71,700 research outputs found
Objecting (to) Infrastructure: Ecopolitics at the Ukrainian Ends of the Danube
In southern Ukraine, two hydraulic infrastructures continue to exist despite environmentalist campaigns that have exposed them as fragile, broken or unprofitable. The Danube-Dnister Irrigation Project (DDIS), a Soviet mega-project that diverted water from the Danube and turned the Sasyk estuary into a reservoir, receives state funding despite a 1994 ban on its use for irrigation. The Bystre Shipping Canal, built in 2004 despite domestic and international opposition, is losing money but continues to operate. These cases exemplify the material politics of infrastructuring in which infrastructure is understood as an antagonistic process of assembling networks of humans and nonhumans rather than a fixed facility. This approach helps explain how the confluence of unruly coastal matters and the politics of expertise have facilitated these shipping and irrigation infrastructuresâ re-embedding in bureaucratic networks. These cases show that obduracy and fragility, as well as visibility and invisibilityââconditions that figure prominently in infrastructure studiesââshould be considered in terms of oscillation rather than as ontologically distinct or static conditions. This analysis also highlights the limits of the modernist search for scientific certainty in resolving environmental conflicts in Ukraine, and some possibilities to experiment politically with new decision-making procedures. This account can thus serve as a âstory that intervenesâ by pointing beyond reform impulses that re-enact modernist narratives of progress within a strict nature-society divide
New Belgrade after 1999: Spatial Violence as De-socialisation, De-Romanisation and De-historisation
This abstract is a pre copy-edited version of my paper. It was advised during a PGCAP session that staff need to submit a pre copy-edited version onto PEARL. Once the article is published online, it will be available at the following permanent link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13264826.2014.1036491 .New Belgrade after 1999 is associated with the transition from a socialist and single-party state to a consumer capitalist and multi-party system, with the latter perceived as an indicator of democracy. This paper asks if and how this transitional period points to NATOâs 1999 bombing campaign still being in-operation through spatial violence by other means, with these means related to the negation of difference and the transformation of everyday life and social values. Might this spatial violence be even more coercive than that of the war as it manifests through the convergence of military, legal, governmental and economic entities of international âredevelopmentâ agencies working in the name of âsecurityâ along with the Serbian government? This paper explores this proposition by focusing on the post-1999 transformation and re-modernisation of New Belgrade as an elimination of difference through processes of de-socialisation, de-Romanisation and dehistorisation connected with neo-liberal privatisation
Regional Integration in the Black Sea Region: the Case of Two Sisters, Istanbul and Odessa
The political change in the 1980âes and 1990âes in the Black Sea Region has introduced many questions regarding its future as the region faces massive problems like conflicts on territory, drop of production levels in the 1990âes and related poverty, and last but not the least, environmental problems. The size of the region also blurs the picture. However, briefly there are three major influences that mark the future development of the region: globalization, regionalization and Euro-Asian integration. We propose that under these three influences, a new global integration zone, consisting of multiple networks between cities of the Black Sea Region is emerging. Our proposition that a new global integration zone is emerging within the Black Sea Region depends on three assumptions: Our first assumption is that neo-liberal globalization and regionalization (and particularly Euro-Asian integration) lead to development of similar political changes in the region. Our second assumption is that neo-liberal globalization and regionalization lead to development of similar spatial socio-economic developments within the Black Sea Region which brings some cities to the fore to gain power in the national and global organization of production. Our third assumption is that there is increasing trans-national integration between subject cities. Emergence of such a zone is perhaps most important for policy makers at the local level who have to face either positive or negative on-site effects of globalization and regionalization. Increasing socio-economic inequalities, excessive agglomeration of economic activities and population, diversification of population and increasing complexity of problems cripple traditional city management and planning practices in these countries which have a strong central planning and administration background. Due to practical reasons, we limit our study to integration of two sub-national regions, the province of Istanbul, and the province of Odessa which are also sister cities. Province of Istanbul may be recalled as Greater Istanbul, or Istanbul Metropolitan City since at 2004 due to change in the administrative legislation. Province of Odessa includes the city of Odessa as well as other cities within the province. We may conclude that there is progressive convergence in the political grounds between Turkey-Ukraine and Istanbul-Odessa, mainly in the framework of the global structures that are predominantly part of the Euro-Atlantic supra-structure. Though there is not much evidence of similarity in spatial development of Istanbul and Odessa, particularly due to political inclarity and problems of administrative decentralization in Ukraine, there is evidence of economic and social integration, between Turkey-Ukraine and Istanbul-Odessa, which experiences slow development, and negative side effects like informal activities. As a conclusion we may argue that integration of two regions might heavily depend on the Ukrainian foreign and domestic policies, and the decisions of supra-national structures like the World Trade Organization and EU. We may expect a progress in economic integration by the removal of trade barriers, where Istanbul and Odessa would be direct beneficiaries as both production and transfer centres. Further administrative decentralization in Ukraine might lead to a re-population in Odessa Region, as happened in Istanbul after the 1980 period.
From a restricted to full linguistic space: an âaffirmative actionâ strategy for the Udmurt language
This study analyzes the long-term reasons why Udmurt occupies a restricted linguistic space in the post-Soviet state â the low status of Udmurt, due to Soviet language and other policies; urbanization; population shifts; myths and stereotypes about Udmurts; making Russian compulsory after 1938 â and the consequences of this for the fate of the Udmurt language today (relatively few native speakers). The central argument is that Udmurts have not overcome the Stalinist legacy, which led to the reversal of Leninâs âaffirmative actionâ policy on non-Russian languages. This stems from the failure of the elites in the Udmurt Republic to pursue an ethnic mobilization strategy to promote the Udmurt language in contemporary Russia. Drawing upon language planning and ethnic policy elsewhere in Russia (Tatarstan) and in the UK (Wales), this article outlines ways to raise the status of Udmurt without generating inter-ethnic conflict, thereby creating a âspace for allâ
"Socialist cities" under post-Soviet conditions: symbolic changes and new ways of representation
The construction of so-called âsocialist citiesâ (sotsgorods), implemented in the USSR in the 1920 and 1930s, proved to become one of the most radical and large-scale urban experiments realized in the 20th century. That project was aimed at creating a completely new urban space which embodied a concept of an ideal social living and utopian dream of the âcities of the futureâ. The fall of socialism turned all âsocialist citiesâ into âdevastatedâ spaces which had lost their functional meaning, symbolic significance and any clear narratives. This article tries to reveal how these âsocialist citiesâ have been integrated into the current urban reality and symbolic contexts of the post-Soviet period. It seeks to explore whether spaces of the former âsocialist citiesâ are able today to acquire any new symbolical meanings replacing previous ones and, if so, how these meanings are reproduced under current conditions. The author focuses on the case of the Uralmash district in Yekaterinburg (Russia) which was established in the 1930s as exemplary socialist city and became one of the fast-growing urban settlements in the USSR. The paper analyses the symbolic representations of the Uralmash district in the post-Soviet period and, traces the shifts of major narratives which have outlined new symbolic boundaries of this urban area in the last decades. It is claimed that transformation and changes of âsocialist citiesâ under post-Soviet conditions depend not only on the new urban city-planning initiatives, but also on the new symbols and meanings that give a clear vision of these spaces in current social and cultural contexts.Der Bau der sogenannten "sozialistischen StĂ€dte" (Sotsgorods), der in der UdSSR in den 1920er und 1930er-Jahren vorangetrieben wurde, hat sich als eines der radikalsten und gröĂten urbanen Experimente des 20. Jahrhunderts erwiesen. Dieses Projekt sollte einen komplett neuen urbanen Raum schaffen, der das Konzept eines idealen sozialen Lebensraums und eines utopischen Traums von der "Stadt der Zukunft" verkörperte. Mit dem Fall des Sozialismus wurde aus allen "sozialistischen StĂ€dten" eine Art "zerstörter" Raum, der seine funktionelle Bedeutung, seine symbolische Relevanz und jegliches klares Narrativ verloren hatte. Dieser Artikel versucht aufzuzeigen, wie "sozialistische StĂ€dte" in die gegenwĂ€rtige urbane RealitĂ€t und die symbolischen Kontexte der postsowjetischen Zeit eingebettet werden. Aus diesem Grund soll untersucht werden, ob die RĂ€ume der frĂŒheren "sozialistischen StĂ€dte" heutzutage in der Lage sind, neue symbolische Bedeutung zu erlangen und dadurch die vorherige Bedeutung zu ersetzen und, wenn ja, wie diese Bedeutung unter den gegenwĂ€rtigen Bedingungen wiedergegeben werden kann. Der Autor konzentriert sich auf das Beispiel des Uralmash-Bezirks in Jekaterinburg (Russland), das in den 1930er-Jahren als exemplarische sozialistische Stadt errichtet wurde und eine der am schnellsten wachsenden urbanen Siedlungen der UdSSR wurde. Die Arbeit untersucht symbolische Darstellungen des Uralmash-Bezirks der postsowjetischen Zeit und zeichnet dadurch die Verschiebungen bekannter Narrative nach, die in den letzten Jahrzehnten neue symbolische Grenzen dieses urbanen Raums definiert haben. Es wird geltend gemacht, dass die Transformation und VerĂ€nderung der "sozialistischen StĂ€dte" unter postsowjetischen Bedingungen nicht nur von neuen Stadtplanungsinitiativen abhĂ€ngig sind, sondern auch von den neuen Symbolen und Bedeutungen, die eine klare Vision dieser RĂ€ume im gegenwĂ€rtigen sozialen und kulturellen Kontext vermitteln könnten
Portmerion, Proportion and Perspective
The holiday village of Portmerion was created by Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis (1883 1978) over a period of fifty-one years, starting in 1926. It was grade II listed in 1971.
However, Portmerion has become a part of western popular culture rather than of mainstream architectural history. Its use as the setting for the cult 1967 television series âThe Prisonerâ ensures continued worldwide interest and a constant stream of visitors.
Williams Ellisâ design methods were empirical, initial designs being adjusted by eye on site in close collaboration with trusted builders.
This paper analyses the development of Portmerion as a gesamtkunstwerk; considering the experience of movement through the village as a dynamic composition of shifting vistas, focussing the visitor on a series of constructed views. Through this analysis, Portmerion is revealed as both a manifestation of the architecture of pleasure and an exercise in the pleasure of architecture
Memories of an Unfulfilled Promise: Internationalism and Patriotism in Post-Soviet Oral Histories of Jewish Survivors of the Nazi Genocide
Memories of Soviet Jews who were born during the first two decades of the existence of the USSR show that the destruction of the Soviet society and its ideological tenets is central to their experience of the Nazi genocide. Elderly survivors of the Nazi genocide remember their lives based on comparative evalu- ations of their lives in the Soviet Union and under the Nazi regime, making a strong case for understanding memory as a relational construct. Interrogating the significance of growing up secular and Soviet for experiencing and remembering the Nazi genocide reveals that in order to understand Soviet Jewsâ responses to German occupation and genocide and how they remember them, we must turn to their prewar socialization as Soviet internationalists and patriots
Sexuality and nationality: homophobic discourse and the 'national threat' in contemporary Latvia
This paper considers why attitudes towards gays and lesbians in
Latvia appear to be more intolerant than in all other EU member states. The paper
argues that while the legacy of communist discourses on homosexuality and
the impact of post-communist transition have played a role in shaping attitudes
towards sexuality and sexual minorities in Central and Eastern Europe, these
factors cannot sufficiently explain the divergence among post-communist states
and, in particular, do not account for Latviaâs extreme position. While acknowledging
that intolerance towards non-heteronormative sexualities cannot be explained
by a single factor, the paper argues that homosexuality has become particularly
reviled in Latvia because it has been widely discursively constructed as
a threat to the continued existence of the nation
Dr. Strangelove Visits Canada: Project Rustice, Ease, and Bridge, 1958â1963
During the Cold War, many NATO governments developed highly secret contingency plans to maintain the continuity of government (COG) during and after nuclear attack. Canada was no exception. COG planning generally consisted of several elements including legal mechanisms and constitutional matters; document duplication and storage; skeleton bureaucracies; dispersion; transportation; and shelter. All were necessary to keep Canada functioning as a nation in the face of an attack by Soviet atomic and hydrogen bombs. The most misunderstood element of COG planning has been the shelter component. Critics of civil defence programmes argued that protecting government leaders in shelters and not providing similar facilities to the population as a whole was âundemocratic,â designed to maintain the âpower elite.â1 The reality of Canadaâs COG programme was quite different from this propaganda line and its ability to protect the countryâs leaders in underground facilities was much more limited than alleged. This study will concentrate on the strategic context, physical arrangements and concepts of operation developed to maintain the continuity of Canadian government in the era of the greatest danger during the Cold War, 1958 to 1963
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