Precarious Democratization and Local Dynamics in Niger: Micro–Politics in Zinder

Literature on the African state often finds it hard to specify what is state and what is not. The closer one gets to a particular political landscape, the more apparent it becomes that many institutions have something of a twilight character. This article argues that studies of local politics in Africa should focus on how the public authority of institutions waxes and wanes and how political competition among individuals and organizations expresses the notion of state and public authority. This is explored in the context of contemporary political struggles in Niger, played out in three different arenas in the region of Zinder around 1999, as home–town associations, chieftaincies and vigilante groups all take on the mantle of public authority in their dealings with what they consider to be their antithesis, the ‘State’.     

Klaus G. Witz,The Supreme Wisdom of the Upanisads: An Introduction

Indo-Iranian Journal -     

The politics of contemporary ethno‐nationalist conflicts

That the 1990s began and ended with wars in the Balkans, often evoking reference to ‘ancient hatreds’, might suggest little has been learned since the fall of the Wall on how to address the recrudescence of violent ethno‐nationalist conflict – and indeed some fatalism as to whether this can be done at all. Yet the rethinking of notions of national sovereignty, the increasing minority‐rights jurisprudence and the development of anti‐essentialist concepts of identity in recent times have begun to indicate new policy instruments which might better allow such conflicts to be managed in the twenty‐first century. As ever, however, policy lags behind intellectual innovations, and the predominant approach of the international community remains for the moment significantly more conservative in character.     

Rooms of Their Own: Public toilets and gendered citizens in a New Zealand city, 1860‐1940

Differences in the provision of public toilets for men and women point to the gendering of citizens. In the later nineteenth century, provision of public toilets in the city of Dunedin centered on the management of male bodies as the meaning of 'public decency' was transformed, while women were catered for as consumers. By the beginning of the twentieth century, when provision for women became a public issue, it was debated in terms of women's special character as citizens. The bodily and spatial characteristics of public and private were renegotiated around this issue: as women became more public, toilets became more private. This article draws on debates about the sexed and gendered body in public space, maternal citizenship, the civilising and modernising of landscapes and bodies, and shifting conceptions of privacy and public.     

Cross-cultural interaction on Wuvulu Island,Papua New Guinea: the perspective from use-wear and residue analyses of turtle bone artifacts

Recent studies have emphasized the importance of Indigenous producers and traders in the formation of ethnographic museum collections, but have found difficulty in finding concrete evidence for their active roles. A use-wear and residue study of turtle bone cleavers from Wuvulu Island, Papua New Guinea provides the opportunity to test whether objects that comprise a significant component of early collections were made specifically for sale, as hypothesized by contemporary observers in the late 19th century. Comparative studies of used and unused turtle bone artifacts from the Caroline Islands and Papua New Guinea identified differences between wear traces resulting from manufacture and use. Analyses of the Wuvulu turtle bone cleavers showed they had been heavily used prior to sale. Rather than produce artifacts to meet the high demand from German traders, the local people sold old, worn-out objects, many of which had been repaired. The study demonstrates that archaeological approaches to ethnographic museum collections can trace Indigenous agency within cross-cultural interaction. It also showcases the potential of use-wear and residue analytical techniques for the analysis of bone tools and the utility of digital, hand-held microscopes for the analysis of large artifacts.     

Design thinking for city dashboard development: Recommendations from a study of smart asset management in Sydney,Australia

The city dashboard has become an integral component of smart city asset management systems. It leverages data collected from multiple sources to monitor performance and enable evidence-based decision making. This article investigates the use of a design thinking framework to develop a functional and easy to understand city dashboard. The Smart Social Spaces project is used as a case study to illustrate how design thinking can be employed to develop an asset management dashboard, enabling efficient management of public space and infrastructure. The article profiles the unique collaboration between a local government, a multi-disciplinary team of university academics, and a street furniture designer and manufacturer, all located in Sydney, Australia. We unpack some of the design practice nuances that led this project to receive national awards and international recognition, and most importantly, created a user-friendly system to track and maintain public micro assets. We conclude with lessons learnt and recommendations for dashboard development through a design thinking process.     

“Wilderness” revisited: Is Canadian park management moving beyond the “wilderness” ethic?

This paper questions whether the rescaling of conservation practice in Canada to include local and Indigenous communities, NGOs, and private market-based actors represents a move away from wilderness-thinking in conservation, and what implications this might have for the future of conservation in Canada. We explore the links between Cronon's “wilderness” ethic and coloniality, racism/sexism/classism, and political economy, and the extent to which recent trends in conservation practice, such as co-management arrangements, private tourism proposals, and a shift in programming to attract a diverse public to parks, help us to move beyond the limited vision for conservation and environmentalism that the wilderness ethic provides. We interrogate the ways in which the concept of wilderness is being employed, resisted, and transformed by a multitude of actors in three parks and conservation areas across Canada. We argue that although recent developments in conservation practice help to redress some of the worrisome aspects of wilderness-thinking in parks, they also reinforce and re-emphasize problematic lines of thinking and praxis. While the wilderness character of Canadian parks has shifted a great deal since the turn of the 20^th century, the wilderness ethic remains deeply embedded within conservation discourse and practice.     

Book review

Bruce Grant What Kind of Country? Australia and the Twenty First Century. Ringwood, Vic.: Penguin Books, xii +178pp. $ 11.95.

Phillip W. Jones. Australia's International Relations in Education. Hawthorne, Vic: The Australian Council for Educational Research Ltd, 1986. 123pp. $8.95.

Ronald H. Linden. Communist States and International Change: Romania and Yugoslavia in Comparative Perspective. Boston: Allen & Unwin, xviii+201pp. $87.50.

Christopher Tugendhat Making Sense of Europe. Harmond‐sworth: Penguin Books, 1987.240pp. $12.95.

A. J. Marques Mendes. Economic Integration and Growth in Europe. London; Croom Helm, 1987.141pp. £22.50.

Miles Hewstone. Understanding Attitudes to the European Community: a social‐psychological study in four member states. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. xviii+306pp. $98.00.

Sonia Mazey and Michael Newman (eds). Mitterrand's France. London: Croom Helm, 1987. xi+253pp. $105.00.

Tom Gallagher. Glasgow: The Uneasy Peace. Religious Tension in Modern Scotland, 1819–1914. Manchester. Manchester University Press, 1987.ix+382pp.$114.00.

Anthony Hall and James Midgley (eds). Development Policies: Sociological Perspectives. Manchester. Manchester University Press, 1988. 154pp £21.00.

Stewart MacPherson and James Midgley (eds). Comparative Social Policy and the Third World. Brighton, Sussex: Wheatsheaf Books, 1987.228pp. $69.95.

Edward J. Lincoln. Japan: Facing Economic Maturity. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1988. xii+298pp. $US11.95.

Harry Harding. China's Second Revolution: Reform after Mao. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1987. 369pp. $US12.95.

Zakaria Haji Ahmad (ed.). Government and Politics of Malaysia. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1986. xii + 178pp. No price given.

Raul P. de Guzman and Mila A. Reforma (eds.) Government and Politics of the Philippines Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1988. xii+289 pp. $S45.00.

Fred Greene (ed). The Philippine Bases: Negotiating for the Future. American and Philippine Perspectives. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 1988. xv+ 158pp. $US9.95.

Ed Garcia and Francisco Nemenzo. The Sovereign Quest. Freedom from Foreign Military Bases. Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 1988. xv+ 120pp. No price given.

Stella R. Quah and Jon S. T. Quah. Friends in Blue: The Police and the Public in Singapore. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1987. 209 pp. No price given.

Lim Chong Yah and Associates. Policy Options for the Singapore Economy. Singapore: McGraw‐Hill, 1988. xv + 499 pp. No price given.

Muthiah Alagappa. The National Security of Developing States: Lessons from Thailand. Dover, Mass: Auburn House, 1987. xiv + 274 pp. No price given.

R. A. Cramb and R. H. W. Reece (eds). Development in Sarawak. Monash Paper on Southeast Asia, No. 17. Melbourne: Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, 1988. 190pp. $16.00.

Mavis Rose. Indonesia Free: A Political Biography of Mohammad Hatta. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Modern Indonesia Project, 1987. vii + 245pp.$US10.50.

Leonard Blusse. Strange Company: Chinese Settlers. Mestizo Women and the Dutch in VOC Batavia. Dordrecht Foris Publications, 1986, xiii + 302pp. Df1.35.

Mary Brooks. Fleet Development and the Control of Shipping in Southeast Asia. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1985,x+113pp.$SI8.00.

Robert H. Taylor. The State in Burma. London: C Hurst/Orient Longman, 1987, xvi+395pp. £27.50.

W. David McIntyre. New Zealand Prepares for War — Defence Policy 1919–39. Christchurch: University of Canterbury Press, 1988. 287pp. $NZ44.00.