11 research outputs found
From patronage to neopatrimonialism: Postcolonial governance in Sub-Sahara Africa and beyond
Even if âgood governanceâ goals have dominated public policy in postcolonial polities in the last decades, their politics and public administration often continue to be marked by authoritarianism, nepotism and corruption â the very practices good governance policy was to eradicate. In this article, we try to account for this apparent intractability of âpoorâ and, occasionally, outright âbadâ governance. First, we argue that what appears as âbadâ governance to those embracing conventional, essentially Weberian, âgood governanceâ conceptions, may in fact be âgoodâ governance after all. Practices of political clientelism or patronage may reflect and accord with widely shared cultural beliefs about good and legitimate governance. Second, we show that the predominance of personalism and unofficial relationships that characterizes political clientelism may combine with modern bureaucracy in ways that drastically subvert the type of âgood governanceâ embodied by traditional moral economies of patronage. We dissect the logics of neopatrimonialism, a type of regime in which ruling elites use the state for personal enrichment and profit from a public administration that is patently unstable, inefficient, nontransparent and that fails to distribute public resources to large segments of the population. Third, we argue that the pragmatic survival strategies to which âordinaryâ citizens resort in response to such neopatrimonial neglect often, and ironically, entail the direct engagement with â rather than an outright distancing from â neopatrimonial politics
Gods huis in de steigers
In this book three anthropologists explore contemporary religious architecture and they develop an original vision on the religious landscape in the Netherlands and Europe. Mosques, synagogues and churches do not only facilitate and symbolize religion, the intimate relationship we have with these buildings touches the essence of what religion is today - in both a positive and a negative sense
Religion, Sexual Ethics and the Politics of Belonging: Young Muslims and Christians in the Netherlands
This article offers a comparative study of everyday sexual ethics among Dutch Sunni Muslim and evangelical Christian young adults, both those born into religious families and those converted later in life. In European public debates, the sexual values of observant Christians and â especially â observant Muslims, are commonly understood to deviate from progressive norms. Particularly for Muslims, this has become a ground for questioning their belonging to the moral nation. Our ethnographic analysis complicates these conventional representations, which are partly reflected in quantitative survey research. We argue that the sexual ethics of the young Muslims and Christians we studied are multi-layered, situational, and dialogical. Discussing the convergences and divergences between these groups, we point to a paradox: while Muslims tend to be set apart as sexually âotherâ, the young Christians we worked with â and to a lesser extent the converted Muslims â put strikingly more effort into distinguishing themselves from, and criticising, dominant sexual norms
Religion, sexual ethics, and the politics of belonging : young Muslims and Christians in the Netherlands
This article offers a comparative study of everyday sexual ethics among Dutch Sunni Muslim and evangelical Christian young adults, both those born into religious families and those converted later in life. In European public debates, the sexual values of observant Christians and - especially - observant Muslims, are commonly understood to deviate from progressive norms. Particularly for Muslims, this has become a ground for questioning their belonging to the moral nation. Our ethnographic analysis complicates these conventional representations, which are partly reflected in quantitative survey research. We argue that the sexual ethics of the young Muslims and Christians we studied are multi-layered, situational, and dialogical. Discussing the convergences and divergences between these groups, we point to a paradox: while Muslims tend to be set apart as sexually 'other', the young Christians we worked with - and to a lesser extent the converted Muslims - put strikingly more effort into distinguishing themselves from, and criticising, dominant sexual norms
Religion, Sexual Ethics and the Politics of Belonging: Young Muslims and Christians in the Netherlands
This article offers a comparative study of everyday sexual ethics among Dutch Sunni Muslim and evangelical Christian young adults, both those born into religious families and those converted later in life. In European public debates, the sexual values of observant Christians and â especially â observant Muslims, are commonly understood to deviate from progressive norms. Particularly for Muslims, this has become a ground for questioning their belonging to the moral nation. Our ethnographic analysis complicates these conventional representations, which are partly reflected in quantitative survey research. We argue that the sexual ethics of the young Muslims and Christians we studied are multi-layered, situational, and dialogical. Discussing the convergences and divergences between these groups, we point to a paradox: while Muslims tend to be set apart as sexually âotherâ, the young Christians we worked with â and to a lesser extent the converted Muslims â put strikingly more effort into distinguishing themselves from, and criticising, dominant sexual norms
Sonhos de uma mesquita icÎnica : entrelaçamentos temporais e espaciais em uma igreja convertida de Amsterdã
Este artigo foca na criação de iconicidade atravĂ©s da arquitetura religiosa em AmsterdĂŁ, Holanda. Ao examinar a Mesquita de Fatih, abrigada em uma antiga igreja catĂłlica no centro da cidade, apresentamos de que maneiras os esforços para fazer desta uma mesquita icĂŽnica sĂŁo moldados pelo terreno icĂŽnico da construção, pelo qual determinamos seu envolvimento com outros locais (religiosos e nĂŁo religiosos) do passado e do presente. Esse campo icĂŽnico Ă© caracterizado pelas cadeias de conversĂŁo que precederam a mesquita, legados materiais e discursivos de âocultaçãoâ e interaçÔes simbĂłlicas contemporĂąneas com construçÔes prĂłximas, como a Igreja Ocidental. Ao desenvolver uma anĂĄlise dos entrelaçamentos espaciais e temporais da Mesquita com o espaço urbano de AmsterdĂŁ, buscamos revitalizar uma abordagem diacrĂŽnica e relacional que vem sendo negligenciada, principalmente em estudos sociais-cientĂficos de mesquitas no Ocidente. NĂŁo iremos analisar um Ășnico local de devoção em um momento especĂfico na histĂłria, mas chamaremos atenção para as relaçÔes entre o Islamismo e outras arquiteturas religiosas e para as maneiras com que as mesquitas interagem com amplas genealogias e geografias das religiĂ”es, nĂŁo apenas por associação, mas tambĂ©m por conexĂ”es concretas de relaçÔes, polĂtica ou cultura material
Gods huis in de steigers
In this book three anthropologists explore contemporary religious architecture and they develop an original vision on the religious landscape in the Netherlands and Europe. Mosques, synagogues and churches do not only facilitate and symbolize religion, the intimate relationship we have with these buildings touches the essence of what religion is today - in both a positive and a negative sense
Pedagogies of piety: Comparing young observant Muslims and Christians in the Netherlands
In this article, I compare the active religious engagement found among many of today's young Dutch Muslims and Christians. I show that such comparison requires a move beyond the separate frameworks through which these groups are commonly perceived, found both in widely shared public discourses (allochthons versus autochthons) and in academic research (minority studies versus the sociology of religion). In their stead, this comparative analysis examines in what ways both groups give shape to observant religious practice in the shared context of contemporary Dutch society. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, I show that young Christians as well as Muslims participate in social settings of religious pedagogy, where they are encouraged to attain, sustain and improve personal piety in today's pluralist Dutch society. Such social participation does not preclude, but rather comes together with a strong emphasis on reflexivity and authenticity. © 2014 Taylor and Francis