Creating Civil Society? The Emergence of NGOs in Vietnam

Based on recent research in Hanoi, this article examines the emergence of NGOs in Vietnam, and relates their development to the civil society discourse which is used by elements of the international donor community to predict the growth of pluralism and democracy. After examining the social and political environment of post-reform Vietnam, it does not appear evident that these organizations fit into any definition of civil society which stresses independence from the state and opposition to state ideology.     

Questioning Theory: Is There a Gender of Theory in Archaeology?

This paper raises questions about the practice of theory in anthropological archaeology. Particular attention is given to questions surrounding the gender of theory: what genders are more heralded in the theoretical spotlights and how the subject position of doing theory is gendered. An analysis of the contents of four Readers of Archaeological Theory shows the problematic selection and thus representation of women’s theoretical contributions, including their effective ghettoization in gender and feminist archaeology. Insights from how feminists have been grappling with theory are considered, and archaeologists are urged to confront the ways in which “doing theory” is/is not valued and how it is differentially valued, and to discuss the place and uses of theory more explicitly and critically.     

Coalition-building in Portuguese Spatial Planning: Is There a Southern European Context?

This paper aims to discuss institutional capacity building in spatial planning focussing on two experiences of public policy in Portugal involving institutional cooperation. These experiences reveal the importance of factors associated with the roles of the central state and local political leadership in the way integrated tools of urban and territorial policy are implemented. They also show that the capacity to mobilize local agents is mitigated by the deep-rooted presence of highly personalized institutional ties, reflecting a relational model that is particularly characteristic of Portuguese society. We will conclude that territorial policies may be jeopardized when these policies are centred mainly upon the mobilization of local agents. In fact, these two case-studies, as well as similar experiences in Italy, suggest that, in southern Europe, two other aspects are central for the definition of territorial policies on the inter-municipal and local scales: the influence of the state, and the role of political leadership at local level.     

The Clean Energy Dilemma in Asia: Is There a Way Out?

A prominent American geographer and specialist on energy and environmental policies in developing countries assesses the challenge to sustainable development posed by Asia's rapid economic growth and the concurrent need to reduce the environmental impacts of energy production and use. A particular focus is on China and India, as rapidly growing energy consumers and greenhouse gas emitters, and on Russia as a potentially important supplier of natural gas and liquid alternatives to coal use. The author suggests some elements of a strategy to resolve the dilemma of reducing global environmental impacts without penalizing Asia's economic development, although a significant energy transition over the next several decades appears quite difficult.     

Greening Without Conflict? Environmentalism,NGOs and Civil Society in China

This article argues that the specific features and dynamics of China’s environmentalism can be attributed to two factors: the ‘greening’ of the Chinese state at the time when environmentalism emerged, and the alternating politics of toleration and strict control of social organizations. As a result, environmentalism has developed in a gradual way, encompassing the various forms of ‘green’ NGOs that we see in the West and the ex–socialist states of Eastern and Central Europe. Yet, on the other hand, environmentalism was also robbed of the opportunity, as well as the immediate urgency, to openly confront the government. This is where it deviates from environmentalism in the West and the former Eastern–bloc countries.     

What Is a Hunter-Gatherer? Variation in the Archaeological Record of Eastern and Southern Africa

This article reviews the recent history of the archaeology of African hunter-gatherers, focusing on debates around the origins of modern humans and the destiny of hunter-gatherers with the advent of food production. African archaeologists are developing an increasing appreciation for the diversity of African hunter-gatherer societies. Understandings of hunter-gatherers based primarily on ethnography are being successfully challenged and extended.     

Is There a National Policy For Children and Youth With Serious Emotional Disturbance?

This article examines the status of a national mental health policy for children in need of mental health services. The need for systems planning and services integration involving multiple agencies is presented. The different programs of the major governmental agencies involved in the delivery of services to children are reviewed, as are the range of services provided. This article demonstrates the fragmentation and duplication that is endemic in all aspects of mental health, and that consequently makes policy implementation exceedingly difficult.     

Is there a Direct Pro-Judah Polemic in Judges?

In recent years, there seems to be a general consensus that in its current canonical form, the book of Judges is redacted out of a pro-Judah bias that seeks to glorify the tribe of David at the expense of the other tribes. Approaching the issue from a literary/rhetorical perspective, this article seeks to challenge this consensus by re-examining the evidence for an alleged direct pro-Judah polemic in Judges. It is argued that in each case where an instance of direct pro-Judah polemic is alleged to have been found, either Judah is discovered not to be portrayed as positively as initially thought, or its positive portrayal can be explained more credibly by factors other than a pro-Judah polemic.