“The Gospel Has Always Been Disturbing”: The Centrality of “God's Will” to the Cold War Political Activism of the Reverends Frank Hartley and Alfred Dickie

Religious faith was pivotal to the personal ideologies and radical political activism of the Reverends Alf Dickie and Frank Hartley, both of whom were prominent in the Australian peace movement from 1949 until the early seventies. This article examines Dickie's and Hartley's self‐identification as prophets in the context of the optimism of the post‐war era and its subsequent retreat as the Cold War altered the political climate. It examines how their post‐war political activism was framed by a devout faith in the existence of an objective “truth” with regard to the Cold War, a “truth” based on a self‐styled notion of the “Will of God”. Further, it argues that suffering was understood by these self‐declared prophets to be inherent to their mission and was thus embraced, when ostensibly visited upon them, as an affirmation of the righteousness of their cause. For Dickie and Hartley, an active association with the radical Left was a natural expression of God's Will.     

CHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SASANIAN AND EARLY ISLAMIC GLAZED CERAMICS FROM THE DEH LURAN PLAIN,SOUTHWESTERN IRAN*

One hundred and seventy‐five glazed ceramics from Sasanian and Early Islamic period sites located on the Deh Luran Plain in southwestern Iran were examined by instrumental neutron activation analysis for characterizing differences in ceramic pastes and by laser‐ablation inductively coupled plasma mass‐spectrometry for identifying the constituents of the ceramic glazes. The results of the analysis reveal that alkaline‐based glazed ceramics have paste compositions that are distinct from contemporary and later ceramics decorated with alkaline–low‐lead and lead‐based glazes.     

The ummah as nation: a reappraisal in the wake of the ‘Cartoons Affair’†

ABSTRACT. In the wake of the 2006 ‘Cartoons Affair’ which saw international protests by Muslims against the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, it is clear that identity based on membership in the Islamic ummah goes far beyond simple religious affiliation. This essay presents a novel argument for treating the ummah (the transnational community of Muslim believers) as a nation. I begin with a theoretical treatment of the ummah as nation which employs historic and current interpretations of what constitutes nationhood. I then turn to the current state of the ummah; my findings present a potent nexus of information and communications technology (ICT), emergent elites, and Muslim migration to the West that has facilitated a hitherto impossible reification of the ummah. I also discuss how globalisation, Western media practices, and the nature of European society allow ‘ummahist’ elites to marginalise other voices in the transnational Muslim community. Based on the global events surrounding the Danish cartoons controversy of 2005–06, I conclude that there is need to recognise ummah‐based identity as more than just a profession of faith – it represents a new form of postnational, political identity which is as profound as any extant nationalism.     

LEVIATHAN AND KRAKEN: STATES,CORPORATIONS, AND POLITICAL ECONOMY

In our politico-philosophical bestiary, no monster has historically been more prominent than the Leviathan, the whale of the Book of Job, transformed by Hobbes, which has long been ubiquitous as a metaphor or as a signifier in all intellectual traditions touching upon the political. Like the state itself, we argue, the Leviathan has played an outsized role in the way we theorize and imagine relations of sovereignty in the world. This essay seeks to add a new hermeneutical creature to the bestiary: the Kraken. Said to be huge and to lurk in Norway's icy waters, the Kraken first emerged in the accounts of natural philosophers in the eighteenth century, at the very moment when political economy was becoming the premier science of governance in Europe. Leviathan is an emblem of a kind of state that no longer exists and has never existed, and it remains our most potent emblem of the state's reification, a relentlessly compelling figure that has long blinded historians to alternate sovereignties within, across, and outside the physical territories of states. From stateless financial capital to multinational corporations acting like states on the world stage, such forms of sovereignty are an essential feature of the global politics we are now living. These forms are not new, nor is their emblem: the Kraken.     

STATUTE LABOUR ON ONTARIO TOWNSHIP ROADS, 1849–1948: RESPONDING TO A CHANGING SPACE ECONOMY

Statute labour has been neglected in the existing literature on roads in 19th- and early 20th-century Canada, despite its being the fundamental mechanism of township road construction and maintenance. This paper clarifies the operation and role of statute labour, discussing its advantages and disadvantages. Analysis of the historical geography of the declining use of statute labour in later-19th- and early-20th-century Ontario argues that factors of local politics and the increasing strength of regional political institutions such as the Good Roads Association and the provincial government bureaucracy must be placed alongside more obvious technological explanations. Just as statute labour became increasingly inadequate in meeting the local road transport needs of a changing space economy by the turn of the century, individual action and local municipal politics found themselves increasingly constrained by the strengthening of the administrative and financial power of higher levels of government – part of the process by which rural Ontario became integrated into a regional and provincial economy. Parmi les études sur les systèmes routiers au Canada aux 19^ème et 20^ème siècles il n'existe que très peu de discussions sur la corvée – malgré le fait que la corvée était le mécanisme principal de la construction et de l'entretien des routes municipales. Cet article clarifie le fonctionnement et le rôle de la corvée, par une discussion sur ses avantages et ses désavantages. Nous examinons, du point de vue de la géographie historique, le déclin de la corvée qui est survenu au tournant du 20^ème siècle en Ontario, à cause de certains éléments politiques dans les municipalités et à cause de la force croissante d'institutions politiques régionales telles que « The Good Roads Association » et la bureaucratie du gouvernement provincial. Ces facteurs ont eu sur les systèmes routiers un effet aussi important que les changements technologiques. La corvée est devenue de plus en plus insuffisante pour maintenir les routes municipales de l'économie dynamique au début du 20^ème siècle, et en même temps, les individus et les conseils municipaux locaux ont perdu beaucoup de leur pouvoir face au pouvoir administratif et financier des échelons supérieurs gouvernementaux. Néanmoins, c'est par ce processus que l'Ontario rurale s'est intégrée aux économies régionales et provinciales.     

Looking for solutions in the Canadian North: modern treaties as a new strategy

Modern land claim agreements (MLCAs) are having an impact on Aboriginal economic and social development. This economic impact stems from the substantial land and cash received through the surrender of land rights. The creation of an economic structure that allows the recipients to manage their land and business is another important component of modern land claim agreements. In this paper, we compare economic development of Aboriginal peoples living in three different areas of the Canadian North, namely, the Western Arctic, the Central Arctic and Northern Quebec, over a ten year period. Even in this short‐term period, we argue that those in the Western Arctic and Northern Quebec who had their agreements signed much earlier would have seen a more rapid and persistent advancement in their economic development than those in the Central Arctic (Kitikmeot and Keewatin census regions) whose claims were settled in 1993 as part of the larger Tungavik Federation of Nunavut Final Agreement. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and data from the 1981, 1986 and 1991 Canadian censuses, we have undertaken a longitudinal analysis for each region. The results support our hypothesis. Les accords sur litiges fonciers (ALFs) ont une incidence sur le développement économique et social des aborigènes. Cette incidence économique provient de l'acquis considérable de terres et d'argent reçus suite à l'abandon des droits fonciers. La création d'une structure économique qui permet aux bénéficiaires de gérer leurs terres et leurs affaires est une autre composante importante des accords sur les litiges fonciers. Cet compare le développement économique des populations autochtones dans trois régions différentes du Nord du Canada, à savoir l'Arctique occidental, l'Arctique central et le nord du Québec, sur une période de dix ans. Nous soutenons que, même sur cette période courte, les populations autochtones de l'Arctique occidental et du nord du Québec dont les accords avaient été signés plus tôt ont dû bénéfier d'un progrès plus rapide et soutenu que les populations autochtones de l'Arctique central (les zones de recensement de Kitikmeot et Keewatin) dont les litiges ont été réglés en 1993 dans le cadre de l'ensemble des accords finaux de la Fédération Tungavik du Nunavut. Recourant à l'analyse en composante principale (ACP) et des données des recensements canadiens de 1981, 1986 et 1991, nous avons entrepris une analyse longitudinale pour chaque région. Les résultats confirment notre hypothèse.