Critique internationale - Content
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[Politicization and Colonial Hierarchies: Amerindians and Maroons in St. Paul (French Guyana, 1946-2000)]
How did the Amerindian and Maroon populations of a French Guyanese administrative district appropriate democratic institutions – in particular, electoral institutions – from the 1960s through the late 1990s? Voter participation and the development of partisan loyalties first took place thanks to mediators in contact with these populations via Catholic patronage (ecclesiastic personnel, charitable organization volunteers) and, subsequently, the patronage-based distribution of public goods (village “captains”, electoral agents, locally elected representatives). Over the course of the 1980s, associational participation – whether in the Amerindian movement or in local maroon associations – allowed alternative spaces of politicization founded on the defense of group identity and group interest to be constructed. This new activist generation challenged the established Creole elites but remains marginalized in institutional political space, in particular due to social hierarchies inherited from the colonial period and reproduced after the territory was granted the status of an administrative département.
[An Examination of the Relations between Politicization and Higher Education: The Turkish Case (1971-1980)]
The high proportion of students among radical organization activists who were active prior to the September 12th, 1980 coup d’état raises the question of the relationship between political involvement and time spent in institutions of higher education in the 1970s. Through what channels did the process of politicization take place at the university? Three variables are considered here: the pre-university political socialization of students, their type of residence while at university (individual or collective) and the presence in the university of radical student organizations actively engaged in recruitment and mobilization. One thus discovers that, in Turkish universities during the 1970s, the forms and intensity of politicization depended less on family political socialization than on ways of life within the establishments and the specific political context of the university. Mobilized groups encouraged or constrained individuals to politically position themselves and participate in their activities. This was made all the easier by the fact that many students were housed in university residences, creating a rupture with the environment from which they came.
[Mirror Effects of “Politicization”: Neighborhood Associative Actors in Casablanca]
An examination of the career of several members of three neighborhood associations in Casablanca and the manner in which they themselves describe their actions reveals the intricacies of the associative space and political sphere in Morocco. By virtue of a mirror effect, the frontiers between these two universes are the object of continuous struggle. Associative action is sometimes constructed independently and sometimes in connection with “politics”. It is thus drawn upon as a substitute for political participation, a tribune for marginalized actors or a local-level springboard and can lead to renegotiation of relations with the political realm. By virtue of the very existence of points of junction between associative, partisan, electoral, labor union and protest scenes, associational action exposes those involved to several types of participation. It endows them with practical and cognitive competencies, is an incentive for them to interact with various branches of governmentality and encourages a circular reconversion of resources and know-how. Associational action may also give rise to a taste for “politics” and electoral competition or that encourage its participants to become aware of their responsibilities. From one situation to the next, it is the object of a range of definitions, involvements and (micro)strategies that are as vast as they are variable, both diachronically and synchronically.
[Secours Catholique and the Social Forums: Incremental Politicization (2003-2010)]
A study carried out among members of the Secours Catholique delegation to the 2009 World Social Forum in Belem shows how the social forum experience has contributed to renewing activist practices within this Catholic NGO. Although the exclusion of all forms of politicization was a prerequisite of Secours Catholique’s participation in these events, some activists have adopted more subtle positions concerning the possible relationship between political and charitable involvement, even going so far as to identify politicization as a necessary outcome of their activities. This process of politicization can be described as incremental to the degree that it is the product of marginal adjustments. Participation in the forums offers this group of activists a resource to aid in legitimizing their adoption of innovative roles and renews the definition of the institution. Indeed, this openness to political action is accompanied by the internal promotion of a new object of Secours Catholique action: in addition to helping the poor, this institution now also fights injustice alongside of them.
[Politicization under Conditions of Constraint and the Politicization of Constraint: Political Outsiders and Outsiders of the Town of Morocco]
This Moroccan field study allows the experience of politicization amongst some families of victims of the “years of lead” to be compared with that of some shantytown inhabitants. In both cases, politicization draws on the intimate sphere. It takes place via a redefinition of the limits of public and private, identification with an “us” and reappropriation of the terms of human rights discourse. The analysis underscores the ambivalence of phenomena of politicization. While authoritarianism has recourse to depoliticization, the practical mastery of this grammar allows the dominated to come to terms with an imposed political order. The avoidance of polemical discourse and deconflictualization of demands are vectors of individual politicization. The latter can thus not be solely understood in terms of conflict.
[The Emergence of a Neo-Southern Policy in Italy: Growing Territorial Divides?]
Since the unification of Italy, the developmental gap between the South and the rest of the county has never been substantially reduced despite several decades of massive investment. Today, it is even said to be growing. Confronted with this worsening situation and the strong pressure exercised on the central government by the Northern League, the years 2008-2009 were marked by the emergence of a neo-southern mobilization which once again put the Mezzogiorno at the top of the political agenda. Indeed, the most salient fact of the past decade would appear to be the creation of numerous southern defense parties, chief amongst which is that of the President of the Sicilian region. Yet, given the fact that their interests are often diametrically opposed, the participation of these parties in government has given rise to significant tension within ruling coalitions in Italy and Sicily as well as within Silvio Berlusconi’s party itself. While there is as yet no party that brings together all neo-southern actors, the aggravation of the territorial divide already appears very worrisome for Italian political unity.
[Preliminary Remarks Concerning the Situation of Chinese Academics]
In China, the present modalities of academic research and publication differ considerably from those of European and North American universities. This is particularly true within the field of political science, a discipline that has long languished due to the fact that it is entirely limited to the study of the canonical texts of Marxism-Leninism and the thought of Mao Zedong. The launching of the policy of reform and openness thirty years ago represented a turning point for the humanities and social sciences, which suddenly found themselves holding a place of honor in support of the reformist drive. An initial overview of the situation allows one to better grasp the contours of academic liberty and understand the status presently accorded to Chinese scholars and academics. Some engaged academics (particularly in the area of political reform) are torn between limitations on the liberty of research and publication, official requests to participate in the policy-making process, professionalization, growing market openness and internationalization, patriotism and intellectual commitment.
[Worker Internationalism Faced with African Migrations in France]
Since its origins, the doctrines and practices of worker internationalism have been constantly affected by specifically national considerations. By studying the archives of the CFDT and the CGT, one may assess the manner in which French and African labor unions addressed the theme of immigration. In particular, this allows one to examine the considerations that led African labor unions to attempt to exercise control over the demands of Sub-Saharan workers residing in France and the subsequent marginalization of the latter at the hands of French labor unions. More generally, it underscores the bureaucratization of the French labor movement, which disconnected itself from the social struggles of immigration and thereby contributed to the crisis of labor union representation in France.
Politique des bases militaires américaines à l’étranger
Emmanuel Droit, Vers un homme nouveau ? L’éducation socialiste en RDA (1949-1989), Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2009, 354 pages
Gary Goertz, Amy G. Mazur (eds), Politics, Gender, and Concepts : Theory and Methodology, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2008, XII-307 pages
Antonio Giustozzi, Empires of Mud : War and Warlords in Afghanistan, Londres, Hurst, 2009, X-332 pages.
