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On the Association between Parenthood, Number of Children and Expectations of Old-Age Welfare
No full textThis paper explores the association between having children and expected subjective old-age welfare within a European context. Data for 31 countries from the European Social Survey are used to model the respondents’ concern about their expected old-age well-being and welfare. Having children and the number of children are the primary explanatory variables but a broad set of controls including gender, age, education level, household income and health, as well as others are included. Regional variation in this association within Europe is discussed using four larger groups of countries. The results indicate that those with a higher number of children report that they are less worried about old-age welfare compared to those who have fewer children. In general, those without children had lower concerns regarding their old-age than those with children
Globalisation by Other Means? Hegemonic Continuance and Rising Powers – A Framework of Analysis
No full textThis paper engages in conceptual and theoretical debates about the dynamics of continuance and conflict in contemporary globalisation. Its particular focus – shaped by an invitation to write on these themes by the editors of the East-West Studies Journal – is on the question of hegemonic continuance and the role of rising powers in laying down the settings of future globalisation. These questions are operationalised through a discussion of five different but overlapping perspectives. The first two perspectives focus on evidence about systemic continuance or resilience: (1) that liberal economic order remains largely unchallenged and that thus, the liberal economic order is likely to remain even if the political norms that underpin the liberal order are heavily constrained, (2) that economic globalisation continues to be driven by market rationality, and so far new institutions have been more supplementary than direct challenges. The two following perspectives, on the other hand, put more emphasis on the elements of conflict. The third (3) perspective points out the rising discontent with global governance not only from rising powers but also and particularly from the US, emphasising that the question of how the US will relate to the changing power relations in the world is of crucial importance to the resilience of the current system. The fourth (4) perspective brings in the concept of geo-economics, arguing that one key factor in the systemic continuance of the liberal order has been that of realism and that China has more recently taken up the leading role. Finally, the fifth (5) section seeks to go beyond these perspectives and asks the relevant question about whether we should not seek alternative ways to examine international relations (IR), especially the need to include voices from outside the traditional centres of power. In sum, the article sets out the possible frames through which IR as a discipline will present the coming changes in the arc of globalisation, and what they will mean for the field as a whole.
India and Decolonising the World Order
No full textThe independence of the colonies did not mean the end of colonialism in the international system. The international institutions of political, economic, and security management remained colonial. The return of China and India as major players in world politics and their attempt to determine their place in the world politics by themselves from their own perspectives has triggered decolonisation, both in the world politics and in the study of international politics.
The role of South Asia in changing world politics is crucially influenced by Indian politics. Since independence, India’s goal has been to become one of the world’s leading powers, if not the leading one, at least morally. Here, India looks to its mythical past in history and the restoration of lost greatness, which defines Indian politics in its neighbouring regions of South Asia and, more broadly, throughout Asia.
India’s problem, however, is China’s similar efforts to restore its own mythical greatness and leading role in the world system. In pursuing it, China is seeking to limit India’s influence in Asia, especially in South Asia and the Indian Ocean. In this way, the tension between China and India plays a central role in the foreign and security policy of the entire South Asian region. It also challenges India to seek partners with whom it could jointly limit China’s growing influence in its own neighbouring regions and, more broadly, throughout Asia.
Exploring ‘Overdeveloped’ Post-Communist Autocracies
No full textThis review article focuses on the phenomenon where some countries do not follow the general pattern suggested by the modernisation theory – the more developed, the more democratic. Former Soviet states like Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus appear as anomalies displaying very high level of human development, despite being fully authoritarian. Considering that divergence, this article reviews main theoretical approaches used to explain democratisation and autocratic resilience of post-communist regimes. In addition, a preliminary test is conducted to evaluate the potential of these theoretical approaches to address the fact that such countries outperform both more open neighbouring nondemocracies and some democracies. While some theories imply possible explanations (patronal politics, conditional approach to resource dependence, and market social contract), none of them sufficiently discloses the hidden mechanism behind such an anomaly, implying the need for more in-depth studies.
В. И. Икскуль фон Гилленбанд. Из пережитого в 1918 году. [Varvara Uexküll von Gyllenband. My Ordeals in 1918]
No full textThis is the first publication in toto of a forgotten memoir “My Ordeals in 1918” by baroness Varvara Uexküll von Gyllenband’s. Originally written in 1919, three years prior to her fleeing Petrograd, the memoir tells the story of her three-week detention by the Bolshevik secret police (the Cheka) in 1918
Enabling tool: Estonian-English Code-Mixing of a 2-Year-Old with Balanced Input
No full textIn recent years several studies have focused on bilingual children’s code-mixing in light of usage-based theory (Gaskins et al. 2019a; Quick et al. 2020; Yow et al. 2018). However, most studies on bilingual children so far have focused on families that employ the one-parent-onelanguage or minority language at home strategies, in which cases children often receive significantly more input in one language. The current case study focused on a 2-year-old (2;4–2;10) Estonian English bilingual whose language input was more balanced between her two languages. The results showed that the child’s balanced input was reflected in the output proportions of her two languages and in her mean length of utterance scores. The child produced many code-mixed utterances, which also had the highest mean length of utterance score and were more complex than monolingual utterances
«Косящий бег» (Петрарка — Мандельштам — Петрарка) [“The Scything Run”: Petrarch—Mandel’shtam—Petrarch]
No full textThe article offers a list of possible iconographic subtexts of Osip Mandel’shtam’s translation of the beginning of Petrarch’s sonnet CCCXIX («I dì miei più leggier che nes(s)un cervo / Fuggir come ombra, et non vider più bene / Ch’un batter d’occhio, et poche hore serene, / Ch’amare et dolci ne la mente servo»). The most likely visual source shaping the word choice of Mandel’shtam’s translation (“Promchalis’ dni moi — kak by olenei / Kosiashchii beg. Srok schast’ia byl koroche, / Chem vzmakh resnitsy. Iz poslednei mochi / Ia v gorst’ zazhal lish’ pepel naslazhdenii”) is the tradition of depicting Time as an old man driving a chariot propelled by a couple of deer in editions of Petrarch’s Triumphs (I Trionfi, 1357—74), which Mandel’shtam possibly knew
Siirdeaegsed valupunktid kirjandusteoste peeglis: Gohar Markosjan-Käsperi romaanid „Penelopa“ ja „Elena“ [Pain points of the transition era in the mirror of literary works: Gohar Markosjan-Käsper’s novels „Penelopa“ and „Elena“]
No full textÜlevaade. Gohar Markosjan-Käsper (1949–2015) on armeenia-eesti kirjanik, kes kirjutas vene keeles ja keda loetakse seetõttu üldiselt eesti venekeelse kirjanduse esindajate hulka. Tema romaanid „Penelopa“ (1998) ja „Elena“ (2000) käsitlevad siirdeaega, mil NSV Liit lakkas eksisteerimast ning algas uutel, turumajanduslikel väärtustel põhineva ühiskonna ülesehitamise aeg. Käesolev uurimus analüüsib, kuidas ja milliste võtete abil kujutatakse nendes romaanides siirdeaegseid ajaloolisi sündmusi ja toonast argielu Eestis ning Armeenias. Analüüsis toetutakse ühelt poolt sotskolonialismi, teiselt poolt mälu-uuringute ja kollektiivse mälu teoreetilisele mõistestikule. Artikkel näitab, kuidas kirjeldades nn kohalikku ajalugu universaalsete, rahvusvaheliselt levinud motiivide abil, mõtestatakse samal ajal nõukogude aja pärandit ning ühest ühiskonnast teise ülemineku kohati traumaatilist kogemust.------------------------
Abstract. Gohar Markosjan-Käsper (1949–2015), an Armenian-Estonian writer, is generally considered to be a representative of Estonian Russian-language literature. Her novels “Penelopa” (1998) and “Elena” (2000) deal with a period of transition, when the Soviet Union ceased to exist and the construction of a market-oriented society began. The present study analyses how and with what techniques these novels depict the historical events and everyday life in Estonia and Armenia. The article shows how describing the history of Estonia and Armenia with universal, internationally common motives helps to discuss the Soviet legacy and to understand the traumatic experience of transition from one form of society to another. For example, the Soviet occupation in Estonia is explained with the metaphor of domestic violence and the Estonian monetary reform in 1992 is compared to track racing with unequal participants. At the same time, the sometimes differing experiences of the Estonian and Armenian people are compared.The transition period is portrayed as a tough time filled with daily struggle. On the one hand, there are economic and domestic problems; on the other hand, the grief caused by the collapse of a familiar world is addressed. The new era also offers opportunities to speak directly about the traumatic experiences of the past such as World War II. Although several years have passed since the transition, many of the problems of this period have not yet been resolved. These novels show that sometimes there is a way to come to terms with the past with the help of art, literature, and, of course, friends and family. Thus, these books speak not only of socio- historical pain points, but also of strength, endurance, and wisdom
When Donors Collide: The Implications of Contradictory Interventions in a Bangladesh Agrarian Environment
No full textWhat are the implications of donor agencies pursuing contradictory approaches in the same locale? The question is interesting for two reasons. The first is that, while critical case studies of individual interventions are common, “donor collision” is not widely reported. The phenomenon poses an alternative explanation for the failure of donor interventions that challenges universalist assertions by both modernists and post-developmentalists. The second reason is that the future of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) and the interventions of a Global North-dominated donor infrastructure in the Global South are once more topical. Recent contributions have debated the implications of current trends for ODA and its associated policies and practices, collectively defined by Gillian Hart as “big D” (Hart, 2001). Such trends include rising middle classes in the Global South and economic convergence with the North, a “universal” set of Sustainable Development Goals and the now looming challenge of a changing climate.
The global problem of contested rights in “agrarian environments” is of particular relevance to these debates. The need to protect the “lungs of the earth” was assuming a higher profile due to the rising urgency of changing climate before the Covid-19 pandemic. With future pandemic risk associated with land use change in biodiversity hotspots, a global focus on conservation and biodiversity is likely to sharpen. The question of how to reconcile conservation outcomes with the land rights of forest dwelling populations is, therefore, of general and increasingly urgent importance.
The study is set in an agrarian environment in Bangladesh, where for twenty years different donor agencies have pursued contradictory approaches to this general and urgent question. On the one hand, USAID has supported Forest Department interventions, which are broadly exclusionary and are predicated on the negation of the local Indigenous Peoples’ land rights. On the other, various agencies have supported such rights, explicitly challenging Forest Department authority over the area. Through analysing why and how donors collide in this instance, the study sets out a number implications for general development theory and practice. The three most important are that, first, more work is required on inter-donor conflict as a cause of development failure. Second, the future of big D will continue to be dominated by very old questions of politics, participation and institutions. Finally, blanket endorsement of “national partnership,” particularly in more authoritarian contexts, is likely to result in significant human and environmental costs
Editorial
No full textMost articles of the current issue of STSS concentrate on different post-Soviet countries. The issue starts with an article in which Lida Fan, Nazim N. Habibov, Yunhong Lyu, Alena Auchynnikava and Rong Luo discuss the relationship between entrepreneurship and institutional trust. [...