Radicalizing Relationships To and Through Shared Geographies: Why Anarchists Need to Understand Indigenous Connections to Land and Place

Abstract: Indigenous activists and anarchist Settler people are articulating common ground in opposition to imperialism and colonialism. However, many anarchists have faced difficulties in Indigenous solidarity work through unintentional (often unwitting) transgressions and appropriations. Through the introduction of settler colonialism as a complicating power dynamic, we observe that anarchists bring unconscious spatial perceptions into their solidarity work. Further, Indigenous activists often perceive anarchists as Settler people first and foremost, which carries another set of spatial implications. We examine a number of examples of anarchist and Indigenous activism, at times empowering and at times conflictual, in order to reveal some general trends. Through an intensive synthesis of Indigenous peoples’ theories and articulations of place‐based relationships, we suggest that deeper understandings of these relationships can be of great importance in approaching solidarity work in place and with respect.     

Evaluating civil development in counterinsurgency operations: the case for a field experiment in Afghanistan

It is a widely held belief that civil development programs play a central role in any counterinsurgency campaign. It is assumed that civil development assistance is key to ‘winning the hearts and minds’ of the civilian population, which, in turn, is crucial for victory. However, there is currently little evidence to support this belief. This article begins by analysing the different methods that have been used in Afghanistan in order to evaluate the effectiveness of civil development programs since 2001. It finds that these methods have severe limitations. Indeed, based solely upon current methods of evaluation, we have no reliable evidence whether civil development programs are actively improving security, having no impact or making matters worse. As such, this article makes the case for a field experiment approach to be adopted in Afghanistan. It argues that field experiments are the most powerful methodology currently available to social scientists for making causal inferences and, by making minor changes to the way in which civil development is distributed, we can vastly improve our understanding of the relationship between aid and security.     

Survey,Shovel Probes,and Population Estimates: Studying Regional Demography in the Intermediate Area Using Subsurface Sherd Deposits

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory - Shovel probes are a common form of archaeological data collection in densely vegetated landscapes. They were once the subject of critical analyses that...     

The oldest root-eating beetle from the Middle Jurassic of China (Coleoptera,Monotomidae)

Cai, C.-Y., ?lipiński, A. & Huang, D.-Y., 31.3.2015. The oldest root-eating beetle from the Middle Jurassic of China (Coleoptera, Monotomidae). Alcheringa 39,488–493. ISSN 0311-5518.

Jurorhizophagus alienus gen. et sp. nov., a new fossil root-eating beetle, is described and figured based on an exceptionally well-preserved impression fossil from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds (ca 165 Ma), Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. It represents the earliest fossil Monotomidae known to date. Jurorhizophagus can not be assigned to either of two subfamilies Monotominae or Rhizophaginae based on the unique combination of many unusual characters, including an 11-segmented antenna with a 3-segmented club, the presence of a distinct frontoclypeal suture and transverse pronotum with a median longitudinal groove. The discovery of a new genus from the Middle Jurassic highlights the antiquity of Monotomidae and provides new information about the phylogenetic relationships between Monotomidae and its allied families.

Chen-Yang Cai [caichenyang1988@163.com], Di-Ying Huang [dyhuang@nigpas.ac.cn] (corresponding author), State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Adam ?lipiński [adam.slipinski@csiro.au], Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO National Collections Australia, GPO Box 1700, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.     

Studies of African states and the state of African studies

Sandra T. Barnes, Patrons and Power: Creating a Political Community in Metropolitan Lagos, Manchester University Press for the International African Institute, 1986, pp.261. $128.00 (cloth).

Patrick Chabal (ed.), Political Domination in Africa: Reflections on the Limits of Power, Cambridge University Press, 1986, pp.211. $33.50 (paper).

Preston King, An African Winter, Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1986, pp.249. $9.95 (paper).

John Sender and Sheila Smith, The Development of Capitalism in Africa, London, Methuen, 1986, pp.177. $27.95 (paper).

Robert Williams, Political Corruption in Africa, Aldershot, Gower, 1987, pp.145. £18.50 (cloth).     

A Note on Iron Age Figural Artefacts from Tell Dothan

ABSTRACT

Tell Dothan, located just 10 kilometers from modern-day Jenin, was excavated by Joseph P. Free for 10 seasons between 1953–1964 (Figure 1). During the course of these excavations, Free recovered numerous figurines and figural artefacts. The study of figural artefacts in the southern Levant in the last two decades has received renewed interest with re-examinations of well-known traditions (for a recent and interesting reinvestigation of the Iron Age Judean Pillar Figurines, see Darby 2014), closer attention to the production processes (e.g., Ben Shlomo 2010; Darby 2014; Kletter, et al. 2010), and discussions about the uses and functions of these curious objects. The present article presents only those from the Iron Age with attention to their spatial distribution in order to contribute to the understanding of the archaeological remains at the site. At the same time, the Iron Age collection from Dothan is important not only because it supplements the growing number of published figural artefacts from the southern Levant, in particular from the lesser-explored regions of the modern-day West Bank, but because it textures the interpretation of the architecture at tell Dothan, itself.