The Future of WAC: A Fringe or a Popular Professional-Social Network?

In response to Shepherd and Haber??s (Public Archaeology 10(2):96?C115, 2011) article ??What is up With WAC??? I argue that, on the one hand, it is possible to adopt the authors?? new definition of Indigenous with certain modifications that enable it to accept a diverse constellation of responses to dwelling-in-displacement and explain the origin of these inequalities. On the other hand, I argue that WAC is not a reactionary organization of colonial heritage but that it makes great efforts to respond to 21st century postcolonial archaeology.     

The Decline of English Popular Politics?

Politics and the People. A Study in English Political Culture, c. 1815–1867. By James Vernon.     

‘A Terrific Ogre’: The Role of the Devil in Victorian Popular Belief

The Devil played a vital role in Victorian popular belief. He was a multifaceted figure who could be humorous or terrifying, depending on the occasion. While he struggled for space with an array of supernatural figures, the Devil managed to maintain a presence in a wide variety of supernatural narratives and beliefs.     

Commemoration of the Great War: A Global Phenomenon or a National Agenda?

During the First World War, people from all over the world were present in Flanders Fields. On the eve of the centenary of the Great War, it is striking that the war is not commemorated as strongly in every country that was involved. This article explores the specific national sensitivities related to the commemoration of the First World War and the reasons why some states commemorate it more strongly than others. The data for this article were obtained through desk research and expert interviews. In addition to focusing on the main conclusions, this article briefly explores some theoretical insights on memory and commemoration. The particular history of a nation’s involvement in the war, the extent to which the war contributed to the nation-building process of the state in question, the extent to which a military tradition existed and the extent to which civil society was involved in the commemorative events are all factors that influence the intensity and the way that the war is commemorated. Another remarkable difference is that the emphasis of commemorative events is on a contemporary peace message in some states while other nations focus on the memory as such. Remembrance of Flanders Fields in particular is only important to some nations. The commemoration of the First World War is, as well as much other expressions of heritage, a historic and social construct.     

The Arab Spring: A Fourth Wave of Democratization?

Between 1974 and 1990, over 30 countries in southern Europe, Latin America, some parts of Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa made transitions to democracy, nearly doubling the number of democratic governments in the world. Samuel Huntington described this global shift as “Democracy's Third Wave” in an article published in 1991, which was later developed in a book titled The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. In these two works, he discusses the causes, features, and transition processes of the third wave of democracy and examines its prospects for sustainability and possible expansion in a nondemocratic world. He argues that the first and second democratic waves “were followed not merely by some backsliding but major reverse waves during which most regime changes throughout the world were from democracy to authoritarianism” (Huntington, 1991a). He also addresses the causative factors of this reverse wave in some countries, and he claims that the third wave of democratization that swept the world in the 1970s and 1980s might become a dominant feature of Middle Eastern and North African politics in the 1990s. The delay in this prophecy for two decades motivates us to question whether the Arab Spring is part of Huntington's third wave of democratization or a new fourth wave of democratization, or even a false start to democracy, as described by Larry Diamond ( 2011 ). The purpose of this article is to examine the causes, features, and transition processes of the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen in correlation with Huntington's theorization on the third wave of democratization which, along with other available literature in the field, will be combined in a theoretical framework that will enable us to discuss the abovementioned elements of the Arab Spring through the lens of the third wave of democratization. Special attention is paid to the question of whether the Arab Spring falls into the framework of Huntington's theory, or whether it can be classified as a new fourth wave of democratization in countries that have unfavorable environments for democracy. The first part of this article highlights the causative factors that eased the emergence of the third wave of democratization in different parts of the world. The second part provides a historical overview of the major events of the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, while the third and fourth parts analyze the causes, features, and transition processes of the Arab Spring from Huntington's third wave perspective.     

The Samoan Farmer: A Reluctant Object of Change?

Stagnation and a failure to break out of a subsistence-oriented type of production continue to characterize the agricultural sector in Western Samoa. The lack of dynamism in agriculture has variously been ascribed to subsistence affluence and limited wants, the inhibiting impact of fa'asamoa – the Samoan way of life – and, more recently, to the effects of migration, remittances, aid and bureaucracy on economic development. This article suggests that the explanatory power of these factors by themselves is unsatisfactory. Instead, it argues that an absence of secure market outlets offering predictable and sufficiently attractive prices to farmers and the lack of rural-urban links in general are at the heart of the problem. The economy seems to be caught in a vicious circle where farmers fail to commit themselves to production for the market because of a lack of secure outlets, while adequate downstream distribution and processing channels do not develop for lack of secure supplies. The interchangeable nature of commercial and subsistence production in agriculture, widespread access to overseas remittances, and the smallness of the domestic economy serve to perpetuate the deadlock.     

The Intervention Crisis of 1862: A British Diplomatic Dilemma?

In the fall of 1862, William Ewart Gladstone opened a cabinet debate whether Great Britain should intervene in the American Civil War. Influenced by the staggering death toll and lack of results, the British cabinet contemplated a humanitarian intervention. Coinciding with the debate was a cabinet crisis in France over French policies toward Italy and more importantly the overthrow of the Greek king. The revolution in Greece reopened the Eastern Question and forced the Palmerston Government to carefully consider its foreign policy. By closely looking at the chronological overlap of the intervention debate, the French cabinet crisis, and the Greek Revolution, this article shows the interplay of the entangled global crises during the fall of 1862 and their impact on trans-Atlantic diplomacy. The British Government had to determine whether the situation in North America or the containment of Russia and the Eastern Question required attention more urgently. The British Government determined that threats closer to home mattered more.     

The Failure of Citizens’s Initiated Referenda Proposals in Australia: New Directions for Popular Participation?

Australia has been a leading proponent of direct democracy since the turn of the century because of the provision for referenda in the Australian Constitution. However, the experiment has progressed little further. Bills for citizens’s initiated referenda have been introduced across the Australian parliaments. Not one has been passed, despite the concept being supported at different times by all sides of politics. This article examines why these proposals have failed. It also evaluates other means of reinvigorating popular participation. Widespread disillusionment with the political system indicates that there is a genuine need to increase community involvement in the political process.