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Modernization theory

About: Modernization theory is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 14641 publications have been published within this topic receiving 232469 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
Maria Kaika1
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

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The theory of ecological modernization has received growing attention over the past decade, but in the process, it has been interpreted in conflicting and sometimes contradictory ways as discussed by the authors, and difficulties are created not only by the combining of theoretical predictions and policy prescriptions but also by the stark and highly significant differences in expectations between ecological modernization and most prevailing theories of society-environment relationships.
Abstract: The theory of ecological modernization has received growing attention over the past decade, but in the process, it has been interpreted in conflicting and sometimes contradictory ways. In this article, we attempt to bring greater clarity to the discussion. Reviewing the works both by the theory's best-known proponents and by its most outspoken critics, we note that difficulties are created not just by the combining of theoretical predictions and policy prescriptions - a point that has already been noted in the literature - but also by the stark and highly significant differences in expectations between ecological modernization and most prevailing theories of society-environment relationships. Perhaps in part because of these differences, disagreements have often been expressed in stark, black-and-white terms. If the problems are to be resolved, there will be a need for greater theoretical precision, developed in conjunction with empirical research that is more focused, more finely differentiated, and more...

233 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
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

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed to enrich the study of public administration in CEE by seeking inspiration from comparative public administration, especially as it applies to southern Europe and Latin America.
Abstract: Two main perspectives dominate in the study of central state administration in post-communist CEE: modernization and Europeanization. These perspectives can be characterized with reference to main drivers of administrative change: developmental objectives; the conceptualization of current institutional arrangements; and the decisive actor constellations that are thought to shape administrative trajectories. Modernization and Europeanization capture important aspects of the development of post-communist public administration; but they also suffer from limitations in their descriptive, conceptual and explanatory power. Against this background, it is proposed to enrich the study of public administration in CEE by seeking inspiration from comparative public administration, especially as it applies to southern Europe and Latin America. Such a broadening of the analytical purview may, in particular, help to redirect attention to the substantive openness of administrative transition and to the growing diversity ...

232 citations

Book
01 Jun 1959

231 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
20241
20231,630
20223,824
2021370
2020573
2019604