Making borders stick: population transfer and resettlement in the Trans-Curzon territories, 1944-1949

"Designed in 1919-20 by the British mediator Lord Curzon as an armistice proposal between the then warring powers Poland and Soviet Russia, the Curzon Line served to identify the maximum territorial reach of Soviet political influence in Europe....[The author discusses] a program of resettlement which would target communities on both sides of the new border, a policy eventually affecting some 1.4 million individuals...." The implementation and impact of this population exchange are described.     

Handling mountain minorities in China,Vietnam and Laos: from history to current concerns

This paper is an overview of issues pertaining to highland minorities in the three socialist countries sharing portions of the Southeast Asian Massif, namely China, Vietnam and Laos. It presents the historical complexity of highland minority policy in these countries. The paper thus depicts prevalent state strategies that aimed, and largely still aim, to handle highland minorities in the most effective and economical way, to ensure that the nation will progress steadily forward. The six current issues of borders and transnationality, taxonomy, indigenous peoples' status, customary land tenure, tourism and environmental issues are then explored critically.     

Provincializing Europe: Postcoloniality and the critique of history

This article begins from a perceived lack of empirical evidence in cultural studies, namely the ethnography of cultural globalization in ‘global cities’ other than those of the West. Youth culture among the upper strata of the South-Indian metropolis Bangalore is taken as an instance of how modernity is experienced and produced in the post-colonial Third World. The focus lies on the reception of Western pop music, but music is treated broadly as a practice situated in, and producing, real and imagined space. Two examples of these musical practices serve to elaborate on Indian power relations, Indian modernity and the critical geography of music.     

Making garments in Southern Europe: Entrepreneurship and labour in rural Greece

Since the mid-1970s a number of rural areas on the periphery of Southern Europe have undergone rapid economic growth and structural transformation. Unlike the pattern of mainstream industrialisation in more favoured regions which occurred in the third quarter of this century, this ‘second wave’ was led by an expansion of small, family-owned and family-run enterprises. However, almost from the outset, it aroused debates and controversies on the causes, processes and prospects of these enterprises. Our study, which is based upon primary data obtained through extensive fieldwork investigation, focuses upon an area of Macedonia which, we argue, exemplifies rural industrialisation. This was initiated by garment manufacturers in Germany, who began to diffuse parts of their production to lower wage firms outside that country. The local entrepreneurial response to the opportunities stemming from such industrial restructuring is discussed in terms of the sub-contracting arrangements and the recruitment and organisation of a labour force.     

Quantifying the Muslim population in Europe: Conceptual and data issues

A review of the growing literature on the Muslim population in Europe shows that it remains poorly captured in official statistics. There is no authoritative map of the distribution of Muslims in Europe, and little quantitative evidence on their demographic, social or economic characteristics. This paper undertakes a systematic review of the conceptual and methodological issues surrounding the quantification of Muslim populations. With few countries routinely collecting data on religious affiliation, this is generally based on an estimation of the association between religion and some other measure of identity, such as country of birth or nationality. The rationale for the various 'religiousproxy' methods, and their limitations, is discussed in relation to the range of different data regimes observed across the region. The paper argues that changes in the political status of Muslim populations (following naturalization) and the manner of their growth (increasingly driven by natural increase) have meant that in statistical terms, they represent a disappearing target. The paper concludes that meaningful statistics on the Muslims in Europe will increasingly depend on the direct measurement of religious affiliation.     

Demography,population growth,and population policy in China: a brief history from 1940 to the present

For some 3 decades after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chinese studies have had to life with the paradoxical situation in which the abundance of population on the mainland, ever increasing in number predictably and inexorably, was couples with a scarcity of data about the nature and patterns of demographic change, ever harder to come by. As increasing amounts of new demographic data from China, sometimes produced jointly between Chinese and foreign researchers, become available, it is clear that previous methods, technics, and styles of analyses habituated by 3 decades of minimal data from China will become inadequate and obsolete. In 1957 Ma Yinchu put forth 3 main proposals for population control: 1) to conduct another national census to gain more demographic statistics, 2) to advocate widespread public education to inform people of the importance and practical knowledge of birth control combined with propaganda on the disadvantages of early marriages and the benefits of late marriage, and 3) family planning, by popular use of contraception, is the most effective method for population control. It is argued that 1) the years 1950-1958 consisted of a period of fermentation and preparation, 2) the post-leap years, 1959-1965, constituted a period of trial implementation of emerging policies, 3) 1966-1971 was an uncontrolled period, and 4) only the years after 1971 may be viewed as a period during which serious implementation took place. Overall, the selections in this volume are intended to inform both China scholars and social scientists interested in recent developments in Chinese population studies.     

Minority status and schooling—John U. Ogbu’s theory and the schooling of ethnic minorities in Europe

This paper discusses the relevance of John U. Ogbu’s cultural‐ecological theory regarding the variability in educational performance of different ethnic minority groups against the background of comparative data on the schooling of ethnic minorities in Europe. Aside from cultural differences and institutional barriers, it addresses the impact of minority group status and community forces on educational achievement. The author calls for more comparative ethnographic research in European countries in order to generate a better understanding of the similarities and differences in educational experiences between various ethnic groups.     

Review article: National and racial minorities in total war

Ansel Adams, Manzanar (London: Secker & Warburg, 1989). xx + 167pp. £15.

Joseph Kennedy, British Civilians and the Japanese War in Malaya and Singapore, 1941–45 (London: Macmillan, 1987). xii + 167pp. £29.50.

Tony Kushner, The Persistence of Prejudice: Antisemitism in British Society During the Second World War (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989). ix + 257pp. £29.95.

François Lafitte, The Internment of Aliens (London: Libris, 1988, 1990). xxiv + 266pp. £24.95 hb; £8.95 pb.

Abraham Lewin, A Cup of Tears: A Diary of the Warsaw Ghetto (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988, 1990). vi + 310pp. £14.95 hb, £4.99 pb.

Frederick C. Luebke, Germans in Brazil: A Comparative History of Cultural Conflict During World War I (London: Louisiana State University Press, 1987). xii + 248pp. £30.90.

Graham A. Smith, When Jim Crow Met John Bull: Black American Soldiers in World War II Britain (London: I.B. Taurus, 1987). 265pp. £14.95.     

Reflections on immigration to Europe in light of U.S. immigration history

Trends in international migration in Europe and the United States are analyzed and compared, with a focus on concern about the presence of migrants in the receiving country. Consideration is given to the acculturation of migrants in the United States, including a historical outline of that process as it occurred during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Cultural pluralism and the newest wave of immigration are also described. Implications for European immigration are assessed.