明代山西北部聚落变迁

明代,山西长城沿线卫所、关隘、堡寨、墩台星罗棋布,形成了独特的人文地理景观———军事聚落,随着清代的一统,大部分则逐渐演化为城镇和村落。本文对该区域军事聚落的形成、发展以及变迁进行了历史考察,认为明清时期是山西北部历史上聚落形成和发展的繁荣时期,这与明代军事聚落的形成与发展有着非常密切的关系。     

历史时期武陵山区丹砂产地分布及其变迁

历史时期武陵山区丹砂产地的分布经历了由产地不具体,到产区形成、迅速扩展及小有扩展的历史过程;产区数量从有明确记载的秦汉魏晋南北朝至隋的1州,到唐宋增至7州,至元明清再增为8州;产区中心从秦汉魏晋南北朝至隋朝的今渝东南,至唐宋转移到今湘西地区再到明清又转移至今黔东北地区。武陵山区丹砂产地分布的历史变迁,从一个侧面反映了当时本区丹砂生产的历史进程。丹砂产地分布变迁是多种因素共同作用的结果,如丹砂资源的主导,社会经济的发展,交通和商贸,以及丹砂勘探和开采技术的影响等。     

On Female Presences and Absences in Heavenly Places

James (Oceania 1991) criticizes some of my interpretive proposals on the political ideology of ancient Tonga, claiming that my emphasis on predominantly male relationships in the titular system reduces ‘Polynesian truths’ to ‘Freudian dogma‘. James sees Tonga as a ‘markedly bilateral’ rather than ‘patrilineal’ society, manifesting symptoms of Malinowski's ‘matrilineal complex’, particularly an incestuous fixation on the sister rather than the mother, correlated with the importance of the brother/sister relationship in social structure, and the alleged transmission of rank through females only. James attempts to find evidence for her claims in the origin myth of the titular system. I show that — contrary to her interpretation — no brother/sister incest can be found in this myth, where, moreover, the female presence is subdued and desexualized. My rejoinder raises issues of general anthropological interest in the realms of symbolism, gender, the analysis of political myth, and of the interrelationship of psychological and cultural processes.     

Shifting Resources and Venues Producing Policy Change in Contested Subsystems: A Case Study of Swedish Signals Intelligence Policy

In the last decade and across countries, changes in national intelligence policies have spurred widespread political opposition and public protest. Instances of intelligence policy change warrant close academic attention to cast light on the dynamics of policymaking in contested policy areas. In an effort to contribute to further development of a theory of policy change within the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), this article analyzes the adoption of legislation in Sweden to expand the mandate for signals intelligence gathering. Three explanatory variables are derived from the ACF to explain policy change in this case: shifts in advocacy coalition membership, distribution of coalition resources, and access to policy venues. Whereas shifts in coalition membership were unrelated to policy change in this case, the case‐study lends partial support to the role of resource distribution and policy venues. To promote the progress of an ACF theory of policy change, the study concludes by drawing two theoretical implications: (i) introducing hierarchical classification of coalition resources and (ii) identification of revised policy narratives and exploitative policy entrepreneurship as causal mechanisms linking external shocks to venue shifts and policy change.     

State,Parliament and Empire in the Mid 18th Century: Hudson's Bay and the Parliamentary Enquiry of 1749

In 1749, the house of commons appointed a committee of enquiry into the lands and trade of Hudson's Bay. This was the climax to nearly 20 years' work by the Ulsterman, Arthur Dobbs, which focused first on renewed search for a northwest passage and later widened to attempt to expand trade and settlement by challenging the monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company. Dobbs's Irish patriotism, linked by support for union with Britain with his remarkably expansive vision of British empire, became concentrated on this campaign with a zeal and tenacity which overrode contrary evidence based on experience. Propaganda pamphlets, mobilisation of compatriots, merchant and political contacts, briefs for MPs, marshalling of evidence and witnesses for parliamentary committees, 30 petitions from a variety of places, organised by Liverpool and Bristol merchants who took the lead in the final campaign: all were used to attempt to influence parliament. This was an impressive mid-century effort to promote British commerce and manufactures, actively supported by the parliamentary opposition which was reviving under Leicester House leadership. Yet, while this campaign could shape the report of the committee of enquiry, the House itself was not so easily moved, especially when public expenditure was likely to be involved. A motion arising from the report was decisively defeated. The impressive campaign came to nought. While it indeed reveals powerful visions of commercial and imperial expansion in the mid 18th century, the outcome suggests that realism and scepticism prevailed at the heart of the state.     

Shifts in the Global Capitalist Economy and the National Economic Domain

The greater part of regional development theory and thinking focuses most attention either upon spatial structure within nation states or upon inherent tendencies/free market forces within capitalist social formations/domestic economies. The great significance that is attached to the nation state is entirely understandable in terms of the historical specificity of the re-emergence of regional development studies in the post-war era. It is, however, no longer a sufficiently adequate basis for analysis Rather, it is necessary to commence analyses with a consideration of shifts in the global capitalist economy. Whilst the significance of the impacts of the growth in the internationalisation of production have been noted, more attention needs to be devoted to shifts from public to private economic power and from order to disorder in international finance markets. These shifts are not accidental They can be traced to internal weaknesses and inconsistencies in the Bretton Woods arrangements which eroded their ultimate foundation, that of monetary stability. As one consequence, the unregulated growth of private economic power, endemic instability and extreme volatility in international finance markets have all directly and indirectly undermined and eroded the extent of control over domestic economic policy on the part of the nation state