Competitive victimhood and reconciliation: the case of Turkish–Armenian relations

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that conflicts tend to be intractable if collective victimhood has become a component of national identity, and when conflicting communities claim to be the ‘real’ or ‘only’ victims, and that their suffering justifies crimes past and present. Turkish and Armenian narratives of competitive victimhood are analysed drawing on public opinion polls from Turkey and Armenia, and personal interviews with Turks and Armenians. The study corroborates past theory and research that competitive victimhood prevents reconciliation, particularly if it has become an essential part of national identity. The paper also shows that Turkish–Armenian relations remain at the bottom stage of the reconciliation ladder. Yet, some of our empirical observations suggest that when grass-roots level interaction between Turks and Armenians is facilitated (which has been prevented not least because of the closed border), there is room for the abandonment of competitive victimhood at least on an interpersonal level, if not on a general societal or political level.     

Public relations and community: A persistent covenant

In the 21st Century global public relations professional community, the need for a postmodern reformation is compellingly evident. Most theorizing begins with basic assumptions about the three main social actors for which public relations has been practiced: (1) corporations, (2) nongovernmental and civil society organizations (NGOs and CSOs), and (3) governments. Questions about society itself are rarely examined, but when they do come up, scholars and practitioners tend to assume generally accepted values and mores. Neglected has been a robust criticism of the concepts upon which such paradigms have been built.     

Heteronomy in the arts field: state funding and British arts organizations

For Bourdieu, the field of cultural production is comprised of an autonomous and a heteronomous sector. A heteronomous sector is one that is interpenetrated by the commercial field. I discuss an arena that, until recently, was part of the relatively autonomous sector in the field of cultural production – the supported arts sector in the United Kingdom – and argue that it became more heteronomous, due to the penetration by the state. Heteronomy due to the commercial field is present but secondary to, and driven by, the actions of the state. Political parties’ attempts to diffuse and legitimate a particular economic ideology have led to state demands that arts institutions adopt neoliberal business practices in exchange for funding. Government giving to the arts, previously at arm's length, proved to be a Faustian bargain that demanded significant repayment in the form of lost autonomy. Coercive pressures from the state, enacted over time, show how the domination of one field over another can occur, even when the domination is resisted.     

Beyond the state: Conceptualizing protection in community settings

In the last two decades, the child welfare system has undergone a series of dramatic changes. We have moved from a broad concern for the social welfare of children and families to a restricted focus on detecting, investigating and assessing instances of child physical and sexual abuse and neglect. Spiraling reports of suspected or actual abuse and neglect, higher caseloads, reduced resources and lack of support for both families and workers, have all contributed to narrowing the focus of contemporary child welfare to one more aptly characterized as child protection. Child protection discourse is concerned with the nature and extent of state intervention into family life for the purpose of protecting children at risk of harm. While much attention has been given to boundaries and procedures for state intervention, it is less common to critically examine the actual activities involved in protection of children. An exception to this is the feminist scholarship on the topic, illustrating that protection is very much a gendered activity entailing the scrutiny of women's mothering practices and often associated with mother-blame. In this paper, another dimension to protection activity is explicated, namely that which occurs in a community setting. Drawing on a qualitative case study of a community agency that serves young mothers, we document its implications in 'child protection' processes and its markedly different approach to protection from formal child welfare agencies. Given the community agency's emphasis on supportive services to mothers, we turn a critical eye on usual conceptions of protection, where it occurs, and how it is accomplished.     

Exploring rural community agency differences in Ireland and Pennsylvania

The role of community agency in the rural community and economic development processes needs to be better understood in America and other advanced, industrialized nations. Community agency is vital to protecting, retaining, and maintaining rural communities. A comparative study was designed to explore the role of community agency in contributing to local well-being in Ireland and America. This role was evaluated through the use of a multiple method framework based on extensive key informant interviews, focus groups, and analysis of household survey data.     

The state of Australian public relations: Professionalisation and paradox

It is almost a decade since the last empirical study of Australian public relations appeared in the academic literature. This paper reports on a survey conducted immediately prior to the onset of the global financial crisis aimed at revealing the state of public relations in Australia. In particular, the study investigated levels of professionalisation in terms of such criteria as the strategic orientation of public relations, its position within organisational hierarchies, and the importance placed on ethics and professional development. The findings show Australian PR professionals to be highly educated, comparatively well paid and frequently in positions of influence with their CEOs. Paradoxically despite these strengths, the profession in Australia does not seem to have outgrown public relations’ pervasive identity crisis.     

The state of public relations in Singapore

The public relations (PR) industry in Singapore is presently in a state of transition. A recent survey reveals that while many of the industry practices are still limited within the scope of media relations, print production, event organization and promotions, there is a growing realization among practitioners for the need to provide higher profile activities related to issues development, strategic planning and image management. The latter activities reflect the trend that the PR industry in Singapore is maturing towards at the agency, private, and public sectors.Findings in the survey indicated that both the agencies and end-users emphasised the need for more training in, and greater usage of services ranging from investor relations to community relations to research (survey). A notable development which lends support to the emerging trend in the PR industry is the Singapore government's push towards the regionalisation of local companies in building the country's external economy.Yeap Soon Beng is a lecturer at the School of Communication Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is also a council member of the executive committee of the Institute of Public Relations in Singapore, which has given him permission to use data from a survey which was conducted by a local research firm.     

The genesis of public relations in British colonial practice

This paper fills a gap in the documentation of the evolution of public relations in the 20th century by demonstrating how the British Colonial Office employed public relations strategies and tactics in the administration of an African colony. This policy development traced primarily through British Colonial Office and Ministry of Information written and film archives in London, Zimbabwe and Zambia demonstrates how colonial officials in an Africa colony in conjunction with civil servants at the Colonial Office in London developed and implemented public relations policies, strategies and tactics on an ad hoc basis in response to the need for colonial officials to communicate and manage relations with colonial subjects in an intercultural setting.The case study is that of the British colony of Northern Rhodesia, the evolution of government public relations activities follows three distinct phases, before, during and after World War II and covers political public relations as well as community development activities and “education for citizenship.”     

Enhancing community capacity: Roles of perceived bonding and bridging social capital and public relations in community building

This study examined whether two types of perceived social capital – bonding and bridging – can affect individuals’ belief in community capacity in the context of a corporate community relations program to develop rural areas in South Korea. The results of the study's Web survey showed that perceived community capacity to resolve problems was significantly affected by their perception of both bonding and bridging social capital. The findings suggest that social capital serves as a mechanism that can foster community capacity through norms of interaction, reciprocity, and trust as aspects of civil society.     

The early days of public relations in British Malaya: Winning the hearts and minds of the Empire

This article traces the early form of public information services during the colonial period to provide new insights into the historical development of Malaysia’s public relations. The first formal information agency created in 1910 was based in London to promote the early practices of public relations for British Malaya and its interests in Britain. British consolidation during the years of economic boom and depression, until the achievement of Malaysian Independence, was aided by the early information services. The article makes an alternative argument about the beginnings of Malaysian public relations based on colonial economic and political interest as against other previously held views     

Reshaping the social contract: emerging relations between the state and informal labor in India

As states grapple with the forces of liberalization and globalization, they are increasingly pulling back on earlier levels of welfare provision and rhetoric. This article examines how the eclipsing role of the state in labor protection has affected state–labor relations. In particular, it analyzes collective action strategies among India’s growing mass of informally employed workers, who do not receive secure wages or benefits from either the state or their employer. In response to the recent changes in state policies, I find that informal workers have had to alter their organizing strategies in ways that are reshaping the social contract between state and labor. Rather than demanding employers for workers’ benefits, they are making direct demands on the state for welfare benefits. To attain state attention, informal workers are using the rhetoric of citizenship rights to offer their unregulated labor and political support in return for state recognition of their work. Such recognition bestows informal workers with a degree of social legitimacy, thereby dignifying their discontent and bolstering their status as claim makers in their society. These findings offer a reformulated model of state–labor relations that focuses attention on the qualitative, rather than quantitative, nature of the nexus; encompasses a dynamic and inter-dependent conceptualization of state and labor; and accommodates the creative and diverse strategies of industrial relations being forged in the contemporary era.

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利益契合:转型期中国国家与社会关系的一个分析框架——以行业组织政策参与为案例

通过对转型期中国国家与社会关系研究文献的批判性梳理,本文基于理性选择视角提出一个以利益契合为核心概念的分析框架,并以行业组织政策参与的比较案例予以验证。本文认为,国家与社会的利益契合程度决定了国家对社会组织选择支持还是限制,这与转型期国家的主导地位和较高的自由裁量权有关。新分析框架更强调国家在处理与社会组织关系中的策略性选择和低制度化程度,较之源自于西方的理论概念(如公民社会理论、法团主义理论和治理理论)能更深入地揭示国家与社会组织互动关系的实质,同时也是对本土理论(如分类控制理论)的拓展与修正。     

The class relations of public school teachers in British Columbia

S'inspirant de l'approche d'Ozga et Lawn (1981) au sujet du personnel enseignant britannique, cet article étudie le comportement des enseignant(es) des écoles publiques en Colombie britannique comme employé(es) dependant de l'état. Il présente une vue d'ensemble historique de leur avance vers le syndicalisme, de la hausse des salaires, de l'améloriation des conditions de travail, des plans de pension, de l'autonomie professionnelle, etc. Le professionnalisme les a aidés à améliorer leur bien-être et leur niveau de qualifications, à s'impliquer dans leur service et à s'assurer une représentation sur des comités divers, au ministère provincial de l'éducation. Cependant, ces enseignant(es) n'ont pas de contrôle sur le curriculum, leur entrée dans l'enseignement et sur le choix des élèves. Ce groupe, comme tant d'autres, doit faire face à une lutte constante, surtout durant les périodes de recul économique.
Following the approach of Ozga and Lawn (1981) on British teachers, this paper examines the class relations of public school teachers in British Columbia as dependent state employees. It presents a historical overview of their pursuit of higher salaries, unionization, better working conditions, pensions, professional autonomy etc. Professionalism helped to improve their economic well-being, their commitment to service and their qualifications, and to secure representation on various committees of the provincial Education Department. But teachers do not control the curriculum, entrance into teaching or whom they must teach. They are faced, like other workers, with constant struggle, particularly during economic recessions.