Rock carvings in ⊘stfold. skjeberg

A major Norwegian archaeological work will be presented in each number of NAR. The author's abstract will be followed by comments from invited specialists who have studied similar problems as treated in the publication in question. Professor Sverre Marstrander's study of Bronze Age rock carvings (Østfolds Jordbruksristninger, Skjeberg) was chosen as the subject for discussion in this issue of NAR. Comments are written by Anders Hagen, Gutorm Gjessing, Carl‐Axel Moberg and Henrik Thrane. A reply by Sverre Marstrander will be printed in the next volume.     

Reply to the comments on Rock Carvings in Østfold

Thorleif Sj?vold: Åse‐anlegget på And?ya. Et nord‐norsk tun‐anlegg fra jernalderen. (The Åse‐complex on And?ya. An Iron Age House‐Site Complex in North Norway). Acta Borealia. B. Humaniora, No. 12. Universitetsforlaget, Troms?/Oslo/Bergen 1971. 34 pp. 14 figs     

CHRISTIANIZATION AND STATE FORMATION IN EARLY MEDIEVAL NORWAY

The article deals with problems and directions of research in the study of the Christianization of Norway. While scholars from the 19th century onwards largely accepted the sagas' account of the Christianization as the work of two missionary kings in the late tenth and early 11th century, the recent trend has been in the direction of a long and gradual process of Christianization, starting in the late ninth or early tenth century. This interpretation seems to regard the Christianization as the direct consequence of increasing contact with the new religion, thus neglecting the question of why the conversion took place. The present contribution directly addresses this question. It emphasizes the political aspect of the conversion and the importance of the Viking kings coming from abroad for giving Christianity the religious monopoly. Further, it suggests three lines of investigation for future research: (i) a thorough examination of the rich archaeological material, (ii) a comparison with the whole area of Northern and East Central Europe that was included in Western Christendom in the tenth and 11th centuries, and (iii) a focus not only on the conversion period, but on the gradual penetration of Christianity in the following period and its consequences for state formation, the development of society, and cultural and ideological transformation.     

In praise of the International Geographical Union

This viewpoint is a highly personal account of what the International Geographical Union (IGU) has meant for a 50‐year career in Canadian geography and is a consideration of the importance of the IGU to geographers world‐wide. The author's earliest experiences of the IGU, the IGU's Commissions, its disciplinary perspective, some political problems experienced by IGU scholars, and the IGU as a global geographical community are the main topics considered.     

"The perfect business": human trafficking and Lao-Thai cross-border migration

Over the past few years some governments and development organizations have increasingly articulated cross-border mobility as "trafficking in persons". The notion of a market where traffickers prey on the "supply" of migrants that flows across international borders to meet the "demand" for labour has become a central trope among anti-trafficking development organizations. This article problematizes such economism by drawing attention to the oscillating cross-border migration of Lao sex workers within a border zone between Laos and Thailand. It illuminates the incongruity between the recruitment of women into the sex industry along the Lao-Thai border and the market models that are employed by the anti-trafficking sector. It discusses the ways in which these cross-border markets are conceived in a context where aid programming is taking on an increasingly important role in the politics of borders. The author concludes that allusions to ideal forms of knowledge (in the guise of classic economic theory) and an emphasis on borders become necessary for anti-trafficking programmes in order to make their object of intervention legible as well as providing post-hoc rationalizations for their continuing operation.     

A Process of Civilisation? Legitimisation of Violent Policing in Prussian and French Police Manuals and Instructions, 1880–1914

This article examines Prussian and French police instructions, manuals and training material, 1880–1914. Police in both countries were reputedly violent, yet successive French and German governments consistently justified incidents of heavy-handed law enforcement. Yet the context was different as Prussian instructions actively encouraged forceful law enforcement, while French instructions placed strict legal and disciplinary boundaries on the police. This had dissimilar consequences for how the police were identified with the regime. In Prussia the regime became identified with brutality, for which the police were seen by critics as merely a symptom. The republican regime was criticised as hypocritical rather than violent in its defence of violent policing. The commitment to respect citizens' rights and seek to limit police brutality was no guarantee of more civilised policing, but constituted a hope for changes in police practices that did not require a change of regime.