Policy Merchandising and Social Assistance in Africa: Don't Call Dog Monkey for Me

The title of this article draws on a Yorùbá aphorism that roughly translates into ‘don't sell me a dummy’. The dark side of social policy, the theme of this Debate, has a distinct character in the African context. The transformation of the African public policy landscape, shaped by the ‘counter-revolution’ in development thinking, has taken a new form with the donor ‘policy merchandising’ of cash transfer schemes. The stratified and segregated social policy on offer contrasts with the historical experience of ‘donor’ countries themselves. The policy instrument advanced is cast as ‘a silent revolution in development’, embodying the idea of development shifting from structural transformation to poverty alleviation. What is promoted is an impoverished version of development. Within the discourse of ‘working with the grain of African politics’, the politics of social assistance policy merchandising starts with a notion of politics as clientelist. It then deploys the instrumentality of clientelism — within an imperial deployment of power — in the manufacture of civil society and policy coalition, to ensure the local adoption of a policy instrument that the extra-territorial donor actors offer. This modality of public policy formulation contrasts sharply with the historical experience of public policy making in the ‘donor’ countries themselves. The result is the subversion of the consolidation of democracy in the African client states.     

Fish and Birds in the Trypillya Economy and Culture (5.4–2.7 kya BC): Evidence from Ukraine

The paper deals with the role of fish and birds in the Trypillya culture, which was one of the greatest Eneolithic cultures within Europe. Analysis of the osteological material (authors' own determination and literature data), as well as auxiliary material – fish and bird images in the Trypillya art – were used for this purpose. As in the case of mammals, the role of different fish and bird species varied greatly among the regions and cultures. Bones of sturgeon, roach, carp, catfish, pike, perch and other freshwater fish species were observed with different frequencies. Analysis of the skeletal remains and data on fishing gear from the archaeological literature indicates that the Trypillya fishing focused on large‐sized fish. The main birds hunted by the Trypillya people were waterfowl (ducks, geese and coot), large Galliformes (capercaillie and black grouse), grey crane and bustard. A characteristic feature of the Trypillya settlements was a large proportion of birds of prey and owls. Remains of domestic chicken from the Gorods'k settlement (late Trypillya or Gorods'k‐Usatove culture), dated as 3212 ± 100 CalBC , were the most ancient remains of domestic chicken found in Ukraine, and probably in Europe. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lambs to the Slaughter: A Zooarchaeological Investigation of Stone Circles in Mongolia

Stone circles are a common monumental feature of the Mongolian Bronze Age (c. 1500–800BC), frequently occurring in association with other monument types, especially khirigsuurs. Until now the content of the stone circles has not been identified, a fact which has hampered our understanding not only of khirigsuurs and their related cosmology but also of the contemporary economy, owing to a research paradigm that was monument‐focused until very recently. The identification of domestic bovids in these features thus has profound implications for our approach to studying the society of this period and region. These implications, including a well‐developed cosmology and economy which included the ritual sacrifice of at least three different kinds of livestock, are introduced here. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environment and Cultural Heritage in China: Introduction

The transformation of the natural and built environment over the past three decades has left China with a legacy of environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity. The loss of cultural heritage, including cultural forms associated with the natural ecology, has been just as dramatic. The three studies in this special focus section of Asian Studies Review explore significant issues in environmental conservation, cultural heritage, and grassroots activism in urban and rural China, with an emphasis on the relationship between the natural environment, the transmission of traditional cultural forms, and localised forms of agency or activism. As discussed here, while China's discourse on these issues is strongly influenced by global norms, different regions of China are developing their own individual responses to environmental conservation, the protection of biodiversity, and the ongoing transmission of endangered cultural forms.