Coping with the End of the Commodities Boom: Rubber Smallholders in Southern Thailand Oscillating Between Near-poverty and Middle-class Status

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edo Andriesse ◽  
Puntita Tanwattana
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Middle Income Country ◽  
The Political ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Local Leadership ◽  
Southern Thailand ◽  
The Status ◽  
Class Status

This article focuses on the steep fall in the international natural rubber price and investigates its impact on the socioeconomic situation of rubber smallholders in Southern Thailand, particularly diversification and community development. Based on surveys and semi-structured interviews, this article highlights the vulnerability of rubber smallholders in an upper middle-income country. Despite substantial diversification, volatility in the international rubber price still causes rural households to zigzag back and forth between the classes of near-poverty and accomplished middle class. Consistent diversification is hard to achieve, and there is a lack of local leadership. Current forces in the political economy of rubber are geared toward maintaining the status quo.

The Culture of Contentment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Kenneth Galbraith ◽  
Jeff Madrick
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Political ◽  
Military Action ◽  
Class Voting ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status

The world has become increasingly separated into the haves and have nots. This book shows how a contented class—not the privileged few but the socially and economically advantaged majority—defend their comfortable status at a cost. Middle-class voting against regulation and increased taxation that would remedy pressing social ills has created a culture of immediate gratification, leading to complacency and hampering long-term progress. Only economic disaster, military action, or the eruption of an angry underclass seem capable of changing the status quo. A groundbreaking critique, the book shows how the complacent majority captures the political process and determines economic policy.

scholarly journals Narrating technonatures: discourses of biotechnology in a neoliberal era

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 186
Author(s):  
Myles Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Political ◽  
Effective Strategy ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
The Status ◽  
Political Economic

This article considers the role played by discourses of nature in structuring the cultural politics of anti-GMO activism. It argues that such discourses have been successful rhetorical tools for activists because they mobilize widely resonant nature-culture dualisms that separate the natural and human worlds. However, these discourses hold dubious political implications. In valorizing the natural as a source of essential truth, natural purity discourses fail to challenge how naturalizations have been used to legitimize sexist, racist and colonial systems of injustice and oppression. Rather, they revitalize the discursive purchase of appeals to nature as a justification for the status quo, indirectly reinforcing existing power relations. Moreover, these discourses fail to challenge the critical though contingent reality of GMOs' location within the wider framework of neoliberal social relations. Fortunately, appeals to natural purity have not been the only effective strategy for opposing GMOs. Activist campaigns that directly target the political economic implications of GMOs within the context of neoliberalism have also had successes without resorting to appeals to the purity of nature. The successes of these campaigns suggest that while nature-culture dualisms remain politically effective normative groundings, concerns over equity, farmers' rights, and democracy retain potential as ideological terrains in the struggle for social justice.

scholarly journals Gestation, equality and freedom: ectogenesis as a political perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Cavaliere
Keyword(s):  
Status Quo ◽  
Positive Case ◽  
The Political ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Human Fetuses ◽  
Political Perspective ◽  
Women's Equality ◽  
The Status ◽  
Limited Scope

The benefits of full ectogenesis, that is, the gestation of human fetuses outside the maternal womb, for women ground many contemporary authors’ arguments on the ethical desirability of this practice. In this paper, I present and assess two sets of arguments advanced in favour of ectogenesis: arguments stressing ectogenesis’ equality-promoting potential and arguments stressing its freedom-promoting potential. I argue that although successfully grounding a positive case for ectogenesis, these arguments have limitations in terms of their reach and scope. Concerning their limited reach, I contend that ectogenesis will likely benefit a small subset of women and, arguably, not the group who most need to achieve equality and freedom. Concerning their limited scope, I contend that these defences do not pay sufficient attention to the context in which ectogenesis would be developed and that, as a result, they risk leaving the status quo unchanged. After providing examples of these limitations, I move to my proposal concerning the role of ectogenesis in promoting women’s equality and freedom. This proposal builds on Silvia Federici’s, Mariarosa Dalla Costa’s and Selma James’ readings of the international feminist campaign ‘Wages for Housework’. It maintains that the political perspective and provocation that ectogenesis can advance should be considered and defended.

scholarly journals Bodily abjection and the politics of resistance in Tom Paulin’s Greek tragedies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Torrance
Keyword(s):  
Open Channel ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Political ◽  
Northern Irish ◽  
The Status ◽  
Politics Of Resistance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Groups ◽  
Political Actions

Abstract Tom Paulin’s Greek tragedies present extremes of bodily abjection in order to service of a politics of resistance that is tied, in each case, to the political context of the drama’s production. The Riot Act (1984), Seize the Fire (1989), and Medea (2010), share a focus on the degradation of oppressed political groups and feature characters who destabilize the status quo. Yet the impact of disruptive political actions is not ultimately made clear. We are left wondering at the conclusion of each tragedy if the momentous acts of defiance we have witnessed have any power to create systemic change within politically rigged systems. The two 1980s plays are discussed together and form a sequence, with The Riot Act overtly addressing the Northern Irish conflict and Seize the Fire encompassing a broader sweep of oppressive regimes. The politics of discrimination in Medea are illuminated by comparison with similar themes in Paulin’s Love’s Bonfire (2010). Unlike other Northern Irish adaptations of Greek tragedy, Paulin’s dramas, arrested in their political moments, present little hope for the immediate future. Yet in asking us to consider if individual sacrifice is enough to achieve radical change they maintain an open channel for political discourse.

Sarajevo and the Sarajevo Sephardim

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 892-910
Author(s):  
Jonna Rock
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Jewish Identification ◽  
The Status ◽  
Late Fifteenth ◽  
And Function ◽  
Role And Function ◽  
Shed Light

This article highlights issues pertaining to the Sephardim ([-im] is the masculine plural Hebrew ending and Sepharad is the Hebrew name for Spain. Sephardim thus literally means the Jews of Spain) in Sarajevo from the time of their arrival in the Ottoman Empire in the late fifteenth century until the present day. I describe the status quo for the Sephardi minority in post-Ottoman Sarajevo, in the first and second Yugoslavia, and in today's post-Communist Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The objective is to shed light on how historic preconditions have influenced identity formation as it expresses itself from a Sephardic perspective. The aim is moreover to generate knowledge of the circumstances that affected how Sephardim came to understand themselves in terms of their Jewish identification. I present empirical findings from my semi-structured interviews with Sarajevo Sephardim of different generations (2015 and 2016). I argue that while none of the interlocutors conceive of Jewish identification as divergent from halachic interpretations of matrilineal descent, they moreover propose other conceptions of what it means to be Jewish, such as celebrating Shabbat and other Jewish holidays, and other patterns of socialization. At the same time, these individuals also assert alternative forms of being Bosnian, one that includes multiple ethnicities, and multiple religious ascriptions. This study elucidates a little-explored history and sheds light on the ways in which historical conditions have shaped contemporary, layered framings of identification among Sarajevo's current Jewish population. This article is relevant for those interested in contemporary Sephardic Bosnian culture and in the role and function of ideology in creating conditions for identity formation and transformation.

The Armenian duduk resounds in Artsakh

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Milka Marie-Madeleine Malfait
Keyword(s):  
International Community ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Political ◽  
Mountainous Region ◽  
The Third ◽  
External Threats ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Status ◽  
Descriptive Method

Throughout its history, Artsakh had to guard against the external threats of Neo-Ottomanism. At the present time it is especially relevant. September 27, 2020 marks escalation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh – which means Artsakh in Armenian. This led to six weeks of cease fire, humanitarian disaster, which killed many people and destroyed cultural and religious heritage of Artsakh. The mountainous region is surrounded by Azerbaijani land, although populated by Armenians. Due to the political novelty of this issue, the author employed analytical and descriptive method. The acquired results demonstrate that the history repeats itself in Neo-Ottomanism, which has been a threat to Artsakh and Armenia since its emergence until the present day. In recent years, the concept of reunification with Armenia, as well as the independence of Artsakh, outlined the prospects for the future. The third solution to the conflict became the ceasefire agreement of 9 November 2020, nobly negotiated by Russia to save Armenia from military collapse. However, this solution is more painful than the status-quo. The main conclusion consists in the statement that the international community should be more vigilant and prevent the expansion of such threats.

The Status Quo of Sustainable Tourism Development in Phuket. A Qualitative Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 167
Author(s):  
Kevin FUCHS ◽  
Kris SINCHAROENKUL
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Tourism ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sustainable Tourism Development ◽  
Mass Tourism ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Status ◽  
Coherent Leadership

Sustainable tourism is an increasingly fashionable term that is strongly correlated with the global age of increased mobility. While there is increasing interest in sustainable tourism, there is no contemporary research that describes the current state of Phuket, Thailand, the mass-tourism destination. An in-depth review of existing literature revealed that sustainable tourism at large receives a great deal of attention in its current state. This paper aimed to go beyond the common theme of sustainable tourism and conducted a thorough analysis about the status quo in Phuket with regard to sustainable tourism. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews (n=5) with industry experts and later analyzed the content by the means of thematic analysis. The research is specific to Phuket; therefore, the results of this research are not generalizable to other mass-tourism locations. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but it is evident that stakeholders in Phuket recognize the importance of sustainable tourism. Moreover, the lack of accountability, coherent leadership, and consistency resulted in a high failure rate when initiatives were launched to improve sustainable tourism behavior in Phuket.  

What Changes for the Constitutional Court with the New Russian Constitution?

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-49
Author(s):  
Ivan S. Grigoriev
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Political ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Locus Standi ◽  
The Status ◽  
Russian Constitution ◽  
International Obligations

Abstract Of the 206 amendments introduced to the Russian constitution and adopted on July 1, 2020, 24 deal directly with the Constitutional Court, its organization, functioning, and the role it plays in the political system. Compared to many other, these are also rather precise and detailed, ranging from the number of judges on the bench, their nomination and dismissal, to the Court’s inner procedures, new locus standi limitations, and the primacy of the Constitution over Russia’s international obligations. Most changes only reproduce amendments brought to the secondary legislation over the last twenty years, and are therefore meant to preserve the status quo rather than change anything significantly. At the same time, a number of amendments aim at politicizing and instrumentalizing the Court for the president’s benefit, marking a significant departure from the previous institutional development.

Displaced Vision: The Politics of Realism in Kracauer and Kluge1

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara Forrest
Keyword(s):  
Physical Reality ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Political ◽  
Siegfried Kracauer ◽  
The Future ◽  
Value Judgements ◽  
The Status ◽  
Alexander Kluge

This chapter focuses on some of the key intersections between the theories of cinematic realism developed by Siegfried Kracauer and Alexander Kluge. While, on the surface, their definitions of realism may appear very different, on closer view it is clear that both theorists are concerned with the role that a realist film practice can play in displacing the spectator’s vision and, in the process, facilitating a mode of perception that is not inflected by the ‘ideas’ and ‘value judgements’ that shape and delimit our experience of the present. Focusing on Kracauer’s Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality and on Kluge’s essays on the political promise of an “antagonistic” realist aesthetic, this chapter explores the role that a realist film practice can play in reanimating the viewer’s capacity to conceive of the possibilities of the future outside the parameters of the status quo.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document