Representing Doi Moi: history,memory and shifting national narratives in late-socialist Vietnam

In late-socialist states, what are the drivers of shifts in national narratives and how can a focus on the museum method reveal the way state institutions construct national myths and nationalist ideologies? This paper addresses these questions by focusing on a behind-the-scenes ethnography of an exhibition celebrating 30 years of Doi Moi – the economic reform period in Vietnam that commenced in 1986. Focusing on the museum as method – the process of documenting how curators deliberate over labels, objects, photos and so forth – the paper analyses how national narratives are authored and transformed through curatorial exchanges and expert forums. By focusing on how aesthetics and achievement provide a foundation for inclusive interpretative strategies that integrate official histories alongside personal memories, this paper reflects on the alienating effects of official histories in state institutions and the strategies by which people appropriate these to reclaim their past.     

In the Shadow of Great Power Politics: Why Nehru Supported PRC's Admission to the Security Council

In early 1950s, India's Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru turned down suggestions that India become a Security Council Permanent Member. As per suggestions, India would either take China's seat occupied by Republic of China (RoC) or become the sixth member alongside RoC. Nehru turned down these overtures arguing that People's Republic of China (PRC) should occupy China's seat at the Security Council. This study ascertains why India turned down apparently good offers and instead championed PRC's cause at a time when there existed marked political differences between them. While some have analyzed India's stand strictly in bilateral terms, this study casts the net wider. By closely examining Nehru's writings and correspondences, it argues that Nehru's support was based on his understanding of PRC and its position as a great power in international relations. Early twentieth-century developments had taught him that great powers that were ostracized became a source of instability. In an era that saw the unveiling of nuclear bombs, the cost of a dissatisfied PRC would be tragic. To stabilize the system, it was necessary to accommodate PRC within the Security Council and provide it with the veto. This would assuage PRC and check its revisionist tendencies.     

Soviet dilemmas

Archie Brown and Michael Kaser (eds), Soviet Policy for the 1980s, London, Macmillan, 1982, pp.282. £7.95 (paper)

David Childs, The GDR: Moscow's Ally, London, Allen & Unwin, 1983, pp.346. $19.95 (paper)

Ferenc Fehér and Agnes Heller, Hungary 1956 Revisited. The Message of a Revolution — a Quarter of a Century After, London, Allen & Unwin, 1983, pp.174. $29.95 (cloth)

Paul G. Lewis (ed.) Eastern Europe: Political Crisis and Legitimation, London & Sydney, Croom Helm, 1984, pp.202. $33.95 (cloth)

Borys Lewytzhyj, Politics and Society in Soviet Ukraine 1953–1980, Edmonton, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, 1984, pp.219. Can. $6.95 (paper)

Roy Medvedev, Khrushchev, Oxford, Blackwell, 1982, pp.292. $15.95 (paper)

Zhores Medvedev, Andropov: His Life and Death, Oxford, Blackwell, 1984, pp.255. $12.95 (paper)     

Iron smelting and interethnic conflict among precolonial Maa-speaking pastoralists of north-central Kenya

The sparse archaeological remains attributed to pastoralists in north-central Kenya include quantities of smelting debris. A preliminary investigation suggests that smelting sites occur in two distinct locations: a majority in the lowlands at mountain bases or plains oases, and a minority on low mountain ridges. Mountain-base sites would offer direct access to the natural and human resources required for smelting ores, forging iron, and exchanging finished implements. At ridge-top sites, however, these resources would be inaccessible. Descendants of the last Maa-speaking smelters suggest that pre-colonial blacksmiths may periodically have resettled in mountains to continue their craft in the face of intense interethnic conflict. The conflict hypothesis is evaluated against oral traditions and archaeological evidence.

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Résumé Les vestiges archéologiques attribués aux pastoralistes de la région nord-centrale du Kenya comprennent des quantités de débris de fonte. Une investigation préliminaire suggère que des gisements de fondeurs se trouvent dans deux situations différentes: la plupart sont dans la plaine au pied des montagnes ou dans des oasis, tandis qu'une minorité de gisements se trouve sur de basses crêtes de montagnes. Les gisements au pied des montagnes offriraient un acces direct aux ressources naturelles et humaines necessaires pour fondre les minérais, forger le fer, et échanger des outils achevés. Par contre, dans les gisements de crête, ces ressources seraient inaccessibles. Les descendants des derniers fondeurs de langue Maa suggèrent que des forgerons précoloniaux ont peut-être ré-occupé les montagnes périodiquement et poursuivi leur métier face aux conflits intenses entre différents groupes ethniques. L'hypothèse du conflit est evaluée par rapport aux traditions orales et aux vestiges archéologiques.

     

Book reviews

Laszlo Csaba (ed.). Systemic Change and Stabilization in Eastern Europe. Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1991. xi +141 pp. No price given.

Bradley R. Gitz. Armed Forces and Political Power in Eastern Europe. New York: Greenwood Press, 1992. x + 193 pp. No price given.

Leonid Gozman and Alexander Etkind. The Psychology of Post‐Totalitarianism in Russia. Translated by Roger Clarke. London: The Centre for Research into Communist Economies, 1992. 121 pp. £6.50 (paper).

Sten Berglund and Jan Ake Dellenbrant (eds). The New Democracies in Eastern Europe: Party Systems and Political Cleavages. Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1991. xii + 237 pp. £39.95.

Adam Przeworski. Democracy and the Market: Political and Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. viii + 210 pp. $25.00 (paper).

Jyrki Iivonen (ed.). The Changing Soviet Union in the New Europe. Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1991. ix + 250pp. £35.00.

John McNair and Thomas Poole (eds). Russia and the Fifth Continent. Aspects of Russian‐Australian Relations. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 1992. xiv+292 pp. $29.95 (paper).

Alan Dupont. Australia's Threat Perceptions: A Search for Security. Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence No.82. Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, 1991. 105 pp. $12.00 (paper).

Viberto Selochan. New Directions and New Thinking in Australia‐Southeast Asia Relations. Australia‐Asia Papers No.62. Centre For The Study of Australia‐Asia Relations, Griffith University, Brisbane, 1992. $8.00 (paper).

Michael Nicholson. Formal Theories in International Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. xiii + 254 pp. No price given.

Charles Reynolds. The World of States: An Introduction to Explanation and Theory. Aldershot, Hants.: Edward Elgar, 1992. xi + 236 pp. £38.50 (cloth), £12.95 (paper).

Rebecca Grant and Kathleen Newland (eds). Gender and International Relations. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1991. xii +176 pp. $34.95 (paper).

Gisela Kaplan. Contemporary Western European Feminism. London: UCL Press; Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1992. xxvi + 340 pp. $24.95 (paper).

J.W. De Pauw and G.A. Luz (eds). Winning the Peace: Vie Strategic Implications of Military Civic Action. New York: Praeger, 1992. xvi + 238 pp. $US49.95.

Martin Shaw. Post‐Military Society. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991. viii + 229 pp. $32.95 (paper).

Ian Bellany. A Basis for Arms Control. Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1991. ix+155 pp. No price given. Serge Sur (ed.). Verification of Current Disarmament and Arms Limitation Agreements: Ways, Means and Practices. Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1991. ix+396 pp. £35.00.

D. Rueschemeyer, E.H. Stephens and J.D. Stephens (eds). Capitalist Development and Democracy. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1992. xi+387 pp. $45.00 (paper).

A.M. Messina, L.R. Fraga, L.A. Rhodebeck and F.D. Wright (eds). Ethnic and Racial Minorities in Advanced Industrial Democracies. New York: Greenwood Press, 1992. xiv + 353 pp. $49.95. Harry Goulbourne. Ethnicity and Nationalism in Post‐Imperial Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. xiv+271 pp. $110.00.

Yoram Dinstein and Mala Tabory (eds). The Protection of Minorities and Human Rights. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1992. xii + 537 pp. $US168.00.

John Zametica (ed.). British Officials and British Foreign Policy, 1945–50. Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1990. 256 pp. $29.50.

R.A. Levine (ed.). Transition and Turmoil in the Atlantic Alliance. New York: Crane Russak, 1992. x+285 pp. £18.00 (paper).

Mark Borthwick (with contributions by selected authors). Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modem Pacific‐Asia. Boulder, Co.: Westview Press, 1992. xv+590 pp. SUS54.95 (cloth), $US24.95 (paper).

Robert G. Sutter. East Asia and the Pacific. Challenges for US Policy. Boulder, Co.: Westview Press, 1992. vii + 182 pp. $33.95 (paper).

Toshio Watanabe. Asia: Its Growth and Agony. Honolulu: East‐West Center, Institute for Economic Development and Policy, 1992. xiv+175 pp. $US16.00 (paper).

Wang Jiye and T.H. Hull (eds). Population and Development Planning in China. Sydney. Allen and Unwin, 1991. xx + 311 pp. $24.95 (paper).

Ruth McVey (ed.). Southeast Asian Capitalists. Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 1992. 218 pp. No price given.

Heiner Hänggi. ASEAN and the ZOPFAN Concept. Pacific Strategy Paper No.4. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1991. 82 pp. $US9.00 (paper).

Joel S. Kahn and Francis Loh Kok Wah (eds). Fragmented Vision: Culture and Politics in Contemporary Malaysia. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1992. vi + 327 pp. $24.95 (paper).

Joan Hardjono (ed.). Indonesia: Resources, Ecology, and Environment. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1991. xvi + 262 pp. $44.95.

Shannon L. Smith. The Politics of Indonesian Rainforests. Monash University Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Working Paper No.76, 1992. 59 pp. $6.00.

Amando Doronila. The State, Economic Transformation, and Political Change in the Philippines, 1946–1972. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1992. xii+199 pp. $37.50.

K.E. Bauzon. Liberalism and the Quest for Islamic Identity in the Philippines. Durham, NC: The Acorn Press, 1991. ix + 219 pp. No price given.

Philippe Regnier. Singapore: City State in South‐East Asia. London: Christopher Hurst, 1991. 301 pp. £27.50.

Dean Forbes, Terence Hull, David Marr and Brian Brogan (eds). Dot Moi: Vietnam's Renovation, Policy and Performance. Political and Social Change Monograph No.14. Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, 1991. 263 pp. $18.00 (paper).

M.C. Williams. Vietnam at the Crossroads. London: Pinter/Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1992. viii + 104 pp. £22.50 (cloth), £8.95 (paper).

David P. Chandler. A History of Cambodia. Second edition. Boulder, Co.: Westview Press/Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1992. xvi + 287 pp. $29.95.

Michael Haas. Cambodia, Pol Pot and the United States: The Faustian Pact. New York: Praeger, 1991. xv+ 163 pp. $US37.95.

Helen M. Hintjens and Malyn D.D. Newitt (eds). The Political Economy of Small Tropical Islands: The Importance of Being Small. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 1992. xxii + 247 pp. £29.50.

Elizabeth Watkins. Jomo's Jailor: Grand Warrior of Kenya. The Life of Leslie Whitehouse. Calais: Mulberry Books, 1992. xv+266 pp. £8.50 (paper).

John Rowland. Two Transitions: Indochina 1952–1955, Malaysia 1969–1972. Australians in Asia Series No.8. Centre for the Study of Australia‐Asia Relations, Griffith University, Brisbane, 1992. 69 pp. $8.00 (paper).

L.A. Crozier. The Golden Land. Australians in Asia Series No.9. Centre for the Study of Australia‐Asia Relations, Griffith University, Brisbane, 1992. 109 pp. $12.00 (paper).     

The recognition of multiple spatial patterns: a case study from the French upper paleolithic

A pattern recognition approach to spatial analysis is applied to artifact distributions from the Magdalenian site of Pincevent, Section 36. Patterning is investigated using a κ-means cluster analysis that permits iterative mapping of artifact distributions at several scales of spatial complexity. Multiple scales of patterning are recognized in the Pincevent distributions. These patterns are assessed in terms of those discovered by the excavators through intensive visual inspection of the materials. Basic concordance is seen between these two approaches. Finally, the analysis detects more detailed patterning. A relationship between artifact abundance and location seems to hold constant throughout the site.