The Question of Recovery: An Introduction

This special issue of Social Text takes as its starting point the generative tension between recovery as an imperative that is fundamental to historical writing and research, and the impossibility of recovery when engaged with archives whose very assembly and organization occlude certain historical subjects. Responding to recent debates among scholars of Atlantic slavery and freedom, it approaches archival silences and secrets not simply as antagonistic to our desire to recover but also as a beginning. The articles gathered in this issue thus foreground methodological experimentation at the boundary of archival impossibility. They develop new approaches--to archival geographies, designs, reading practices, and affect--that illuminate forms of black politics beyond narratives of radical redemption or liberal inclusion

Thomas G. Young, Black Pragmatism, and the Routes of Social Democracy in New York City

This article traces the activist career of Thomas G. Young. A Caribbean migrant, elevator operator, and socialist militant, he co-founded Local 32B and organized thousands of building service workers in New York City into a union. His experience as an organizer and trade-union leader, however, led him to eschew revolutionary transformation in favor of social democracy during the late 1930s and 1940s. Young’s pragmatic approach to the labour and civil rights movements crystallized a distinct political philosophy that the author calls Black social democracy. His political biography elucidates one possible route of Black social democracy in New York City.Le présent article relate la carrière militante de Thomas G. Young. Émigrant caribéen, opérateur d’ascenseur et militant socialiste, il a cofondé la section locale 32B et a organisé la syndicalisation de milliers de travailleurs des services du bâtiment à New York. L’expérience qu’il a acquise en qualité d’organisateur et dirigeant syndical l’a cependant conduit à éviter la transformation révolutionnaire en faveur de la social-démocratie à la fin des années 1930 et au courant des années 1940. L’approche pragmatique de Young à l’endroit des mouvements syndicaux et des droits civiques a consolidé une philosophie politique distincte que l’auteur appelle la social-démocratie noire. Sa biographie politique élucide notamment une voie possible de la social-démocratie noire à New York

How strong is Vladimir Putin's support?

This paper analyses the sources of Putin's vote using NRB IX a post-election nationwide survey of voters. It identifies two dimensions of public opinion which predict choice of candidate amongst Putin, Zyuganov, Yavlinsky and Zhirinovsky. Putin's support relied on his personal appeal, the influence of state TV as well as preference for the current economic and political systems. Zyuganov's relied on the appeal of his policies and on opposition to the current economic and political systems. A secondary dimension distinguished Putin and Zhirinovsky voters from Yavlinsky voters. In addition, the paper compares the influences on performance assessments of Putin and Zyuganov. The effects of the Chechen campaign were favourable to assessments of both leading candidates, but more so for Putin. Positive assessments of the old economic and political systems were a boon to Zyuganov without affecting Putin's performance ratings. Zyuganov met with less favourable assessments amongst the better educated, whereas Putin found less favourable assessments amongst those with higher income and socio-economic status, and amongst urban Russians