Shifting repertoires: understanding cultural plurality in policing

The police is one of the most prominent organizations in the frontline of public administration. In order to deal with high external expectations, the organization has been said to develop and nurture multiple police cultures. Applying Grid Group Cultural Theory, or GGCT, we address the following questions: what sets of values, beliefs and practices has the police organization developed to deal with high expectations stemming from their publics? How do cultural tensions play out in real-life practices of policing “under pressure”? We find that cultural patterns described in the general literature on policing can be plotted on the GGCT map. Zooming in on the case of policing in the Netherlands, cultural plurality appears to be not only prominent in the police organization as such, but can also be found in the form of continuous cultural “tap-dancing” – swift, flexible and improvisational shifting – at various levels of active policing.     

The double helix of cultural assimilationism and neo-liberalism: citizenship in contemporary governmentality

In this article the recent transformations of citizenship in the Netherlands are analysed in relation to a developing form of governmentality. We regard citizenship as a state regulated technique of in- and exclusion and a crucial instrument in the management of populations. Taking the Dutch contexts of immigration and integration as our case, we argue that cultural assimilationism and neo-liberalism appear in a double helix: they combine to form a new governmental strategy we call neo-liberal communitarianism. Neo-liberal communitarianism is the underlying rationale of a population management that operates both in an individualizing (citizenship as individual participation and responsibility) and a de-individualizing way ('community' at various aggregate and localized levels as frame of 'integration'). It thus combines a communitarian care of a Dutch culturally grounded national community - conceived as traditionally'enlightened' and 'liberal'- with a neo-liberal emphasis on the individual's responsibility to achieve membership of that community. 'Community' is thereby selectively seen as mobilized and present (when immigrant integration is concerned) or as latently present and still in need of mobilization (when indigenous Dutch are concerned). Concomitantly, a repressive responsibilization and a facilitative responsibilization are aimed at these two governmentally differentiated populations.     

Media use,social cohesion,and cultural citizenship: an analysis of a Chinese metropolis

The emergence of new social strata and plural identities are two of the most profound changes in China's social transition toward integration into the global economic system. Differentiating three dimensions of cultural citizenship identity (i.e., cosmopolitan, national, and local), this study seeks to depict the paths of influence in the formation of such identities that involve reality construction by the media and evolving patterns of social stratification. Analysing data from a 2009 Shanghai survey, we found a strong relationship between individuals' consumption of local media contents and their local identity. Further, their perceptions of media's centripetal and centrifugal forces have significant effects on their identities, and the Internet has different effects from the traditional media, although such influences vary across different social strata.     

Cyber warriors in the Middle East: The case of the Syrian Electronic Army

This paper investigates the online hacking group, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), and examines its goals. The study argues that it is not a hacktivist group but is made up of cyber warriors who are closely connected to the Syrian government in order to serve two main goals: serving as a public relations tool for the Syrian government to draw the world's attention to the official Syrian version of events taking place in the country and countering the impact of Syrian oppositional groups. The study investigates the online reaction to SEA by analyzing the comments posted on its YouTube videos in order to better understand the group's aims and strategies and the public perception.     

Transnational forced migration and negotiating emotional well-being: the case of women refugees in South Africa

This study seeks to gain a better understanding of how a group of women refugees perceives their emotional well-being and how they make sense of their emotions. The discussion is based on a comparative qualitative study done in South Africa among Congolese, Burundian and Zimbabwean refugees. Attention is paid to intrapersonal emotional ambivalence and how the emotional well-being of refugees relates to their socio-economic context and more specifically their challenging life experiences. Reference is made to the role children and religion play in respondents’ perceived emotional well-being and hope for the future. In addition, all the respondents had to manage emotions related to transnational familial ties. On the one hand, an acute sense of family separation was experienced. On the other, respondents felt a sense of financial responsibility towards their kin who were left behind. Yet, few respondents had the means to provide family members with any form of financial assistance. This in turn had repercussions for their emotional well-being.     

The role of emotions during the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt in light of repertoires

ABSTRACT

This article examines the role of emotions during the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt in the context of collective level emotions in mobilizations. Emotions are understood as a catalyst whose mechanism of action is performed through repertories. This article seeks to answer how emotions, having a triggering role, are performed through repertoires while accelerating mobilization against authoritarian orders, creating the intersection of individual and collective level emotions in public spheres of Tunisia and Egypt, and thus affecting the transnational diffusion of emotions. The significant reason to address emotions is to explain what stimulated the Arab Spring and how it spread over the region starting from Tunisia and Egypt. This article synthesizes two literatures: International Relations (IR) and social movements studies in light of emotions and components of repertoires which are as follows: collective action, collective identity, symbolic politics, network society and information politics.     

Labour market participation among young refugees in Sweden and the potential of education: a national cohort study

This register-based study examined the importance of education on labour market participation among young refugees in Sweden. The study population consisted of unaccompanied (n?=?1606) and accompanied refuges (n?=?4142), aged 23–26 years in 2006–2010, after 7 years of residence in Sweden. Native Swedish, aged 24 years (n?=?347,255) constituted the comparison population, with intercountry adoptees (n?=?6689) as an alternative reference group. Gender-stratified multinomial regression models indicated that unaccompanied and accompanied male and female young refugees had higher risks of being in insecure work force and NEET compared to native Swedes with comparable levels of education. However, young refugees and intercountry adoptees with primary education had similar risks of poor labour market outcomes. The educational differences within each group concerning the risk of being in insecure work force were comparable. With the exception of unaccompanied females, secondary education seemed to be less protective against being in NEET among young refugees compared to native Swedes and intercountry adoptees. We conclude that while young refugees face employment disadvantages, education has the potential of mitigating poor labour market outcomes in this group.     

Political localism and national identity in Italy: The case of regional leagues

Regional leagues in Italy display a rather ambivalent image. On the one hand, they are clear expressions of discontent with relation to the inefficient and impersonal centralized political system. On the other hand, they also express xenophobic prejudices against the Southerners and the new immigrants. The growth of the Lombardian League is a good illustration of these ambivalent and dangerous tendencies.     

Social Class,Cultural Repertoires,and Popular Culture: The Case of Film

This research examines two different conceptions of the relationship between social class and familiarity with popular culture in the United States. Specifically, it focuses on differences between members of the upper-middle class and members of the lower-middle class in terms of their film viewing practices. The data for this analysis was obtained from a survey of 364 individuals randomly selected from two neighborhoods in a medium-sized city, one predominantly upper-middle class and the other predominantly lower-middle class. Members of the upper-middle class view more art films, as well as more classic films and blockbuster films, than members of the lower-middle class. These differences are largely attributable to the fact that members of the upper-middle class view more films both in theaters and on videocassettes than members of the lower-middle class. Moreover, these differences are reduced, but not entirely eliminated, by the fact that members of the lower-middle class view more films on television than members of the upper-middle class. Finally, these differences in the film-viewing practices of the members of these two social classes, as identified by their neighborhood of residence, obtain even controlling for a series of demographic and socioeconomic background variables.     

土耳其阿莱维问题的历史嬗变及其和解进程

阿莱维派是历史上在安纳托利亚地区形成的伊斯兰教什叶派分支,在奥斯曼帝国时期曾受到数百年的宗教歧视和政治压迫。土耳其共和国建立后,世俗化和现代化改革在解除对阿莱维派的宗教歧视的同时,也对阿莱维派的宗教体制和信仰体系造成了冲击,宗教传统的迅速衰落导致该派出现了严重的认同危机。为摆脱边缘化的社会地位,阿莱维派寻求恢复传统宗教文化和信仰体系,进而催生了阿莱维复兴运动。随着宗教认同的回归和市民社会组织的建立,阿莱维派开始提出政治认同诉求,导致阿莱维问题逐渐凸显。土耳其阿莱维问题是指阿莱维派追求宗教平等地位的历史过程和现实困境。正义与发展党执政后启动了阿莱维问题和解进程,从法律层面推动阿莱维派组织的合法化,建立了阿莱维问题的和解对话机制,从国家层面承认了阿莱维问题的存在,并在关键性议题上展现出努力推动和解进程的积极姿态。     

Diaspora and cultural heritage: the case of Indians in Canada

The present paper examines the historical and contemporary context of Indian communities in Canada from a cultural heritage perspective and analyses the processes of migration, settlement and cultural identity. It also examines the challenges of developing museum exhibits which depict the Indian diaspora in Canada. Despite its colourful history and its growing size and prominence in Canadian society, the Indian diaspora has not been the subject of much interest by Canadian museums. While recognising the necessity of working with local communities and thereby reflecting local concerns, it is submitted that any museum exhibit attempting to portray the complex set of experiences of the Indian diaspora in Canada should include some portrayal of the highly marginalised position which the Indian community faced when it first established themselves in the early 1900s. In addition to this historical focus, any attempt to portray the contemporary Indian diaspora needs to portray its growing diversity and its efforts to maintain, and in many cases modify and ‘hybridise’, cultural practices. Such a display would also have to reflect the influence of transnational forces on the contemporary Indian diaspora. Ultimately, efforts by museums to develop exhibits reflecting the Indian presence in Canada will only further the aims of its widely praised state policy of multiculturalism.     

The space between us: feminist values and humanitarian power dynamics in research with refugees

ABSTRACT

International humanitarian and development agencies striving to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment sometimes neglect to recognise the power hierarchies present in their own engagement with communities. Drawing on research on Syrian refugees and humanitarian workers in Jordan, this article explores the research and monitoring and evaluation practices of international humanitarian agencies. It suggests that the emphasis on generating evidence has resulted in more transactional and less relational engagement with refugees. This paper asks how feminist values can inform research with refugees, and explores how these values may provide less-extractive ways of engaging with displaced populations.     

Sampling refugee groups: The example of Syrians in Turkey

Quantitative surveys among refugees not only advance our scientific understanding of forced migration, but they also provide political and civil society actors with the information they need to take measures to improve their protection and living conditions. These actors often need to acquire such information within a short period of time. However, the methods to access and survey this group to gain valid findings are subject to scientific debates. Based on a survey among Syrian refugees in Turkey, this article demonstrates a study design that generated valid knowledge about this population within a limited amount of time and resources. As a unique feature of the article, we compare our sample with four other sources of information to scrutinize how well it resembles the target population. As we can show, although point estimations differ to some extent, the internal distributions of sample characteristics are comparable across sources confirming the success of our sampling method.     

The city from its margins: rethinking urban governance through the everyday lives of migrant women in Johannesburg

Drawing on ethnographic data, this article explores migrant women’s relationships and encounters with the state in South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg. Focusing on the experiences of people in this marginal location, the article re-examines the notion of ‘urban governance’, which is often understood as the realm of formal urban institutions in which the state asserts its authority and regulatory powers. Through the everyday lives of migrant women we see that local urban practices are not simply shaped by the formalism of state rules and regulations, or their informal illegal counterparts. The way migrant women navigate the city, trade on the streets, and interact with the state and other urban actors illustrates that governance is co-constructed by a multitude of regimes, legal and illegal, visible and invisible. Indeed, women’s lives collapse the dichotomy of the official and unofficial, governed and ungoverned city, in ways that allow us to rethink how we conceptualise the city.     

Interplay of gender subtext and local culture in the organizational logic: the case of a textile factory in Turkey

This paper examines gender as a constitutive element of inequality regimes in the workplace. The organizational logic of workplace is reproduced through accepted but unequal policies and principles. The organizational dynamics of the gendered workplace are embedded in the articulation of global and local markets. The article elaborates on the nature of the organizational logic by focusing on the local dynamics of a Central Anatolian city, Çorum, based on a case study conducted in Turkey. We observe how capitalist organizational logic and gender subtext operate in and through the conservative culture specific to this locality. Through the interactions between employers and employees, the engagement between the capitalist organization and gender subtext constructs the realities of workplace. Workers’ responses to the structural, cultural, interactional and identity dynamics of the organization are to be understood within the triangle of skill, care and honour in capitalist organizational logic. Embedded in all these responses is a specific emphasis on virtuous female worker. Such an ideal worker fits both the capitalist organizational logic and patriarchal system.     

The meanings of citizenship: media use and democracy in South Africa

In 1994, South Africans embarked on a project to create new meanings of citizenship in order to transcend the disenfranchisement and divisions created by apartheid. This article examines the context in which new forms of citizenship are evolving in South Africa and how South African citizens use the media to give meaning to concepts such as “an active public sphere,” “civic agency” and “participatory politics.” The objective of the research is to provide information about the way in which the media contribute to the quality of democracy in South Africa through mediating citizenship in a way that improves prospects for citizens to exert influence over public decisions. As has been the case in other post-authoritarian and postcolonial settings, the continuation of existing unequal relationships to government persists even when new democratic spaces have opened up. This article interrogates the assumption that media are central to citizens’ political and civic engagements in a transitional society marked by persisting inequalities. This interrogation draws on empirical research with citizens to investigate the question that the media are central to constructions of citizenship and participation and engagement with democratic processes. Our research finds that young South Africans interviewed are disengaged from politics and find that the media does not speak to or connect with their everyday lives. They view the state on both national and local levels as not being prepared to listen to their experiences, ideas or conditions of life. While the respondents trust the media as credible institutions, they do not experience the media as being relevant to their lives. The perceived disinterest of the state and the lack of relevance of the media, work together to create a sense of powerlessness and inability to influence policy-making among the young people interviewed. For the media to intervene in this state of affairs, it would have to create more opportunities for young people to participate directly in meaning production through the media, starting by listening more closely to their experiences in order to respond to their concerns in a relevant way.     

Study on the cultural identity of the Chinese-Indians in Kolkata,Sihui and Toronto

Although the Chinese in Kolkata have preserved their Chinese identity, they have been acculturated by various cultural elements from India. It is this mixture of Chinese and Indian practices that gives them a unique cultural identity. When members of this Chinese community in Kolkata and its vicinity emigrated to Toronto or were forcibly deported to China in the aftermath of the 1962 conflict, they carried with them, both knowingly and unknowingly, some of these Chinese-Indian cultural traits. By focusing on the Chinese-Indians living in different geographical and cultural settings, this essay examines the formation of a Chinese-Indian identity in Kolkata and its preservation by some of those who are now residing in Sihui in China and in Toronto, Canada. It also explains some of the main similarities and differences among the three groups of Chinese-Indians. It concludes with an analysis of cultural identity as it manifests among the Chinese-Indian communities.     

Gender as Symbolic Capital and Violence: The Case of Corporate Elites in Turkey

Based on a Bourdieusian approach, drawing on qualitative analyses of 63 life interviews, our study demonstrates that gender is performed as both symbolic capital and violence by corporate elites within the dominant ideologies of patriarchy and family in Turkey. Our analysis reveals that, in the male‐dominated context of Turkey, female elites appear to favour male alliances as a tactical move in order to acquire and maintain status in their organizations, whereas male elites appear to remain blind to the privileges and constraints of their own gendered experience of symbolic capital and violence. Our study also illustrates that gender order is still preserved, despite beliefs to the contrary that equality in education, skills, experience and job performance may liberate women and men from gender‐based outcomes at work.     

Art in my world: Exploring the visual art experiences in the everyday lives of young children and their impact on cultural capital

This paper presents data from a unique longitudinal study exploring the visual art experiences of nine children in two Scottish primary schools. Using a theoretical lens of cultural capital, the study is focused on spaces where children experience visual art and the value of these experiences, using arts-informed, visual methods. While each child presented a particular insight, the findings question the value of current school visual art experience over other spaces. The findings also demonstrate the capacity of children to resist the control of cultural capital by adults, engaging with visual art on their own terms.