Showing papers on "Westernization published in 2020"

De-westernization, democratization, disconnection: the emergence of Brazil’s post-diplomatic foreign policy

Abstract: For some time, foreign policy as an expression was perfectly interchangeable with diplomacy, given the degree of leverage enjoyed by diplomatic corps in Brazil's political system. However, there ha...

Zhang Junmai’s Early Political Philosophy and the Paradoxes of Chinese Modernity

Abstract: This article examines the significance of reflexive self-critical modernity in the development of early “New Confucianism” by reconsidering the example of Zhang Junmai in the context of the May Fourth and New Culture Movements. Whereas these movements advocated scientific rationality and thorough Westernization, Zhang’s education and research in Germany before and after the First World War led him to a critical perspective on Western modernity informed by its contemporary crisis tendencies and Western philosophical and social-political critics. Zhang adopted elements from German Idealism, life-philosophy, and social democracy to critique the May Fourth and New Culture Movements and reconstruct the “rational core” and ethical sensibility of Confucian philosophy. Zhang’s “self-critical modernity” was oriented toward a moral and social-political instead of a scientific and technological vision of Westernization. Zhang’s position was condemned by New Culture champions of scientific modernity who construed Zhang’s position as reactionary metaphysics beholden to the past without addressing his self-critical interpretation of modernity that adopted early twentieth century Western critiques of the spiritual and capitalist crisis-tendencies of modernity. In response to this complex situation, Zhang articulated a phenomenological interpretation of the social-political, ethical, and cultural lifeworld, drawing on classic and contemporary Chinese and Western sources, which endeavoured to more adequately address the paradoxes of Westernization and modernization, and the crisis of Chinese ethical life.

Not America’s Game: The Globalization and Post-Westernization of Women’s Baseball:

Abstract: This article explores the globalization of women’s baseball from both historical and contemporary perspectives. The women’s game is largely absent from literature about the global diffusion of base...

The Concept of Modernization of the Ottoman Empire in the XVIII century

Abstract: Article examines views and current conceptions of theory of modernization applied to the so called “Eastern societies” and more to the Ottoman Empire as the most prominent non-European political actor and one of few states that survives the domination of the “West” during XIX century. Due to its origins in 1960’s, theory of modernization encompassed wide and numerous ideas, theories and concepts in desperate attempt to clarify, how backward and generally weak, comparing to its Eastern neighbors-rivals European civilization (mainly Western European) became economically and so force politically stronger and suddenly turned the tables, enslaved almost all the world for century. Europeans created new or renovate old institutions (frequently in spite of themselves) to became fitter than their competitors in worldwide struggle for wealth, both political and economic. Theory of modernization tries to explain when, how and by whom these changes were incentivized. It took a few decades to create various and rarely views depends on scholar’s scientific methodology and research methods, ideological preferences and ethnicity. Simultaneously, such European-based theories were applied to the non-Western societies due to find out the reasons of their second-rate positions, which appeared obvious to anyone in the last quarter of the XIX century. Author tries to apply a methodic instrument given by theory of modernization to analyze the process of reforms in XVIII century Ottoman Empire and what their efforts in political, economical and moreover mental spheres lead them into a trap of vicious circle of reform. The main question, were the innovations, provided by Ottomans a simple westernization (in the meaning of mindless compilation of European-created institutions) or in was straight purpose to emulate “Western” societies – to become stronger and sufficient, using their own resource and methods.

Ocidentalização dos direitos humanos e exclusões abissais: análise das práticas discursivas e do exercício do poder no Direito Internacional

Abstract: The article proposes to problematize the “westernization” of human rights today by analyzing the discursive and juridical mechanisms the West mobilizes to formulate regimes of truth in the international level, of which the tempering of media communication and the manipulation of international normative instruments are on the spotlight In this context, our main goal is to demonstrate the existence of a western and hegemonic construction of sense in the legal praxis of the international community, through which human rights violations and non-compliance with global protection standards are valued differently depending on the actors involved in these events As specific objectives, we intend to (i) comprehend how media diffusion of terrorist attacks helps consolidating orientalist discursive practices; (ii) find out how self-defense has been used to protect Western interests; (iii) assess the valuation criteria for death in war and in terrorist attacks; and (iv) discuss the role of war in the budgetary definitions of Western powerful nations, specifically the United States Methodologically, we propose a qualitative empirical research, based on bibliographic and documental analysis, applying the inductive method to a five-section article Regarding results, we hope to contribute to the discussions on inequalities in the juridical sphere, reflecting upon the role of westernization in power relations in the international scene and, in a broader sense, in the making of a westernized production of the social and juridical dimensions

Multicultural Origins of the Global Economy: Beyond the Western-Centric Frontier

Abstract: Westerners on both the left and right overwhelmingly conflate globalisation with Westernisation and presume that the global economy is a pure Western-creation. Taking on the traditional Eurocentric Big Bang theory, or the 'expansion of the West' narrative, this book reveals the multicultural origins of globalisation and the global economy, not so as to marginalise the West but to show how it has long been embedded in complex interconnections and co-constitutive interactions with non-Western actors/agents and processes. The central empirical theme is the role of Indian structural power that was derived from Indian cotton textile exports. Indian structural power organised the first (historical-capitalist) global economy between 1500 and c.1850 and performed a vital, albeit indirect, role in the making of Western empire, industrialisation and the second (modern-capitalist) global economy. These textiles underpinned the complex inter-relations between Africa, West/Central/East/Southeast Asia, the Americas and Europe that collectively drove global economic development forward.

Islamic Knowledge and the Making of Modern Egypt

Abstract: This historical study transforms our understanding of modern Egyptian national culture by applying social theory to the history of Egypt's first teacher-training school. It focuses on Dar al-Ulum, which trained students from religious schools to teach in Egypt's new civil schools from 1872. During the first four decades of British occupation (1882-1922), Egyptian nationalists strove to emulate Europe yet insisted that Arabic and Islamic knowledge be reformed and integrated into Egyptian national culture despite opposition from British officials. This reinforced the authority of the alumni of the Dar al-Ulum, the daramiyya, as arbiters of how to be modern and authentic, a position that graduates Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb of the Muslim Brotherhood would use to resist westernisation and create new modes of Islamic leadership in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Establishing a 130-year history for tensions over the place of Islamic ideas and practices within modernized public spaces, tensions which became central to the outcomes of the 2011 Arab Uprisings, Hilary Kalmbach demonstrates the importance of Arabic and Islamic knowledge to notions of authority, belonging, and authenticity within a modernising Muslim-majority community.

Parents’ Expectations of Familial Elder Care under the Neoliberal Hong Kong Society:

Abstract: Previous studies have examined the shifts in traditional familial values among Chinese populations. It was argued that the values have diminished or eroded due to Westernization and modernization. ...

The Politics of Emotions and Spectacles: The Case of the Turkish Language Olympiads

Abstract: This article examines the Turkish Language Olympiads as a political-performative strategy that the Muslim nationalists used to communicate their ideology. I argue that to understand the rise of Muslim nationalism, we also need to understand how emotional appeal is created through spectacles like the Turkish Olympiads. The spectacle was effective in boosting people’s sense of national pride and self-confidence by resolving two important tensions of Kemalist nationalism. First, it addressed the tension between Westernization and nationalization. Depicting an image of Turkish national culture that is appreciated and imitated by foreigners, it contested the imitative, Westernist character of Kemalist nationalism. Second, recasting the outside world as friendly to Turks, even Turkophile, it challenged Kemalist nationalism’s emphasis on external threats. Turkish-speaking and -acting foreigners communicated a message of nationalist self-empowerment and confidence, calling into question people’s sense of fear and distrust of the outside world. How Muslim nationalism was promoted, particularly the performative-symbolic strategies that were used, are important to understand because of their emotional resonance and potential for mass mobilization.

The Urgency of Religious Education and its Implications for the Concept of Human in the Islamic Worldview

Abstract: This paper departs from the problem of education in Islamic countries, especially Indonesia, which began secular by changing religious education as private matter. This is caused by the westernization of knowledge which has been spread by the West since colonialism and has been influential until now. This is all due to the fact that Muslim scientists themselves are lack of understanding on the differences in human concepts in the perspectives of Islam and the West, even though both have different human notions. This is due to the different sources of knowledge between Islam and the West, so that it affects the difference in perspective between the two in viewing humans. The source of knowledge in the West itself is only adopted from "ratio and senses", while the source of knowledge in Islam comes from not only from "ratio and senses" but also from "khabar sadiq (al-Qur'an and hadith) and intuition. Islam considers that religious education is urgent because it has implications for human concepts. of course this is different from the West where the source of knowledge does not include aspects of religion. That is why through a literature study with descriptive analytic methods, this paper tries to explain the differences in human concepts between the West and Islam, and explains the urgency of religious education and its implications for human concepts in the Islamic worldview. It is hoped that it can be raised in scientific discussions after seeing the proliferation of misconceptions due to the swift flow of Western hegemony in the current millennial era

An anthropological perspective on globalization and modernization in traditional african socities: a case study of niger-benue confluence area

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of globalization and modernization in traditional African societies. It uses the Niger-Benue confluence area as a case study. The study underscores the fact that the area has come under the debilitating influence of globalization, westernization and modernization. This study clarifies, espouses and critiques globalization and modernization within the African milieu. Globalization and modernization have become, after colonialism and westernization, the greatest onslaughts on Africa. The study is an anthropological inquiry into the effects of globalization within the cultural milieu of the peoples of the Niger-Benue confluence area. In the face of global economic aggression and cultural violence against Africans and multiple economic abuses, political intimidation and collective violence of pauperization committed on the continent, the paper observes that, it is clearly emerging that there is need for anthropological study of the phenomena of globalization and modernization with a view of championing the preservation of relevant aspects of traditional African culture.

Sir Robert Hart and the Writing of Modern Chinese History

Abstract: This article examines the conflicts in writing the imperial modern history of China among various stakeholders, particularly Chinese and American historians, and their dealing with a set of personal documents of Sir Robert Hart, Inspector-General of the Chinese Maritime Customs Services (CMCS) during the Qing period. This set of documents is called “Hart Industry” and contains Hart's personal papers and seventy-seven volumes of diaries, among others. Revealing the imperial Inspector-General's view on “westernization” in modern China, the Hart Industry played a key role in the development of the history of modern China throughout the twentieth century. From around 1957 until 1995, the diaries became a source of a highly politicized academic debate between Chinese Communist historians of the People's Republic of China and western historians of the Hart Industry. By providing a “study of studies” on the historiography of the colonial modern history of China, this article argues that the Hart diaries were critical to historians’ understanding of their own academic discourse.

Transformation of civilizational identity in russia at the turn of the xx–xxi centuries: from westernization to eurasianism

Abstract: В предыдущей публикации из предполагаемой серии статей, посвященных трансформации коллективной идентичности в России, был рассмотрен вопрос о внешних факторах, влияющий на такую трансформацию. Под этими факторами автор статьи подразумевает взаимоотношения России, с одной стороны, с Америкой, а с другой – с Китаем. Цель настоящей статьи – осмысление актуальной трансформации цивилизационной идентичности России, вектор которой определен как движение от вестернизации к евразийству. Этап, связанный с вестернизацией, Россия прошла еще на том этапе истории, который называют петровской империей. В ХХ веке, и особенно во второй его половине, Россия входит в этап американизации: Америка в этот период становится одним из лидеров в мировой истории. Не успела Россия пережить этот очередной этап, как ситуация стала изменяться в результате усиления в мире китайской цивилизации. Так, в наше время идея русских ученых, эмигрантов – евразийцев, доказывавших, что Россия представляет не романо-германский, а евразийский регион, уже не кажется утопией. Ясно, что изменения в мире не могут не способствовать трансформации коллективной идентичности России. С этой точки зрения, она уж точно – никакой не «третий Рим». Ее «прописку» следует искать на Востоке, что и сделал, например, О. Шпенглер. Обращаясь к фильмам М. Антониони, О. Иоселиани и др., автор пытается проследить такие изменения в разных цивилизациях, в том числе, и в России. Тема будет продолжена в последующих публикациях начавшейся серии.

Sparking joy or sparking narcissism? A Western appropriation of the KonMari method

Abstract: This project seeks to understand the philosophical consequences of the Westernization of the KonMari method, a tidying method initiated by Japanese professional Marie Kondo that finds popularity wi...

The Effects of Westernization Efforts on the Turkish Education System

Abstract: Westernization refers to the establishment of a system based on science and technology in the life of a society and encourages developing countries to learn and then use what the West has found in science, technology, human rights, prosperity, and art. In this paper, we have argued the effects of Westernization efforts and how the power holding groups use these efforts on their behalf to have authority over governmental institutions and change the education policy of Turkey according to their ideology. Quijano’s notion of Coloniality was used to explain how people, who had a control over governmental authorities used Westernization to impose their own ideology in Turkish education policy. In the paper, firstly, we argued why the conflicts due Westernization arise between pro-Westerners and anti-Westerners and how this situation effects the education policy of some societies in the world. Second, we discussed the Westernization efforts made in Turkey. Third, we explained criticism towards Westernization since the Ottoman period. Lastly, we argued how the conflicts between pro-Westerners and anti-Westerners ended up in military coups.

Westernisasi Ilmu dalam Islamic Worldview

Abstract: The current technological advances, making various informations easily spread throughout the world It includes the entry of foreign culture (Westernization) into the Indonesian State This westernization does not only have impact on politics, culture, region and technology, but in its development, westernization began to go into science This research uses a literary study method, namely data collection activities by conducting a review of various books, literature, notes and reports realting to the topic discussed As a result, it can be seen that knowledge Westernization occurs due to the development of shopist who generally have an impact on knowledge in the West Knowledge in the West as a whole only relies on ratio in describing various things So the process has strengthened the thesis of the knowledge Westernization Knowledge in the West has the characteristic of removing the value of belief and spirituality, so this concept breeds secularization Whereas secularization itself is not only a western worldview that is not Islamic, but also contrary to Islamic teachings Secularization eliminates revelation as a source of knowledge and negates the role of God in the scientific procces This is what makes the knowledge Westernization increasingly clear

Cultural Awareness for Civilian-Military Cooperation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract: This research provides a brief overview of the context for the military’s effort to build cultural capacity in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa. It goes on to highlight the newest CIMIC doctrine about the importance of culture, the explanation of idea and importance of cultural awareness and the cultural context of the region of Sub-Saharan Africa with the ideology of post-tribal societies. It gives particular attention to the situation in Africa and misunderstanding as it goes with “westernization” of peacekeeping operations.

Westernization in Ottoman Culture and Built Environment

Abstract: The time frame of this study corresponds to an era from the 14th century to the end of the Ottoman Empire. The westernization trends and changes in culture and architecture were faster and radical particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries and the changes that the Empire passed through reveal a need of handling new understandings attributed to education, social and political situation as a whole. This period also coincides with a period when the Ottoman Empire was questioned in a socio-political sense, and accordingly, change was inevitable. In this context, the radical change of the empire reveals the need to address the new meanings imposed on education, lifestyles, families and women as a whole. The increasing economic and political relations between Ottoman and Western world caused Ottoman society to change its shell in a social and cultural sense. While early changes in culture and built environment were mostly political and military-based and limited to certain public buildings, later the changes spread to the whole society, particularly to those living in cities, which resulted in changes in lifestyles, housing, space organizations and interiors. One has to also realize that Istanbul, being one of the major centers for commerce, transportation, education and administration in Europe, took a leading role in this process. Based on early written Ottoman texts and studies on the history and architectural history, a general overview of westernization will be made with reference to culture and built environment relations with specific emphasis on social changes in the society, family life and home interiors.

Epigenetics and Environmental Roles: The Reality of Igbo-Jewish Link

Abstract: This paper aims to examine the Igbo-Jewish link which has received scant attention in scholarly discourse. Among the few major critical submissions is that Igbos of the South Eastern part of Nigeria, originated from Israel in one way or the other. Prominent among these claims is that Igbos are one of the lost tribes of Israel’ and the ‘Hametic race saga’. Epigenetic and Mythological theories will be useful in helping to explain the Igbo history, origin, migration and colour change. Findings show that proponents of Igbo-Jewish link have not to the best of the researchers’ knowledge, given a satisfactory explanation for the difference in the Igbo-Israeli skin colour, neither have they addressed in what period of history that the Jews migrated to Igbo land. The paper, therefore, attempts to change the old narratives which support the erroneous claim that Igbos originated from Israel by briefly tracing their correct origin with a view to lay to rest, the myths and speculations surrounding their identity. Much of what drives man to develop self and leave a significant mark in his society is the quest to identify with his true origin and in Africa today, the idea of westernization have affected the art of storytelling and indigenous documentation which has been an ageless tradition. Some Africans, based on their understanding view this as waste of time or impacting orchestrated stories in the minds of indigenes’ hence, they prefer westernized format of aligning with the Eurocentric view about the origin of the Igbos. The study concludes that if any one group came from the other, it would be the Jews who migrated from the much older Igbo race and not the other way around.

Anglicisms in Japanese and their cultural context

Abstract: This study aims to show the historical and cultural context of English loanwords in Japanese, the process of domestication, and the functions performed by English loanwords. The orthographic, phonetic, morphological, semantic, and syntactic modifications of borrowed words have helped their assimilation. However, linguistic and cultural loanwords have, to a certain extent, remained separated from the Japanese language and culture, which resulted in the westernization of the Japanese life and language. As a result of the economic, political, and cultural influence of Great Britain and the United States and the imposition of English as the international language, a number of world languages have adopted foreign words from English, most notably in the 20th century. There are thousands of such loanwords in the Japanese language. Many of them are well-established in the language and in everyday use. The Japanese isolation from the West was interrupted by the arrival of the US war ships at the Tokyo port in the mid-19th century. The nation was urged to accept American requests to open trade routes and diplomacy, which had further affected linguistic changes and the enrichment of the Japanese language with numerous foreign words. In the 1930s, the Japanese government was against the introduction of foreign cultures; thus, leading to the elimination of foreign words from the language during the war. However, during the six-year US occupation, the Americans oversaw and greatly influenced the rebuilding of the Japanese society. Once again, Japan invested tremendous effort to westernize its society. The eliminated words again returned to the language, and the "boom" of foreign culture adoption was restored, which has remained the case until today. The study "nihon no sankoutosho", Reference books of Japan, published by Nihon toshoukan kyoukai (Japan Association of Libraries 1980) shows that, , aided by the spread of mass media, over a half of the 25,000 borrowed words in the Kadokawa's Loanword Dictionary entered the Japanese language after World War II and most of them are taken from English. When the elements of one foreign culture and language are lent to another language, they adapt to its new cultural and linguistic context. The majority of loanwords in Japanese exhibit an orthographic, phonological, structural or semantic connection with the linguistic system of the language from which they are taken. The need to add vowels to English words to fit into the syllabic structure of the Japanese language resulted in very long loanwords. Borrowed words are often abbreviated either upon or after entering the language. This usually involves cutting off the end of a word that is left out. Blending has also occurred - it is obtained by a combination of abbreviated words which results in new expressions that do not exist in English.

التبعية الفكرية: المفكرون العثمانيون المتأخرون بين الفقه وعلم الاجتماع

Abstract: Modernization led to the intellectual dependency of the Muslim world on the West for social theories Human action (amal) is the subject matter of both Islamic fiqh and Western social science (ie of all those sciences which attempt to apply empirical methods drawn from the natural sciences to the sphere of human society, including education and law) Though different in many aspects, both have a claim on widely overlapping intellectual territories Social science in its different forms conquered the space traditionally occupied by fiqh, and its professional representatives (such as academicians, jurists, educationists, and writers) replaced the fuqaha This article thus points to a dialectic tension between fiqh and Western social science which shaped Muslim intellectual history since the 19th century This article unearths this latent tension by using the example of late Ottoman intellectuals as Ziya Gokalp, Said Halim Pasha and zmirli smail Hakk In the Ottoman case it brought about a new cleavage in the Muslim intellectual community between advocates of social science and advocates of fiqh Yet many intellectuals and even some fuqaha attempted a synthesis between both fields After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the modern Turkish Republic adopted the policy of wholesale westernization, an element of which was the adoption of Western social science to replace fiqh in explaining and ordering human action This intervention in the intellectual life increased the dependence of modern Turkish intellectuals on the state; which is another aspect of their intellectual dependency explored in this article

Construction of AbaGusii cultural image and identity in Christopher Monyoncho's popular poetry: The Prevalent Theme of Marriage Blues

Abstract: Construction of cultural image and identity in society has been a major focus in academia in recent times. However, most of the studies done in the area target stylistics, imagery, and group artists as opposed to individual artists. The objective of this study was to critically uncover how cultural image and identity in prevalent themes are constructed through the oral and popular poetry of Monyoncho. This iconic AbaGusii Benga music artist plied his trade among the AbaGusii, a Western Kenya Bantu community for over four decades. The AbaGusii like all African communities had suffered colonial disruptions and Westernization that upset their social cultural systems. The study employed two theories, namely, the ethnopoetics theory to account for step-by-step translations from EkeGusii to English and dialogism to interrogate the several voices from the dynamic to conservative within the spectrum of patriarchal, pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods and the thematic concerns of that given era. A descriptive research design was employed, and in terms of their theoretical implications. The study would be of interest to a wide range of researchers, linguists, anthropologists, and students concerned with theory, practice, and development of language, social, political, historical, literature and cultural studies.

From “Construction of Own-Based Culture” to “Sinification”: Historical Meaning of the Discussion of the 1930s

Abstract: The article focuses on the Chinese discussion of 1935 on “Cultural Construction on a Chinese Basis” ( Zhongguo benwei wenhua jianshe ) and its influence on the subsequent “Sinification” ( Zhongguohua ) movement. The author analyzed the content of the “Manifesto of Cultural Construction on a Chinese Basis” (January 1935), which advocated a selective approach to both Chinese and Western cultures in order to enable China’s politics, society and thought to regain their national characteristics. It is underlined that compromise proposal to “not cling to the old” in Chinese culture and not to “follow blindly” Western culture has drawn critical response from Chinese adherents of Westernization. Hu Shi interpreted the idea of “Chinese own-based culture” as embodiment of the old thesis of combining “Chinese basis” ( Zhong ti ) with “Western application” ( Xi yong ). He maintained that the force of inertia of traditional culture is very strong, and, therefore, anxiety about the disappearance of national characteristics from the life of Chinese society is unfounded. Relying on materials of Chinese primary sources, the article shows that during the discussion the center of attention shifted from the sphere of culture to the outstanding issues of socio-economic development and international relations. Tao Xisheng, a proponent of “construction of own-based culture,” urged the “semicolonial Chinese” to oppose capitalist aggression, to create national thought and to take China as a starting point in assessing all events and trends. He prioritized tasks of gaining national independence and sovereignty, countering the expansion of capitalist powers, carrying out organized and planned advance of China. The emphasis on the factors of time and place demonstrated that the discourse on “own-based culture” was not divorced from practice. Participants of the discussion summarized China’s needs as improving people’s livelihood, developing the economy and ensuring the survival of the nation. The transition from the discussion of cultural construction to deliberating on the problems of the state took place against the background of the growing need for national consolidation in eve of the full-scale conflict with Japan. The pre-war discussion of “own-based culture” strengthened the positions of Chinese nationalism and cultural conservatism. In the late 1930s, Chinese Marxists launched their “Sinification” movement, which helped to bridge the gap between foreign theory and Chinese practice, thus paving the way to a positive understanding of Chinese characteristics. The article concludes that in modern China the contemporary relevance of the ideas of “construction of own-based culture” is determined by the growing attention to the preservation of identity and independence of Chinese culture in the era of rapid economic development and advancement towards the goal of national revival.

Reason and Number: African Reflections on Japan

Abstract: On balance, Africans in the colonial and post-colonial period underwent a cultural process of soft Westernisation, rapidly converting to Western religions and acquiring Western tastes in music, cuisine, dance and dress. We say “on balance” because “Africans” as a category represents a miracle of diversity, but it is one which, methodologically, should not necessarily preclude the use of evidence about Africans in one part of Africa to formulate Africa-wide hypotheses. That is precisely a task this chapter has set itself. It is in this sense that we could also say, in missionary and colonial schools, Africans learned much more about history, philosophy, literature, and even classical Greek and Latin than about technology and applied sciences. But the Japanese in the Meiji and Post-Meiji period underwent a process of hard modernisation, which is skill-intensive. In Japan, first, the overriding goal was defined as “Rich Country, Strong Army” [fukokukyohei]; then, “Reason and Number” [jitsugaku] was identified as the means for achieving it. Japan’s leaders subsequently pursued the skills of production and strategies of military defence under the guidance of “Western Techniques, Japanese Spirit” [wakonyōsai]. While Nigeria and the Congo have produced cardinals who were considered as candidates for the papacy in the Vatican, the Japanese continued to produce high value-added products. In this chapter, we argue that the primary explanation for this disparity lies in the divergent responses to the challenges of modernisation in Meiji Japan and post-colonial Africa.

Cultural Expertise in Iran: From the Pahlavi Dynasty to Contemporary Diasporas

Abstract: This paper suggests the use of cultural expertise as encompassing concept that can account for the natural cultural competence developed in Iran. In earlier times, Zoroastrian law was first based on religious norms and the primary theological division between sins and offenses. Iranians had to adapt to different legal systems: customary law, religious law and secular law. Priests, jurists, judges, officials and translators were the main cultural “experts” and mediators between the people and the normative institutions. The introduction of imami legal theories and jurisprudence in the 16th century together with the reinforcement of the secular political power engaged Iran in a stabilized judicial context ruled by shiʿi scholars, qāzis and mujtahids. In 1919, as a consequence of the new French inspired Constitution, the Ministry of Justice, in order to train a new generation of judges, magistrates and justice personnel, set up a law school. Professors, who can be considered as cultural experts, contributed to the acculturation process initiated in the judicial system. Examples of his continuous struggle are recounted in Ostad Elahi's (1895-1974) memoirs, relating the difficulty Iranians had to accept the change, both cultural and psychological, initiated by the modernization and westernization program put into operation (1911-1935).