The end of the West: the once and future Europe

Europe and the United States—the West—urgently need political leadership, economic fortitude and a clear vision of the future if they are to contend with the challenges posed by emerging regional powers and to resist the downward pressures of ‘relative decline’, the central focus of David Marquand's book, The end of the West: the once and future Europe. Central to this goal will be the West's ability to ‘rebalance’ between its institutions and democracy; its power and commitments; and its political and moral authority. Europe must ‘rebalance’ on issues related to ethnicity and identity, governance and authority, and civilization and territory. EU enlargement and its institutional reform processes have exacerbated this imbalance. American foreign policy objectives currently exceed its resources and are hampered by lack of strategic clarity and intellectual vision which keeps the United States from achieving an adaptive leadership model more capable of successfully operating in an increasingly complex and multipolar world. For Europe to become internally healthy and externally productive—both politically and economically—it needs to regain balance between its utopian, institutional objectives and democratic support for its future ambitions and policy course. Strong leadership and a powerful vision of prosperity from the West will be vital to return the transatlantic partnership to global economic and political advantage.     

A few bubbles more: The myntling register revisited

To conclude the debate between E.D. Jones and M.D. Bailey about the historical significance of the Myntling Register, we now print Dr Jones' reply to Dr Bailey's criticisms, in which he defends the use to which he has put the text.     

The 2006 election: more than ever,a Berlusconi-centred campaign

Abstract

The article offers a review of the most salient events of the 2006 electoral campaigns. It argues that with exception of 1994, the recent 2006 electoral campaign has been more focused on Berlusconi than the previous campaigns. As a matter of fact, Berlusconi, trailing in the polls, made all possible efforts to set the campaign agenda. He resorted to a massive overexposure of himself on the television stage and gave rise to a number of ‘media events’ that have dominated the electoral narratives, like the Vicenza speech at the Confindustria conventions and his final announcement of abolishing the municipal tax on homeowners. All that was not enough to gain re-election, but his frantic campaign activity allowed him to re-acquire a clear leadership of the House of Liberties, which had been previously challenged by his own coalition partners. The article analyses also the Berlusconi – Prodi debates, and the reasons why electoral debates promise to become a fixed feature of the Italian politics.     

Something more to Xiaoying's pain

This short article concentrates on various representations of Xiaoying, a seriously injured survivor of the Zhili Toy Factory fire of 1993 in Shenzhen, China. Visual materials including a music video by the Hong Kong band, Noise Cooperative, TV documentaries by Radio Television Hong Kong and Phoenix TV, and written literary reports, such as ‘Bloody Tracing: a Recent Report on the Victims of the Zhili Toy Factory Fire in Shenzhen on November 19, 1993’ by academic researchers are analyzed. This is my close reading of a single exploited rural woman's story of pain and my understanding of her constraints: global capitalism, destructive modernization, and gender hierarchy. Xiaoying's painful experiences also prompt questions about the future of rural society.     

The genealogy of personal names: towards a more productive method in historical onomastics

It is essential to combine genealogical and collective biographical approaches with network analysis if one wants to take full advantage of the evidence provided by (hereditary) personal names in historical and linguistic onomastic research. The naming practices of rural families and clans from the 18th to the 20th century can bring us much fresh information about their enduring attitudes and values, as well as about other mentalities of everyday life. Personal names were cultural symbols that contained socially shared meanings. With the help of genealogical method it is possible to obtain a more nuanced understanding of these past naming practices, for example by comparing the conventions of different communities. A long-term and systematic empirical research also enables us to dispute certain earlier assumptions that have been taken for granted in historical onomastics. Therefore, the genealogical method is crucial in studying the criteria for the choices of personal names in the past.     

Is less more … or is more less? Scaling the political ecologies of the future

Imagining progressive environmental futures, especially among critical scholars, can be a fraught enterprise. While some theorists and activists turn towards the social emancipatory power of modern technological interventions at scale, others point to the revolutionary power of degrowth, simplicity, and conviviality. These competing political geographical imaginaries are often strident in their response to one another, though they share core materialist commitments. This essay reviews these contrasting approaches in light of the tradition of political ecology, within the context of an Earth economy that is trending towards higher levels of energy and lower levels of human labor, weighing the degree to which the work and conclusions of political ecologists are congruent with either perspective, neither perspective, or both. The conclusions suggest that, while these two traditions have inverse, or at least orthogonal, views of economic scale, they may not be beyond compromise. Socialist modernism and degrowth sprouted from the same seed, share a political ecological tradition, and may indeed require one another. Eschewing both utopian and dystopian aspirations may open the door to progressive reconciliation and action.     

Do more,with less: The realities of local government in rural Ontario

Over the past 30 years, the responsibilities, mandates, and activities of local governments in Ontario have undergone substantial transformations. Influenced by New Public Management, policy changes are characterized by marketization and managerialism resulting in downloading of responsibilities to local governments. This research examines the ebbs and flows of policy changes among different provincial governments since 1990 and the impacts of these policies on rural local governments in Ontario. Interviews were conducted with elected officials and senior staff in eight local governments to understand their realities. The findings demonstrate the continual policy changes led to the “do more, with less” approach currently faced by rural local governments—increased regulatory requirements, limited human and financial capacities, and small tax bases to support their activities. This experience, combined with limited fiscal levers, hinders the ability of rural local governments to address both new demands for infrastructure and existing infrastructure deficits, housing stock and affordability, and economic and workforce development strategies. The reality has necessitated local governments to seek alternative strategies to deliver programs and services through partnerships and collaboration.     

陶寺遗址乃尧至禹都论

我国上古史上,在夏朝之前,是《史记·五帝本纪》中的唐尧、虞舜时期,已进入“五帝”时代了。关于“五帝”的历史,过去直至今日,仍有知名学者认为是传说乃至神话,采取了怀疑甚至否定态度。他们只承认商代才是信史。现经考古发现的一批遗址,可以补充古史资料,也在逐步成为信史了。近日,“夏商周断代工程”的专家公布了新的夏、商、周年表,确认二里头文化为夏文化,二里头遗址年代就是夏朝年代。但是,该遗址至今尚未见到文字的直接材料,也未发现城址遗迹以及带有标志性遗物。如果是个学术问题,仍有研究的余地。考古研究的另一个任…     

Haiti: Behind Mountains,more mountains

Vera Rubin and Richard P. Schaedel, eds. The Haitian Potential: Research and Resources of Haiti. Center for Education in Latin America, Institute of International Studies. New York: Teachers College Press, 1975. xxiv + 284 pp. Figures, tables, and references. $15.00.