Becoming a conservation ‘good power’: Norway’s early World Heritage history

Abstract

States stand at the core of the World Heritage Convention and their multifaceted interstate relations have been a central subject in contemporary World Heritage research. Less research has been directed towards intrastate relations, that is relations between organisation-agencies and individual agents within a State Party. Spurring from the 40th anniversary of Norway’s ratification of the World Heritage Convention, this paper utilises archival records to explore the intrastate relations and transactional authority at play within the State Party of Norway. Inspired by recent research in international relations and political science, it analyses Norway’s ratification process (1972–1977) through its early years as an observer (1978–1983) to its first committee tenure (1983–1989). Currently known as one of the spokespersons for scientific advice, returning to the 1980s provides an opportunity to reflect on how Norway laid the foundations for becoming a conservation ‘good power’ through its actions and responses to other states’ lobbying efforts.     

Women,Fascism and Work in Francoist Spain: The Law for Political,Professional and Labour Rights

The Sección Femenina (or SF, 1934–77), the female branch of the Spanish fascistic party, the Falange, created and successfully lobbied for the Law for Political, Professional and Labour Rights for Women (Ley de Derechos Políticos, Profesionales, y de Trabajo de la Mujer) in 1961. The law responded to and recognised the shifting world of women's work during the final years of the Franco regime (1939–75) and established the SF as an advocate for their labour rights. The new legislation simultaneously promoted employment opportunities for Spanish women and reinforced their traditional restrictions. This article explores this significant legal achievement for women's rights during the 1960s, discussing its meaning for the Franco dictatorship and for the female organisation that ushered in the new legislation. Ultimately, I argue that the law was a significant step for the advancement of women's rights and continued the piecemeal process of reform led by the SF. But it reinforced the group's paradoxical image as an organisation with fascist roots pushing (albeit in the workplace only) for reform.     

More than a photo: Germans from Russia remember their familial relationships

Most narrators of the Dakota Memories Oral History Project (DMOHP), the children and grandchildren of ethnic German immigrants from Russia, reminisce a great deal about their family relationships -- grandparent-grandchild relationships, parent-child relationships, and sibling-sibling relationships. They share memories of their grandmothers baking them delicious dough dishes, of their fathers making them labor endlessly in the fields, and of their siblings coaxing them into mischief. Through these relationships, Germans from Russia not only learned about their ethnic group's identity, but they also reshaped it into a new identity, blending their past with their present. Within the context of family relationships, these German Russian descendants forged a new identity rooted in their ethnic heritage and history, but serviceable to new, American-born generations.