Belarus: an emerging civic nation?

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renee L. Buhr ◽  
Victor Shadurski ◽  
Steven Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
The State ◽  
Civic Identity ◽  
National Language ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Similar Path ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
The Masses

Early commentators on the newly independent Belarusian state of the 1990s indicated that there was something lacking in Belarusian identity. The people did not seem to respond powerfully to the new symbols of the state, use of the national language intermingled with Russian, and economic concerns appeared to trump popular concerns with promoting Belarusian language or culture. Other former Soviet states were embracing ethnic national ideals, and as such, many assumed that Belarus should follow a similar path. However, as an examination of the history of the Belarusian territory demonstrates, a national ideal based on ethnicity was problematic in Belarusian society, and as such, the ethnic notions of Belarusian identity forwarded by some Belarusian elites failed to appeal to the masses. Instead, Belarus seems better suited to a more inclusive civic identity than an exclusive ethnic one. This research examines the nature of contemporary Belarusian identity, with particular attention to the civic versus ethnic aspects of that identity. We argue that although Belarusian identity is obviously in flux and subject to heavy debate, it is currently demonstrating more civic aspects than ethnic ones. This finding is based on original survey data obtained in Belarus in 2009 and 2010.

The History Of Modern Vaccination In Cooch Behar State In The Nineteenth Century

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 180-190
Author(s):  
Rajkumar Bind
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Vaccination Programme ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
The State ◽  
The People ◽  
Small Pox ◽  
Preventive Method ◽  
History Of

This paper examines the development of modern vaccination programme of Cooch Behar state, a district of West Bengal of India during the nineteenth century. The study has critically analysed the modern vaccination system, which was the only preventive method against various diseases like small pox, cholera but due to neglect, superstation and religious obstacles the people of Cooch Behar state were not interested about modern vaccination. It also examines the sex wise and castes wise vaccinators of the state during the study period. The study will help us to growing conciseness about modern vaccination among the peoples of Cooch Behar district.   

Illegal Construction in Hanoi and Hanoi's Wards

2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Koh
Keyword(s):  
State Power ◽  
The State ◽  
The People ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
State Boundaries ◽  
Urban Administration ◽  
Ability And Willingness

AbstractIn the drama of negotiation of state boundaries, the role of local administrators as mediators is indispensable. They mediate between state demands for more discipline and societal demands for more liberties. Their ability and willingness to enforce determines the extent of state power. They are a particular type of elites chosen by the state to administer; yet often they have an irrational and morally corrupt relationship with their subjects. The questions that arise then are: When do the local administrators decide to or not to enforce the rules? What considerations do they hold in the face of contradicting demands for their loyalties? This paper seeks answers to the above questions by examining state enforcement of its construction rules in Hanoi after 1975, in which the ward, a level of local administrators in the urban administration landscape, plays an important role in holding up (or letting down) the fences. I will examine the irrationality of the housing regime that led to widespread offences against construction rules, and then show why and how local administrators may or may not enforce rules. This paper comprises two parts. The first part outlines the nature and history of the housing regime in Vietnam and the situation of state provision of housing to the people. These provide the context in which illegal construction arises. Part Two looks at illegal construction in Hanoi chronologically, and focuses on important episodes. The theme that runs through this paper is the role of local administrators in the reality of illegal construction.

The integration of cultures: music of the people of Kazakhstan

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-68
Author(s):  
Gulmira Mussagulova ◽  
Zulfiya Kassimova
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
State Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Cultural Integration ◽  
Cultural Centers ◽  
Historical Significance ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Republic

The article is devoted to the consideration and study of the creativity of the most prominent representatives of the musical art of national ethnic groups, the role of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, the identification of various criteria for the relationship of ethnic groups living in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the peculiarities of their life, way of life, spheres of life, their relationship and views on the modern State, created by the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Nursultan Nazarbayev. The core of the projects completed in the period from 2012 to 2017 includes not only historical facts and materials found from the State Archives, Central Scientific Library and the National Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan, but also an overview of active participation in many events related to the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, to the 20th and 25th anniversaries of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, associated with the considered ethnocultural centers and representatives of certain ethnic groups. Through the media, participation in international scientific and practical conferences, previously unknown facts of the studied ethnic groups were highlighted, and their relationship with the main population of the republic, their contribution to the multinational culture of Kazakhstan, which in turn confirms the prudent, orderly, and wise policy of Elbasy (The Head of the State). The authors use the following methods in the study: historical-chronological, source study, analytical, comparative, and interviewing. Since 2012, in Kazakh musicology, the musical heritage of ethnic groups inhabiting Kazakhstan has been studied. A unique opportunity for a full-fledged study of their work is presented thanks to the activities of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan and systematic state policy, under the leadership of the First President. In 2017, the second book, entitled "The Historical Significance of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan in Interethnic Cultural Integration", was published, which became a fruitful result of the research project in 2015–2017. This book is a kind of continuation of the series, which began in the previous collective monograph "The Musical Art of the People of Kazakhstan", which was published at the end of 2014 and has undergone extensive testing not only among professionals, but also among fans of the musical culture of multinational Kazakhstan. Such research projects, which were not previously carried out in the domestic humanitarian science, are significant and in demand, since before their appearance in domestic musicology there were only separate reports on the activities of cultural centers, articles in the media and on Internet sites, a brief analysis of the work of specific masters in publications devoted to the study of the history of musical art of numerous national cultures. They give only fragmentary ideas about the art of the ethnic groups in question. The relevance and insufficient elaboration of these problems served as the basis for the study "The historical significance of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan in interethnic cultural integration", carried out by the Department of Musicology of the M. Auezov Institute of Literature and Art of the Committee of Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The implementation of such a complex and significant topic for the national musical art, coverage of the activities of large cultural centers of different ethnic groups, and much more makes it possible to determine the contribution of each of them to the history of Kazakhstan's development and outline ways to preserve the traditional folklore heritage and identity. In this regard, these projects are relevant and socially and politically significant at the state level.

Confucianism on Political Legitimacy

2019 ◽  
pp. 32-51
Author(s):  
Tongdong Bai
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
The State ◽  
Basic Fact ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Basic Goods ◽  
The People ◽  
Xun Zi ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Political Decisions

This chapter discusses political legitimacy within the Confucian context. It attempts reconcile the early Confucians’ embrace of equality with their defense of hierarchy. The chapter also considers how to reconcile their idea that the legitimacy of the state lies in service to the people, with the idea that it is not the people alone who make the final political decisions. It shows that the lack of capacities of making sound political decisions by the masses cannot result from the failure of the state to secure basic goods, education, and other necessary conditions for people to make sound political decisions, and it has to be the result of a basic fact of human life. That is, in spite of all these governmental efforts that are demanded by them, and in spite of their beliefs that human beings are all potentially equal (Mencius and Xun Zi) or close to being equal (Confucius), early Confucians also took it as a fact of life that the majority of the people cannot actually obtain the capacity necessary to make sound political decisions and participate fully in politics.

Convergence of Forest Resources in Jangalmahal, West Bengal

2016 ◽  
pp. 511-537
Author(s):  
Nilendu Chatterjee ◽  
Soumyananda Dinda
Keyword(s):  
West Bengal ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Forest Resources ◽  
The State ◽  
Forest Product ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
The People ◽  
Forest Income ◽  
History Of ◽  
Beta Convergence

The topic of growth and convergence is at the heart of a wide-ranging debate in the growth literature. The century long history of deprivation and backwardness of Jangalmahal area and four districts of it in the state of West Bengal—Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapore and parts of Birbhum—is also a well discussed issue. The dependency of the people on forest products to earn livelihoods is a natural phenomenon which, over the years, has resulted in considerable exploitation of forest resources. Through this chapter, we have made an attempt to see whether there exists any convergence, both absolute as well as conditional, in the total forest product of Jangalmahal and in the incomes earned from forest resources. We have seen the presence of Beta convergence, both conditional and absolute, in both tests of forest products as well as income from it. Sigma of forest income diverges instead of converge. Similar result is seen in case of timber.

Unvailing the Symbolic Meaning of Terracotta Plaques From Pilak Monastery, Tripura, India

2020 ◽  
pp. 61-83
Author(s):  
Ruma Karmakar
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Symbolic Meaning ◽  
Outer World ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of

Tripura, one of the smallest states of India, is very famous to the people of India because of its own hidden treasures and the atmospheric beauty of nature. Various temple architecture, stone and metal sculptures which have been scattered all over the state made her historically significant, but due to proper expose it still remains in darkness. Globalization and emergence of technology nowadays vastly helps tour lovers to choose their destinations. Observing the present scenario, in this chapter the researcher explores and introduces the richness and the hidden wealth of history of Tripura through a bird's eye view of the Pilak Monastery to the outer world.

State Musical Populisms

2020 ◽  
pp. 98-138
Author(s):  
Pablo Palomino
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Latin American ◽  
State Building ◽  
The State ◽  
Comparative History ◽  
Cultural Activism ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Masses

This chapter shows the emergence of a regional sense of Latin America as part of the musical pedagogy of the nationalist states at the peak of the state-building efforts to organize, through a variety of instruments of cultural activism, what at the time were called “the masses.” It analyzes particularly the cases of Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina—the three largest countries of the time in population and economic development—from the 1910s through the 1950s. It proposes a comparative history of Latin American musical populisms, focusing in particular on policies of music education, broadcasting, censorship, and experiences of state-sponsored collective singing.

Secularization in Bangladesh

Worldview ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Eugene Smith
Keyword(s):  
Abrupt Change ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Islamic Republic ◽  
The People ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Attitudinal Changes ◽  
The Masses

The emergence of an official policy of secularism in Bangladesh must be viewed as a major ideological landmark in the recent history of the Indian subcontinent. Analyzed in terms of legitimizing symbols, the abrupt change from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the secular People's Republic of Bangladesh is a significant event. It is axiomatic that revolutionary changes in the symbols of statehood need not be, and generally are not, accompanied by corresponding attitudinal changes among the masses of the people. The symbols, after all, are formulated by a small political elite or even by one leader. But it is important to understand both what the leaders are trying to express by the symbols they choose and how these symbols are related to the political process and the general culture.

Lombardo Toledano’s Struggles in the World of Labor

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Spenser
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Dialectical Materialism ◽  
The State ◽  
Old Regime ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Masses

Vicente Lombardo Toledano was born into a prosperous family in 1894 in Teziutlán, Puebla, and died in Mexico City in 1968. His life is a window into the history of the 20th century: the rise and fall of the old regime; the Mexican Revolution and the transformations that the revolution made in society; the intellectual and social reconstruction of the country under new parameters that included the rise of the labor movement to political prominence as well as the intervention of the trade unions in the construction and consolidation of the state; the dispute over the course of the nation in the tumultuous 1930s; and the configuration of the political and ideological left in Mexico. Lombardo Toledano’s life and work illustrate Mexico’s connections with the world during the Second World War and the Cold War. Lombardo Toledano belonged to the intellectual elite of men and women who considered themselves progressives, Marxists, and socialists; they believed in a bright future for humanity. He viewed himself as the conscious reflection of the unconscious movement of the masses. With unbridled energy and ideological fervor, he founded unions, parties, and newspapers. During the course of his life, he adhered to various beliefs, from Christianity to Marxism, raising dialectical materialism to the level of a theory of knowledge of absolute proportions in the same fashion that he previously did with idealism. In life, he aroused feelings of love and hate; he was the object of royal welcomes and the target of several attacks; national and international espionage agencies did not let him out of their sight. He was detained in and expelled from several countries and prevented from visiting others. Those who knew him still evoke his incendiary oratorical style, which others remember as soporific. His admirers praise him as the helmsman of Mexican and Latin American workers; others scorn the means he used to achieve his goals as opportunist. Lombardo Toledano believed that the Soviet Union had achieved a future that Mexico could not aspire to imitate. Mexico was a semifeudal and semicolonial country, hindered by imperialism in its economic development and the creation of a national bourgeoisie, without which it could not pass on to the next stage in the evolution of mankind and without which the working class and peasantry were doomed to underdevelopment. In his interpretation of history, the autonomy of the subordinate classes did not enter into the picture; rather it was the intellectual elites allied with the state who had the task of instilling class consciousness in them. No matter how prominent a personality he was in his time, today few remember the maestro Vicente Lombardo Toledano, despite the many streets and schools named after him. However, the story of his life reveals the vivid and contradictory history of the 20th century, with traces that remain in contemporary Mexico.

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