Book reviews

NATO AND THE FUTURE OF EUROPE. Ben T. Moore. For the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations. New York, Harper & Brs., 1958, pp. xviii + 264. Australian price 56/6.

THE ATLANTIC TRIANGLE AND THE COLD WAR. Edgar McInnis. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1959, pp. viii + 163. $4.50.

SURVEY OP BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS. PROBLEMS OP WARTIME CO‐OPERATION AND POST‐WAR CHANGE, 1939–1952. Nicholas Mansergh. Oxford University Press for the Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1958.

THE DECISION TO INTERVENE. George F. Ken‐nan. Faber and Faber, 1958. Pp. xii + 513. U.K. price 50/‐.

COMMUNIST CHINA TODAY. Peter S. Tang. Thames & Hudson, London, 1957–8, 2 vote., pp. 536 & 137. End maps. Australian price 97/6 and 42/‐.

THE BIRTH OF A DILEMMA: The Conquest and Settlement of Rhodesia. Philip Mason. Under the auspices of the Institute of Race Relations. Oxford University Press, 1958, pp. xi + 366. Australian price 49/9.

THE SMALLER DRAGON. A Political History of Vietnam. Joseph Buttinger. Praeger and Stevens, Atlantic Books, 1958, pp. 535, with 9 maps and 13 plates. A SHORT HISTORY OP CAMBODIA. Martin F. Herz. Stevens & Sons, Atlantic Books, 1958, pp. 141. Australian price 34/6.

THE RECONSTRUCTION IN IRAQ: 1950–1957. Fahim I. Qubain. London, Stevens and Sons, 1958.     

Diversité des réactions réformées à la révocation

Starting from the analysis of the reactions of the Protestant groups to the Fontainebleau edict, this paper examines the development of two main concepts that are at the origin of political modernity, i.e. the distinction between religious and political domains on the one hand, and the popular sovereignty on the other. These two concepts emerged separately as a result of crossed and apparently paradoxal thoughts, whose coherence is to be sought in the anthropological positions underlying them. Therefore the study of the theological debates in the XVII^th century is a way by which the modern political concepts arose.     

La société scythique avait-elle des classes fonctionnelles?

Sans résumé La matière de cette discussion a été exposée au Collège de France dans plusieurs conférences de janvier et de février 1961. Je remercie M. A. Minard, qui a sensiblement amélioré les propositions de la troisième partie.     

La concession familiale Bamiléké: un exemple d'architecture endogène au Cameroun

This paper addresses the issue of vernacular or endogenous architecture and design in Cameroonian cities. More precisely, we study the traditional Bamiléké family estate as a specific type of housing and property structure within the community of Pète-Bandjoun. According to our research, these estates usually involve the following spatial units: green spaces, a delineating structure, a courtyard, the family landfill, the magico-religious place, the family cemetery, the dwelling itself, and the dwelling's main functional units (kitchen, toilets, attic, etc.). We suggest the idea that the Bamiléké family estate is in itself an important source of endogenous knowledge related to architecture and planning. Moreover, it is a tangible and intangible cultural heritage which should be preserved in Cameroon despite widespread urbanization.     

Firm-level productivity growth returns of social capital: Evidence from Western Europe

We analyze the firm-level labor productivity growth returns of social capital—defined as a synthetic measure of “generalized trust,” “active participation,” and “social norms”—using a large sample of manufacturing firms in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. We find that firms' labor productivity growth is higher in areas with a better social capital endowment. The positive returns of social capital are, nevertheless, unevenly distributed across firms, with smaller, less productive, less capital-endowed, and low-tech firms benefitting the most from operating in strong social capital ecosystems.     

Assessing place-based identities in the early Middle Ages: a proposal for post-Roman Iberia

Sociological models of place-based identity can be used to better understand the social dynamics of local communities and how they interact with their surroundings. This paper explores how these theoretical models of belonging to a place, in tandem with communal cognitive maps, can be applied to post-Roman contexts, taking the Iberian Peninsula in the Visigothic period (sixth–eighth centuries) as a preliminary case study. We argue that this approach can give us not only a more complex understanding of community agencies but also allows us to reconsider the social context for past social interactions. Furthermore, it will open a new archaeological perspective for future work on the relations between groups and individuals with their built, social, and natural environments.