Showing papers on "Modernization theory published in 2006"
TL;DR: In the Middle East, religious fundamentalism has become the seedbed for a decentralized form of terrorism that operates globally and is directed against perceived insults and injuries caused by a superior Western civilization.
Abstract: Religious traditions and communities of faith have gained a new, hitherto unexpected political importance since the epochmaking change of 1989–90. Needless to say, what initially spring to mind are the variants of religious fundamentalism that we face not only in the Middle East, but also in Africa, Southeast Asia, and in the Indian subcontinent. They often lock into national and ethnic conflicts, and today also form the seedbed for the decentralized form of terrorism that operates globally and is directed against the perceived insults and injuries caused by a superior Western civilization. There are other symptoms, too. For example, in Iran the protest against a corrupt regime set in place and supported by the West has given rise to a veritable rule of priests that serves other movements as a model to follow. In several Muslim countries, and in Israel as well, religious family law is either an alternative or a substitute for secular civil law. And in Afghanistan (and soon in Iraq), the application of a more or less liberal constitution must be limited by its compatibility with the Sharia. Likewise, religious conflicts are squeezing their way into the international arena. The hopes associated with the political agenda of multiple modernities are fueled by the cultural self-confidence of those world religions that to this very day unmistakably shape the physiognomy of the major civilizations. And on the Western side of the fence, the perception of international relations has changed in light of the fears of a ‘clash of civilizations’—‘the axis of evil’ is merely one prominent example of this. Even Western intellectuals, to date self-critical in this regard, are starting to go on the offensive in their response to the image of Occidentalism that the others have of the West. Fundamentalism in other corners of the earth can be construed, among other things, in terms of the long-term impact of violent colonization and failures in decolonization. Under unfavorable circumstances, capitalist modernization penetrating these societies from the outside then triggers social uncertainty and cultural upheavals. On this reading, religious movements process the radical changes in social structure and cultural dissynchronies, which under conditions of an accelerated or failing modernization the individual may experience as a sense of being uprooted. What is more surprising is the political revitalization of religion at the heart of the United States, where the dynamism of modernization unfolds most successfully. Certainly, in Europe ever since the days of the French Revolution we have been aware of the power of a religious form of traditionalism that saw itself as counter-revolutionary. However, this evocation of religion as the
1,042 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the sociological theory cross-countries comparative advantages of economic development are analyzed, taking into account not only the influence of the economic factors but institutional models of power relations.
Abstract: All various theories of economic development (theory of modernization, interdependence, micro-systemic analysis and the theory of market reforms) suggest a core factor as the key. The followers of each of these theories claim that the countries’ development has an obstacle for their economic growth. We state that economic development does not depend on only one key factor and does not have the only one way for growth on the contrary there are several successful trajectories. Economic growth depends on how successful the country is in connecting its historical models of social organization with the world market possibilities. This paper is devoted to the sociological theory cross-countries comparative advantages, which takes into account not only the influence of the economic factors but institutional models of power relations. Such models legitimize the actors and specific relations between them, and in some spheres this counts for the successful development and in other spheres it does not. The given approach is supported by the comparative analysis of rather difficult processes of automobile industry development in South Korea, Taiwan, Spain and Argentina.
275 citations
TL;DR: In the post-industrial phase of modernization, a shift from survival values to self-expression values, brings increasing emancipation from both religious and secular-rational authority, making democracy increasingly likely to emerge as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Modernization goes through two main phases, each of which brings distinctive changes in people's worldviews. The Industrial Revolution was linked with a shift from traditional to secular-rational values, bringing bureaucratization, centralization, standardization and the secularization of authority. In the post-industrial phase of modernization, a shift from survival values to self-expression values, brings increasing emancipation from both religious and secular-rational authority. Rising mass emphasis on self-expression values makes democracy increasingly likely to emerge.Although the desire for freedom is a universal human aspiration, it does not take top priority when people grow up with the feeling that survival is uncertain. But when survival seems secure, increasing emphasis on self-expression values makes the emergence of democracy increasingly likely where it does not yet exist, and makes democracy increasingly effective where it already exists.
253 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an analysis of the iconography and symbolism of dam constructions at three levels: first, as embodiments of the dialectics between geographical imaginations and material practices in the process of modernization; second, as symbols of modernity's quest to conquer and urbanize nature; and third, as catalysts for reconfiguring the relationship between nature and the city.
Abstract: The article offers an analysis of the iconography and symbolism of dam constructions at three levels: first, as embodiments of the dialectics between geographical imaginations and material practices in the process of modernization; second, as symbols of modernity's quest to conquer and urbanize nature; and third, as the catalysts for reconfiguring the relationship between nature and the city. The article grounds its analysis on the study of the Marathon dam, the first dam project for watering Athens, constructed in the 1920s. Being the biggest dam construction at the time in the Balkans, it became an iconic marker of Athens's modernization and of Greece's modernist project for controlling and taming nature. It also signaled a new era of trade relations between the United States and Greece by introducing American capital and work practices into Greece. However, this decidedly modern project was wrought with heavy neoclassical ornamentation and symbolism, and was veneered with the same marble as that used f...
238 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the intergenerational contract has been renegotiated and reinterpreted by both generations in support of a robust and reciprocated cycle of care, and the authors conclude that this is a pragmatic, necessary and far-sighted response to the development strategies and social policies supported by Asian states.
Abstract: A contemporary Asia-wide concern is the common fear that modernization or urbanization, migration, the demographic transition, new lifestyle aspirations and the spread of Western values have emphasized individual rather than collective familial interests and thus eroded filial obligations. This paper, based on ethnographic studies across East, South–East and South Asia, suggests that far from being eroded, the generations have taken new steps to invest in the intergenerational contract, which has been renegotiated and reinterpreted by both generations in support of a robust and reciprocated cycle of care. The paper concludes that this is a pragmatic, necessary and far-sighted response to the development strategies and social policies supported by Asian states. It can be argued that, in Asian societies, it is the familial contract and familial exclusion rather than a social contract and social exclusion that are more pertinent to individual well-being, and that intergenerational resource flows significantl...
233 citations
Book•
30 Dec 2006
TL;DR: The History of Ethiopia as mentioned in this paper provides an excellent introduction to the history of Ethiopia from the classical era through the modern age, focusing on Ethiopia's efforts at charting an independent course in the face of imperialism, World War II, the Cold War and international economic reforms with a focus on the gap between the state's modernization reforms and the citizenry's aspirations of modernity.
Abstract: This engaging and informative historical narrative provides an excellent introduction to the history of Ethiopia from the classical era through the modern age. The acute historical analysis contained in this volume allows readers to critically interrogate shifting global power configurations from the late nineteenth century to the twentieth century, and the related implications in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa region. Adejumobi identifies a second wave of globalization, beginning in the nineteenth century, which laid the foundation for a highly textured Ethiopian Afromodern twentieth century. The book explores Ethiopia's efforts at charting an independent course in the face of imperialism, World War II, the Cold War and international economic reforms with a focus on the gap between the state's modernization reforms and the citizenry's aspirations of modernity. The book focuses on Ethiopians' efforts to balance challenges related to social, political and economic reforms with a renaissance in the arts, theater, Orthodox Coptic Christianity, Islam and ancient ethnic identities. The History of Ethiopia paints a vivid picture of a dynamic and compelling country and region for students, scholars, and general readers seeking to grasp twenty-first century global relations. The work also provides a timeline of events in Ethiopian history, brief biographies of key figures, and a bibliographic essay.
207 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the similarities and differences between Chinese and European modes or styles of ecological modernization with respect to the role of state institutions, market dynamics, civil society pressure and international integration.
Abstract: The process of institutionalizing environmental interests and considerations in Western (especially, but not only, European) industrialized societies has been reflected and theorized upon by social scientists, many of whom have adopted the ‘ecological modernization’ framework. One of the key questions on the research agenda of ecological modernization is its appropriateness for developing or industrializing countries in other parts of the world. This contribution analyses to what extent environmental reforms in contemporary China can be interpreted as ecological modernization. It focuses on the similarities and differences between Chinese and European modes or styles of ecological modernization with respect to the role of state institutions, market dynamics, civil society pressure and international integration.
158 citations
TL;DR: In recent years, India has made concerted efforts to reshape its immediate neighbor hood, find a modus vivendi with China and Pakistan (its two regional rivals), and reclaim its standing in the "near abroad": parts of Africa, the Persian Gulf, Central and Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: AFTER DISAPPOINTING itself for decades, India is now on the verge of becoming a great power. The world started to take notice of India's rise when New Delhi signed a nuclear pact with President George W. Bush in July 2005, but that breakthrough is only one dimension of the dramatic transformation of Indian foreign policy that has taken place since the end of the Cold War. After more than a half century of false starts and unrealized potential, India is now emerging as the swing state in the global balance of power. In the coming years, it will have an opportunity to shape outcomes on the most critical issues of the twenty-first century: the construction of Asian stability, the political modernization of the greater Middle East, and the management of globalization. Although India's economic growth has been widely discussed, its new foreign policy has been less noted. Unlike their U. S. counterparts, Indian leaders do not announce new foreign policy doctrines. Nonethe less, in recent years, they have worked relentlessly to elevate India's regional and international standing and to increase its power. New Delhi has made concerted efforts to reshape its immediate neighbor hood, find a modus vivendi with China and Pakistan (its two regional rivals), and reclaim its standing in the "near abroad": parts of Africa, the Persian Gulf, Central and Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean
143 citations
TL;DR: The authors look at the arrival of "creative industries" within mainstream policy discourse in China, and suggest that the progressive function of the "Creative industry" discourse cannot be taken for granted.
Abstract: This article looks at the arrival of ‘creative industries’ within mainstream policy discourse in China. It attempts to situate this ‘modernising’ discourse within the wider historical conflicts around modernity and modernization in China, suggesting that the progressive function of the ‘creative industries’ discourse frequently claimed by its supporters cannot be taken for granted. The article ends by asking some pointed questions about the immediate future of this agenda in China, with particular reference to the large eastern cities.
129 citations
Book•
24 Jan 2006
TL;DR: Rethinking the scope of the postcolonial modernity, modernization and postcolonial present questions of identity and agency towards a post-colonial political economy as mentioned in this paper is a good starting point.
Abstract: Rethinking the Scope of the Postcolonial Modernity, Modernization and the Postcolonial Present Questions of Identity and Agency Towards a Postcolonial Political Economy
111 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that the 'new general practice' resonates with the social values of reflexive modernisation, and has the potential to enable new, less paternalistic, forms of relationships with clients, although it remains to be seen whether this potential is realised in healthcare delivery.
Abstract: This paper addresses shifting constructions of professional identity in the context of debates about reflexive modernisation and the changing role of professionals in the provision of primary healthcare. Data are drawn from interviews with 20 early-career general practitioners (GPs), who accounted for their orientations towards work in rather different ways from those typically reported in much primary care research. In particular, they reported high job satisfaction and success in achieving what they called 'nice work'. We argue that these GPs typify a shift in discourses of professionalism, characterised by respondents as the 'new general practice', which explicitly rejects many values attributed to 'traditional' general practice. Within the 'new general practice', professionalism has been de-coupled from some of the paradigmatic traits of traditional rhetorical accounts (such as vocation), and has significantly reframed others. Despite policy concerns that a retreat from 'vocational' professionalism will lead to reductions in service quality, we argue that this is not inevitable. The 'new general practice' resonates with the social values of reflexive modernisation, and has the potential to enable new, less paternalistic, forms of relationships with clients, although it remains to be seen whether this potential is realised in healthcare delivery.
TL;DR: Starting with the late eighteenth century military reforms, continuing with the Tanzimat Decree of 1839, the Second Mesrutiyet in 1908 and the Kemalist Revolution in 1923, modernization in Turkey h...
Abstract: Starting with the late eighteenth century military reforms, continuing with the Tanzimat Decree of 1839, the Second Mesrutiyet in 1908 and the Kemalist Revolution in 1923, modernization in Turkey h...
Book•
28 Mar 2006
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors give a definitive analysis of China today, and examine the challenges presented by the world's most important emerging power, and suggest policy responses that will maximize the opportunities for China's constructive integration into the international community.
Abstract: This authoritative book gives a definitive analysis of China today, and examines the challenges presented by the world's most important emerging power. China's emergence on the world stage will be one of the most momentous - and challenging - developments of the 21st century. How China will develop - both internally and in its relations to the rest of the world - remains a great unknown for policy makers and the public alike. It is this uncertainty that raises questions about China's intentions and future path - and the implications for the global community. China's remarkable growth has the potential to expand the size of the global economy (and with it global wealth), more than any other nation in history. On the other hand this growth has the potential to create huge competitive problems for the UK and other more advanced countries. Or China could collapse under the weight of its own domestic challenges. Similarly, China's more proactive global engagement and rapid modernization of its military may lead it to become a responsible and productive global citizen. Then again China could use its newfound influence to confront and undermine the interests of other powers and challenge international norms. To address this critical issue, two of the world's pre-eminent think tanks have launched a multi-year project which examines the critical facts and dynamics underpinning China's rise and suggests policy responses that will maximize the opportunities for China's constructive integration into the international community. "China: The Balance Sheet" is the fullest attempt to understand and describe the most important emerging power in the world.
TL;DR: This article found that ideological polarization along the left/right dimension is substantially greater in less affluent and less democratic societies than in advanced industrial democracies, and the correlates of Left/Right orientations also vary systematically across regions.
Abstract: Over 40 years ago, Daniel Bell made the provocative claim that ideological polarization was diminishing in Western democracies, but new ideologies were emerging and driving politics in developing nations. This article tests the End of Ideology thesis with a new wave of public opinion data from the World Values Survey (WVS) that covers over 70 nations representing more than 80 per cent of the world's population. We find that polarization along the Left/Right dimension is substantially greater in the less affluent and less democratic societies than in advanced industrial democracies. The correlates of Left/Right orientations also vary systematically across regions. The twin pillars of economic and religious cleavages remain important in European states; cultural values and nationalism provide stronger bases of ideology in Asia and the Middle East. As Bell suggested, social modernization does seem to transform the extent and bases of ideological polarization within contemporary societies.
TL;DR: The authors discusses the contributions of post-colonial studies for renewing the contemporary social theory and analyzes the post-colonial epistemological alternatives, considering three interrelated concepts: entangled modernity, hybrid site of enunciation, and decentralized subject.
Abstract: This essay discusses the contributions of post-colonial studies for renewing the contemporary social theory. At first it considers the character of the critique addressed by post-colonial studies to social sciences. After that, it analyses the post-colonial epistemological alternatives, considering three interrelated concepts: entangled modernity, "hybrid" site of enunciation, and decentralized subject. The conclusion is that, in spite of its severity and suspicion among some authors that post-colonial theory can destroy epistemological foundations of social sciences, an important part of post-colonial critique is rather addressed to the theory of modernization. Here, post-colonial positions present affinities with objections, which have already been presented by "conventional" social scientists. Other aspects raised by post-colonial authors do not destabilize, necessarily, social sciences; they can even enrich them.
TL;DR: The educational tradition of China has developed from traditional Chinese culture as discussed by the authors and without an understanding of the cultural impact on traditional education, it is impossible to comprehend the educational tradition and to change its traditional educational ideas.
Abstract: The educational tradition of China has developed from traditional Chinese culture. Without an understanding of the cultural impact on traditional education, it is impossible to comprehend the educational tradition of China and to change its traditional educational ideas. There are fine traditions and feudal remains in Chinese culture which ought to be examined from the historical materialism perspective in order to tell the essence from the dross and to facilitate educational modernization in today’s China.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discussed public management reform in Denmark and characterized the reforms as a mixture of strategies for modernization and marketization, but with most emphasis on the former rather than the latter.
Abstract: This article discusses public management reform in Denmark. First, the institutional features of the Danish public sector are introduced. Danish ministries enjoy a considerable amount of autonomy that makes central co-ordinated public management reform challenging. The second part of the article outlines the contents of public management reform and provides an overview of the major reform initiatives of the last three governments. Denmark's reforms are characterized as a mixture of strategies for modernization and marketization, but with most emphasis on the former rather than the latter. Together with successive governments, the Danish Ministry of Finance has argued strongly for efficiency, economy and effectiveness as key values and they have been institutionalized in modernization efforts. Denmark should now be considered a country where NPM reforms have taken a firm hold.
TL;DR: With the expansion of the European Union eastwards,nations have adopted various strategies for being included in the Europeancommunity as mentioned in this paper, and they discuss examples of cultural technologies used by these countries.
Abstract: With the expansion of the European Union eastwards,nations have adopted various strategies for being included in the Europeancommunity. This article discusses examples of cultural technologies used ...
TL;DR: For example, in this article, a new Chinese real estate development, with international airport included, is advertised to investors as a "developing space beyond belief", and the brochure of the Golden Boten City Group assures potential investors that Although now there are just 1500 people living in 3 villages in Golden Botens City, you should believe that thousands of people will gather here in a beautiful morning or an autumn evening.
Abstract: In the aftermath of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, both the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and "ordinary people" pledged donations to the afflicted regions.1 Triumphant headlines in the People's Daily likewise made a statement about China's rise from aid recipient to aid donor. Not coincidentally, the expanding scope of projects financed by China abroad, mainly in Africa and South America but also closer to home in Burma, Cambodia and Laos, attracted considerable attention from Western media in 2005.2 From Guyana to Nigeria, China has emerged as a key source of state-led investment in infrastructure projects without the good-governance and human-rights strings that are attached to financing through international development structures, and Chinese companies have become a visible presence as major builders of roads, pipelines, bridges, hospitals, harbors, stadiums, water-supply facilities and so on.3 In the Sudan, Chinese state-owned enterprises have invested US$3 billion in the oil industry and helped to build a 1,540-kilometre pipeline and a refinery.4 In July 2005, censured by the UN for evicting 700,000 people from their houses, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe traveled to China for a US$300 million loan (he was denied it). In Northern Laos, Golden Boten City, a new Chinese real estate development, with international airport included, is being advertised to investors as a "developing space beyond belief. The brochure of the Golden Boten City Group assures potential investors that Although now there are just 1500 people living in 3 villages in Golden Boten City, you should believe that thousands of people will gather here in a beautiful morning or an autumn evening. They [will] live and develop here with various occupations and identities, to form a huge community, and a modern society.5 Similar signs of Chinese architectural modernity are fast squeezing out British colonial memories from Pakistan's hill stations and Sierra Leone's coast. In the institutionalized world of international development, in which states earmark aid budgets to be channeled through institutions such as the World Bank, such projects would be classed as private investment or, at best, as private aid. Yet in China-where aid and debt relief, though increasing, are far less significant than state subsidies for overseas construction projects6-both officials and managers discuss them in the language of development. While the roots of development discourse in China and in international organizations are shared, as are their proclaimed goals of aiding the economic and human progress of recipient societies, their emphases are rather different. The discourse of international development has, in the past decade, veered away from the previous, strongly criticized, unilateral emphasis on economic indicators and structural models originating in the West, and towards a socially and culturally "sensitive" framework-though just how much difference that shift has made on the ground is a matter of debate.7 Chinese accounts of "contributing to development" abroad do not share these recent scruples: they typically remain purely economic and are set in contexts that, from the perspective of the now-professionalized "international development community", appear highly unusual. The idea of exporting development centering on investment, trade and migration (for Chinese road projects are built by Chinese workers, and Chinese-sponsored farming projects typically bring both Chinese workers and technical advisors) is quite different from that practiced by today's international organizations, though perhaps not that different from earlier, colonial projects, in which the ground-level agents of modernization tended to be indentured laborers and traders imported from India and, again, China. Central to Western-originated international discourse is the separation of aid from investment: the idea that development aid is a not-for-profit affair, and accusations of profit-making can discredit donors. …
TL;DR: In this article, the authors conducted a standard cross-national research to empirically test the hypothesis that political democracy improves human development, and compared the impact on human development of recently developed democracy measures with that of economic and government factors in developing countries.
Abstract: I Introduction "HUMAN DEVELOPMENT" (HD) HAS BECOME THE NEW BUZZWORD in the development literature during the last quarter-century and is now the professed aim of some prominent development agencies. In the not too distant past, quantitative economic growth was the sole desideratum of developing nations, but "human development" encompasses more than mere material growth. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), arguably one of the most influential advocates of the new agenda for "quality of growth," has defined HD as "creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests" (UNDP 2001: 9). Sen (1998) elaborates the idea of HD by stressing the increased possibilities for people to lead freer and more fulfilling lives; it is, according to Sen, allowing individuals to "flourish as human beings" (1998: 734). (1) This broader view of development emphasizes opportunity improvement in the dimensions of education, health, and civil participation rather than annual flow of goods and services at market prices (Sen 1996; Streeten 2000; Thomas et al. 2000). Advocates of HD claim that it has the added benefit of generating positive social externalities that can, in turn, help boost economic development. For example, social cohesion, strong civil participation, and more equitable distribution of income are expected to increase with HD (Ranis, Stewart, and Ramirez 2000; Ocampo 2002). Despite the considerable progress of HD in developing countries (DCs) since the 1950s (Easterlin 2000), vast differences still exist among individual countries. The "globalization" of HD thus can be unsecured on empirical grounds. Why do marked divergences across countries continue to persist? Previous research was conducted to assess the effects on HD of economic modernization (Diener and Diener 1995; Goldstein 1985; Ranis, Stewart, and Ramirez 2000), state influence (London and Williams 1990; Moon and Dixon 1985), and external dependency (Lena and London 1995; London and Williams 1988; Bradshaw, Noonan, Gash, and Sershen 1993; Ragin and Bradshaw 1992). In contrast to these economic and statist approaches, prominent scholars of democracy have proposed that democracy is a critical factor in enhancing the welfare of the general population. As Seymour Lipset (1981: 439) noted, political democracy constitutes "a guarantee that the products of the society will not accumulate in the hands of a few power-holders, and that men may develop and bring up their children without fear of persecution." Democracy is considered a good society in itself, but it is also "a means through which different groups can attain their ends." While the importance of political democracy has been emphasized in theoretical discussions (Leftwich 1996; Lipset 1981), empirical evidence for this thesis nevertheless is insufficient (Ersson and Lane 1996; Hadenius 1992; Lena and London 1993; Przeworski, Alvarez, Cheibub, and Limongi 2000). The relative neglect of the human impact of democracy is all the more perplexing given the growing numbers of democratic countries in contemporary DCs that have constituted a "third wave" of democratization (Huntington 1991). This study thus conducts a standard cross-national research to empirically test the hypothesis that political democracy improves HD. Compared to previous research designs, this study involves more countries in the analysis, uses a wider variety of HD measures, and compares the impact on HD of recently developed democracy measures with that of economic and government factors in DCs. II Theoretical Arguments Regarding Democracy and Human Development Democratic Encompassing, Political Contention, and Human Development THE LITERATURE HAS PROPOSED THE HYPOTHESIS that political democracies influence HD. From the resources redistributive perspective, it is frequently argued that when the general population is allowed to vote, the government tends to redistribute public resources toward the consumption of the general population. …
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the problem of Bedouin girls dropping out from the public school system in the Negev region of Israel, and they promote a post-modern theory that calls for embedding feminine traditional values of local communities as a necessary process in the development of modernity.
Abstract: This study discusses the problem of Bedouin girls dropping out from the public school system in the Negev region of Israel. Data show that this phenomenon results from a conflict between the modern Israeli institutes’ perception of modernity (which promote coeducation) and the Bedouin traditions that remain the cultural ethos of the girls’ fathers. Israeli institutions’ perception of modernity (enlightenment theory) aims to modernize the Bedouins according to Israel’s modern principles, thus revoking traditional Bedouin values (sex separation). This paper promotes a postmodern theory that calls for embedding feminine traditional values of local communities as a necessary process in the development of modernity.
Book•
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: For example, the land reform represented an example of "administrative utopia" based on the government's narrow and in many respects utopian vision of rural transformation, which inevitably resulted in its very limited practical impact on the 215 Atkinson, End, 88, 97-98; Kerans, Mind and Labor, 317, 359-362, 381; Pallot, “The Development,” 9394, 103-106.
Abstract: economic theories and general cultural assumptions rather than on systematic empirical studies. In that respect, the reform represented an example of “administrative utopia,” based on the government's narrow—and in many respects utopian—vision of rural transformation, which inevitably resulted in its very limited practical impact on the 215 Atkinson, End, 88, 97-98; Kerans, Mind and Labor, 317, 359-362, 381; Pallot, “The Development,” 9394, 103-106. 216 See, for example, Kingston-Mann, In Search. 217 The term suggested by Judith Pallot. See, for example, her Land Reform.
TL;DR: The process of modernization in China is occurring in a context of rapid population ageing, which presents serious challenges to the tradition of reliance on fa... as mentioned in this paper, and presents serious challenge to the traditional reliance on traditional technologies.
Abstract: The process of modernization in China is occurring in a context of rapid population ageing—the reverse of the sequence in the West—and presents serious challenges to the tradition of reliance on fa...
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors start with contemporary concerns about the demise of public institutions and public values, and then explore the terrain on which struggles around the future of publics and publicness are.
Abstract: This article begins with contemporary concerns about the demise of public institutions and public values. New strategies of governance across Europe and beyond make any clear delineation of ‘the public’ and the public sphere highly problematic. The modernization of welfare states involves a shift of powers from state to market, but also a shift of responsibility from public to personal domains. The liberal values associated with the traditional public sphere seem ill-equipped to address questions of social diversity and deepening inequalities, or to respond to contemporary questions of culture, faith and identity. New spatial flows, bringing cross-national and globalized relationships, are dissolving any simple equivalence between nation, citizenship and the public sphere. How, then, might we better understand the terrain on which struggles around the future of publics and publicness are
TL;DR: Wang et al. as mentioned in this paper examined the rate of change for property and violent crimes in China and employed longitudinal methods to analyze the crime series, and extended the conclusions of modernization theories regarding general crime patterns during modernization.
TL;DR: Informal sector scavengers or waste pickers have been unrecognized stakeholders on the fringes of the urban waste landscape since the nineteenth century as mentioned in this paper, and a systems approach that instead focuses on the opportunities provided by the modernization process provides a stronger framework for legitimizing the role of pickers and strengthening their livelihoods.
Abstract: Informal sector scavengers or waste pickers have been unrecognized stakeholders on the fringes of the urban waste landscape since the nineteenth century. Although solid waste systems of both rich and poor countries continue to change radically in the process of (ecological) modernization, the living conditions and position of waste pickers have changed little, and then usually for the worse. Development approaches focusing on pickers' welfare, capacities and rights consistently fail to `help?. A systems approach that instead focuses on the opportunities provided by the modernization process provides a stronger framework for legitimizing the role of pickers and strengthening their livelihoods.
Book•
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors trace the diffusion, adoption, and social uses of media among the Iban of Sarawak, in Malaysian Borneo and demonstrate the wide-ranging process of nation building that has accompanied the adoption of radio, clocks, print media, and television.
Abstract: "Postill's book will provide a stimulating read to anyone interested in the broad field of nationalism studies.a breakthrough attempt to bring nation building back on the agenda of media and communication research, and a valuable contribution to the field of media anthropology. Further comparative work in this area will hopefully give rise to a revised theory of nation building, one that acknowledges and theorizes the diversity of nation building processes, and the associated diversity of modernization projects, around the world." * H-Nation "...very well written, lively, incisive and clear. Students will learn a lot about anthropology and media from this book...it should be recommended or essential reading for students." * Andrew Beatty, Brunel University "The book excellently traces the development of both print and electronic media, which are central in making the Iban Malaysian.[It] contributes much to our understanding of the complex process of change that has occurred among the Ibans." * Asian Anthropology With the end of the Cold War and the proliferation of civil wars and "regime changes," the question of nation building has acquired great practical and theoretical urgency. From Eastern Europe to East Timor, Afghanistan and recently Iraq, the United States and its allies have often been accused of shirking their nation-building responsibilities as their attention - and that of the media -- turned to yet another regional crisis. While much has been written about the growing influence of television and the Internet on modern warfare, little is known about the relationship between media and nation building. This book explores, for the first time, this relationship by means of a paradigmatic case of successful nation building: Malaysia. Based on extended fieldwork and historical research, the author follows the diffusion, adoption, and social uses of media among the Iban of Sarawak, in Malaysian Borneo and demonstrates the wide-ranging process of nation building that has accompanied the Iban adoption of radio, clocks, print media, and television. In less than four decades, Iban longhouses ('villages under one roof') have become media organizations shaped by the official ideology of Malaysia, a country hastily formed in 1963 by conjoining four disparate territories. John Postill is a Research Fellow at the University of Bremen. He is currently studying e-government and ethnicity in Malaysia. Trained as an anthropologist at University College London, he has published a range of articles on the anthropology of media, with special reference to Malaysian Borneo.
TL;DR: The Marketplace of Revolution and A Consumers' Republic as discussed by the authors have been widely cited as the starting point for consumer history, with Breen's book focusing on the American Revolution and Cohen's book on post-World War II America.
Abstract: With the nearly simultaneous publication ofT. H. Breen's The Marketplace of Revolution and Lizabeth Cohen's A Consumers'Republic, consumer interpretations of American history have come of age. Together these two monumental books erase any lingering doubt about the legitimacy of consumer history. They are capstones to an abundance of recent scholarship that has used the universal practice of consumption to examine, among other things, constructions of ethnicity and gender, the modernization of rural America, the leisure time of the industrial working class, and the character of contemporary politics. That Breen's book concerns the American Revolution while Cohen's covers post-World War II America suggests that consumers can stand as central characters across the span of the nation's past. Indeed, read together they suggest that consumption-how Americans have acquired and used goods not strictly necessary to biological existence-might well be the defining thread of American life. These are not just books: they are bookends.' If together these two consumer histories frame the historical life of the United States, they also stand at two ends of an interpretative spectrum concerning the historical consequences of consumption. At the heart of the different narratives are two opposing understandings of the nature of consumption: The one emphasizes the emancipatory potential of consumer choice for improving individual existence and challenging the status quo; the other a darker view of consumption as a process of manipulation buried within the larger system of social relations. T. H. Breen took the former view. He argued that the explosion of consumer choice in the mid-eighteenth-century colonies created the self-conscious citizen capable of revolutionary political action. Breen took as his point of departure the rather sudden appearance in the mid-eighteenth century of an "empire of goods," whose existence he and his fellow consumer historians have established beyond dispute. The imperial market system made available to Britain's North American colonies a breathtaking variety of simple consumer goods. Colonists eagerly imported "all Sorts of woolen cloath, Silks, Scythes, nails,
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Reyes as mentioned in this paper argues that "the US Mexican border es una herida abierta" counters Gloria Anzalda, arguing that "you can't bring your native tongue to the other side. You will only get a temporary pass until you prove that you are or have the potential to become a truly good American".
Abstract: I would like you to know that we did not all come from Mexico. That hurts our feelings when you call us wetbacks. We do not all steal from you. We do not all stare at the television for hours. We are not all lazy. We are not all immigrants. We are not all in gangs that jump people for their money nor do we do drugs. We do not all drop out of school when it gets difficult. We are not dirty because of our skin color. We are not all poor. Most of us know English so don t talk about us like we don t understand. Our parents mostly come here for a better life and mostly it turns out to be the other way around. Some of our families are not always perfect. I know mine aren't. But we all have families and friends that love us. These are the facts. --Diana Reyes, 7th Grade Border Crossings It seems like a heresy to hold a conference on borders and border crossing at a time when the public discourse centers on how to secure these borders, with $20 million spent over the last 10 years in the US on fences, chains, patrol guards and with new legislation providing another 139 million (1) to further upgrade technology and strengthen border enforcement. While we struggle to transcend cultural, ethnic, racial, and linguistic borders, those physical and material borders are growing stronger and increasingly difficult to cross. A conference on human rights and borderlands could not be more timely given the current debate on immigration legislation in the US Senate. The President of the United States claims that "Securing the Border is essential to securing the Homeland." "The US Mexican border es una herida abierta" counters Gloria Anzalda. Borders are set up to define the places that are safe and unsafe, to distinguish us from them," she insists. (2) A White House press release takes pride to the fact that since the current president took office "he has increased funding for border security by 60 percent. Border agents have apprehended and sent home more than 4.5 million people coming into the country illegally including about 350,000 with criminal records." (3) The obsession with illegal immigration becomes all the more interesting considering that the social state is, according to Henry Giroux, gradually turned into a "garrison state." (4) It is a state that increasingly protects the interests of global, transnational corporations, "while stepping up the level of repression and militarization on the domestic front.'" Social problems are increasingly criminalized. For instance, according to the proposed immigration legislation, people who enter the country illegally will be treated as felons to be deported. "Repression increases and replaces compassion." Modernization, "economic progress" and globalization, are major production machines of immigration (illegal or not). These people, illegal immigrants in particular, are now perceived as just bodies, disposable labor entities, they become, according to Zygmunt Bauman "human waste." Bauman powerfully argues that "there are always too many of them. 'Them' are the fellows of whom there should be fewer--or better still none at all. And there are never enough of us. 'Us' are the folks of whom there should be more." (5) An estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the US right now. They have crossed physical and metaphorical borders but for most of them it will be very difficult to cross these borders back again. Borders as state institutions work for those who have passports. Not for the illegal, or for the ones without papers. What does it mean to get a passport then? What does it take to get a passport? Many will argue that in return for a "passport" you need first to learn English. You can't bring your native tongue to the other side. You will only get a temporary pass until you prove that you are or have the potential to become a truly good American. "In return for freedom and opportunity, [immigrants] need to learn English" (6) claims Gerda Bikales once English-Only group's executive director. …
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: Zanasi as discussed by the authors argues that it was notions of what constituted a modern nation that led the Nationalist nation-builders to shape China s institutions and economy and examines the first nation-building attempt in China after the fall of the empire in 1911.
Abstract: Economic modernity is so closely associated with nationhood that it is impossible to imagine a modern state without an equallymodern economy. Even so, most people would have difficulty defining a modern economy and its connection to nationhood. In "Saving the Nation, " Margherita Zanasi explores this connection by examining the first nation-building attempt in China after the fall of the empire in 1911. Challenging the assumption that nations are products of technological and socioeconomic forces, Zanasi argues that it was notions of what constituted a modern nation that led the Nationalist nation-builders to shape China s institutions and economy. In their reform effort, they confronted several questions: What characterized a modern economy? What role would a modern economy play in the overall nation-building effort? And how could China pursue economic modernization while maintaining its distinctive identity? Zanasi expertly shows how these questions were negotiated and contested within the Nationalist Party. Silenced in the Mao years, these dilemmas are reemerging today as a new leadership once again redefines the economic foundation of the nation. "