With Hands Tied

Chapter 5 examines Martha Karua’s 2013 run for Kenya’s presidency as the head of a political party. Drawing on extensive participant observation, field visits, and interviews, the chapter shows that Karua’s gender led people to question her capacity to mobilize patronage resources and serve as a reliable representative of her ethnic community. Her apparent lack of personal financial resources, alienation from the ruling party, and struggles to raise funds from other sources reinforced these biases. Lacking the financial resources and political access needed to win votes through clientelistic strategies, Karua chose to build on her reputation as a reformer and conduct a programmatic campaign. The chapter demonstrates, however, that this strategy failed in two respects: voters and potential campaign supporters did not respond en masse to her programmatic appeal; many candidates in her party disregarded the strategy, as they continued to rely on clientelistic tools to win over voters.

Why have Anti-Offshore Tin Mining Movements Failed in Bangka but Succeeded in East Belitung? Political Opportunity Structures and Political Settlement in the Context of Indonesia's Democratic Future

Civil society movements have occupied an important position in Indonesia's democratisation. This article seeks to determine why anti-offshore tin mining movements in the post-authoritarian era failed in Bangka but succeeded in East Belitung, an area where tin mining has historically been important. By analysing the political opportunity structures and political settlement mechanisms involved, this article argues, first, that the movement's success in East Belitung can be attributed to open political access, fragmentation within elite circles, and alliances with influential elites; such political opportunities were not available in Bangka. Second, in Bangka, the local bourgeoisie and brokers used clientelistic approaches in their political settlement and prevented resistance by co-opting local communities within the extraction chain. In East Belitung, meanwhile, such efforts were stymied by the lack of local bourgeoisie, the strength of environmental awareness, and the availability of alternative economic resources. It may thus be concluded that, while a clientelistic approach to settlement may prevent conflict, it also limits the political participation of civil society movements—an important element of democracy.

DINASTI POLITIK: BASIS POLITIK DAN KEPUASAN PUBLIK

The opening of political access in a country that was going through a period of democratic transition gave rise to "little kings" through the practice of political dynasties in some regions. They fill the local political space by restructuring patronage networks and strengthening their social, economic and political bases in order to maintain their power. This kind of dynastic political practice generates negative sentiments towards the performance of the bureaucracy as the public policy tend to be beneficial for a particular political family. The research focuses on the impact of the Sutrisno family's political dynasty through the bureaucracy on the level of community satisfaction towards the performance and achievements of their programs. Given the impact of the Sutrisno family's dynastic political practices, some of them show an anomaly. The findings illustrate the high level of public satisfaction with the performance of the bureaucracy in the health, education, and economy sectors. Apart from the fact that the Sutrisno family dynasty was politically established and had consequences for control of the bureaucracy, the social base of the Sutrisno family network also played an important role in increasing public acceptance of bureaucratic work programs in various fields.

Scrambling for the Centre: Ghana’s New Churches as an Alternative Ideology and Power

The effort expended by religious groups in Ghana to access and influence political power is not a historic novelty. Most clearly manifested in organizational strategies and the pronouncements of religious leaders, sectional ambitions in respect of political access and influence have recently gained ascendancy in response to the relatively rapid and large-scale growth of religious diversity across the nation and within its growing conurbations. This scramble for access and influence has also been fueled by the overt participation of some political leaders in religious activities, which are perceived to grant certain groups an enviable presence in the public sphere and favoured access to the corridors of state power. Focusing on two of Ghana’s New Churches, both Pentecostal–charismatic organizations, as case studies, this paper explores the strategies and motivations of religious groups striving to access and influence political society in an increasingly diverse socio-cultural context.

Tsuen Wan’s New Face

Some 91 leaders, both original inhabitants and immigrants, were interviewed using a standard questionnaire over a period of nine months in 1969. There were clear differences between village-based leaders and those representing immigrant groups. The gulf between the two kinds of leaders resulted from a colonial policy of granting political access to village representatives and their Rural Committee, which continued in a context that was industrial and much changed from the immediate post-war world when the system of access to government had been created. The gulf between the two populations suggested a need for political change. The ability to mobilize both groups and cooperate for political action was marked by a dispute and its resolution when changes were made to ferry schedules from Hong Kong to Tsuen Wan.

Performative interventions to re-claim, re-define and produce public space in different cultural and political contexts

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to ask how forms of “performative” interventions can prompt processes of re-thinking, which can, in turn, instigate the critical production of public space. Most importantly, it also asks how this methodology can manifest within various cultural and political contexts. Today, public spaces tend to be controlled either by the state or by private corporations. Neoliberal policies promote commercial interests, which subsequently drives inequality and determines what can and cannot be accessed by the public. The public spaces that are currently present in the neoliberal cities are, in fact, “pseudo” public spaces. Design/methodology/approach In an attempt to form new understandings of this problem, the authors’ approach is rooted in feminist theories of performativity, which focus on how identities are persistently re-produced through performance. These theories consider how the “self” is always entangled within everyday life interactions and how it is shaped by both societal and bodily practices. Framing spaces as shapable, informed by the embodied dialectic relations between spaces and social relations, the study uses forms of performative methodology to create productive disruptions and “constructed situations” (Debord, 2012). This methodology consists of intervention within these spaces in order to produce alternative public space and forms of publicness. Based on research conducted at the Sheffield School of Architecture, as well as a four-day invited workshop at the Floating University Berlin, this study investigates applications of performative practice methodology in the cities of Amman and Berlin. Findings The paper will begin by exploring how the two cities are regulated through various political and planning policies that affect public spaces. This line of enquiry will also involve questioning physical, social and political access to public space in these contexts and analysing the various actants, performative actions and processes that were involved in producing performative interventions. Originality/value The paper will conclude by discussing the potential and limitations of applying and translating such approaches in public spaces within different cultural and political contexts. As such, the study proposes a new methodological framework for re-thinking and provoking the critical production of public space through forms of performative spatial practice.

The Racial Setting of Hawai‘i in the 1920s

This chapter situates the Fukunaga case in the racial setting of Hawai‘i during the 1920s, when the anti-Japanese movement peaked before World War II. It begins by discussing Haole political and economic power, which resulted from Haole’s enforcing race as the dominant organizing principle of social relations. Also outlined is the anti-Japanese movement, which sought to subordinate Japanese Americans because they were considered the most dangerous threat to Haole domination. The chapter discusses previous racial injustices against Japanese and Filipino labor leaders in the 1920s who had upset the racial hierarchy by organizing plantation strikes. It concludes that the racial setting was demarcated by an uneven racial divide between Haoles and non-Haoles because Native Hawaiians had much greater political access than most of the latter.