Chinatown 2.0: the difficult flowering of an ethnically themed shopping area

Right in Amsterdam’s picturesque Canal Zone, on and around Zeedijk, Chinese entrepreneurs have carved out a presence in what seems like the local Chinatown. The businessmen have been targeting Asian and non-Asian customers by offering products that – to an extent – can be associated with Asia, China in particular. Since the early 1990s, individual entrepreneurs and their business organisations have campaigned for official acknowledgement of Zeedijk as an ethnic-only district and for governmental support of the enhancement of Chineseness. Following Hackworth and Rekers. [(2005). “Ethnic Packaging and Gentrification. The Case of Four Neighborhoods in Toronto.” Urban Affairs Review 41 (2): 211–236], we argue that this case challenges traditional understandings of ethnic commercial landscapes. In sharp contrast to the current orthodoxy, which would conceive the proliferation of such an ‘ethnic enclave’ as part of a larger process of assimilation, we have approached Amsterdam’s Chinatown first and foremost as a themed economic space: Chinese and other entrepreneurs compete for a share of the market and in doing also for the right to claim the identity of the area. What is the historical development of the Zeedijk area, how did Chinese entrepreneurs and their associations try to boost Chinatown and negotiate public Chineseness, and how did governmental and non-governmental institutional actors respond to those attempts?     

Ethnic identity politics in Nepal: liberation from,or restoration of,elite interest?

The ethnic issue has dominated Nepal’s political landscapes since the birth of the Republic of Nepal in 2007. For decades, Nepal witnessed a series of peasant rebellions against the state and landed aristocrats. Ethnic peasants were at the forefront, demanding autonomy, dignity, and an end to state violence. Since the 1980s, however, the ‘ethnic question’ has become a development issue and the developmental idea of indigeneity has consolidated both ethnic elites and peasants. Recently, identity politics has become a dominant ideological force, rapidly unraveling the course of radical political developments in the country. Interestingly, this political movement emerged in a particular historical conjuncture where Nepali politics has been extensively shaped by the recent Maoist revolution and a long history of international development. This paper explores various aspects of ethnic peasantry and argues that the notions of indigeneity and identity politics have reinforced elite domination by depoliticizing ethnic peasant politics in Nepal.     

The elites’ collective subjectivities of the history of ethnic politics in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Malaysia is one of the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious countries in Southeast Asia. Due to the pluralistic nature of Malaysia, it has a political structure based on ethnic politics. The ethnic preferential policies affected most domains of this country. The objective of this article is to examine the origin and background of ethnic politics in Malaysia. Findings of this study indicate that, ethnic politics originated during the British colonial period, it became a tool used by the Barisan Nasional for the legitimacy of regime. Moreover, ethnic politics in Malaysia today is intertwined with religion. Besides, there is the dilemma of the choice between the interest of certain ethnic group and national interests. However, with the opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan won the election in 9th May, UMNO-led BN lost power and interrupted its 61 years control, which leaves us an interesting topic to think about the future of Malaysian ethnic politics.     

A decade after the Reform: political activism of the Chinese of West Kalimantan,Indonesia

Political reform after the departure of President Soeharto’s New Order (1966–1998) provided opportunities for previously oppressed social groups to express their concerns and to demand fair recognition. The results of this newly found freedom have been quite immediately visible in Jakarta, where social and political institutions spearheaded by Chinese originally sprouted. In the regions, political participation of ethnic Chinese has also grown; significantly in those regions with a large Chinese population. In West Kalimantan, the number of Chinese being elected to local parliaments in some regions has doubled. They have also contested numerous direct local executive elections since 2003 and have been successful in winning four posts: a mayor, a district head, a deputy district head, and a deputy governor. By looking at the case of West Kalimantan, this article will examine the factors behind the growth in Chinese political activism, the factors contributing to the success of Chinese candidates in elections, how the Chinese have influenced local and provincial politics, and the challenges they are facing.     

Intergenerational relationships in Chinese transnational families: A typology study

ABSTRACT

Using latent class analysis, this study examined the overall patterns of multifaceted intergenerational relationships of 604 parent-child dyads in 292 transnational families in Beijing, China. Three family relation types emerged: local obligatory (27%, with reciprocal support and ambivalent feelings), distant discordant (27%, with weak associations and high conflict), and distant intimate (46%, with highest filial ratings and emotional quality). Parents’ health and children’s marital status, socioeconomic status, childcare responsibilities, and sibling numbers were associated with different relation types. The findings are helpful for social workers to identify subgroups of older adults in transnational families who are at risk of having inadequate support.     

贵州黔南州传统民族特色村寨保护与开发利用研究

贵州省黔南州布依族苗族乡村聚居区在传统民族特色村寨保护与开发利用工作中取得了较大的成效，积累了大量的成功经验，但也存在一些问题及不足：民族特色村寨保护与开发意义的认知有待提升；政府对民族特色村寨保护与开发利用的刚性规划缺失；开发的民族特色村寨功能单一；黔南少数民族传统特色文化的总体情况呈现复兴、衰退和变异并存；民族特色文化精品的培育顶层支撑不足；民族特色村寨开发与传统民族文化融合度不够；对传统特色老旧民宅价值认识不足。针对以上问题，首先应着力提升黔南州民族特色村寨保护开发格局，争取纳入国家改革试验规划；其二，抓住大数据与智慧乡村建设的时机，率先推进民族地区乡村治理现代化示范；其三，创新投融资体制机制，构建“民族特色村寨资源资本化金融服务平台”；其四，探索乡村房屋租赁权跨区域流通的体制机制，不断提升农民的物权收益；其五，加大民族特色村寨品牌建设力度，增加特色村寨旅游产品附加值；其六，完善村寨文化资源资产化经营监管体系，构建村寨文化资源保护利用长效机制。     

The struggle for Via Bologna street market: crisis,racial denial and speaking back to power in Naples Italy

This paper is based on ethnographic research conducted with migrant and Italian street vendors in Naples, southern Italy, in 2012. It tells the story of Via Bologna market which was nearly closed down by the City Hall at the time. Naples is a city where issues of poverty and unemployment pre‐date and have been exacerbated by manifold narratives of crisis now unfolding across Europe regarding the economy, political legitimacy, security and migration. Street markets have always been an important and visible economic survival strategy for both Neapolitans and migrants there. This article shows how the Via Bologna street vendors appropriated and adapted discourses about crisis to form their own cosmopolitan social movement that halted the closure of the market. It argues that, in the age of globalized migration, the multilingual nature of such collective action is central to understanding social struggles that must be organized between marginalized groups of people divided by race, religion, politics and legal status. This, frequently ambiguous, transcultural solidarity speaks back against a mainstream post‐racial discourse – often articulated by the Neapolitan street vendors at the market – that would reduce the complexity of such collective action to questions of poverty and class struggle.     

‘Here and There’: Children and Youth’s Perspectives of Borders in Mexico–United States Migration

This article explores children’s perspectives regarding migration and family separation on both sides of the Mexico‐U.S. border. ‘Transnational care constellations’¹ that connect separated siblings allow children to imagine the other side of the border and to explore their thoughts and perspectives through the lenses of inequality, as well as through a sense of belonging and family. This article presents ethnographic data of families that capture the dynamism of families that are both ‘here and there’ as children assemble their ideas and narratives of how transnational lives exist.     

民族地区城镇化发展模式及路径创新——基于四川、广西、贵州等地的调研分析

城镇化是我国民族地区经济社会发展的必经阶段。探索民族地区的城镇化发展模式及创新路径，对于加速民族地区现代化进程、转变民族地区经济增长方式以及实现社会安定团结具有重要的推动作用。文章在对民族地区城镇化发展现状描述的基础之上，归纳概括出城镇化运行的四大矛盾；并全面总结出旅游产业带动型、工业发展助推型、边境贸易推动型、草原牧业发展型四大类型的城镇化发展模式；通过构建民族地区城镇化发展的愿景框架，结合民族地区的发展实际，最终提出坚持绿色低碳，发展城镇化的生态文明建设，强化产城融合，持续释放城镇化的发展活力，深化制度改革，实现城镇化发展质量的提升及保持文化传承，不断彰显城镇化的民族特色等城镇化发展的创新路径。