Entangled political histories of twentieth-century West Africa: The case of Guinean exile networks

Following independence in 1958, hundreds of Guinean soldiers, students, and politicians fled their home country in order to build an opposition to President Sékou Touré in exile. This article examines how these exiles built regional and global networks in order to effect political change. In turn, West African states sought to manage exiles in order to apply political pressure on regional rivals. Despite their liminality in a region increasingly dominated by national politics and international organizations, exiles were at the centre of political contestations surrounding citizenship, sovereignty, and human rights that emerged in the three decades following decolonization. Their history underscores the importance of regional frameworks in shaping the post-colonial order in West Africa.

The Annex-Metaphor and the Nature of the 'Blind Self' in D. H. Lawrence’s “England, My England”

The article explores D. H. Lawrence’s technique of portrayal in the short story “England, My England” (1921) by applying the key terms annex-metaphor and “blind self” to Egbert, the central male character. The former term is coined by the author of the article as a means of understanding Lawrence’s treatment of his protagonist’s inner life. With the help of the daughter figure, the British author manages to shape the abstract character of notions, and to produce a figurative, volatile version of the father’s psyche. The latter concept, “blind self,” belongs to Lawrence himself, and can be transferred, the paper argues, from one character to another in the process of uncovering Egbert’s metaphorically shaped responses to different types of environment: the mystical, the social, the political. The idea of blindness is materialized as attraction towards nature, as denial of society or, on the contrary, as denial of the self, and, last but not least, as automatic response to the whims of history and national politics.

The News Sharing Gap

ABSTRACT – Current literature on online news sharing presents a range of methods and results, alongside contradictory explanations for the phenomenon. To disentangle this, we compared three countries with contrasting levels of political stability (Brazil, Canada and the US). A content analysis of articles (n = 1.658) posted in 2016, on the main news pages in Facebook for each country, shows that the Canadian news pages presented far less news sharing on national politics conflicts than Brazil and the US did. We discuss how this shows the relevance of political context in explaining both news routines and shareworthiness. RESUMO – A literatura sobre compartilhamento de notícias online apresenta uma gama de métodos e resultados com linhas contraditórias de explicação para o fenômeno. Para destrinchar o problema, comparamos três países com níveis contrastantes de estabilidade política (Brasil, Canadá e EUA). Uma análise de conteúdo de notícias (n = 1.658) postadas nas principais páginas noticiosas do Facebook de cada país em 2016 mostra que as páginas canadenses apresentaram muito menos compartilhamento sobre conflitos políticos nacionais do que nos EUA e Brasil. Discutimos como isso mostra a relevância do contexto político para explicar as rotinas produtivas e a compartilhabilidade. RESUMEN – La literatura actual sobre el intercambio de noticias en línea presenta una variedad de métodos y resultados junto con líneas de explicación contradictorias para el fenómeno. Para desenredar esto, comparamos tres países con niveles contrastantes de estabilidad política (Brasil, Canadá y EE. UU.). Un análisis de contenido de los artículos (n = 1.658) publicados en las principales páginas de noticias en Facebook de cada país en 2016 muestra que las páginas de noticias canadienses presentaron mucho menos intercambio de noticias sobre conflictos políticos nacionales. Lo contrario ocurrió en Brasil y Estados Unidos. Discutimos cómo esto muestra la relevancia del contexto político para explicar tanto las rutinas informativas como las compartidas.

THE ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE OF NON-MUSLIM LEADERS IN INDONESIAN MUSLIM MAJORITY COMMUNITIES

One of the issues that often arise in the national politics and up to now is still warm is the rejection of non-Muslim leadership in the Muslim community. This problem arises due to differences in the views of scholars in understanding the verses of the Qur'an and the Hadith of the Prophet. In order to solve these problems, this article seeks to find sources of library data and then describes the reality of non-Muslim leadership in Indonesia. The results showed that the scholars differed in opinion regarding the permissibility of non-Muslim leaders. First, forbid choosing non-Muslim leaders because they have similarities in interpreting lafadz awliya 'with helpers and leaders. Second, they allow non-Muslim leaders for Muslim-majority areas because they hold the view that lafadz awliya' is no longer appropriate in the current context. In the perspective of Islam, a leader is called the caliph al-nubuwwah as the successor of the Prophet in world affairs, religion, or the state, therefore the law authorizing non-Muslims to handle the affairs of Muslims is haram, the law is like asking non-Muslims for help to fight rebels, and so on. as well as taking care of the affairs of the Muslims in general, this is in accordance with the letter al-Maidah verse 51 concerning the inability to control the administrative affairs of the Muslims to non-Muslims

The German Population of Siberia in the Conditions of Social Transformations of the 1900s-1920s

At the turn of the 19th – 20th century Siberia became a “melting pot” once again, where the representatives of various ethnic groups found themselves. The reasons for the resettlement beyond the Urals were of predominant economic character. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of various social events of the first third of the 20th century on the life of Siberian Germans. Russian Germans engaged in agriculture were forced to seek the ways to survive inside Russia in the situation of the agrarian crisis. Modernization of the state migration policy at the beginning of the 20th century and development of the railway transport allowed for labor migration, as a result of which Siberia turned into one of the agrarian regions, being on the rise, by the mid-1910s. German immigrants, who created capitalist farm type households there and became a model for Russian old-timers and other immigrants, contributed greatly to his process. However, the events of 1914-1922 disrupted the customary pace of life in the German village. The economic policy of the Bolsheviks who came to power provoked famine in the first half of the 1920s.The German population suffered from hunger as well, which drove up emigration sentiments. However, NEP and restoration of cooperation allowed them to start rapid recovery of the small-scale economy. The All-Russian Mennonite Agricultural Union played a pivotal role in this process. The gradual curtailment of NEP and transition to a command-administrative economic model were connected with pressure on the German population among which the conservative-clerical sentiments prevailed. It was sure to provoke a new round of confrontation between the Russian Germans and the Soviet state in the late 1920s already. The article is intended for those interested in the history of ethnic minorities (Russian Germans) and national politics in the twentieth century.

Nigerian youth, politics and the demand for τολμηρήηγεσία: A study on I Timothy 4:11–12

One possible meaning of the Greek word τολμηρήηγεσία (bold leadership) among the ancient Greeks was bravery and astuteness in managing human and natural resources. In this study, it is used in the context of fearlessness and willingness of the Nigerian youth to take up governmental responsibilities in leadership positions, which is achievable either through demanding governmental appointments or contesting elections for political positions through a free and fair political election. With the use of exegesis and hermeneutics, this study on τολμηρήηγεσία refers to Paul’s instruction to Timothy regarding bold leadership in I Timothy 4:11–12. 1 Timothy 4:11–12 is contextually seen as a call on Nigerian youth to adopt as a prototype; young Timothy who the elderly Paul encouraged in his words, not to allow anyone, despise his youth. This is to the intent of challenging Nigerian youth to become more proactive in national politics and governance in order to help Nigeria register its presence in the competitive global technological and scientific arena.Contribution: The study tries to understand the age influence on Timothy and how Paul tried to deal with it. This enabled the study to be of use in addressing the challenges that Nigerian youth go through in order to have their voices heard in Nigerian politics and to also call on the youth to grow above timidity towards bold leadership.

A “Priesthood of Knowledge”: The International Thought of Henri de Saint-Simon

The French political theorist Henri de Saint-Simon is largely absent from historical International Relations (IR). This article shows why this is unwarranted and introduces him as an international thinker who made lasting contributions to IR's modern conceptual imagination. Largely responding to the French Revolution Saint-Simon rethought the parameters of international order, imagining the international as a realm separable from national politics and conformable to human agency. International order, on his account, could be actively created. This could take the shape of legislation, trade, or large-scale engineering projects: of new methods of governance. Based on a close reading of texts rarely brought into IR’s focus, this article introduces Saint-Simon as a thinker who cut across traditional IR divides and developed a central actor category of international order: impartial, knowledge-based agents of change. His understanding of international reform not only made it possible to theorize and experiment with a role in global governance for technical experts but also masked the imperial underpinnings of the international projects these experts facilitated. The article makes the case that Saint-Simon deserves a firm place in historical IR, that his thought presents an opportunity for revisiting widely held assumptions about international authority, and that a discernible Saint-Simonian strand of international thought puts typically liberal histories of global governance in question.

The Demonstration of Indian Virtues in Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy

Indian literature has provided a platform for the writers to highlight the virtues of human civilization. The diversified attitude of people is emanated with the purpose of reviewing social, political and historical characteristics. Vikram Seth is one of the protuberant novelists of Indian literary consequence. He has exerted on the ideals of human virtues and principles in his colossal expression A Suitable Boy (1993). The novel deals with the post-independent groundswell of cultural India. He has interlaced the epitomes of society, politics and history bearing in mind the rootedness of common folk. The insight of the novel generates a kind of impulse among the bibliophiles with a sequence of queries and assumptions about the animation of social order. It also shed light on the identity, religious and national predicaments which are treated as inherent in India. The novel is an embodiment of satires perceived in the history of Indian humanity. It also embarks on the subjects of Indian National Politics till the period of first post-independent elections. The antagonism between Hindus and Muslims, workers and landlords, liberation of women and academic activities are interwoven in the literary output. Lata, the protagonist has been able to sustain the Indian aesthetics and illustrates the motivation in ascertaining her discrete aspiration. Love is the most important aspiration of human endurance, but it should not be the final optimal. An individual must be prepared to reform his choice and brand life as a meaningful one. Hence, the research paper makes an effort to demonstrate the Indian virtues in Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy within the modern context.