Roma communities,urban development and social bordering in the inner city of Budapest

ABSTRACT

The paper relates intersectionality to the construction of urban borders based on a case study of Roma neighbourhoods in Budapest. In doing this the authors focus on rationales behind appropriating and demarcating urban spaces according to political, ethno-territorial and economic agendas. We are concerned with bordering as reflected in representations of neighbourhood in Budapest’s VIII District and socio-ethnic issues that have been framed in conjunction with urban development. This includes the selective ways Roma-specific issues are made visible, or in fact masked, through ostensibly “colour-blind” policies. Furthermore, we relate these representations to concrete impacts of urban renewal with regard to challenges of multi-ethnicity but also to often exclusionary practices of border-making. Indeed, while not an officially proclaimed policy, social segregation is eagerly pursued in practice. However, this is only part of the story as we can clearly identify attempts to create a sense of Roma belonging and pride.     

"Change yourself and the whole world will become kinder": Russian activists for reproductive health and the limits of claims making for women

This article views reproductive health activism as a fruitful site for analyzing the cultural logics through which legitimate claims for women's needs become expressed and circumscribed. It begins from the observation that in the United States and Britain, reproductive health has been a key arena for feminist political claims and struggles for women's rights, bodily integrity, access to health care, and demands for authority in relations with experts. These concerns and struggles have not, however, emerged in all postsocialist contexts, and new activism in Russia reveals strikingly different agendas. Innovative groups of health providers seeking to increase women's access to birth control methods and safe sex, home birth opportunities, and improved health services work outside of feminist perspectives and reject political paths for change. By examining the ideological inspirations, cultural logics, and political-economic constraints shaping the outreach work of Russian health practitioners, the article explains how and why health activism became a site for personal "spiritual" revival and the strengthening of nuclear families. It also explores how conditions following the collapse of socialism have further legitimized activists' rejection of political agendas for change.     

The Threat of the Yrmo: The Political Ontology of a Sustainable Hunting Program

ABSTRACT  Various misunderstandings and conflicts associated with attempts to integrate Indigenous Knowledges (IK) into development and conservation agendas have been analyzed from both political economy and political ecology frameworks. With their own particular inflections, and in addition to their focus on issues of power, both frameworks tend to see what occurs in these settings as involving different epistemologies, meaning that misunderstandings and conflicts occur between different and complexly interested perspectives on, or ways of knowing, the world. Analyzing the conflicts surrounding the creation of a hunting program that enrolled the participation of the Yshiro people of Paraguay, in this article I develop a different kind of analysis, one inspired by an emerging framework that I tentatively call "political ontology." I argue that, from this perspective, these kinds of conflicts emerge as being about the continuous enactment, stabilization, and protection of different and asymmetrically connected ontologies. [Keywords: political ontology, multinaturalism, multiculturalism, Paraguay, Indigenous peoples]     

Transnationalism and the state: recurring themes and new directions

Transnationalism is central to our understanding of the impact and experiences of global migration. The paper by Levitt and de la Dehesa (2003) explores the policies and strategies of the sending state in relation to their emigrants and investigates the reasons for policy convergences and divergences. While the issues examined in the paper continue to be relevant there are other areas and methodological approaches that need to be developed and/or included in contemporary studies of sending state led transnationalism explored in this piece. These include the need for research to take a multi-level approach to include the different actors involved and their interactions; longitudinal analysis that examines the heterogeneous and complex nature of contemporary migration flows, the changing situations in sending and destination countries and among migrants and the need to incorporate the second and subsequent generations into research.     

Indigenous in the city: the politics of urban Mapuche identity in Chile

In this article, I analyse how urban Mapuche indigenous organizations in Chile conduct politics, both externally in relation to the state and internally in relation to other Mapuches. I suggest that the state creates the context for their politics through enacting centuries of policies that put Mapuche identity ‘under siege’. My analysis shows that urban Mapuche organizations respond to this context in three central ways. Some organizations refuse the moniker ‘urban’ and are temporarily urban. Others embrace their urbanity and are adamantly urban. Still others try to overcome the rural-urban divide to become reconciled urban. Each of these strategies deploys ideas of authenticity in different ways, opening possibilities for different kinds of political alliances. My research argues that when the stakes are high for claiming a racial or ethnic identity, choosing which aspects of identity on which to base political demands has profound political consequences.     

Race,class, politics,and the disappearance of work

“When Work Disappears” has shaped research agendas on poverty, racial hierarchy, and urban social and economic dynamics. That is a lot for one article, yet two issues warrant more analysis. They are the ways in which socially defined “race” – rather than or in combination with class – explains the impact of sustained joblessness, and the political behaviours that may emerge in response to work’s disappearance. I point to evidence showing that both race and class have independent associations with the loss of work in poor African-American communities, as well as interactive effects. In the political arena – too often neglected by sociologists studying poverty – sustained, community-wide joblessness or underemployment are associated both with withdrawal from political engagement and with the recent resurgence of right-wing populism. Even after several decades of intensive research, we have more to learn about the interactions of race, class, politics, and the disappearance of work.     

Theorizing citizenship in British settler societies

This article discusses citizenship in states with a history as British 'dominion' settler societies, focusing on questions of ethnicity and national identity. After noting the shortcomings of T. H. Marshall's widely used citizenship model, the key differences between English and British settler society citizenship experience are outlined, drawing on illustrative material from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. The main settler/English state differences highlighted, are the presence of aboriginal peoples with distinct juridicial and political statuses; a characteristic set of relationships between successive flows of British migrants and subsequent generations of local-born settlers, and the shift in societies of immigration towards more extensive forms of ethnic and national pluralism within a 'post-settler' conception of multicultural nationhood in a globalized world. Finally, the article suggests settler and post-settler society citizenship is best conceptualized and described by examining the linked processes of what is called the aboriginalization (of aboriginal minorities), the ethnification (of immigrant minorities) and the indigenization (of settler majorities).     

The long arm of the Arab state

ABSTRACT

Under what conditions do authoritarian states exercise control over populations abroad? The securitization of cross-border mobility has been a common theme in examining immigration policies in the Global North. The securitization of emigration and diasporas in non-democratic contexts remains neglected; this is particularly true with regard to Arab states’ extraterritorial authoritarian practices. This article argues that authoritarian states develop a range of migration policies that are driven by the contradictory pressures of economic and political imperatives or, put differently, an illiberal paradox: if a state does not expect economic gains from cross-border mobility, it is more likely to securitize its emigration policy; otherwise, it is more likely to securitize its diaspora policy. The article illustrates this trade-off via a most-similar comparison of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, and Morocco. Drawing on Arabic and non-Arabic primary and secondary sources, it sketches a novel area of research on migration and security.     

Prioritizing Surgical Care on National Health Agendas: A Qualitative Case Study of Papua New Guinea,Uganda, and Sierra Leone

BackgroundLittle is known about the social and political factors that influence priority setting for different health services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), yet these factors are integral to understanding how national health agendas are established. We investigated factors that facilitate or prevent surgical care from being prioritized in LMICs.ConclusionsNational health agenda setting is a complex social and political process. To embed surgical care within national health policy, sustained advocacy efforts, effective framing of the problem and solutions, and country-specific data are required. Political, technical, and financial support from regional and international partners is also important.     

Appropriating school music for economic goals: Exploring evidence of neo-social ideology in music advocacy

This article explores the extent to which recent policy-based advocacy for music in Australian schools has been guided by economic arguments. This exploration was driven by emerging commentary on the rise of neo-social education policy, which is said to have reframed equality and social justice in education as tools for economic agendas. To explore the presence of this neo-social ideology in school music advocacy, key Australian policy documents have been analyzed using Critical Discourse Analysis. Results show that while current advocacy does champion social and subjective benefits, these benefits are ultimately justified in economistic terms. While caveats to these findings are discussed, the argument is made for new education policies that adequately value subjective wellbeing and social justice as goals in their own right.     

Mediat(iz)ing Catholicism: saint,spectacle, and theopolitics in Lima,Peru

This article examines the annual public procession in Lima, Peru, of the Señor de los Milagros (Lord of Miracles) in relation to issues at the intersection of Catholic Christianity, media, and political authority. Through a theopolitical lens alert to the intermeshing of political sovereignty and authority with theological (Catholic) worldviews, I inquire into media and the Señor de los Milagros procession along three key intersecting themes that link scales of local and global Catholicism: performance, identity/belonging, and control. Key to my argument is the idea of the miraculous (lo milagroso), a culturally resonant register of embodied affective experience with compelling power, which points to how senses of belonging, authority, and ‘proper’ Catholic subjecthoods are intensified by Catholicism's diffusion through new mediatic forms, especially in church-generated productions. A consideration of media technologies, mediation, and Catholicism nuances theoretical assumptions within the anthropology of Christianity, and also suggests that the anthropology of religion should attend more closely to mediation and mediatization as newer media infrastructures – channelling flows of information, images, and affects – extend ‘the religious’ into other social spheres.     

A political body of civic and communal belonging: political memories in the creation of the Australian immigrant society

Any notion of political belonging is highly contested. Ultimately though, the political body of a society is shaped by contestation of two modes of belonging: civic and communal. In Australia, the relationship between these two modes of belonging has been negotiated through political conflicts, not least in reference to immigration, since the early years of European settlement. This article traces the trajectory of these conflicts by analysing political memories, specifically those of Australia Day commemorations, to engage with the underlying tension that constitutes the country's political body. Engaging with the long-standing civic/ethnic debate, it is argued that the actual relationship between civic and ethnic/communal belonging, rather than any separate references to them, is crucial to the specific constitution of sovereign political bodies, their particular form of social and political conflicts, and the ensuing implementation of policies, not least regarding migration.     

Forced migration: morality and politics

Thomas Faist’s contribution lies in wishing to deconstruct political perceptions around forced migration that reduce the protection that refugees can access. One important task we have as academics is exactly to challenge dominant discourses that function to oppress or control, serving the interests of some at the costs of others, and to be aware of our own role in perpetuating such discourses. One important area where Faist’s account fails to deconstruct existing discourse on forced migration is related to the political subjecthood of refugees and the political nature of their experiences. The reasons for flight are highly political, refugees are conscious political subjects, and refugee flows have always been a matter of high politics.     

‘We are against a multi-ethnic society’: policies of exclusion at the urban level in Italy

Local policies for immigrants in recent years have attracted a growing interest among scholars. It is increasingly accepted that they are distinct units of analysis in the governance of migration, with significant degrees of autonomy with regard to national policies. Most of the literature, however, deals with the inclusive role of local policies. The argument of this article, on the contrary, is the development of local policies aimed to exclude migrants from various kinds of benefits and rights. It is based on a pilot research, conducted in Lombardy (northern Italy), on seventy cases, referred to forty-seven different local authorities. Then, the outcome of these policies is analysed: the exclusion of migrants is a tool to seek political consent, but is also a battlefield, where anti-discrimination institutions, advocacy groups and courts react against the measures approved by local authorities.     

The racialization of the globe: an interactive interpretation

This article argues that racist belief systems are global although they are neither uniform nor universal. It suggests that racist belief systems share a common language based on science, that they have a common political tension derived from an egalitarian philosophy and that they can also diverge considerably according to local cognitive traditions and political agendas. The article contends that an interactive approach alone can take into account how racist belief systems were negotiated, appropriated and transformed within historically specific contexts, and it provides a number of detailed discussions of cases ranging from Rwanda to China.     

The Empire Strikes Back: 30 years on

The Empire Strikes Back was a landmark text in the formation and transformation of ethnic and racial studies in Britain. With issues of race, migration, nation and inequality starkly back on the current political and public agenda, this review article reflects on the continued significance of the book's insights and challenges for contemporary race politics in the UK.     

Material Flows in a Social Context: A Vietnamese Case Study Combining the Materials Flow Analysis and Action‐in‐Context Frameworks

Materials flow analysis (MFA) is one of the central achievements of industrial ecology. One direction in which one can move MFA beyond mere accounting is by putting the material flows in their social context. This “socially extended MFA” may be carried out at various levels of aggregation. In this article, specific material flows will be linked to concrete actors and mechanisms that cause these flows—using the action‐in‐context (AiC) framework, which contains, inter alia, both proximate and indirect actors and factors. The case study site is of Tat hamlet in Vietnam, set in a landscape of paddy fields on valley floors surrounded by steep, previously forested slopes. Out of the aggregate MFA of Tat, the study focuses on material flows associated with basic needs and sustainability. The most important actors causing these material flows are farming households, politicians, traders, and agribusiness firms—of which local politicians turned out to be pivotal. The study shows the value of combining MFA with actor‐based social analysis. MFA achieves the balanced quantification of the physical system, thus helping to pinpoint key processes. Actor‐based analysis adds the causal understanding of what drives these key processes, leading to improved scenarios of the future and the effective identification of target groups and instruments for policy making.     

Lao peasants on the move: Pathways of agrarian change in Laos

Grant Evans’ body of work on Laos consistently sought to understand how peasant society responded to political, social and economic change. As the Lao peasantry became ever more integrated both nationally and within the wider Southeast Asian region, and relations of market exchange came to dominate rural life, Evans maintained the need to reflect on Laos’ peasant roots to understand resulting pathways of agrarian change. This paper reconnects with this discussion in the contemporary Lao context, focusing on three dimensions of mobility: the widening spatial and sectoral ‘footprints’ of rural livelihoods; physical movement within and beyond rural settings in Laos; and reflections on issues of differentiation. We first track the political and policy changes that have most strongly influenced rural life since Evans’ early research on collectivisation, before exploring ways in which spatial integration, subsistence‐to‐commercial transition and migration have situated the remnants of Lao peasant society in a world of flows.     

Ethnic and immigrant politics vs. mainstream politics: the role of ethnic organizations in shaping the political participation of immigrant-origin individuals in Europe

Previous scholarship has reported contradictory results regarding the impact of involvement by immigrant-origin individuals (IOIs) in ethnic organizations on political participation. In this article, we assess the effect of involvement in different types of organizations (ethnic, pan-immigrant and native) on participation in various types of political activities. We use cross-national micro-data from a population survey undertaken in 2004–2008 to IOIs in nine European cities. Our findings indicate that ethnic organizations perform an integrative function for IOIs in the political sphere, but they mainly affect participation linked to immigration-related issues concerning specific ethnic groups and IOIs. Moreover, most effects of involvement in ethnic organizations on the different types of political participation examined are similar in closed and in open political opportunity structures (POS). We only find evidence that involvement in ethnic organizations depresses conventional political action in open POS settings while it increases political action in closed POS settings.     

Immigrant political socialization as bridging and boundary work: mapping the multi-layered incorporation of Latin American immigrants in Toronto

We present a longitudinal map of three overlapping organizational trajectories developed by Latin American immigrants in the city of Toronto. We propose the concept of bridging and boundary work to specify how new (1) intersectional political identities and organizational agendas are constituted by Latin American feminist women and artists in the interstice of (2) country-of-origin and (3) mainstream pan-ethnic organizations. Boundary work occurs as activists with intersectional priorities carve out a distinct political agenda; the ‘out-group’ relations based on a shared sectoral focus constitute bridging work. Tracing changes in the local and transnational political opportunity structures, we consider how negotiations over resources, representation and agendas between these three Latin American organizational forms generate multi-directional political learning and socialization and the coexistence of different Latin American political cultures. We define political socialization as in-group and out-group encounters between political cultures understood as civic toolkits or ways of doing politics.