Women and Politics in Comparative Perspective:

No abstract available for this article.     

State Formation and the Politics of Regime Survival: Zimbabwe in Theoretical Perspective

This article analyses state formation in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. The main question posed is this: Why has state power eroded so dramatically? To answer this question, the development of the state is analysed in the light of general theories of state formation. In spite of a situation which according to prevailing theories was conducive for the formation of a strong state, Zimbabwe entered a downward spiral, where state power gradually eroded. To explain this, it is necessary to move beyond these theories, and analyse the changing nature of the ruling regime's constituencies. While security threats and sources of revenue are important, their impact on processes of state formation is mediated by the inter‐relationship between ruling regimes and their constituencies, which is shaped by society's class structure.     

Radclyffe Hall, E. Lynn Harris, and Franz Kafka: Christianity, Queerness, and the Politics of Normalcy

This essay examines Christian tropes in three queer texts: Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness (1928), E. Lynn Harris's Just As I Am (1994), and Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis (1915). At issue are the linkages between queer theory and literature, on the one hand, and Christian paradigms, on the other hand. This essay considers whether, insofar as they deploy Christian tropes, these texts sustain a politics of the normal that inevitably subvert queer-positive representations.     

Non-Professionals in the Human Services,Edited by Charles Grosser,William E. Henry,and James G. Kelly. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,Inc. Publishers, 1969.288 Pages, $8.50 Hardbound

As social work deals with human deprivation that is often a direct result of racism, social work educators need to be aware that Black students may approach the field with different insights and objectives than white students. Without understanding and appreciation for Black culture, social work educators may perpetuate racist policies and stereotypes of Blacks as clients. University and departmental policies that violate a student's right to grow and to assert a positive Black identity must be challenged. Social work educators should demonstrate a commitment to the development of future Black professionals.     

Complexity,Chaos, and Nonlinear Dynamics: A New Perspective on Career Development Theory

The author presents a theory of career development drawing on nonlinear dynamics and chaos and complexity theories. Career is presented as a complex adaptive entity, a fractal of the human entity. Characteristics of complex adaptive entities, including (a) autopiesis, or self‐regeneration; (b) open exchange; (c) participation in networks; (d) fractals; (e) phase transitions between order and chaos, (f) search for fitness peaks; (g) nonlinear dynamics; (h) sensitive dependence, (i) attractors that limit growth; (j) the role of strange attractors in emergence; and (k) spirituality, are described and then applied to careers. The article concludes with a brief case analysis and implications for practice and research.     

Relationship Dynamics,Emotion State,and Domestic Violence: A Stress and Masculinities Perspective

We draw on the burgeoning masculinities literature to develop a framework for understanding how emotional reactions to stress may be associated with domestic violence. We conducted a daily diary study of 22 men with a history of domestic violence and a matched comparison group of 23 men with no known history of domestic violence. Each day, respondents completed a daily diary questionnaire on relationship dynamics, stress, and emotion state. This research design allowed us to examine relationship dynamics and emotion state as they unfolded over a 14‐day period. We find a difference between the two groups in the links between stress, relationship dynamics, and emotion state: Nonviolent men are more emotionally reactive to stress and relationship dynamics than are violent men. Among men with a history of domestic violence, it is as if the link between personal circumstances and emotion state has been disconnected. These findings support the idea that the demonstration of masculinity through repression of emotion and violent behavior may be linked.     

B. Enjolras and K. H. Sivesind (eds): Civil Society in Comparative Perspective

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -     

The Parable of Matthew: Identity Politics, Politics of Desire, and the Politics of Performance

Matthew Shepard's murder in October 1998 provides an opportunity to examine and reconsider identity politics as they play out around Matthew's body. After a sustained critique of identity politics, the author proposes, in their stead, a politics of performance, which offers a constructive alternative to current political agendas by allowing the simultaneous preservation and erasure of difference.