The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia will establish a new standard for the history of this dynamic and radically transformed region of the world

Forming Life Satisfaction among Different Social Groups during the Modernization of China

Abstract: Quality of life has become a notable concern in the modernization of China. However, there are no adequate data to chart the formation of quality of life, in terms of life satisfaction, and in relation to the societal conditions of modernization. Moreover, it is still a question concerning how life satisfaction forms among people of different social groups, differentiated by class, education, age, and gender. To answer the questions, the present study involved a random sample survey of 732 inhabitants in Beijing. Results indicate the contributions of income, age, perceived modern economic conditions in society, and satisfaction with societal economic conditions. In contrast, education and the ownership class appear to predict lower life satisfaction. Furthermore, there are significant variations in the effects of the factors in predicting the life satisfaction of people in different social groups. Notably, perceived economic conditions appear to be less important to people of higher class positions.

The social and cultural background of contemporary moral education in China

Abstract: School moral education in any country is carried out in a particular social and cultural context. The renewal of policy and practice in moral education in China has come about because of a rapidly changing Chinese society, as a result of the government's ‘reform and opening up’ policy since the end of the 1970s. The consequent changes in the Chinese economy, politics and culture are innovatory and challenging. It is these changes that have brought about, and will continue to bring about, new ideas and practices in moral education. This paper describes how Chinese moral education has been influenced according to recent social changes and modernization in China, including the formation of the market economy, the impact of globalization, mass media and the Internet, cultural diversity and value pluralism, trends to democratization in politics, and structural changes in the family. It also considers the kind of social issues and challenges which are being dealt with and anticipated in policy, theory and pract...

Turkey: Challenges of Continuity and Change

Abstract: The authors put issues relevant to Turkey today – such as consolidating democracy, dealing with economic development issues, improving its human rights record and its foreign policy – in an historical context, allowing comparisons with other late developers in the world and reflecting the complexity of Turkish political and socio-economic developments. Turkey also argues that the modernization process that started in the nineteenth century, with all its elements including secularization and Westernization, has taken root.