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35731. Forum -- Making Networks Accountable

Author:
Bruce Kogut
Publication Date:
09-2000
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
French Politics, Culture Society
Institution:
Conference Group on French Politics Society
Abstract:
The book by Luc Boltanski and Eve Chiapello on the new spirit of capitalism returns to the question that puzzled the social thinkers of an earlier time: How does capitalism manufacture the ideological foundations of social peace, despite its hollow spiritual core and its creation of inequities? Their argument, reminiscent of Gramsci's, is that capitalism is richly inventive in appropriating cultural systems to justify itself. To address the ills of contemporary society, one must deconstruct the ideologies that make excessive levels of stress, unemployment, and inequality appear unavoidable. Boltanski and Chiapello cite Durkheim's thesis that capitalism is marred by the insatiable pursuit of self-interest, a view that resonates with the Chinese parable of the mask with no lower jaw. The mask is the face of a god or spirit that in its greed consumed its body and eventually its lower jaw, until it was unable to consume more. Capitalism needs an ideological restraint to this logic, but is unable to generate it by its own tenets. It must borrow elsewhere to justify itself and to preserve its own survival.

35732. Review Essay: Histories of Race in France

Author:
Tyler Stovall
Publication Date:
09-2000
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
French Politics, Culture Society
Institution:
Conference Group on French Politics Society
Abstract:
Tzvetan Todorov, On Human Diversity: Nationalism, Racism, and Exoticism in French Thought (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993). Sue Peabody, "There Are No Slaves in France": The Political Culture of Race and Slavery in the Ancien Régime (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996). Patricia M. E. Lorcin, Imperial Identities: Stereotyping, Prejudice and Race in Colonial Algeria (London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 1995). Maxim Silverman, Deconstructing the Nation: Immigration, Racism and Citizenship in Modern France (London and New York: Routledge, 1992). In the final decade of the twentieth century, few issues have seemed more central, and disturbing, to French society than considerations of race. Questions of racial tolerance and difference have led France to reconsider the cherished right of all those born on the nation's soil to French nationality, have (until its recent split) prompted the rise of the biggest new political party in France since the Parti communiste français, and suffused debates about nationality and citizenship. Such has been the importance of this phenomenon that French intellectuals recently found themselves praising, of all things, the Disney animated version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, because of its topical relevance to the plight of African immigrants seeking asylum in a Parisian church. In contrast to the traditional rosy view of France as a land without color prejudice, race and racism now seem unavoidable aspects of life in the Hexagon.
Political Geography:
Africa and France

35733. Review Essay: French Culture(s) After Empire

Author:
Alice L. Conklin
Publication Date:
09-2000
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
French Politics, Culture Society
Institution:
Conference Group on French Politics Society
Abstract:
Post-Colonial Cultures in France, Alec G. Hargreaves and Mark McKinney, eds. (London: Routledge, 1997). Jean-Loup Amselle, Vers un multiculturalisme français, l'empire de la coutume (Paris: Aubier, 1996). In 1974 France officially closed its doors to immigrants from its former colonies and began debating how best to respect "difference" while preserving a meaningful French identity. The tepid response of the Left to the meteoric rise of Le Pen's National Front soon galvanized France's new "others" into action. A series of now well-known confrontations ensued - the Marche des Beurs, the emergence of SOS-Racisme, l'affaire du foulard, and the sit-in of les sans-papiers. In each of these cases, disadvantaged minorities and their supporters contested the legally exclusive and monocultural definition of the nation that appeared to be taking shape across the political spectrum.
Political Geography:
France

35734. Russia's Physical and Social Infrastructure: Implications for Future Development

Publication Date:
12-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
During the past two years, the National Intelligence Council and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research of the US Department of State sponsored a working group and four seminars with experts from outside the Intelligence Community to examine the impact of societal and infrastructural factors on Russia's future over the next two decades. The factors identified--demography, health, intellectual capital, and physical infrastructure--all pose great challenges to Russia. The purpose of the project was to begin to think through in systematic fashion the difficulties and opportunities confronting Russia's leadership in these four specific areas.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, and Government
Political Geography:
Russia and United States

35735. Global Trends 2015: A Dialogue About the Future With Nongovernment Experts

Publication Date:
12-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
Over the past 15 months, the National Intelligence Council (NIC), in close collaboration with US Government specialists and a wide range of experts outside the government, has worked to identify major drivers and trends that will shape the world of 2015. The key drivers identified are: Demographics, Natural resources and environment, Science and technology, The global economy and globalization, National and international governance, Future conflict, The role of the United States. In examining these drivers, several points should be kept in mind: No single driver or trend will dominate the global future in 2015 Each driver will have varying impacts in different regions and countries The drivers are not necessarily mutually reinforcing; in some cases, they will work at cross-purposes. Taken together, these drivers and trends intersect to create an integrated picture of the world of 2015, about which we can make projections with varying degrees of confidence and identify some troubling uncertainties of strategic importance to the United States.
Topic:
Economics, Environment, Government, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States

35736. Report on IRFA and Annual Report on International Religious Freedom

Publication Date:
12-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
One of the guiding purposes and principles behind the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) is to make the issue of international religious freedom an integral part of this nation's foreign policy agenda. The conditions of religious freedom in certain countries may be grave and deteriorating—in many instances on account of factors beyond the control of the United States—but not, if the IRFA process is working properly and vigorously, on account of a lack of attention paid to the issue as a matter of U.S. foreign policy. This report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom assesses the vitality and effectiveness of certain parts of the IRFA process as it is functioning in its second year.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Human Rights, and Religion
Political Geography:
United States

35737. Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on DoD Frequency Spectrum Issues

Publication Date:
11-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
Imagine trying to win an overseas air war where target intelligence can be gathered only part of the day, where aerial refueling is hampered by inability to fly in close formation under prevailing weather conditions, and where many newly developed radio systems for air, sea, and land forces don't work the way they did back in the U.S. Sound unlikely? It isn't - these constraints limited the U.S. forces' ability to operate to maximum efficiency during the Kosovo campaign. These restrictions on U.S. military equipment did not arise from sabotage, maintenance failures, or enemy countermeasures - they resulted from the Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition system's failure to insist on qualifying spectrum allocations for new systems that depend on access to the radio frequency spectrum. Without such qualification, systems that function well in the U.S. may not be usable abroad. Unless new systems' use of radio frequencies is qualified, they may interfere with other military users or with critical civilian users of the radio spectrum, even at home.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Development, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States

35738. Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Defense Software

Publication Date:
11-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
The Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force on Defense Software was formed in September 1999 and tasked to: Review the findings and recommendations of previous Department of Defense (DoD) -wide studies on software development and acquisition Assess the current environment to identify changes since previous studies Assess the current state of software development programs – both DoD and Commercial Identify focused recommendations to improve performance on DoD software intensive programs.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Development, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States

35739. Central Asia and the South Caucasus: Reorientations, Internal Transitions, and Strategic Dynamics

Publication Date:
12-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
In April 2000, the National Intelligence Council sponsored a conference that examined the strategic dynamics of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and the South Caucasus countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The conference brought together approximately 100 government and outside experts, including officials and scholars from the countries concerned. It consisted of six panels with presentations from more than 30 academic and regional experts, followed by question-and-answer sessions. The purpose of the conference was not to arrive at a consensus but to deepen understanding of the region.
Topic:
Development and Government
Political Geography:
Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Georgia

35740. East Asia and the United States: Current Status and Five-Year Outlook

Publication Date:
09-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Abstract:
The National Intelligence Council and the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress held a one-day unclassified conference on this topic on 17 February 2000, at the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. Seven papers by nongovernment specialists and 11 commentaries by Intelligence Community specialists examined: The likely development of greater divergence or convergence between key East Asian states and the United States over US policies and interests in the region. Whether divergence or convergence between East Asian states and the United States was more likely on security, economic, or political/values questions. In what ways East Asian states would be likely to collaborate in opposition to US policies and interests. Sixty US Intelligence Community, other Executive Branch, congressional, and nongovernment experts participated actively in discussions following the formal papers and commentaries, reinforcing the findings presented below.
Topic:
International Relations and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
United States and East Asia