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Author's introductionNon‐human animals constitute an integral part of human society. They figure heavily in our language, food, clothing, family structure, economy, education, entertainment, science, and recreation. The many ways we use animals produce ambivalent and contradictory attitudes toward them. We treat some species of animals as friends and family members (e.g., dogs and cats), while we treat others as commodities (e.g., cows, pigs, and chickens). Our constructions of animals and the moral and legal status we grant them provide rich topics for sociological study.This teaching and learning guide can serve as a resource for those who want to learn more about the field or for those preparing to teach a course on animals and society. The materials have the common theme of examining animals within the context of larger social issues. The guide begins with an annotated list of major works in the area. It then lists useful online resources. Finally, it provides a sample syllabus, concluding with ideas for course projects and assignments.Author recommends:Arnold Arluke and Clinton R. Sanders, Regarding Animals (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1996). Regarding Animals was the first book‐length sociological work on human‐animal relationships. Arluke and Sanders focus on the ambivalent and contradictory ways that we humans view other species. It examines how we cherish some animals as friends and family members, while we consider others as food, pests, and resources. Based on research in animal shelters, veterinary clinics, primate research laboratories, and among guide‐dog trainers, the book provides sociological insight into how we construct animals – and how in the process we construct ourselves.Arnold Arluke and Clinton R. Sanders, Between the Species: A Reader in Human‐Animal Relationships (Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2009).Arluke and Sanders have divided this reader into three units. The first, animal, self, and society, includes topical sections on 'Thinking with Animals', 'Close Relationships with Animals', 'The Darkside', and 'Wild(life) Encounters'. The second unit, which focuses on animals in institutions, includes readings on science, agriculture, entertainment and education, and health and welfare. The third unit is organized around the 'changing status and perception of animals'. Its chapters examine healing, selfhood, and rights. The articles, drawn largely from social science journals, have been edited for readability at the undergraduate level.Clifton Flynn, Social Creatures: A Human and Animal Studies Reader (New York, NY: Lantern, 2008).Flynn's edited volume examines the role of animals in language, as food, and as companions. It delves into issues of animal abuse and grief after pet loss. It contains over 30 chapters, mostly reprints of articles in scholarly journals, representing a range of perspectives. Part I gives an overview of the field of human–animal studies. Part II focuses on studying human‐animal relationships. Part III offers comparative and historical perspectives on those relationships. Animals and culture is the focus of Part IV. Part V examines attitudes toward animals. Part VI offers essays on criminology and deviance. Inequality and interconnected oppression focuses the essays in Part VII. The chapters in Part VIII concern living and working with animals, and Part IX includes readings on animal rights, as both philosophy and social movement. Each chapter offers study questions for study and discussion.Adrian Franklin, Animals & Modern Cultures: A Sociology of Human‐Animal Relations in Modernity (London, UK: Sage, 1999).This book examines the changes in human‐animal relationships over the 20th century. It argues that at the start of the century, animals were regarded most often as resources. Moreover, we drew a distinct boundary between humans and other animals. By the end of the century, our attitudes toward animals had changed, and we began to question the subordination implicit in the human–animal boundary. Franklin highlights companionship with animals, hunting and fishing, the meat industry, and leisure activities involving animals, such as bird watching and wildlife parks. He emphasizes variations by gender, class, ethnicity, and nation.Leslie Irvine, If You Tame Me: Understanding our Connection with Animals (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2004).This book examines our relationships with dogs and cats, arguing that animals have a sense of self. Drawing on research conducted at an animal shelter, in dog parks, and in interviews and observation, the author argues that animals become such important parts of our lives because of the subjective experience they bring to the relationship. Challenging the view that we simply anthropomorphize animals, Irvine offers a model of animal selfhood that explains what makes relationships with animals possible. Offering an alternative to George Herbert Mead's perspective on the self, Irvine argues that interaction with animals reveals complex subjectivity, emotionality, agency, and memory.Linda Kalof and Amy Fitzgerald, The Animals Reader: The Essential Classic and Contemporary Writings (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).This edited volume is notable for its diversity in perspectives. It includes readings on ethics, philosophy, sociology, cultural studies, environmental studies, history, and anthropology. It examines questions ranging from 'what is an animal?' to those surrounding the ethics of cloning. Part I examines animals as philosophical subjects. Part II includes essays that suggest that animals are reflexive thinkers. Part III considers the various roles of animals as domesticates, 'pets', and food. The chapters in Part IV focus on animals in sport and spectacle. Part V focuses on animals as symbols. Part VI examines animals as scientific objects. Each chapter offers an introduction and list of further readings.David Nibert, Animal Rights/Human Rights: Entanglements of Oppression and Liberation (Lanham MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002).David Nibert connects oppression based on species, gender, ethnicity, and social class to the institution of capitalism. By modifying Donald Noel's theory of ethnic stratification, Nibert explains the oppression of non‐human animals in all forms, from meat eating to vivisection. He then argues that the systematic oppression of animals led to the oppression of other humans.Online materials Animals and Society Section of the American Sociological Association http://www2.asanet.org/sectionanimals/ This website offers membership information specifically for sociologists interested in human–animal studies. It is especially notable for its online syllabi from courses on animals and society. Animals and Society Institute http://www.animalsandsociety.org/ The Animals and Society Institute includes programs in three areas: Human–animal Studies; AniCare, a program dedicated to animal abuse and other forms of violence; and the Animals' Platform, a set of guidelines for animal protection legislation at the state, local, or national levels. The website's homepage includes a link to a video introducing the institute and its programs. The 'Resources' link leads to useful web and print documents and other web pages, including lists of human–animal studies centers and courses. Animal Studies Bibliography http://ecoculturalgroup.msu.edu/bibliography.htm This extensive, well‐organized bibliography is the project of the Ecological & Cultural Change Studies Group at Michigan State University. It includes works on Animals as Philosophical and Ethical Subjects; Animals as Reflexive Thinkers; Domestication and Predation; Animals as Entertainment and Spectacle; Animals as Symbols and Companions; Animals in Science, Education, and Therapy; and a 'miscellaneous' category. HumaneSpot.org http://www.humanespot.org/node HumaneSpot is the creation of the Humane Research Council. It requires registration as a user, and users must complete a short online application and attest that they are animal advocates, but advocacy in the form of scholarship counts. Once registered, users have access to extensive research on all aspects of animal welfare. Users can also have summarized updates of recent studies delivered by email. The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC) http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/hoarding/ The HARC website offers a collection of research on animal hoarding or 'collecting'. The studies address issues of animal welfare, public health, mental health, connections with other forms of abuse, and intervention. Pet‐Abuse.com http://www.pet‐abuse.com/ Alison Gianotto started Pet‐Abuse.com after someone kidnapped one of her cats and set him on fire. The cat died of the subsequent injuries and the abuser was never caught. Despite its name, Pet‐Abuse addresses abuse among many species, not just those commonly kept as pets. The project tracks incidents of cruelty throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and Spain. The website offers a database that is searchable by location, type of cruelty, gender of offender, and more. It also allows for the creation of real‐time graphic displays of statistics on cruelty cases.Sample syllabusPart I: introduction and overviewWhat is human–animal studies? How can we study animals sociologically? What can the study of animals offer to the field?Reading:Arnold Arluke, 'A Sociology of Sociological Animal Studies,'Society & Animals 10 (2002): 369–374. Leslie Irvine, 'Animals and Sociology,'Sociology Compass 2 (2008):1954–1971. Jennifer Wolch, 'Zoöpolis,' In: Jennifer Wolch and Jody Emel (eds), Animal Geographies: Identity in the Nature Culture Borderlands (London, UK: Verso), 119–138.From Social Creatures:Kenneth J. Shapiro, 'Introduction to Human: Animal Studies'Clifton Bryant, 'The Zoological Connection: Animal‐related Human Behavior'Barbara Noske, 'The Animal Question in Anthropology'Part II: studying human‐animal relationshipsHow can we study our interactions and relationships with animals? What approaches have been used, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?Leslie Irvine, 'The Question of Animal Selves: Implications for Sociological Knowledge and Practice,'Qualitative Sociology Review 3 (2007): 5–21.From Social Creatures:Kenneth J. Shapiro, 'Understanding Dogs through Kinesthetic Empathy, Social Construction, and History'Alan M. Beck and Aaron H. Katcher, 'Future Directions in Human – Animal Bond Research'Clinton R. Sanders, 'Understanding Dogs: Caretakers' Attributions of Mindedness in Canine – Human Relationships'Part III: historical and comparative perspectivesIn this section, we examine how people have regarded animals in other times and places.Reading:Lynda Birke, 'Who – or What – are the Rats (and Mice) in the Laboratory?'Society & Animals 11 (2003): 207–224.From Social CreaturesBarbara Noske, 'Speciesism, Anthropocentrism, and Non‐Western Cultures'Michael Tobias, 'The Anthropology of Conscience'Harriet Ritvo, 'The Emergence of Modern Pet‐keeping'Part IV: animals and cultureThis section focuses on how animals are portrayed in language, advertisements, and other media. It also considers how culture influences our attitudes toward animals.Reading:Rhonda D. Evans and Craig J. Forsyth, 'The Social Milieu of Dogmen and Dogfights,'Deviant Behavior 19 (1998): 51–71.Fred Hawley, 'The Moral and Conceptual Universe of Cockfighters: Symbolism and Rationalization,'Society & Animals 1 (1992): 159–168.Linda Kalof and Amy Fitzgerald, 'Reading the Trophy: Exploring the Display of Dead Animals in Hunting Magazines,'Visual Studies 18 (2003): 112–122.Jennifer E. Lerner and Linda Kalof, 'The Animal Text: Message and Meaning in Television Advertisements,'The Sociological Quarterly 40 (1999): 565–585.From Social Creatures:Andrew Linzey, 'Animal Rights as Religious Vision'Leslie Irvine, 'The Power of Play'Tracey Smith‐Harris, 'There's Not Enough Room to Swing a Dead Cat and There's No Use Flogging a Dead Horse'Part V: attitudes toward other animalsThis part of the course examines how we think about animals, including what research reveals about how our attitudes develop.Reading:Mart Kheel, 'License to Kill: An Ecofeminist Critique of Hunters' Discourse,' In: Carol J. Adams and Josephine Donovan (eds), Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1995): 85–125.From Social Creatures:Harold Herzog, Nancy S. Betchart, and Robert B. Pittman, 'Gender, Sex‐role Orientation and Attitudes toward Animals'Elizabeth S. Paul and James A. Sarpell, 'Childhood Pet Keeping and Humane Attitudes in Young Adulthood'David Nibert, 'Animal Rights and Human Social Issues'Part VI: criminology and devianceThis section examines animal abuse and neglect, and its possible connections to other forms of violence, particularly that directed at human beings.Reading:Arnold Arluke, 'Animal Abuse as Dirty Play,'Symbolic Interaction 25 (2002): 405–430.From Social Creatures:Frank R. Ascione, 'Children Who Are Cruel to Animals: A Review of Research and Implications for Developmental Psychology'Linda Merz‐Perez, Kathleen M. Heide, and Ira J. Silverman, 'Childhood Cruelty to Animals and Subsequent Violence against Humans'Clifton P. Flynn, 'Women's Best Friend: Pet Abuse and the Role of Companion Animals in the Lives of Battered Women'Gary J. Patronek, 'Hoarding of Animals: An Under‐recognized Public Health Problem in a Difficult‐to‐study Population'Part VII: inequality – interconnected oppressionsThis section considers how our treatment of other animals influences our treatment of others, especially women and people of color.Reading:Isabel Gay Bradshaw, 'Not by Bread Alone: Symbolic Loss, Trauma, and Recovery in Elephant Communities,'Society & Animals 12 (2004): 144–158.Linda Kalof, Amy Fitzgerald, and Lori Baralt, 'Animals, Women, and Weapons: Blurred Sexual Boundaries in the Discourse of Sport Hunting,'Society & Animals 12 (2004): 237–251.From Social Creatures:Marjorie Spiegel, 'An Historical Understanding'Carol J. Adams, 'The Sexual Politics of Meat'David Nibert, 'Humans and Other Animals: Sociology's Moral and Intellectual Challenge'Part VIII: living and working with other animalsWe hold contradictory attitudes toward animals. We love our pets, but we consider some animals as disposable. What do our close living and working relationships with animals reveal about the roles of animals in society?Reading:Leslie Irvine, 'Animal Problems/People Skills: Emotional and Interactional Strategies in Humane Education,'Society & Animals 10 (2002): 63–91.Rik Scarce, 'Socially Constructing Pacific Salmon,'Society & Animals 5 (1997): 115–135.From Social Creatures:Andrew N. Rowan and Alan M. Beck, 'The Health Benefits of Human—Animal Interactions'Rose M. Perrine and Hannah L. Osbourne, 'Personality Characteristics of Dog and Cat Persons'Gerald H. Gosse and Michael J. Barnes, 'Human Grief Resulting from the Death of a Pet'Stephen Frommer and Arnold Arluke, 'Loving Them to Death: Blame‐displacing Strategies of Animal Shelter Workers and Surrenderers'Mary T. Phillips, 'Savages, Drunks, and Lab Animals: The Researcher's Perception of Pain'Part IX: animal rights – philosophy and social movementThis section examines the leading animal rights perspectives. It also considers who animal activists are and how animal rights exists as a social movement.Corwin Kruse, 'Gender, Views of Nature, and Support for Animal Rights,'Society & Animals 7 (1999): 179–197.From Social Creatures:Peter Singer, 'All Animals are Equal'Tom Regan, 'The Case for Animal Rights'Josephine Donovan, 'Animal Rights and Feminist Theory'Lyle Munro, 'Caring about Blood, Flesh, and Pain: Women's Standing in the Animal Protection Movement'Project ideasEssay topicsWrite an essay on each of the following topics:
Topic 1: Focus on any species (other than dog or cat) and explore and present the nature of human–animal relations for that species. You should find and evaluate scholarly and popular print and Internet resources regarding this species and its relationships with humans. At least two of your sources should come from articles in scholarly journals.Topic 2: Find current media coverage of an event or issue that applies and extends material in the assigned text. This can involve an individual animal, a group of animals, or an entire species. For example, coverage of the role of livestock in global warming could be approached through several of the readings in the course. You cannot predict when these events will occur, so be continually on the lookout throughout the semester.
JournalingTo help you think about the readings and ideas we are discussing, as well as relate the material to your own lives, you must keep a journal throughout the semester. You must have two entries per week. These need not be long; one page for each entry will suffice. However, they must demonstrate that you are thinking about the issues we are studying. The entries are to be analysis, not cute stories of how much you love animals. You must apply the material to your thoughts about and/or your interaction with animals. Each entry should have three parts: a personal reflection, a sociological insight, and an action step.1. Personal reflection (In this section, note any new observations, feelings, epiphanies, or other insights prompted by the course material.)
Example: I never knew, or even thought about, the emotional lives of farm animals. Somehow, I have been able to draw a line between pets and other animals. I know many wild animals have emotions. I have seen programs about elephants experiencing grief, for example. However, I always bought into the idea that cows, chickens, and pigs were 'dumb'. I guess we have to think of them that way in order to treat them the way that we do. I was particularly struck by ...
2. Sociological insight (In this section, draw out some of the sociological relevance of the material.)
Example: Farm animals have such a huge role in so many institutions. So much of the economy has to do with raising animals, transporting animals, killing them, processing their skin, muscle, organs, coats, and bones. It makes sense that we have commercials promoting 'Beef, it's what's for dinner' and 'Got Milk' ads. If it were 'natural' and necessary to consume animals, we would not need advertising campaigns designed to encourage us to do so. The 'animal industrial complex' depends on a steady supply of consumers. Vegetarians and vegans are very threatening to the status quo. No wonder popular culture makes fun of them.Farm animals also have a huge role in families. We eat animals on most of our holidays and other occasions. In addition, the histories of agricultural families go back ...
3. Action Step(s) (In this section, note at least one and as many as three ways that you will share your new knowledge. Action steps might include taking your cat to the vet, finding out about volunteering at an animal shelter, or becoming vegetarian.)
Example: I intend to tell my roommates about the emotional lives of farm animals, and about the animal industrial complex. I will look for information about Farm Sanctuary online and pass it on to my sister.

Payment systems are a core part of all financial systems. The quality of payment systems determines the stability of the overall economy, the efficiency and reliability of financial intermediation, and the possibility for the private sector to innovate and provide new services to consumers. This technical note presents the results of the assessment of payments, remittances, and securities settlement processes in El Salvador, based on international standards and best practices. It includes several observations for the improvement of the National Payments System (NPS) in El Salvador. This note takes into account the peculiarities of the jurisdiction of El Salvador: namely, the relatively small size of the financial system and the dollarized nature of the economy. The central bank and other institutions are already planning appropriate actions on many of the issues discussed. In some cases, however, the team identified additional elements, which are discussed in this note.

Alexander Dugin on
Eurasianism, the Geopolitics of Land and Sea, and a Russian Theory of
Multipolarity







IR has long been regarded as an
Anglo-American social science. Recently, the discipline has started to look
beyond America and England, to China (Theory Talk
#51, Theory Talk
#45), India (Theory Talk
#63, Theory Talk
#42), Africa (Theory Talk #57, Theory Talk
#10) and elsewhere for non-Western
perspectives on international affairs and IR theory. However, IR theorists have
paid little attention to Russian perspectives on the discipline and practice of
international relations. We offer an exciting peek into Russian geopolitical
theory through an interview with the controversial Russian geopolitical thinker
Alexander Dugin, founder of the International
Eurasian Movement and allegedly an important
influence on Putin's foreign policy. In this Talk, Dugin—among others—discusses his Theory of a Multipolar
World, offers a staunch critique of western and liberal IR, and lays out
Russia's unique contribution to the landscape of IR theory.




Print version of this Talk (pdf) Russian version




What, according to you, is
the central challenge or principle debate within IR and what would be your
position within this debate or towards that challenge?



The field of IR is extremely interesting and multidimensional.
In general, the discipline is much more promising than many think. I think that
there is a stereometry today in IR, in which we can distinguish a few axes
right away.



The first, most traditional axis is realism – the English school
– liberalism.



If the debates here are exhausted on an academic level, then on
the level of politicians, the media, and journalists, all the arguments and
methods appear new and unprecedented each time. Today, liberalism in IR
dominates mass consciousness, and realist arguments, already partially
forgotten on the level of mass discourse, could seem rather novel. On the other
hand, the nuanced English school, researched thoroughly in academic circles,
might look like a "revelation" to the general public. But for this to happen, a
broad illumination of the symmetry between liberals and realists is needed for
the English school to acquire significance and disclose its full potential.
This is impossible under the radical domination of liberalism in IR. For that
reason, I predict a new wave of realists and neorealists in this sphere, who,
being pretty much forgotten and almost marginalized, can full well make
themselves and their agenda known. This would, it seems to me, produce a
vitalizing effect and diversify the palette of mass and social debates, which
are today becoming monotone and auto-referential.



The second axis is bourgeois versions of IR (realism, the
English school, and liberalism all together) vs. Marxism in IR. In popular and
even academic discourse, this theme is entirely discarded, although the
popularity of Wallerstein (Theory
Talk #13) and other
versions of world-systems theory shows a degree of interest in this critical
version of classical, positivistic IR theories.



The third axis is post-positivism in all its varieties vs.
positivism in all its varieties (including Marxism). IR scholars might have
gotten the impression that postmodern attacks came to an end, having been
successfully repelled by 'critical realism', but in my opinion it is not at all
so. From moderate constructivism and normativism to extreme post-structuralism,
post-positivistic theories carry a colossal deconstructive and correspondingly
scientific potential, which has not yet even begun to be understood. It seemed
to some that postmodernism is a cheerful game. It isn't. It is a new
post-ontology, and it fundamentally affects the entire epistemological
structure of IR. In my opinion, this axis remains very important and
fundamental.



The fourth axis is the challenge of the sociology of international
relations, which we can call 'Hobson's challenge'. In my opinion, in his
critique of euro-centrism in IR, John M. Hobson laid the foundation for an
entirely new approach to the whole problematic by proposing to consider the
structural significance of the "euro-centric" factor as dominant and clarifying
its racist element. Once we make euro-centrism a variable and move away from
the universalistic racism of the West, on which all systems of IR are built,
including the majority of post-positivistic systems (after all, postmodernity
is an exclusively Western phenomenon!), we get, theoretically for now, an
entirely different discipline—and not just one, it seems. If we take into
account differences among cultures, there can be as many systems of IR as there
are cultures. I consider this axis extremely important.



The fifth axis, outlined in less detail than the previous one,
is the Theory of a Multipolar World vs. everything else. The Theory of a
Multipolar World was developed in Russia,
a country that no one ever took seriously during the entire establishment of IR
as a discipline—hence the fully explainable skepticism toward the Theory of a
Multipolar World.



The sixth axis is IR vs. geopolitics. Geopolitics is usually
regarded as secondary in the context of IR. But gradually, the epistemological
potential of geopolitics is becoming more and more obvious, despite or perhaps
partially because of the criticism against it. We have only to ask ourselves
about the structure of any geopolitical concept to discover the huge potential
contained in its methodology, which takes us to the very complex and
semantically saturated theme of the philosophy and ontology of space.



If we now superimpose these axes onto one another, we get an
extremely complex and highly interesting theoretical field. At the same time,
only one axis, the first one, is considered normative among the public, and
that with the almost total and uni-dimensional dominance of IR liberalism. All
the wealth, 'scientific democracy', and gnoseological pluralism of
the other axes are inaccessible to the broad public, robbing and partly
deceiving it. I call this domination of liberalism among the public the 'third
totalitarianism', but that is a separate issue.





How did you arrive at where
you currently are in your thinking about IR?    




I began with Eurasianism, from which I
came to geopolitics (the Eurasianist Petr Savitskii quoted the
British geopolitician Halford Mackinder) and remained for a long
time in that framework, developing the theme of the dualism of Land and Sea and
applying it to the actual situation That is how the Eurasian school of
geopolitics arose, which became not simply the dominant, but the only school in
contemporary Russia. As a professor at Moscow State University, for six years I
was head of the department of the Sociology of International Relations, which
forced me to become professionally familiar with the classical theories of IR,
the main authors, approaches, and schools. Because I have long been interested
in postmodernism in philosophy (I wrote the book Post-philosophy on the subject), I paid special attention to
post-positivism in IR. That is how I came to IR critical theory,
neo-Gramscianism, and the sociology of IR (John Hobson, Steve Hobden, etc.). I came
to the Theory of a Multipolar World, which I eventually developed myself,
precisely through superimposing geopolitical dualism, Carl Schmitt's theory of the Grossraum, and John Hobson's critique of
Western racism and the euro-centrism of IR.





In your opinion, what would
a student need in order to become a specialist in IR?



In
our interdisciplinary time, I think that what is most important is familiarity
with philosophy and sociology, led by a paradigmatic method: the analysis of
the types of societies, cultures, and structures of thought along the line
Pre-Modernity – Modernity – Post-Modernity. If one learns to trace semantic
shifts in these three epistemological and ontological domains, it will help one
to become familiar with any popular theories of IR today. Barry Buzan's (Theory
Talk #35)
theory of international systems is an example of such a generalizing and very
useful schematization. Today an IR specialist must certainly be familiar with
deconstruction and use it at least in its elementary form. Otherwise, there is
a great danger of overlooking what is most important.



Another very important competence is
history and political science. Political science provides generalizing,
simplifying material, and history puts schemas in their context. I would only
put competence in the domain of economics and political economy in third place,
although today no problem in IR can be considered without reference to the
economic significance of processes and interactions. Finally, I would earnestly
recommend to students of IR to become familiar, as a priority, with geopolitics
and its methods. These methods are much simpler than theories of IR, but their
significance is much deeper. At first, geopolitical simplifications produce an
instantaneous effect: complex and entangled processes of world politics are
rendered transparent and comprehensible in the blink of an eye. But to sort out
how this effect is achieved, a long and serious study of geopolitics is
required, exceeding by far the superficiality that limits critical geopolitics
(Ó Tuathail et. al.): they stand at the beginning of
the decipherment of geopolitics and its full-fledged deconstruction, but they
regard themselves as its champions. They do so prematurely.





What
does it entail to think of global power relations through a spatial lens ('Myslit prostranstvom')?  



This is the most important thing. The
entire philosophical theme of Modernity is built on the dominance of time. Kant
already puts time on the side of the subject (and space on the side of the
body, continuing the ideas of Descartes and even Plato), while Husserl and Heidegger
identify the subject with time altogether. Modernity thinks with time, with
becoming. But since the past and future are rejected as ontological entities,
thought of time is transformed into thought of the instant, of that which is
here and now. This is the basis for the ephemeral understanding of being. To
think spatially means to locate Being outside the present, to arrange it in
space, to give space an ontological status. Whatever was impressed in space is
preserved in it. Whatever will ripen in space is already contained in it. This
is the basis for the political geography of Friedrich Ratzel and subsequent geopoliticians. Wagner's Parsifal ends with the words of
Gurnemanz: 'now time has become space'. This is a proclamation of the triumph
of geopolitics. To think spatially means to think in an entirely different way
[topika]. I think that postmodernity has already partly arrived at this
perspective, but has stopped at the threshold, whereas to cross the line it is
necessary to break radically with the entire axiomatic of Modernity, to really
step over Modernity, and not to imitate this passage while remaining in
Modernity and its tempolatry. Russian people are spaces [Russkie lyudi prostranstva],
which is why we have so much of it. The secret of Russian identity is concealed
in space. To think spatially means to think 'Russian-ly', in Russian.





Geopolitics
is argued to be very popular in Russia nowadays. Is geopolitics a new thing,
from the post-Cold War period, or not? And if not, how does current
geopolitical thinking differ from earlier Soviet (or even pre-soviet)
geopolitics?



It is an entirely new form
of political thought. I introduced geopolitics to Russia at the end of the 80s,
and since then it has become extremely popular. I tried to find some traces of
geopolitics in Russian history, but besides Vandam, Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, and a few
short articles by Savitskii, there was nothing. In the USSR, any allusion to
geopolitics was punished in the harshest way (see the 'affair of the
geopoliticians' of the economic geographer Vladimir Eduardovich Den and his group).
At the start of the 90s, my efforts and the efforts of my followers and
associates in geopolitics (=Eurasianism) filled the worldview vacuum that
formed after the end of Soviet ideology. At first, this was adopted without
reserve by the military (The Military Academy of the General Staff
of the Armed Forces of Russia), especially under Igor Rodionov. Then,
geopolitics began to penetrate into all social strata. Today, this discipline
is taught in the majority of Russian universities. So, there was no Soviet or
pre-Soviet geopolitics. There is only the contemporary Eurasian school, which
took shape at the end of the 80s. Foundations
of Geopolitics was the first programmatic text of this school, although I had
published most of texts in that book earlier, and some of them were circulated
as texts in government circles. Recently, in 2012, I released two new
textbooks: Geopolitics and The Geopolitics of Russia, which
together with The War of Continents
are the results of work in this field, along four axes. 





In
your book International Relations, not
yet published in English, you set out your Theory of a Multipolar World as a
distinct IR theory. What are the basic components of the Theory of a Multipolar
World—and how is it different from classical realism?



In order to be understood
and not get into the details, I can say that the Theory of a Multipolar World
seriously and axiomatically adopts Samuel Huntington's thesis about the
plurality of civilizations. Russia has its own author, who claimed the same
thing more than a hundred years ago: Nikolay Danilevsky, and then the Eurasianists.
However, everything starts from precisely this point: civilization is not one,
but many. Western civilization's pretension to universalism is a form of the
will to domination and an authoritarian discourse. It can be taken into account
but not believed. It is nothing other than a strategy of suppression and
hegemony. The following point follows: we must move from thinking in terms of
one civilization (the racism of euro-centric versions of IR) to a pluralism of
subjects. However, unlike realists, who take as the subject of their theory
nation-states, which are themselves products of the European, bourgeois, modern
understanding of the Political, the Theory of a Multipolar World proposes to
take civilizations as subjects. Not states, but civilizations. I call them
'large politeiai', or civilizations, corresponding to Carl Schmitt's 'large
spaces'. As soon as we take these civilizations—'large politeiai'—as subjects,
we can then apply to them the full system of premises of realism: anarchy in
the international system, sovereignty, the rationality of egoistic behavior,
etc. But within these 'politeiai', by contrast, a principle more resembling
liberalism, with its pacifism and integration, operates, only with the
difference that here we are not talking about a 'planetary' or 'global' world,
but about an intra-civilizational one; not about global integration, but about
regional integration, strictly within the context of civilizational borders.
Post-positivism, in turn, helps here for the deconstruction of the
authoritarian discourse of the West, which masks its private interests by
'universal values', and also for the reconstruction of civilizational identity,
including with the help of technological means: civilizational elites,
civilizational media, civilizational economic algorithms and corporations, etc.
That is the general picture.





Your
theory of multipolarity is directed against the intellectual, political, and
social hegemony of the West. At the same time, while drawing on the tools of
neo-Marxist analysis and critical theory, it does not oppose Western hegemony
'from the left', as those approaches do, but on the basis of traditionalism (Rene
Guenon, Julius
Evola), cultural
anthropology, and Heideggerian phenomenology, or 'from the right'. Do you think
that such an approach can appeal to Anglo-American IR practitioners, or is it
designed to appeal mainly to non-Western theorists and practitioners? In short,
what can IR theorists in the West learn from the theory of multipolarity?



According to Hobson's
entirely correct analysis, the West is based on a fundamental sort of racism.
There is no difference between Lewis Morgan's evolutionistic racism
(with his model of savagery, barbarism, civilization) and Hitler's biological
racism. Today the same racism is asserted without a link to race, but on the
basis of the technological modes and degrees of modernization and progress of
societies (as always, the criterion "like in the West" is the general measure).
Western man is a complete racist down to his bones, generalizing his
ethnocentrism to megalomaniacal proportions. Something tells me that he is
impossible to change. Even radical critiques of Western hegemony are themselves
deeply infected by the racist virus of universalism, as Edward Said showed with the
example of 'orientalism', proving that the anticolonial struggle is a form of
that very colonialism and euro-centrism. So the Theory of a Multipolar World
will hardly find adherents in the Western world, unless perhaps among those
scholars who are seriously able to carry out a deconstruction of Western
identity, and such deconstruction assumes the rejection of both Right
(nationalistic) and Left (universalistic and progressivist) clichés. The racism
of the West always acquires diverse forms. Today its main form is liberalism,
and anti-liberal theories (most on the Left) are plagued by the same
universalism, while Right anti-liberalisms have been discredited. That is why I
appeal not to the first political theory (liberalism), nor the second
(communism, socialism), nor to the third (fascism, Nazism), but to something I
call the Fourth Political Theory (or 4PT), based on a
radical deconstruction of the subject of Modernity and the application of
Martin Heidegger's existential analytic method.



Traditionalists are brought
in for the profound critique of Western Modernity, for establishing the
plurality of civilizations, and for rehabilitating non-Western (pre-modern)
cultures. In Russia and Asian countries, the Theory of a Multipolar World is
grasped easily and naturally; in the West, it encounters a fully understandable
and fully expected hostility, an unwillingness to study it carefully, and
coarse slander. But there are always exceptions.





What
is the Fourth Political Theory (4PT) and how is it related to the Theory of a
Multipolar World and to your criticism of the prevailing theoretical approaches
in the field of IR?



I spoke a little about this in the
response to the previous question. The Fourth Political Theory is important for
getting away from the strict dominance of modernity in the sphere of the
Political, for the relativization of the West and its re-regionalization. The
West measures the entire history of Modernity in terms of the struggle of three
political ideologies for supremacy (liberalism, socialism, and nationalism).
But since the West does not even for a moment call into question the fact that
it thinks for all humanity, it evaluates other cultures and civilizations in
the same way, without considering that in the best case the parallels to these
three ideologies are pure simulacra, while most often there simply are no
parallels. If liberalism won the competition of the three ideologies in the
West at the end of the 20th century, that does not yet mean that
this ideology is really universal on a world scale. It isn't at all. This
episode of the Western political history of modernity may be the fate of the
West, but not the fate of the world. So other principles of the political are
needed, beyond liberalism, which claims global domination (=the third
totalitarianism), and its failed alternatives (communism and fascism), which
are historically just as Western and modern as liberalism. This explains the
necessity of introducing a Fourth Political Theory as a political frame for the
correct basis of a Theory of a Multipolar World. The Fourth Political Theory is
the direct and necessary correlate of the Theory of a Multipolar World in the
domain of political theory.





Is
IR an American social science? Is Russian IR as an academic field a
reproduction of IR as an American academic field? If not, how is IR in Russia
specifically Russian?



IR is a Western scientific discipline,
and as such it has a prescriptive, normative vector. It not only studies the
West's dominance, it also produces, secures, defends, and propagandizes it. IR
is undoubtedly an imperious authoritarian discourse of Western civilization, in
relation to itself and all other areas of the planet. Today the US is the core
of the West, so naturally in the 20th century IR became more and
more American as the US moved toward that status (it began as an English
science). It is the same with geopolitics, which migrated from London to
Washington and New York together with the function of a global naval Empire. As
with all other sciences, IR is a form of imperious violence, embodying the will
to power in the will to knowledge (as Michel Foucault explained). IR in Russia remains purely
Western, with one detail: in the USSR, IR as such was not studied. Marxism in
IR did not correspond to Soviet reality, where after Stalin a practical form of
realism (not grounded theoretically and never acknowledged) played a big
role—only external observers, like the classical realist E.H. Carr, understood
the realist essence of Stalinism in IR. So IR was altogether blocked. The first
textbooks started to appear only in the 90s and in the fashion of the day they
were all liberal. That is how it has remained until now. The peculiarity of IR
in Russia today lies in the fact that there is no longer anything Russian
there; liberalism dominates entirely, a correct account of realism is lacking,
and post-positivism is almost entirely disregarded. The result is a truncated,
aggressively liberal and extremely antiquated version of IR as a discipline. I
try to fight that. I recently released an IR textbook with balanced (I hope)
proportions, but it is too early to judge the result.





Stephen
Walt argued in a September
article in Foreign Policy that Russia 'is nowhere near as threatening as the old Soviet
Union', in part because Russia 'no longer boasts an ideology that can rally
supporters worldwide'. Do you agree with Walt's assessment?



There is something to that. Today, Russia
thinks of itself as a nation-state. Putin is a realist; nothing more. Walt is
right about that. But the Theory of a Multipolar World and the Fourth Political
Theory, as well as Eurasianism, are outlines of a much broader and large-scale
ideology, directed against Western hegemony and challenging liberalism,
globalization, and American strategic dominance. Of course, Russia as a
nation-state is no competition for the West. But as the bridgehead of the
Theory of a Multipolar World and the Fourth Political Theory, it changes its
significance. Russian policies in the post-Soviet space and Russia's courage in
forming non-Western alliances are indicators. For now, Putin is testing this
conceptual potential very gingerly. But the toughening of relations with the
West and most likely the internal crises of globalization will at some point
force a more careful and serious turn toward the creation of global alternative
alliances. Nevertheless, we already observe such unions: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, the Eurasian Union—and they require a new
ideology. Not one like Marxism, any universalism is excluded, but also not
simple realist maneuvers of regional hegemons. Liberalism is a global
challenge. The response to it should also be global. Does Putin understand
this? Honestly, I don't know. Sometimes it seems he does, and sometimes it
seems he doesn't.





Vladimir
Putin recently characterized the contemporary world order as follows: 'We have entered a period of differing interpretations and
deliberate silences in world politics. International law has been forced to
retreat over and over by the onslaught of legal nihilism. Objectivity and
justice have been sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. Arbitrary
interpretations and biased assessments have replaced legal norms. At the same
time, total control of the global mass media has made it possible when desired
to portray white as black and black as white'. Do you agree with this
assessment? If so, what is required as a response to this international
situation?



These are true, but rather
naïve words. Putin is just indignant that the West establishes rules in its own
interests, changes them when necessary, and interprets allegedly 'universal
norms' in its own favor. But the issue is that this is the structure of the
will to power and the very organization of logo-phallo-phono-centric discourse.
Objectivity and justice are not possible so long as speech is a monologue. The
West does not know and does not recognize the other. But this means that
everything will continue until this other wins back the right to recognition.
And that is a long road. The point of the Theory of a Multipolar World is that
there are no rules established by some one player. Rules must be established by
centers of real power. The state today is too small for that; hence the
conclusion that civilizations should be these centers. Let there be an Atlantic
objectivity and Western justice. A Eurasian objectivity and Russian justice
will counter them. And the Chinese world or Pax Sinica [world/peace: same word
in Russian] will look different than the Islamic one. Black and white are not
objective evaluations. They depend on the structure of the world order: what is
black and what is white is determined by one who has enough power to determine
it.





How
does your approach help us understand Russia's actions on the world stage
better than other IR approaches do? What are IR analyses of Russia missing that
do not operate with the conceptual apparatus of multipolarity?



Interesting question. Russia's behavior
internationally is determined today by the following factors:



First,
historical inertia, accumulating the power of precedents (the Theory of a
Multipolar World thinks that the past exists as a structure; consequently, this
factor is taken into account from many sides and in detail, while the
'tempocentrism' (Steve Hobden, John Hobson) of classical IR theories drops this
from sight. We have to pay attention to this especially taking into
consideration the fact that Russia is in many ways still a traditional society
and belongs to the 'imperial system' of IR.) There are, besides, Soviet inertia
and stable motives ('Stalinism in IR');



Second,
the projective logic of opposition to the West, stemming from the most practical,
pragmatic, and realist motivations (in the spirit of Caesarism, analyzed by
neo-Gramscians) will necessarily lead Russia (even despite the will of its
leaders) to a systemic confrontation with American hegemony and globalization,
and then the Theory of a Multipolar World will really be needed (classical IR
models, paying no attention to the Theory of a Multipolar World, drop from
sight the possible future; i.e., they rob themselves of predictive potential
because of purely ideological prejudices and self-imposed fears).



But if an opponent underestimates you,
you have more chances to land an unexpected blow. So I am not too disturbed by
the underestimation of the Theory of a Multipolar World among IR theorists.





In
the western world, the divide between academia and policy is often either
lamented ('ivory tower') or, in light of the ideal of academic independence,
deemed absent. This concerns a broader debate regarding the relations between
power, knowledge and geopolitics. How are academic-policy relations in Russia
with regards to IR and is this the ideal picture according to you?



I think that in our case both positions
have been taken to their extreme. On one hand, today's authorities in Russia do
not pay the slightest attention to scholars, dispatching them to an airless and
sterile space. On the other hand, Soviet habits became the basis for servility
and conformism, preserved in a situation when the authorities for the first
time demand nothing from intellectuals, except for one thing: that they not
meddle in socio-political processes. So the situation with science is both
comical and sorrowful. Conformist scholars follow the authorities, but the
authorities don't need this, since they do not so much go anywhere in
particular as react to facts that carry themselves out.





If
your IR theory isn't based on politically and philosophically liberal
principles, and if it criticizes those principles not from the left but from
the right, using the language of large spaces or Grossraum, is it a fascist theory of international relations? Are scholars who characterize your thought as 'neo-fascism',
like Andreas Umland and Anton Shekhovstov, partially correct? If not, why is that characterization
misleading?



Accusations of fascism are simply a
figure of speech in the coarse political propaganda peculiar to contemporary
liberalism as the third totalitarianism. Karl Popper laid the basis for this in
his book The
Open Society and its Enemies, where he reduced the critique of
liberalism from the right to fascism, Hitler, and Auschwitz, and the criticism
of liberalism from the left to Stalin and the GULAG. The reality is somewhat
more complex, but George
Soros,
who finances Umland and Shekhovstov and is an ardent follower of Popper, is
content with reduced versions of politics. If I were a fascist, I would say so.
But I am a representative of Eurasianism and the author of the Fourth Political
Theory. At the same time, I am a consistent and radical anti-racist and
opponent of the nation-state project (i.e. an anti-nationalist). Eurasianism has
no relation to fascism. And the Fourth Political Theory emphasizes that while
it is anti-liberal, it is simultaneously anti-communist and anti-fascist. I
think it isn't possible to be clearer, but the propaganda army of the 'third
totalitarianism' disagrees and no arguments will convince it. 1984 should be
sought today not where many think: not in the USSR, not in the Third Reich, but
in the Soros Fund and the 'Brave New World'. Incidentally, Huxley proved to be
more correct than Orwell. I cannot forbid others from calling me a fascist,
although I am not one, though ultimately this reflects badly not so much on me
as on the accusers themselves: fighting an imaginary threat, the accuser misses
a real one. The more stupid, mendacious, and straightforward a liberal is, the
simpler it is to fight with him.





Does
technological change in warfare and in civil government challenge the
geopolitical premises of classical divisions between spaces (Mackinder's view
or Spykman's) heartland-rimland-offshore continents)? And, more broadly
perhaps, does history have a linear or a cyclical pattern, according to you?



Technological development does not at all
abolish the principles of classical geopolitics, simply because Land and Sea
are not substances, but concepts. Land is a centripetal model of order, with a
clearly expressed and constant axis. Sea is a field, without a hard center, of
processuality, atomism, and the possibility of numerous bifurcations. In a
certain sense, air (and hence also aviation) is aeronautics. And even the word
astronaut contains in itself the root 'nautos', from the Greek word for ship.
Water, air, outer space—these are all versions of increasingly diffused Sea.
Land in this situation remains unchanged. Sea strategy is diversified; land
strategy remains on the whole constant. It is possible that this is the reason
for the victory of Land over Sea in the last decade; after all, capitalism and
technical progress are typical attributes of Sea. But taking into consideration
the fundamental character of the balance between Leviathan and Behemoth, the
proportions can switch at any moment; the soaring Titan can be thrown down into
the abyss, like Atlantis, while the reason for the victory of thalassocracy becomes the source of its
downfall. Land remains unchanged as the geographic axis of history. There is
Land and Sea even on the internet and in the virtual world: they are axes and
algorithms of thematization, association and separation, groupings of resources
and protocols. The Chinese internet is terrestrial; the Western one, nautical.





You
have translated a great number of foreign philosophical and geopolitical works
into Russian. How important is knowledge transaction for the formation of your ideas?



I recently completed the
first release of my book Noomachy,
which is entirely devoted precisely to the Logoi of various civilizations, and
hence to the circulation of ideas. I am convinced that each civilization has
its own particular Logos. To grasp it and to find parallels, analogies, and
dissonances in one's own Logos is utterly fascinating and interesting. That is
why I am sincerely interested in the most varied cultures, from North American
to Australian, Arabic to Latin American, Polynesian to Scandinavian. All the
Logoi are different and it is not possible to establish a hierarchy among them.
So it remains for us only to become familiar with them. Henry Corbin, the French
philosopher and Protestant who studied Iranian Shiism his entire life, said of
himself 'We are Shiites'. He wasn't a Shiite in the religious sense, but
without feeling himself a Shiite, he would not be able to penetrate into the
depths of the Iranian Logos. That is how I felt, working on Noomachy or translating philosophical
texts or poetry from other languages: in particular, while learning Pierce and
James, Emerson and Thoreau, Poe and Pound I experienced myself as 'we are
Americans'. And in the volume devoted to China and Japan, as 'we are
Buddhists'. That is the greatest wealth of the Logos of various cultures: both
those like ours and those entirely unlike ours. And these Logoi are at war;
hence, Noomachy, the war of the
intellect. It is not linear and not primitive. It is a great war. It creates
that which we call the 'human', the entire depth and complexity of which we
most often underestimate.





Final
question. You call yourself the 'last philosopher of empire'. What is
Eurasanism and how does it relate to the global pivot of power distributions?



Eurasianism is a developed worldview, to
which I dedicated a few books and a countless number of articles and
interviews. In principle, it lies at the basis of the Theory of a Multipolar
World and the Fourth Political Theory, combined with geopolitics, and it
resonates with Traditionalism. Eurasianism's main thought is plural
anthropology, the rejection of universalism. The meaning of Empire for me is
that there exists not one Empire, but at minimum two, and even more. In the
same way, civilization is never singular; there is always some other
civilization that determines its borders. Schmitt called this the Pluriverse
and considered it the main characteristic of the Political. The Eurasian Empire
is the political and strategic unification of Turan, a geographic axis of history
in opposition to the civilization of the Sea or the Atlanticist Empire. Today,
the USA is this Atlanticist Empire. Kenneth Waltz, in the context of neorealism
in IR, conceptualized the balance of two poles. The analysis is very accurate,
although he erred about the stability of a bipolar world and the duration of
the USSR. But on the whole he is right: there is a global balance of Empires in
the world, not nation-States, the majority of which cannot claim sovereignty,
which remains nominal (Stephen Krasner's (Theory
Talk #21) 'global hypocrisy'). For
precisely that reason, I am a philosopher of Empire, as is almost every
American intellectual, whether he knows it or not. The difference is only that
he thinks of himself as a philosopher of the only Empire, while I think of
myself as the philosopher of one of the Empires, the Eurasian one. I am more
humble and more democratic. That is the whole difference.





Alexander Dugin is a Russian philosopher,
the author of over thirty books on topics including the sociology of the
imagination, structural sociology, ethnosociology, geopolitical theory,
international relations theory, and political theory, including four books on
the German philosopher Martin Heidegger. His most recent books, only available
in Russian at the moment, are Ukraine: My
War and the multi-volume Noomachia:
Wars of the Intellect. Books translated into English include The Fourth Political Theory,
Putin vs. Putin: Vladimir Putin Viewed
From the Right, and Martin Heidegger: The Philosophy of
Another Beginning.






Related links





Who is Alexander Dugin? Interview with Theory Talks editor Michael Millerman (YouTube)
TheFourth Political Theory website (English): 
Evrazia.tv
(Russian) 
Evrazia.tv
(English) 
Geopolitics.ru
(English version)
InternationalEurasian Movement (English version)
Centerfor Conservative Studies (Russian)

Print version of this Talk (pdf) Russian version

Inhaltsangabe:Introduction: In the past two decades backpacker tourism has grown vastly throughout both developed and developing world. Particularly to south and Southeast Asian countries the phenomenon of backpacking is not new, so to India, where it dates back to the 60's and 70's hippy drifters, to which backpacking is often associated. It has been since the publication of the Lonely Planet's 'Yellow Bible' ('Southeast Asia on a Shoestring') in 1975 that backpacking has gradually emerged as a mass travel style. Today popular travel-yourself literature cover almost every corner of the globe, serving a steady demand for 'off the beaten path' travel. Thereby to backpackers the developmental background of a destination plays a lesser role than to the mainstream tourist, who is demanding certain infrastructural arrangements. As a result backpackers are found in utmost remote and low developed locations that other tourists never reach. Thus backpacker enclaves have emerged in many places throughout the world, and not without effects on their hosting environments. While social impacts often carry negative connotations, hosting communities do usually appreciate backpackers for their economic contributions. Objectives and Scope of this paper: In recent years backpacker tourism has profoundly been studied in developed contexts, particularly Australia and New Zealand are to be seen the pioneering regions of independent travel research, having undertaken strenuous efforts to study the same within the past two decades. As a consequence both destinations have recognized the economic value of low budget travel to their countries and established backpacker tourism as high yielding segments within their national tourism markets. In both countries backpacking has since undergone shift from de-marketing to a marketing label. Though in recent years international research has made numerous successful attempts to study backpacker tourism in less developed contexts, many tourism officials in third world destinations as yet refuse to accept the economic reach coming along with low-budget travel. Instead a majority of administrative instances promote upscale- and regulated forms of tourism to be the way forward, neglecting any concerns with regard to necessary infrastructure or initial investments. Though only a fraction of developing nations do actively restrict independent travel to their territories (e.g. Maldives, Bhutan), a majority at best tacitly ignores the phenomenon. Other cases have proven forceful discouragement from local authorities and government bodies. India is an example, though having a long tradition as a backpacker destination and as yet well reputing among international travellers, there are strong indications that tourism planners and authorities follow the common misbelieve that low budget equals low revenue tourism and begin displacing backpacker tourism, in particular from designated tourism priority zones. At this point the present paper starts to assume relevance. It aims at proving the economic significance of international backpacker tourism in a third world context, particularly the economic development impacts coming along with this form of travel. Beside setting up an explorative backpacker profile of independent travellers in India it examines the case of a remote Indian traveller enclave including the local and regional economic developments directly and indirectly resulting from budget travel. Basing on empirical research firstly a backpacker profile is being created, providing fundamental quantitative data on travellers in India and the study area itself. A second aim of this paper is to place the backpacker in India into an international context and identify similarities and differences to his counterpart in other regions of the world. Furthermore it follows the question of the existence of different types of backpackers in India. Hence, survey findings are being contrasted with data from other, international backpacker markets, as well as theoretic defining and distinction criteria. The identification of parallels farther allows an application of economic development criteria from other destinations onto the Indian context. The section therewith sheds light onto the demand side of India's contemporary budget travel market. A qualitative approach has been chosen to run down on backpacker economic development impacts on Havelock in the Andaman Islands, representing the study area of this paper. Substantiated by data from the backpacker profile this second section portrays the case of a remote islands enclave, and how backpacker tourism impacts on its local economy. Again findings are being contrasted with a number of theoretic criteria, in order to emphasize their significance to the region. Farther the evolutionary path of backpacker enclaves is being followed and the question whether or not independent travel spearheads organized forms of tourism. This section particularly approaches the supply side of independent travel in India and the area of focus. Finally the paper aims at identifying factors for success of backpacker travel in India and the Andaman Islands.Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents: 1.INTRODUCTION1 1.1Objectives and Scope1 1.2Structure3 1.3Overall Methodology4 THEORETICAL CONTEXT 2.INTRODUCTION TO THE DESTINATION6 2.1Destination India6 2.1.1India's developmental situation6 2.1.2Geography and climate7 2.1.3Politics and economy7 2.1.4Tourism in India8 2.2Destination Andaman Islands13 2.2.1Geographic facts13 2.2.2Brief historical review14 2.2.3Population14 2.2.4Economy and industry14 2.2.5AN Islands tourism15 2.3Destination Havelock Island16 2.3.1Location16 2.3.2Population16 2.3.3Landscape and infrastructure16 3.BACKPACKER DEFINING CRITERIA TYPOLOGIES17 3.1Cohen's tourist typology17 3.1.1The Organized Mass Tourist17 3.1.2The Individual Mass Tourist18 3.1.3The Explorer18 3.1.4The Drifter18 3.2Riley's defining criteria of independent travellers (1988)19 3.3Defining criteria of contemporary backpackers20 3.3.1Pearce's defining criteria of backpackers (1990)20 3.3.2Ateljevic Doorne's defining criteria of backpackers (2000)22 3.3.3Contrasting Ateljevic Doorne's backpacker types with24 4.DEFINING CRITERIA WITH REGARD TO THE STUDY AREA25 4.1The backpacker enclave25 4.2Forms and types of backpacker enclaves26 4.2.3Urban and Rural Enclaves26 4.2.4Functional and Destinational Enclaves26 4.2.5Concentrated and Dispersed Enclaves26 4.3The evolutionary paths of backpacker enclaves27 4.3.1Butler's Tourist Area Life Cycle (TALC) Model27 4.3.2Papatheodorou's advanced evolutionary approach30 5.BACKPACKER TOURISM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA31 5.1Scheyven's Economic Development Criteria of Budget Tourism32 STUDY RESULTS 6.THE QUANTITATIVE SURVEY – PROFILING THE BACKPACKER34 6.1Methodology of the quantitative survey34 6.1.1Conceptualisation of the survey34 6.1.2Survey execution37 6.1.3Evaluation of data39 6.2Survey findings and discussion42 6.2.1Socioeconomic aspects - who is travelling?44 6.2.2Travel company, itinerary and trip length50 6.2.3Travel motivations56 6.2.4Use of infrastructure61 6.2.5Budgeting and expenses69 6.2.6Organized activities on Havelock Island74 6.2.7Statements to rate regarding India as a destination76 6.3Summary of survey findings78 6.3.1Demographics78 6.3.2Travel company78 6.3.3Travel motives78 6.3.4Itinerary79 6.3.5Use of infrastructure80 6.3.6Spending81 6.4Contrasting study findings with defining criteria of Pearce, Ateljevic Doorne82 6.4.1Comparison of survey findings with defining criteria of Pearce82 6.4.2Comparison of survey findings with Ateljevic Doorne's advanced defining criteria84 7.THE QUALITATIVE SURVEY – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IMPACTS ON HAVELOCK ISLAND86 7.1Methodology of qualitative interviews86 7.2Study findings and discussion87 7.2.1A temporal review of Havelock's budget tourism development88 7.2.2Economic development impacts on Havelock91 7.2.3The case of Shri Dhananjoy Mondal and family97 7.4Summary of local economic development impacts on Havelock99 7.5Contrasting Havelock's status with Scheyven's defining criteria101 8.DEFINING HAVELOCK'S CURRENT STATUS AS A BACKPACKER ENCLAVE104 8.1Classification of Havelock's status according to Cohen and Howard104 8.2Classification of Havelock's evolutionary status according to Butler Papatheodorou105 8.3Do backpackers spearhead mass tourism?108 9.SUCCEEDING FACTORS FOR BPT DEVELOPMENT110 9.1Resources beneficial to tourism development110 9.2Surrounding conditions beneficial to independent travel development113 9.3Success factors for backpacker travel development in brief118 10.CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION119 11.REFERENCES123 12.ANNEX130Textprobe:Text Sample: Chapter 6.3.1, Demographics: The backpacker found to be travelling in India is young, commonly under the age of 30. Males and females are equally distributed and the majority originates a western background (Europe and North America). Remarkable are a very high percentage of young Israeli travellers, constituting the strongest source nation of the sample, was found to be travelling in Andaman Islands. Israeli travellers in particular are young, with a large majority under the age of 25. Age composition of backpackers matches findings from previous surveys. Independent travellers in India are very well educated, either already having a university degree, or still studying for one. Only a fraction of the sample is full time employed, a larger proportion was found to be in an undetermined status - e.g. between two major phases in life - hence 'travelling' best suited their current occupation. Again present findings coincide with findings from earlier studies, from other parts of the world. 6.3.2, Travel company: The minority of backpackers in India travel on their own, the majority seek company of partner, friend(s) or fellow travellers. The result opposes findings from developed destinations, where a majority is found to be travelling alone. The assumption was substantiated, that independent travellers in third world destinations strongly tend to seek travel company. Increased hardship of travel and strangeness of host culture were named to be the most reasonable explanations. 6.3.3, Travel motives: The traveller to India is attracted by a composition of motives, commonly aspects of exploration, excitement and relaxation. A basic drive for the backpacker is a thirst for experience of India's natural, historical and cultural assets. Farther, sun and beach ranks as a top pull drive, as well as India's low overall cost of living and travelling. Rather specific for India is the 'spiritual traveller' who visits holy places and partly participates in meditation or Yoga. A majority of 'spiritual' travellers is of Israeli origin, many of those are involved in drug consumption. The assumption was made that the low living expenses in India strongly promote it to backpackers as a travel destination. At the same time - though being value for money - India does not appeal as a country for shopping. Rather there are indications that India receives recognition as a country for temporary tertiary education. The survey uncovered 3 'study backpackers', a fairly recent phenomenon which had already been reported from Australia. When it comes to Andaman Islands the relaxational aspect of pull factors comes to the fore. Travellers to Andaman Islands seek both, to actively and/or passively relax from strains of travel while exploring tropical beaches. The backpacker to Andaman Islands often follows recommendations from previous visitors (friends, relatives other travellers) and seeks thrill in adventuresome eco-activities. Snorkelling and SCUBA-diving are the most popular ventures backpackers opt for. 6.3.4, Itinerary: Most backpackers visit India for the first time and travel the country as part of a longer trip. Popular countries (intended to be) visited apart from India are Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Multiple destination travellers are heading from west to east. The overall trip length averages little above 20 weeks whereof 13 weeks are spent in India. Israeli backpackers commonly travel longer than the average, as they do stay in India. Trip lengths drawn from comparative studies commonly vary. Assumptions were made that the ultimate duration of stay is country specific and strongly depending on framework conditions. Available types of Visa, cost of living and incidental work opportunities would account as such. The backpacker to the Andaman Islands is a first time visitor, substantiating the island's status as a virgin destination. The average sojourn time in the archipelago is three weeks, whereof two weeks are spent on Havelock Island. This supports Havelock's reputation as a backpacker enclave and destination of choice for backpackers. 6.3.5, Use of infrastructure: The backpacker to India commonly travels on budget public transport systems. When compared to other destinations, Indian railway outweighs road based transport (bus). This was said to be due to Indian trains' excelling comfort when compared to (rough) road bound modes, while being value for money at the same time. Remarkably the backpacker to India air travels within the boarders of India at least on occasion. On one hand this was found to be a result of the study's realization on a remote island archipelago, involving a vast majority of the surveyed' in some sort of aviation. On the other hand the existence of hub- and overland backpackers has been substantiated, as well as the triumph of India's low cost air carriers (LCC). Compared to developed destinations rented self drive is only popular in/around enclaves. Travellers on Havelock opt for bicycle and/or scooter. Purchased self drive (e.g. campervan) as common in Australia does hardly exist in India. This has been identified a result of legal obstacles as well as distinct traffic and road conditions. When travelling to Andaman Islands backpackers choose to fly. Again the overall preference for budget housing has been substantiated. Travellers in India tend to stay in private guesthouses, farther quality local hotels or beach shack-type/ bamboo hut housing. Israeli travellers tend to be more rigorous when it comes to accommodation, a large proportion chooses ultra budget staying over comfort where available. Backpacker hostels as found in other destinations do not exist in India, nor do camping facilities or youth hostels. Travellers in India share their counterparts disfavour for upscale housing, as comparison with other studies reveals. Backpackers on Havelock exclusively stay in bamboo huts. This is due to inexistent alternatives in the budget sector, and the prevalent nature of this traditional type of housing. The traveller in India commonly chooses 'authentic' facilities to eat. Of highest popularity are small local restaurants, offering host culture interaction. To buy food from local shops and markets appeals as an option to most travellers. Price consciousness plays an important role and commonly outweighs the setting of a place. Fastfood chains, though increasing in numbers are commonly disregarded. Upscale and A/C restaurants are only being frequented on occasion. Backpackers in India use guidebooks to draw travel information, as they rely on reports from fellow travellers. The assumption was made that third world backpackers rely on information from word of mouth far more often than their counterparts in developed destinations. This has been explained with lacking reliable alternatives. In contrast to other destinations the internet is not as popular, though still used at least on occasion. India's infant stage of web based, travel-related information platforms was identified a possible explanation. 6.3.6, Spending: Despite a low daily budget of only EUR 12,5 backpackers in India each spend a total of EUR 2300 in the country. This was found to be less than in Australia but far more than contributions of average tourists (cf. Section 2.1.4). The largest proportion of the backpacker's daily spending account for basic needs, namely food, beverages and accommodation. In contrast to travellers in Australia those in India clearly do not spend money on shopping and souvenirs. This is outbalanced by those enrolling in organized activities. The backpacker in Andaman Islands does spend a multiple of his average daily spending on exceptional eco- and adventuresome activities (SCUBA diving/ snorkelling excursions). Similar results have been found for Australia and New Zealand.

Trafficking in human beings includes recruitment, transport, organisation of border-crossing, hiding or receiving persons, by use of threats, force, other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, lies, by abuse of authority or vulnerable position or by giving and receiving money or services in order to obtain consent of the person who has control over another person. Trafficking in human beings exists on all continents and in a great number of states. The lack of knowledge and data about human trafficking among the children and young people as well as among the wider public leads to the prevailing opinion that such things happen somewhere else, outside our country, which is, in fact of benefit to persons involved in the human trafficking chain and their criminal activities. Even though Croatia was until recently just a transit country in the human trafficking chain, today it has been documented that it is also a destination country, as well as a country where the human trafficking victims are being recruited. Children and young people belong to a group which is especially exposed to the risk of victimisation in the human trafficking chain. High school students are a vulnerable group because they will soon face the decision whether to enter the labour market or continue their education, and in the process many will start living independently outside their permanent place of residence. Therefore, the publication entitled " Human Trafficking in the Eyes of the Youth in Croatia – Understanding the Problem and Prevention Possibilities" is dedicated to the trafficking in children and young people as a special segment of trafficking in human beings. It includes the presentation of the problem from the professional and scientific point of view. The introductory part presents definitions and main features of the human trafficking problem with special emphasis on more important international documents related to the subject. It also includes an overview and explanation of forms, methods and causes of human trafficking as well as possible risks. It further deals with the perception of the problem of trafficking in human beings in Croatia. A larger part of the publication includes an overview and explanation of forms, methods and causes of trafficking in children as well as an analysis of results of a research conducted by the International Organization for Migration in cooperation with the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports in 2004. The goals of the mentioned research were to learn what level of information Croatian high school students have about the problem of trafficking in human beings, to get information about their experience and views on human trafficking and to assess their awareness of the risk to become human trafficking victims themselves. The research was conducted with the purpose of contributing to preparations for systematic youth education about possible risks and manners of protection from trafficking in human beings as anticipated by the National Plan for the Supression of Trafficking in Persons in the Republic of Croatia. The study consisted of a survey on the subject and the organisation of focus groups. The survey was based on a questionnaire put together in a special way, with 35 questions, many of which included additional questions, the Likert-type rating scales or a series of proposed answers. Questions were related to the respondents' socio-demographic characteristics, high school students' plans for their professional future, value systems, their attitudes about the roles of men and women in the society, their reactions in hypothetic violent situations in relationships, their general level of information on trafficking in human beings, their sources of information on human trafficking and their attitudes towards human trafficking and the victims of trafficking. The qualitative part of the study was conducted by organising 14 focus groups which included students from 10 high schools, two students' homes and one youth club. The participants in focus groups answered the following questions: How would you define human trafficking? Give an example or describe an occasion when you heard about human trafficking! What are, in your opinion, basic ways in which someone becomes a trafficking victim? What rights are human trafficking victims deprived of most? Do you think that you personally could become a victim of trafficking in human beings and why? What ways and means do you propose for the fight against human trafficking? Altogether 950 high school students of both genders from 25 municipalities/towns in Croatia took part in the survey. The average age of participants in the survey was 16, 6 years. The total of 275 high school students participated in focus groups. Most focus groups participants were 17 years old. The sample had approximately the same number of high school students of each gender. The survey was conducted on a representative sample and qualitative part of the study on an occasional sample. The survey produced numerous interesting results, and the results obtained in focus groups have been largely confirmed by the survey. The results show that a majority of the young have heard of the problem of trafficking in human beings with the purpose of their exploitation. Students attending high schools in Zagreb and surroundings and Dalmatia have above-average knowledge about the problem of trafficking in people. In the regions of Slavonia and Istria, North Coast and Gorski kotar, students' knowledge about the problem is close to the average, and in the Northern Croatia, the Lika, Kordun and Banovina regions, their knowledge is bellow-average. The young from bigger towns are somewhat better informed about the problem of trafficking in human beings than the young from smaller towns. Students of three-year vocational schools are considerably less informed about the problem than students attending four-year college-preparatory schools (gymnasiums) and four-year vocational schools. A little bit more than half of the respondents believe that trafficking in human beings in Croatia is not very prominent. Girls and older students see the problem as being more serious than boys and younger students do. Asked whether there have been any cases of human trafficking in the community where they live, 6, 7 percent of participants in the survey answered affirmatively ; the young from bigger towns have more often heard of such cases. Most students were informed about the problem of trafficking in human beings through television programmes and newspaper articles. A considerably smaller number of young people have learned about it thorough posters, brochures and various promotion materials. Approximately every fifth participant in the survey learned about human trafficking trough Internet, from friends, acquaintances, parents or at school. The level of information on human trafficking possessed by students attending gymnasiums and four-year vocational schools is above-average, whereas it is bellow-average among students of three-year vocational school. The respondents whose information about human trafficking comes from several sources (the media, school, parents or other family members) have a more complete understanding of the problem. The largest number of high school students that have been surveyed holds the traffickers and their desire for profit, as well as the lack of knowledge and information about real risks of human trafficking responsible for this phenomenon. High school students see causes for trafficking in human beings in inadequate legislation and poor moral values. Girls and students attending gymnasiums agree more often than boys and students attending vocational schools with the claim that ignorance and the lack of information about real risks should be blamed for the trafficking in women with the purpose of sexual exploitation. A special risk of youth victimisation results from their wish to become independent and find employment. Our survey has shown that as many as two thirds of high school students agree with the opinion that a lot of money can be easily earned in other states, and just as many of them would feel quite safe if they would be offered a job abroad by someone they know well. At the same time, more than a fourth of students demonstrated unrealistic expectations related to the possibility of legitimate employment abroad, and expressed their belief that they would easily get work permit once they have already arrived in other country. Young people have most faith in information about certain job offers coming from their close relatives and information received through legitimate employment agencies. It is, however, significant that as many as 15, 7 percent of students would accept any job under the condition that it is well paid, and 16 percent of students would accept a job even when they are not well informed about employment conditions and the employer. At the same time, approximately two fifths of the participants would like to move to some other state for a longer period of time. Students who give more importance to entertainment, money and career success have a stronger wish to migrate. Generally, the results show that males, students attending vocational schools and students of lower grades are more inclined to underestimate the risk of becoming victims of trafficking in human beings. They also more often have views and convictions due to which they may be inclined to high-risk behaviour and they have smaller capacity to face negative influences and manipulation attempts of human traffickers. The fact that the knowledge about the risks of trafficking in people is very uneven can be also seen from the data showing that not a single respondent was aware of all aspects of human trafficking ; they had knowledge just of some of its aspects. As possible ways of victimisation, the respondents (mainly participants in focus groups) recognised abduction, poverty, the search for employment, allurement (with false job offers predominating), risky behaviour of potential victims, the trade in children, but also wider social conditions in the states from which victims originate (like poverty, unemployment, lack of respect for human rights etc.). The possibility of victimisation through offered marriage proposals and intimate relationship has been recognised by a disturbingly small number of respondents. The results have also shown that many respondents place the problem of trafficking in human beings in the " third world" countries, whereas they see the possibility of victimisation in Croatia as negligible and unlikely. Majority of the young believe that they could never become victims of human trafficking (because the trafficking is not present in Croatia, because they are cautious, because they keep in good company etc.), yet there is a considerable number of those who think that the possibility exists. Among them, most think that they could become victims because they have not been sufficiently informed about possible difficulties and risks related to the search for employment abroad. Therefore, the fact that about approximately half of the young wish to learn more about human trafficking through some form of school education is not surprising. The requirement for information about concrete examples is especially marked, as well as information about the real extent of trafficking in human beings in our society. There is also a need for effective models of protection against trafficking in human beings. Another requirement is for providing potential victims with information of better quality about legal possibilities of employment abroad. A special group of answers comprises answers which propose that more attention be paid to trafficking in people by the media, including promotional videos, advertisements and thematic leaflets. The respondents have also recognised the need for introducing different security measures into the society (stricter punishments for perpetrators of this criminal act, stricter border control, greater police presence in the streets, higher-quality work of security services, fight against corruption etc.). It is interesting that almost half of the students propose that customers seeking prostitutes be punished as they see them as the cause of the problem. Some of the respondents spoke of the need for a wider social action, including greater respect for human rights, work towards the change of views such as the conviction that the money and wealth are the only paths towards satisfaction and happiness, encouragement of citizens' activism, renovation of the youth gathering places (sports grounds) and schools. They also spoke of the need that basic causes of human trafficking be removed. In the final part of the publication the authors propose different models of education of young people on trafficking in human beings aimed at reducing the risks of their victimisation. The proposed models include, at the girst level, special informative lectures for school classes, according to pre-designed protocol, as well as wide distribution of educational material in high schools. At the second level, additional education of some of the professors is also proposed, together with a further development of preventive programs focused on the development of identity and competence of young people, including providing support for their development which implies cooperation between system of education and other youth-oriented support systems in local communities. The third level of education aimed at preventing the trafficking in human beings includes a wide education on human rights, the encouragement of young people to actively participate in the development of their own social context and, in particular, the development of such an educational and wider social framework in which human rights in general will be promoted and protected to the greatest extent possible.

The aim of the study is to better understand adolescents' sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs in order to inform the design of interventions and policies that improve access to and use of adolescent SRH services in Niger. A mixed-methods study was conducted and included: (i) a quantitative analysis of Niger's Demographic Health Survey/Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (DHS/MICS) 2012; (ii) 17 focus group discussions conducted in urban and rural areas among 128 adolescents; and (iii) a set of recommendations to improve access to and use of SRH services for adolescents in the country. The study found that age at first marriage among adolescent females is 15.7 years and is followed soon thereafter by sexual debut (15.9 years). According to focus group discussions (FGDs), adolescent's boys and girls start spending time together at 12 years in urban areas and 10 years in rural areas; this may lead to sexual intercourse in exchange for material and financial resources. Over 70 percent of adolescents have given birth by 18 years of age. Although knowledge about modern contraception is high (73 percent among female adolescents 15-19 years of age), the majority of adolescent girls do not use contraception due to societal and cultural beliefs. Moreover, FGDs reveal that the main barriers to use of SRH services is a lack of privacy and confidentiality, as well as finances, despite the government's elimination of user fees. The government has increased supply side interventions for adolescents and prioritized adolescents on the national agenda by approving the Family Planning Action Plan (2012-2020) and the National Plan for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (2011), however these plans need to be monitored and evaluated to determine their effectiveness in reaching this population group. There is also a need to increase multi-sectoral demand-side interventions in the country.

Navigating challenging and complex civic spaces is nothing new for local organizations working to advance the rights and inclusion of LGBTI communities. Join NDI Senior Program Officer for Citizen Participation for a conversation with three partners from across the globe working to sustain their advocacy for equality and inclusion, while tackling some of the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Find us on: SoundCloud | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | Google Play
Whitney Pfeifer: Navigating challenging and complex civic spaces is nothing new for local organizations working to advance the rights and inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex communities. Regardless of the levels of tolerance and legal protection in a country, these groups know how to quickly adapt and utilize innovative approaches to maintaining their work and advocating for change.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has forced organizations to cancel Pride events, training, and in-person advocacy efforts, LGBTI organizations have been quick to respond and adjust, playing an integral role in meeting the basic needs of LGBTI individuals while utilizing online creativity to stay connected and sustain LGBTI community building.
Today, we are joined by three partners from across the globe, each working to sustain their advocacy for equality and inclusion, while tackling some of the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic.
We'll be speaking to each of these local partners to discover how they have successfully built digital communities that achieved real-life results. Welcome to DemWorks.
In Panama, Fundación Iguales is working to shift social attitudes towards greater respect and acceptance of LGBTI communities. Part of this process includes collecting stories of how LGBTI communities are being impacted by COVID-19 and its response, demonstrating that as humans, we are all impacted by the pandemic, regardless of how we identify. We spoke with Ivan to learn more. Ivan, thank you for joining us.
Ivan: Thank you.
WP: Could you tell us a little bit more about the LGBTI community in Panama and the types of challenges LGBTI individuals face in building and maintaining a community?
I: We are a country between Costa Rica, who just last month legalized civil marriage for same sex couples, and Colombia, a country with equal marriage since April 2016. We're a part of that less of the 30% of Latin Americans who live in a territory where marriage equality is prohibited. Moreover, are known for public policies that takes into consideration LGBTI persons.
The challenges, there are many. As a gay person, for example, I'm not protected by any non-discrimination law, or the gender identity of the trans community is not part of what is respected by the government. There is unfortunately still a lot of stigma and discrimination for being queer.
We're a small country where there's a strong control from conservatives and religious groups, but what are the good news, I guess? The civil society is finally organized, and organizations like Fundación Iguales are doing a marvelous work promoting the respect of our human rights, creating community, helping the LGBTIQ community to be more visible, and therefore more respected by the general public.
We start a legal process to have marriage equality in Panama since 2016. We are very optimistic we will conquer in the courts and in the public opinion, by strategic innovative and emphatic messages of equality.
WP: You alluded briefly to how Fundación is contributing to building and strengthening the community in Panama. Could you discuss the facts a little bit more about how Fundación is contributing to and strengthening during these uncertain times?
I: First of all, with positive messages and with a clear presence in national conversations about the measures during the pandemic, highlighting the reality of LGBTI persons. We have had a very tough situation with restriction based on sex to restrain mobility of people here in Panama, and that had impacted dramatically the trans community and the nonbinary community of Panama, in some cases affecting their access to food and medicines. Yes, to be able to even go to the supermarket and buy bread and milk.
We decided to join forces with other organizations, specifically with an organization called Hombres Trans Panamá. It's an organization conformed by trans men to create a solidarity network. The network was created for two main activities. The first one, it is to assist directly trans and non binary people who register for humanitarian assistance. We already covered 120 people who were in need of food and medicines.
The second part of that program is an online survey to register discrimination cases for the trans community during the quarantine time. We have already had the report of 26 cases, mostly of trans person who were restricted to enter supermarkets to buy food because their gender identity or expression did not match what the police "expect" from them that day. That report was sent to the government, to regional organizations that monitor human rights, and we hope that impact possibly their lives.
For other programs that Fundación Iguales is promoting during this times of pandemic, one that is very important is a series of podcasts called Panademia LGBTIQ+, a program of Fundación Iguales with [foreign language 00:06:20], which is an independent group of journalists to highlight stories of LGBTI persons during these times, telling their stories, especially the trans community.
WP: That sounds like a lot of excellent work and strengthening the collaboration between groups has been really effective, I think, in this COVID pandemic situation.
I: Indeed.
WP: You alluded briefly to these podcasts. Are there other forms of technology that Fundación is using to continue the work that you're doing?
I: Yes, and that's very interesting because we have to reinvent our work, basically. Just before COVID, we finished a super nice, unprecedented program going through the different provinces of Panama that we call the human rights tour, with the idea to be more democratic on the contents of human rights, specifically talking about Inter-American Court of Human Rights decision on equal marriage and gender identity, the Advisory Opinion 24. It was such a success and we planned to right away continue around the whole country. With this situation we have, being confined at home with mobility restrictions, we have to change all that, but we were lucky to have a strong presence in social media with a robust content that we were able to share and build from it. Also, our capacity of doing initiatives jointly with other NGOs like I mentioned before and you highlight, were also key to show the work that we were doing on respecting human rights.
That coordination and collaborations, like the podcast example, the solidarity network, the level of infographic videos and social media interactions of Fundación Iguales are very solid. Since we dedicate an important part of our work to be present in national and international platforms for political participation, that allowed us to be more visible and not to be forget during these complicated times,
WP: It sounds that you've been able to pivot pretty smoothly and quickly, despite I'm sure what have appeared to be challenges that we're all facing during the pandemic.
Would you be willing to talk about kind of the role and benefits of partnering with international organizations such as NDI in your work?
I: When I started Fundación Iguales, I was very privileged to know that working with international organizations like NDI was essential. I lived almost eight years in Washington, D.C., And before that I studied in New York City, and I worked for almost eight years in multilateral organizations. That experience gave me a different look to understand how, and how specifically a country like Panama, a country with so many challenges, with the lack of the government support and local support, I would say, organizations and enterprises and so on ... so for me, it was very important to know that a key part of my work was to knock some doors abroad because it's essential to boost the work that we do here. Definitely, without the help, assistance, donations and more important, the moral support of embassies and organizations like NDI, our work would have been way more difficult than what actually is.
WP: As NDI, we like to partner and collaborate with our partners and recognize you as the experts and provide the technical assistance and guidance as needed. So it's good to hear that this has been beneficial for Fundación. My last question is about what's next for Fundación?
I: We're very focused that we want a social change for our country in a social change for good. We want a Panama where all persons will be respected and where they can all be happy. We want Panama to join the club of countries where same sex couples can have the support and protection of the government, and more importantly, where society in general welcomes their families. We're trans persons can fully live and decide about their dreams and lives. And we're going to conquer that by strategic campaigns, with messages, with empathy.
WP: Thank you, Ivan, for taking the time to speak with us. We look forward to seeing what Fundación is able to do in creating a safer and more equal space for LGBTI communities in Panama.
I: Thank you, it's been a pleasure.
WP: For more than 35 years, NDI has been honored to work with thousands of courageous and committed democratic activists around the world to help countries develop the institution's practices and skills necessary for democracy's success. For more information, please visit our website at www.ndi.org.
You've heard about how an organization is engaging with communities and collecting stories to plan for future advocacy efforts from Fundación Iguales. But what happens when you are in the middle of a project, when things get disrupted? LGBTI communities in Romania successfully organized to prevent an amendment to the constitution that would ban same sex marriage that was put to a referendum in 2018. In the aftermath of these efforts, there was a need to establish priorities moving forward and create space for dialogue within the community about the next steps for the overall movement. Mosaic organized different segments of the LGBTI community, including transgender communities, LGBTI, Roma, women, and older people to build consensus around an advocacy agenda moving forward.
In the midst of these community outreach efforts, COVID-19 happened. Vlad Viski, executive director of MosaiQ is with us. Vlad, thanks for joining us.
Vlad Viski: Thank you for having me.
WP: Can you tell us a little bit more about your project?
VV: Between 2015 and 2018, in Romania, there was a national campaign to change the constitution and ban gay marriages, initiatives which were supported by conservative groups and a large share of the political party. For three years, in Romania, society has been talking, probably for the first time in a very serious manner, about LGBTI rights, about the place for the LGBT community in society. This conservative effort ended with a failure at the polls for the referendum to change the constitution, only 20% of Romanians actually casting the vote for this issue when the minimum threshold of votation, of turnout, was 30%.
This was possible with quite a successful campaign coming not from not only from MosaiQ but from other LGBTI organizations in Romania throughout the country. We all kind of went on the boycott strategy, we're actually asking people to boycott the referendum because human rights cannot be subject to a popular vote.
Once the referendum in 2018 failed in Romania, there was a question in the community. What should we do next? How should our agenda look like for the next couple of years? We at Mosaic, we really tried to focus and we really thought the issue of intersectionality as being extremely important. This is how the idea of this project started, Engage and Empower was the name of the project. It focused on six groups within the LGBT community: transgender people, LBTQ women, elderly, people living with HIV, Roma LGBT people, and sex workers.
WP: Could you talk a little bit more about how the organization is trying to maintain momentum in this community building efforts, despite what's going on with the pandemic?
VV: We at MosaiQ, we had to reimagine some of the projects that we were involved in, so that included canceling events or postponing them or rescheduling for the fall. But the problem is also that we don't really know the timeline for this story or when it will end. We've had issues related to personal issues of people in the community. People living with HIV were not getting their treatment due to the fact that hospitals were closed except for the coronavirus. Then we've had issues related to sex workers not being able to work anymore. The issue of poverty has been quite an important issue. A lot of people have been laid off, a lot of people were not able to pay rent, a lot of people were either in unemployment benefits, and so on.
At the personal level for us and as an organization, all of a sudden we got a lot more messages from people asking for help. We've tried to help them on a case by case basis. We are not a social health kind of organization, but we've tried to fix as many problems as we were able to. Then throughout this, and actually talking about issue of intersectionality and the issue of the project and the way we work with the Roma LGBT community, what we've witnessed throughout this pandemic and the lockdowns, especially, was an increase in violence, against Roma people from the police. So together with colleagues from civil society, especially Roma groups, we had to monitor hate speech in the media, monitor cases of abuse and violence from the police, and also make statements and letters to official institution, to the president and the prime minister and so on. So for us, it was an issue of also solidarity with other groups affected by the pandemic.
WP: I believe that you've had to move some of your activities online, correct?
VV: That was another part, which we kind of tried to make the best out of the situation. We felt that there were a lot of young kids, for example, who, because schools were closed, they had to go back and live with their homophobic parents. A lot of organizations, LGBT organizations in Romania were not able to have the Zoom meetings with their volunteers because they were living with homophobic or transphobic parents so they could not reveal what they were doing or who they were talking to. So the issue of depression and psychological pressure that comes on people being locked down, people trying to survive throughout this pandemic, we decided to have a campaign online, which was called MosaiQ Quarantine, and that included parties online in order to support queer artists who were not able to earn any money because there were no gigs. We organized these online parties and we paid them and we supported their work.
Then we had the zoom talks with, or like talks online, with all of the organizations and groups in Romania, LGBT groups, to kind of better see the situation on the ground in different cities in Romania. That was for us extremely important because we felt like there was a need to have this dialogue within the community.
Then we had the all sorts of posts on social media and different kinds of events. We also talked with organizations from the region, from the US, from Moldova, from Russia, to kind of see what the feeling also over there.
So for us, it was quite an exercise to take advantage of the fact that using social media and using online tools, we were able to reach out to people who otherwise would not have been able to participate in our events, being so far away.
WP: It sounds like Mosaic has certainly stepped up to the challenges. Could you just briefly talk about what NDI support has meant to Mosaic?
VV: I think the project funded by NDI was extremely important, both for the community ... right now, we have an active Roma LGBT group. We have all of these, the issue of intersectionality being put on the agenda. We have the [inaudible 00:19:36] sports, which is a sports club run by women who is also trying to grow based also on the support that Mosaic has offered through NDI. We've had, at the Pride last season, the first Roma LGBT contingent putting the issue on the agenda. So for us, in many regards, this project kind of focused us more on this intersectional approach to activism and the need to include all voices within the community. The trust that they had in us was very important.
WP: I'm glad to hear that it's been a fruitful partnership, both for NDI and Mosaic. Vlad, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us.
VV: Oh, that's it.
WP: We'll be back after this short message.
To hear more from democracy heroes and why inclusion is critical to democracy, listen to our DemWorks podcast, available on iTunes and SoundCloud.
Before the break we heard from two partners using digital platforms to create and support communities. But how are groups sustaining their online networks and communities once created? Rainbow Rights trained paralegals in the Philippines on legal issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity and how to support LGBTI communities. Through Google Classroom, these paralegals formed an online network to help communities facing discrimination and violence. Eljay, welcome to our podcast. Could you tell us a little bit more about the paralegal support project?
Eljay: Yeah. One of the main components of our community paralegal program is to create a national online platform wherein all of the trained paralegals of our organization will be able to share their experiences, their cases, and they could also refer some of the difficult cases to us. So that's the main idea. It's just that it gained a deeper significance in this COVID-19 pandemic that we're experiencing because a lot of legal organizations hurried to do to do what we had been doing in the past year, which is to create an online platform.
Right now, even though there's a lot of problems in the Philippines barring the central autocracy, we have been maintaining the platform. People are still referring cases to us and we are working on those cases. Part of the deeper significance that it has is in the Philippines, human rights violations have increased because of the lockdown. So it became a source of reporting documentation for these human rights violations during the lockdown. We did not expect that it will evolve that way but we're happy that it has, and despite some connectivity issues in the Philippines, it has been reaping as well.
WP: So when you're talking about the program, there've been increased human rights reports, is that generally more broad human rights abuses? Or are we talking specifically to the LGBTI community?
E: Yeah, we accept every report on numerous violations, but we take on the LGBTI human rights violations specifically. When we receive human rights violations that is not really in our lane, so to speak, we refer them to bigger organizations. We have seen increased numerous violation against the LGBTQI community here.
WP: You had mentioned that Rainbow Rights fortunately had organized the training for the paralegals before the pandemic hit and already have a plan in place to use online platforms, which was Google Classroom, to create this network across the country. You've briefly referenced what the current situation is like now, but could you go a little deeper into that? What kind of challenges is Rainbow Rights facing in continuing to engage with the community?
E: As I have mentioned, maybe a bigger challenge is the connectivity issues in the Philippines. We don't have good internet here, and that's a challenge. It's also challenged to keep the interest level of our paralegals and keep them engaged. That is also challenged because they have bigger problems now. Because of the pandemic, they're thinking of their health, they're thinking of their livelihoods, and that is a challenge during these times.
However, before the pandemic, we also saw that we had to be creative at the level of interest, so that's a challenge. The situation, it's working. Overall situation's working. We have referrals, we continue to share modules in our platform, refreshing their memory on the training. We also try to be light. There are some light moments so that they be so that they keep themselves also, the interest level is high and that they see us and they trust us in maintaining this platform.
WP: You alluded to the fact that it's often difficult to maintain interest of your paralegals when engaging online.
E: Basically, we had a two-pronged approach on this. One is to find the people who has a genuine interest to serve the community. So in our selection process, we have chosen people who have track records of service in their communities. The other side of the approach is to build on the spirit of camaraderie, friendship, and community solidarity between us. So even before the pandemic, we have been setting up calls and checking on them, even adding them on Facebook and Twitter just to continually engage with them. I think that's a big part of our strategies. We're also looking to ... I think in my personal view, I think a lot of what they do is labor, so I think in the future, we will be able to compensate them for their efforts in their community and we're looking into that as well.
WP: That's really interesting. Could you speak a little bit more to the role and benefits of partnering with international organizations such as NDI in your work and as well as helping to sustain this national network?
E: Yeah. I think it's invaluable. Foreign support, foreign funding support such as the NDI had been really great for us. We have been envisioning this project for a long time and NDI gave us the opportunity to really implement it. They also gave us a level of freedom in how to execute the program because there's a recognition that we in the ground know how to solve our problems. But there's also a lot of technical support aside from the funding. Like in digital security, NDI has given us a lot of resources, even given us a training for this and how to secure our online platforms. They also provided a lot of coalition building resources. So there, and I think we are also sharing what our experience with NDI to our other funders, because I think with NDI, we had a lot of freedom and we had a lot of support because you guys always check on us, so that's great.
WP: Well, I'm glad to hear that NDI is taking care of our partners. Thinking about how June is Pride Month for a lot of communities around the world, and Pride is often equated to the community of LGBTI people around the world how would you say Rainbow Rights efforts have contributed to strengthening the community in the light of the violence and the discrimination that LGBTI people face on a daily basis in the Philippines?
E: Since 2005, Rainbow Rights has been doing this approach wherein we come ... a top down approach at the policy level, but we also complement it with from the grassroots, bottom up approach. We make sure that whatever we bring at the policy level, it is informed by our grassroots services. I think that's one of our biggest contribution, is to really complement policy with experience on the ground. Most of the policies that we've pushed for is really coming from what our experiences and what are the real needs of the people that we serve in the communities. I think that's one of our biggest contributions in our approach. We're not just the legal, we don't just bring cases to court. We don't just bring legal expertise, but we also inform it with community level approaches and grassroots approaches.
WP: Well, thank you LJ again for taking the time to speak with us and telling us a little bit more about how Rainbow Rights is contributing to a holistic support system to the LGBTI community in the Philippines.
E: Thank you so much for this opportunity.
WP: Thank you to Ivan, Vlad, and Eljay for sharing their experiences and for the work you're doing to advance LGBTI equality and inclusion, and thank you to our listeners. To learn more about NDI or to listen to other DemWorks podcasts, please visit us at ndi.org

Rainbow Rights Paralegal Training



A Conversation With LGBTI Activists on Community-Building

Democracy (General), Podcast Listen LGBTI Pride National Democratic Institute NDICountries: All Regions

El Huracán Gustav se formó en el Caribe la mañana del 25 de agosto al sureste de Puerto Príncipe, Haití. Rápidamente se intensificó en una tormenta tropical esa misma tarde y en un huracán en las primeras horas del día siguiente. Con su paso afectó gravemente a poblaciones de Haití, Republica Dominicana, Jamaica y esta última semana, Cuba y los Estados Unidos. Varios medios informan sobre este suceso y sus repercusiones en diferentes ámbitos: "MSNBC": "Cuba digs out after Gustav's winds hit 212 mph: Homes destroyed and flooded, but no deaths; hurricane set wind record":http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26486029/"New Orleans mayor: Don't come home yet: Nagin says it's too early to return after massive hurricane evacuation":http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26501363/"MSNBC" presenta sitio con links a noticias relacionadas al paso del huracán: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22886841#22886841"Gustav may trigger $10B in insurance claims: 'More of a wind event, than a flood event,' says insurance spokesman": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26510099/"Le Monde":"L'ouragan Hanna fait 10 morts à Haïti, déjà frappé par Gustav":http://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2008/09/02/l-ouragan-hanna-fait-10-morts-a-haiti-deja-frappe-par-gustav_1090770_3222.html#ens_id=1088297"A Lafayette, en Louisiane, "rien n'a changé depuis Katrina"":http://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2008/09/02/a-lafayette-en-louisiane-rien-n-a-change-depuis-katrina_1090733_3222.html#ens_id=1088297"El Mercurio" de Chile: "Fueron canceladas todas las actividades políticas: Republicanos dedican su primera jornada de convención a los afectados por el huracán":http://diario.elmercurio.com/2008/09/02/internacional/_portada/noticias/3D183F6E-D62D-469D-892E-8DFD8DA361E1.htm?id={3D183F6E-D62D-469D-892E-8DFD8DA361E1}"Gustav pierde fuerza, pero deja siete muertos al golpear a Nueva Orleáns":http://diario.elmercurio.com/2008/09/02/internacional/_portada/noticias/4AC9C805-D662-43B7-BDCF-9E76B1708AB5.htm?id={4AC9C805-D662-43B7-BDCF-9E76B1708AB5}"Miami Herald":"Hurricane Gustav largely spares New Orleans, floods parts of La., Miss.":http://www.miamiherald.com/569/story/668225.html"Los Angeles Times":"After Gustav, Louisiana begins process of recovering":http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gustav3-2008sep03,0,3455205.story"New Orleans levees hold against Hurricane Gustav":http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gustav2-2008sep02,0,2668771.story"Republicans scale back convention due to Hurricane Gustav":http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gop1-2008sep01,0,1600658.story"Hurricane Gustav bears down on empty New Orleáns: Thousands have taken to the highways before the storm, expected to make landfall today as a Category 3.":http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gustav1-2008sep01,0,1882337.story"The Economist": "Half-empty streets: New Orleans is recovering its energy, but not its people":http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12009922"The trailers that smelt bad: After the storm, the poisoning"http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12009914"New York Times":"Powerful Hurricane Lashes Gulf Coast":http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/us/02gustav.html?ref=us"Party's Plans Are Unsettled; McCain Visits Gulf":http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/01/us/politics/01repubs.html?ref=us"CNN":"CNN" presenta sitio con links a noticias relacionadas al paso del huracán: http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/news/hurricane.gustav/"Oil prices fall sharply as hurricane weakens":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/09/01/oil.prices.ap/index.html"Gustav hits U.S. economy: Storm is weaker than Katrina three years ago. But it hits an economy that is at greater risk.":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/09/01/gustav/index.htmlAMERICA LATINA"CNN" informa: "Bolivia's Morales visits Iran":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/09/01/bolivia.iran/index.html"La Nación" informa: "Bolivia: sorpresivo giro de la Corte Electoral contra Evo Morales: El organismo rechazó realizar el referéndum constitucional porque "no fue convocado por ley sino sólo por un decreto"":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1045579"New York Times" informa: "Chávez Threatens to Expel American Ambassador": http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/01/world/americas/01venez.html?ref=world"El Mercurio" de Chile anuncia: "Chávez podría controlar los blogs y sitios de internet como Facebook": http://diario.elmercurio.com/2008/09/02/internacional/_portada/noticias/981BC888-A155-4AAB-8EE8-0ACA5CC4D76D.htm?id={981BC888-A155-4AAB-8EE8-0ACA5CC4D76D}New York Times" anuncia: "Drug Violence Alters the Flow of Life in Mexico": http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/world/americas/31mexico.html?ref=world"El País" de Madrid publica: "'Marcha blanca' contra el crimen en México: Cientos de miles de ciudadanos reclaman más seguridad ante la imparable ola de violencia": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Marcha/blanca/crimen/Mexico/elpepiint/20080901elpepiint_7/Tes"Los Angeles Times" anuncia: "Calderon presents Mexico's annual report in written form: A new law allows President Felipe Calderon to give his state of the nation report without having to appear before Congress, a move that avoids disturbances.":http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-informe2-2008sep02,0,772815.story"La Nación" informa: "Un coche bomba dejó cuatro muertos en Cali: El gobierno de Uribe atribuyó el atentado a las FARC": http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1045503"El País" de Madrid informa: "Un coche bomba mata a cinco personas en Colombia: La explosión se produce cerca del Palacio de Justicia de Cali.- La Policía sospecha de las FARC": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/exodo/Nueva/Orleans/paraliza/campana/EE/UU/elpepuint/20080901elpepiint_1/Tes"La Nación" publica: "Betancourt reclamó un espacio político para las FARC: Sin embargo le pidió a la guerrilla que deje de actuar en forma "terrorista"":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1045634"La Nación" informa: "Ingrid Betancourt, con el Papa": http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1045502"El País" de Madrid publica: "Un caso de espionaje agita de nuevo las instituciones de Brasil: Lula promete investigar un escándalo de escuchas telefónicas ilegales al presidente del Supremo y a un senador": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/caso/espionaje/agita/nuevo/instituciones/Brasil/elpepuint/20080901elpepuint_10/Tes"MSNBC" analiza: "Brazil's spy chief removed over bugging scandal: Wiretaps found on phones of Supreme Court justice, senior politicians": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26505995/"The Economist" analiza: "Brazil: A funny kind of reward. Just when production from Petrobras's big new oilfields gets going, the government ponders changing the rules on oil exploration": http://www.economist.com/world/americas/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12009864"CCN": "Cuban musician guilty of public disorder":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/08/29/cuba.punkrocker.ap/index.html"La Nación": "Advirtió Lugo sobre un plan golpista liderado por Oviedo: Involucró también a Duarte Frutos": http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1045500"El Mercurio" de Chile informa: "Fernando Lugo denuncia conspiración golpista":http://diario.elmercurio.com/2008/09/02/internacional/internacional/noticias/335949BE-6966-42F4-8C2A-4FEB762D4672.htm?id={335949BE-6966-42F4-8C2A-4FEB762D4672}"Le Monde" publica: "L'Argentine va rembourser sa dette au Club de Paris": http://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2008/09/02/l-argentine-va-rembourser-sa-dette-au-club-de-paris_1090779_3222.html#ens_id=1090782"La Nación"analiza: "Primera jugada fuerte de Cristina: el Gobierno cancela la deuda con el Club de París con reservas del BCRA: Como ocurrió con el FMI, la Presidenta afirmó que saldará los compromisos de 6700 millones de dólares con fondos del Banco Central ; "esto reafirma una vez más la voluntad de pago de la Argentina", señaló; justificó que este pasivo "no es de carácter financiero" y dijo que el país "necesita confianza"":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1045593"El País" informa sobre gira de Vázquez : "Corea del Sur pidió más apoyo a sus inversiones":http://www.elpais.com.uy/08/09/01/ultmo_367240.aspEl Portal de "Terra" publica: "Vázquez impulsa la exportación de carne a Corea del Sur":http://actualidad.terra.es/nacional/articulo/vazquez-corea-sur-2715888.htESTADOS UNIDOS / CANADA"The Economist" analiza: "John McCain: No surrender. The gnarled maverick outpolls his party and might even beat Barack Obama. But what sort of president would he be?": http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12001775"The Economist" informa. "The Democratic convention: Flags, cheers, discipline and doubt. Barack Obama struggled this week to unite his party": http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12010827"Time" presenta sitio con links a artículos sobre las elecciones estadounidenses: http://thepage.time.com/"Time" anuncia: "Day One at the Republican National Convention": http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1838049,00.html"El Universal" de México publica: "Reanudan Convención Republicana con mensaje de Bush: El presidente Bush, hablará desde la Casa Blanca en una videoconferencia que se transmitirá en el Xcel Energy Center de esta capital de Minnesota": http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/534973.html"BBC" informa: "Republican convention to resume": http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7594149.stm"Le Monde" informa: "Après un faux départ, la convention républicaine revient au premier plan": http://www.lemonde.fr/elections-americaines/article/2008/09/02/apres-un-faux-depart-la-convention-republicaine-revient-au-premier-plan_1090781_829254.html#ens_id=1089564"La Nación" publica: "Inesperado giro en la campaña republicana: Palin reveló que su hija adolescente está embarazada": http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1045463"MSNBC" anuncia: "Palin disclosures raise questions about vetting: Alaskans say no one from McCain camp asked them about eventual VP pick": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26501863/"El País" de Madrid publica: "La convención demócrata no ayuda a Obama en las encuestas: Un sondeo realizado por CNN al finalizar la reunión de Denver revela que mantiene el empate con el republicano John McCain en las preferencias": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/convencion/democrata/ayuda/Obama/encuestas/elpepuint/20080901elpepuint_18/TesEUROPAVarios medios informan sobre desarrollo del conflicto entre Rusia y Georgia: "New York Times": "E.U. Meets on Georgia Crisis Response": http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/world/europe/02georgia.html?ref=world"El País" de Madrid: "La UE presiona a Rusia para que retire sus tropas de Georgia a niveles previos a la guerra: Sarkozy, Solana y Barroso viajarán a Moscú y Tbilisi la próxima semana para verificar el cumplimiento del acuerdo de alto el fuego.- Medvédev avisa que no dará marcha atrás sobre el reconocimiento de Osetia del Sur y Abjazia": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/UE/condiciona/nuevas/negociaciones/asociacion/Rusia/retiro/efectivo/tropas/Georgia/elpepuint/20080901elpepuint_11/Tes"La UE busca una posición común frente a Rusia: Brown advierte que "ningún país puede tener el dominio energético de Europa"": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/UE/busca/posicion/comun/frente/Rusia/elpepuint/20080901elpepiint_5/Tes"CNN":"EU warns Russia against isolation": http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/09/01/russia.georgia.summit.sanctions/index.html"La Nación": "Las inversiones europeas en Rusia alejan las sanciones: Alemania, Italia y Francia se oponen a cualquier castigo y abogan por un incremento del diálogo con el Kremlin":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1045585"Cumbre europea: Dividida, la UE evita sancionar a Rusia. Le exigió que se retirara de Georgia":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1045504"MSNBC":"Putin vows 'an answer' to NATO ships: Russia has repeatedly complained of Black Sea build-up after Georgia war":http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26508298/"EU delays economic, political talks with Russia: Sarkozy says Moscow needs to pull its troops back from Georgia, first": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26497101/"Time""Putin Vows 'Answer' to NATO Ships":http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1837975,00.html"EU Talks Tough on Russia": http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1837863,00.html"China Daily":"Georgia formally breaks ties with Russia":http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-09/02/content_6991967.htm"The Economist" "Russia and Georgia: Put out even more flags: Russia's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia will reverberate for a long time—not least at home": http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12009856"Time" informa: "Italy Pays Reparations to Libya":http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1838014,00.html"La Nación" informa: "Pronostican una recesión en Gran Bretaña: La OCDE que el crecimiento será negativo en los dos últimos trimestres del año, pero indicó que será positivo en 2009; lanzan un paquete para adquirir la primera vivienda": http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1045588ASIA – PACÍFICO /MEDIO ORIENTE"New York Times" informa: "Japan's Prime Minister Resigns":http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/world/asia/02japan.html?ref=world"EL País" de Madrid publica: "Dimite el primer ministro de Japón: Yasuo Fukuda, que atravesaba una grave crisis de popularidad, considera que es lo mejor para el país": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Dimite/primer/ministro/Japon/elpepuint/20080901elpepuint_13/Tes"MSNBC" anuncia: "Japan's unpopular prime minister resigns: Move throws world's second-largest economy into political confusion": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26495149/"Time" informa: "In Japan, A Strategic Resignation": http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1837919,00.html"CNN" anuncia: "Beleaguered Japanese PM resigns":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/01/japan.pm/index.html"La Nación" publica: "Presentó su dimisión el premier de Japón: Yasuo Fukuda era resistido por el Senado": http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1045465"New York Times" publica: "Thai Protesters Target Utilities": http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/world/asia/02thailand.html?ref=world"MSNBC" informa: "Violence sparks Bangkok state of emergency: Thai premier bans gatherings of more than 5 people after deadly protests": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26498577/"La Nación" informa: "Tailandia: declaran el estado de emergencia por la ola de violencia: La crisis política, que derivó en los fuertes enfrentamientos entre oficialistas y opositores, se cobró su primera víctima; el ejército tomó el control de las calles": http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1045580"The Economist" publica: "Thailand: No compromise: A three-year political conflict grinds on, as protesters besiege the government": http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12009966"Los Angeles Times" anuncia: "Thai army takes to streets": http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-thai2-2008sep02,0,2452625.story"Time" informa: "Thai PM Refuses to Step Down":http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1837805,00.html"CNN" informa: "Indian flood leaves 3 million needing help":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/01/india.floods.relief.dead/index.html"MSNBC" analiza: "Disease feared at India flood refugee camps: 250,000 in shelters now, but that could double; cholera, diarrhea feared": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26497562/"CNN" anuncia: "Dalai Lama discharged from Indian hospital": http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/01/india.dalai.lama.ap/index.html"Time" analiza: "The Lessons of the Beijing Olympics":http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1835582,00.html"China Daily" publica: "China set to raise poverty line":http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-09/03/content_6992004.htm"The Economist" analiza: "Pakistan. Man of the hour: From demented jailbird to president-in-waiting: Asif Zardari's metamorphosis": http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12010369"CNN" informa: "Iraqi troops take control of key province": http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/09/01/iraq.anbar.handover.coalition/index.htmlAFRICA"New York Times" informa: "Zimbabwe Lifts Ban on Aid Groups, but Its Effects Linger":http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/world/africa/30zimbabwe.html?ref=world"CNN" publica: "Police seize opposition MPs in Zimbabwe": http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/08/27/zimbabwe.arrests/index.html"El País" de Madrid anuncia: "Mauritania forma su primer Gobierno tras el golpe: El nuevo Ejecutivo está formado por 28 miembros, en su mayoría tecnócratas sin experiencia política": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Mauritania/forma/primer/Gobierno/golpe/elpepuint/20080901elpepuint_8/Tes"CNN" informa: "Nigerian militants claim 29 soldiers dead; military disagrees": http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/08/30/nigeria.attack/index.html"MSNBC" anuncia: "17 feared dead after aid plane crashes in Congo: No sign of survivors as humanitarian flight operated by U.S. firm goes down": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26505815/"CNN" informa: "Sudan hijackers surrender":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/08/27/sudan.plane.hostages/index.htmlECONOMIA"The Economist" publica su informa semanal: "Business this week": http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12011210"CNN" anuncia: "Iraq signs $3 billion oil deal with China":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/08/30/iraq.china.oil.deal/index.html"The Economist" informa: "The second browser war: Google's new web browser is its most direct attack on Microsoft yet": http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12039759&source=features_box_main"MSNBC" publica: "Oil industry tallies the damage from Gustav: Early indications that storm caused little damage to Gulf's facilities":http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26509771/"MSNBC" analiza: "The world's most powerful women: Business and political leaders on Forbes list control $26 trillion worldwide": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26426065/"Time" publica: "Google Enters the Browser Wars": http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1837914,00.html

MENTAL BULLYING AND ITS IMPACT TO VICTORIA DAWSON IN DANIELLE STEEL'S BIG GIRL Karina Rachmawati English Literature, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Surabaya State University rahmakarina92@gmail.com Prof. Dr. FD Kurnia, M.Pd. English Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Surabaya State University Abstrak Novel Big Girl adalah novel Danielle Steel yang mempunyai tema Mental Bullying dalam penulisannya. Victoria Dawson mental bullying menjadi topic utama dalam penelitian ini. Dengan demikian penelitian ini berfokus pada tiga masalah utama (1) Mental Bullying seperti apa yang dialami oleh Victoria Dawson dalam novel Big Girl oleh Danielle Steel (2) Penyebab Victoria Dawson Mental Bullying dalam novel Big Girl oleh Danielle Steel (3) Dampak Victoria Dawson Mental Bullying dalam novel Big Girl oleh Danielle Steel. Data dari tesis ini diambil dari novel sebagai sumber utama dan membaca intensif untuk langkah analisis berikutnya. Untuk menjawab semua masalah, penelitian ini menggunakan teori Psychology of Bullying untuk menggambarkan Mental Bullying, Penyebab dan Dampaknya. Penelitian kepustakaan digunakan untuk data yang dibutuhkan perguruan tinggi. analisis yang digunakan untuk menganalisis data yang dikumpulkan berdasarkan teori. Deskripsi digunakan untuk menjelaskan hasil analisis. Setelah melalui analisis yang panjang dengan menggunakan tiga macam metode di atas,Ditemukan bahwa mental bullying membawa dampak buruk bagi korban bullying karena menggunakan kata kata dan emosi untuk menghina seseorang. Korban mental bullying mengalami depresi, merasa takut, dan merasa kesepian untuk bergaul dengan orang lain dan sebagian besar dari mereka tidak mempunyai teman. Kata kunci: Bullying, Mental Bullying, Insult Abstract Big Girl is Danielle steel's novel which has Mental Bullying themes she writes on throughout her work. Victoria Dawson mental bullying has become the main topic of this study. Thus this study focuses on three major problems, (1) What mental bullying is experienced by Victoria Dawson in Danielle Steel's Big Girl, (2) What are the causes of Victoria Dawson mental bullying in Danielle Steel's Big Girl, and (3) What are the impacts of Victoria Dawson mental bullying in Danielle Steel's Big Girl. The data of the thesis is taken from the novel as the main source and intensive reading to next step of analysis. To answer the all problems, this study is using Psychology of Bullying Theory to depict the mental bullying, causes and impacts. This study also used library research, analysis and description. Library research is used to college data needed. An analysis is used to analyze the collected data based on the theories. Description is used to describe the result of analysis. After getting through long analysis by using three kinds of method above, it finds out that mental bullying bring bad impacts to victim of bullying because using words and emotions to insult someone. The mental victims of bullying are depressed, always feeling afraid and feel lonely to associate with other people and most of them has not a friend. Key words: Bullying, Mental Bullying, Insult. INTRODUCTION Many people may probably had problems. One of their problems related with psychological. Psychology term is a thing that can not be separated far from human life. Psychology terms have touched all of the aspect about human life. Everything about human life's conflict has always touched the deepest side of human's psychology condition. There must be something that related to the psychology. When somebody gets the hurt from anything, there is always a big possibility of one who get the messy thing in his mind; it could influence his internal condition such as his way of thinking, his emotional reaction, etc. For the most serious effect, they might get the trauma and also the death of somebody because they can not control the internal conflict inside their soul. One of psychological experiences in this paper is Bullying. Bullying is a serious issue that is faced by many people, and can leave a people to live in complete fear. Bullying it self mean typically a form of repeated, persistent and aggressive behaviour directed at an individual or individuals that is intended to cause (or should be known to cause) fear and distress and/or harm to another person's body, feelings, self-esteem or reputation. Bullying occurs in a context where there is a real or perceivedpower imbalance. Bullying is the use of force to intimidate someone. It can happen to anyone, anywhere and any time. It can come from a single person or a group. Bullying can be delivered verbally or in some extreme cases physically where the victim suffers actual bodily harm. Bullying behavior can be direct or indirect bullying. Direct bullying behaviors (overt) involve behaviors that are observable and that are usually expressed by physical and verbal means. Usually direct bullying involves relatively open attacks on a victim and are "in front of your face" behaviors. However, bullying behavior is not always hitting, kicking, teasing, or name calling. Children who bully others may use subversive acts that hurt just as much, but are harder to detect. Indirect bullying is related with Mental Bullying. This bullying practice occurs secretly and in the outside of our monitoring radar. Examples of indirect bullying are leaving others out on purpose, spreading rumours to destroy another's reputation or getting others to dislike another person, a cynical viewing, public humiliating, isolating, humiliating, accusing, gossiping, slandering, snapping, glaring and pouting. This is covert bullying or "behind your face" behaviours. Bullying is not just a childhood problem: it extends to adulthood, the boardroom, shop floor and the dysfunctional family. (Beane, 2003:6). It can be concluded that bullying related with mental abuse, also known as mental bullying. Mental Bullying can occur in close relationships, including parent/child relationships, marital relationships or sibling relationships. Mental bullying causes damage in the victim as she is made to believe she is worthless and at fault. Mental bullying is particularly harmful on children because of the impact it has on developing self-esteem and patterns relating to others. As mentioned above, one of the novels deals with theme Mental Bullying is Big Girl, because this study will describe about Victoria Dawson mental bullying is the main topic of Big Girl, because it's interesting for discussed through topic. Victoria Dawson experienced mental bullying when the firstborn child, she grows up out of place in her family because of her fair hair and thicker build. While the rest of her family is dark haired and thin, Victoria is blond, blue-eyed and according to her father, has his grandmother's 'big' build. Victoria puts up with her father's thinly-veiled barbs while her mother constantly drops weight remarks. Meanwhile her parents dote on the younger sister Grace, as she is beautiful and thin. In accordance of background study above, it can be simplify to discuss among three problems that emerge as significant concern toward this novel. 1. What mental bullying is experienced by Victoria Dawson in Danielle Steel's Big Girl? 2. What are the causes of Victoria Dawson mental bullying in Danielle Steel's Big Girl? 3. What are the impacts of Victoria Dawson mental bullying in Danielle Steel's Big Girl? This study will uses Psychology of Bullying theory in order to answer the question in the statement of the problems, this study tries applying theory as the base of analysis this theory is: Psychology of bullying to analyze about Victoria Dawson Mental Bullying in Danielle Steel's Big Girl. The first problem is what mental bullying is experienced by Victoria Dawson in Danielle Steel's Big Girl. This statement will use Psychology of bullying theory. with several kinds of mental bullying are; public humiliating, isolating, accusing, gossiping, slandering, snapping, embarrassed, humiliated and condescended. But of the several kinds mental bullying that have been mentioned above, which includes kinds of mental bullying that occurred and depicted to Victoria mental bullying are humiliation; embarrassed and condescended. Then the second is what are the causes of Victoria Dawson mental bullying in Danielle Steel's Big Girl. This statement will use Psychology of Bullying theory. The causes of Victoria Dawson mental bullying its come from Family factor, There are two causes that made Victoria experienced Mental Bullying from family factor; Narcissistic her parents and Being Different from her Family. And the last is What are the impacts of Victoria Dawson mental bullying in Danielle Steel's Big Girl. This statement will use Psychology of Bullying theory. The impacts of Victoria Dawson mental bullying its she feel sadness and self esteem which is there are three impacts because of Victoria feel sadness and self esteem; Search for Self Identity to New York, Struggle from her Body Image, and See a Psychiatrist. RESEARCH METHOD This thesis is regarded as a descriptive-qualitative study and use a library research. Therefore, the data will not be in number. The descriptive method of his study can be elaborated as follows. The main source of the study is taking from Danielle steel novel entitled Big Girl by Danielle steel, is an American novelist who is currently the bestselling author alive and the fourth bestselling author of all time, with over 800 million copies sold. Based in California for most of her career, Steel has produced several books a year, often juggling up to five projects at once, all her novels have been bestsellers, including those issued in hardback. Big Girl published by Delacorte Press on February 23, 2010. In analyzing the data, a descriptive qualitative method was applied. The data mostly got from library research. The data consist of the main data and additional data. The main data are collected or taken from Danielle Steel's Big Girl in the form of quotations, comments on the events and action related with the issue that is Victoria Dawson mental bullying, the causes and the Impacts of Victoria Dawson mental bullying in Big Girl. The supporting data are taking from many sources such as articles, reference books, journals, magazines, internet sources that are relevant with the topic and other related sources. Then the data are collected, clarified, analyzed and made a conclusion. To assist and strengthen the data will be analyze; Victoria Dawson mental bullying in Danielle Steel's Big Girl used Psychology of bullying, the causes and the impacts of Victoria Dawson mental bullying. Overall, those concepts are relating with the Victoria characterization in her life. This study contains four chapters. The first chapter is about introduction consist of background of the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, significance of the study, limitation of the study, research method and organization of the study. The second chapter is Review related of literature; consist of Psychology of bullying, Victoria Dawson mental bullying, the causes and the impacts of Victoria Dawson mental bullying, and paradigm of analysis. The third chapter is analysis about the novel Big Girl. The fourth or the last chapter in this study is conclusion of the analysis. This study encloses appendices: the biography of Danielle Steel and the synopsis of Big Girl. ANALYSIS Which the theories that are state in the previous chapter are used as a guide to accomplish it. This analysis will divided into several sub chapters. The first part in this chapter is about the Mental Bullying is experienced by Victoria Dawson in Danielle Steel's "Big Girl". The second part is about the causes of Victoria Dawson mental bullying and the last chapter about the impacts of Victoria Dawson mental bullying in the novel. Victoria Dawson Mental Bullying Bullying is emotional negative action performed against others who have traits that differ from other large groups, for example, of different races, shapes hair, skin color and so on. Bullying can be emotional done by cursing or acting intentionally using motion - a particular movement aimed to insult. (Elliot , 2005:2). One of kind bullying is related with mental abuse, and usually called with mental bullying. According to Sejiwa, (2007:2) mental bullying is a type of bullying. It is one of the most hurtful types of bullying. It is the act of using words and emotions to hurt someone. Mental bullying has two types, Verbal and Emotional. In this part it will discuss about Victoria Dawson mental bullying. To depict Victoria mental bullying, it uses Psychology of Bullying theory, with several kinds of mental bullying are; public humiliating, isolating, accusing, gossiping, slandering, snapping, embarrassed, humiliated and condescended. But of the several kinds mental bullying that have been mentioned above, which includes kinds of mental bullying that occurred and depicted to Victoria mental bullying are: Humiliation Humiliation is a kind of mental bullying that depicted to Victoria Dawson mental bullying. Big Girl tells about Victoria Dawson as the main character, she experienced mental bullying from her parents and people around her because different physical appearance than her family. Victoria parents were born from perfect physical appearance. Her father, mother and sister have the same appearance, but Victoria was different. When Victoria was a child, she experienced mental bullying from people around her and especially from her parents. In Victoria Dawson mental bullying is found quotations to depicted humiliation as kind of mental bullying. Victoria Dawson is an outcast in her own family, the round peg in a family of square holes. It is precisely her roundness that marks her as an outsider. Chubby, blond and blue-eyed in a family of slim, dark stunners, she is the daughter whom her father called "the tester cake," before getting the recipe right with younger daughter Gracie. When Victoria had a sister, Grace born with perfect physique appearance and Victoria parents satisfied with grace born. Jim always said to Victoria that she was a little tester cake. It can be seen from the quotation here: "I guess you were our little tester cake," he said, "This time we got the recipe just right," he commented happily." (p. 20) The quotation shows that Victoria is tester cake for her parent, because Victoria did not have beautiful appearance liked her parents. It made Victoria suddenly terrified that because Grace had come out so perfectly, maybe they would throw her away. She thought of what her father had said then about her being the tester cake, and wondered if it was true. Maybe they had only had her to make sure they got it right with Grace. And by then, her father still regularly teased her about being their "tester cake." Victoria knew exactly what that meant, that Grace was beautiful and she wasn't, and they had gotten it right the second time around. And her father always introduced Victoria to a business associate as his tester cake, but he also said he as proud of her, more than once, which surprised Victoria, since she never really thought that her father was proud of her. Embarrassed Embarrassed is also a kind of mental bullying that depicted to Victoria Dawson mental bullying. embarrassed occurs to others who have traits that differ from other groups or society, for example, of different races, shapes hair, skin color and so on. In this novel Victoria Dawson embarrassed by her parents and society because she had different physical appearance from her parents, she was a blond-haired, blue-eyed, chubby little girl; the complete opposite of her tall, slim, and beautiful parents. She resembled her paternal great-grandmother. She was viewed as a disappointment to her parents. Her father always referred as Queen Victoria. It can be seen from quotation here: "Jim always commented that she'd been named for Queen Victoria, whom she looked like, and then laughed heartily. It became his own favorite joke about the baby, which he was more than willing to share." (p. 10) From the quotation above, the reader know that Jim, he had perfect appearances unsatisfied with his child, Victoria. He always said that Victoria looked like Queen Victoria because she had bad appearance. And it is became his own favorite joke and he liked to share with other people. He reveals unsatisfied feeling to Victoria used jokes that made Victoria feel sad. Condescended And the last kind of mental bullying besides humiliation and embarrassed that depicted to Victoria Dawson mental bullying is condescended. Nobody likes to be condescended; when condescending person is increased endlessly it would make someone feel frustrating, annoying and humiliating. In this novel Victoria parents condescending Victoria about her physical appearance and her job and some quotations will be explained about Victoria condescending. When Victoria decided moves to New York and she want become a teacher, Victoria's choice of profession was also a source of displeasure for her father and he often told her she could do better. Victoria was a teacher for high school seniors in a prestigious private school in New York City. Instead of being proud of her as he should, her father constantly reminded her that she should get a "real job" in the business world. However, Victoria loved what she was doing and feels a true calling to be a teacher. All he had to say was that it was the wrong job in the wrong city; he usually condescended about her job because she can be poor. "You don't want to be poor for the rest of your life, do you? He said with a look of condescended." (p. 128) From the quotation above, when Victoria announced she wanted to be a teacher, her father pressures her to join him in advertising because that is where she'll earn the most money. Her father did not agree with her decision, now, her father not only insult Victoria about her physical but also condescending about her job. Tracing the quotation above, Jim refused Victoria become a teacher, he did not sure that Victoria afford to be a teacher, and he contempt that become a teacher made she to be poor and Jim did not want to subsidize Victoria. The Causes of Victoria Dawson Mental Bullying Olweus, (2004) explained that family, especially the Parents is an important factor that has a strong influence on the development of Bullying than the environments. Ahmed and Braithwaite, (2004:36) also state that family is the most influential factor in determining a person's involvement in bullying behavior. The family is the primary socializing place for children; families also have an important role in shaping a child's behavior. In the novel Big Girl, Victoria Dawson is a 6-year-old girl; for the first, she experienced mental bullying from her family when she was born And from people around her because she was a chubby little girl with blond hair, blue eyes, and ordinary looks. Victoria Dawson mental bullying occurs from family factor and there are two causes that made Victoria experienced Mental Bullying from family factor; Narcissistic her parents and Being Different from her Family. Narcissistic her parents A narcissist always hopes that people will respect himself in any situation, on other hand a narcissistic does not want to admit people's greatness but always envies someone else who seems smarter, more handsome or more successful. A narcissistic tries to impede the perception of real condition so that everything which is just belonging to one's self is highly valued and everything that belonging to another is devalued (Feist , 2002). From the explanation about Narcissistic above, the readers know about definition of narcissistic. And this one of the example causes Victoria Dawson mental bullying from family factor. In "Big Girl" Victoria Dawson is the main female character who received mental bullying because of narcissistic her parents. When Victoria twenty two years old, she go to North-western. Then she moved to New York and become an English teacher. And it made her father looked annoyed, to him; it was not even a job. He kept telling her to get a "real" job for decent money, but Victoria refused her father decisions, she still wanted to be a teacher. It can be seen from the quotation here: "I don't want to work in advertising," she said firmly. "I want to be a teacher." It was the thousandth time she'd said it to him." (p. 129) From the quotation above, we know that Victoria wanted to be a teacher, her parents belittle and mock her throughout, he disagrees with her decisions, her father forced Victoria to work in advertising because he had opinion that Victoria can not live from teacher's salaries. Her father said that Victoria can get precious job than become a teacher, she could be making three or four times what they pay to her, at any advertising agency or in any company. Jim disapproving about Victoria decisions work to private school in New York. The conclusion that Victoria parents is a narcissistic people, they just looked from handsome or beautiful and more successful perceptions and did not care with her child opinions. Quotation above explained that Victoria sister was married to a rich man was going to be a perfect complement to her father narcissism. With her ring on her finger, Grace had become a trophy proof of his success as a father, that he raised a daughter who could marry a rich man. And it made Grace no had voice and no opinions. Gracie bought into a lot of it, their lifestyle, their opinions, their politics, and their philosophies about life. Narcissistic her parents is the causes Victoria experienced mental bullying from her parents. Being Different from her family Being different from her family is the other example of causes mental bullying from family factor that Victoria experienced. Victoria Dawson is a main female character in "Big Girl" she was born from perfect physical appearance; Jim Dawson (Victoria father) was handsome from the day he was born. . He was tall for his age, had a perfect physical. Christine Dawson (Victoria Mother) she was petite and slim with hair and eyes as dark as his, and skin like Snow White. And Grace (Victoria Sister) she really a pretty girl like her mother. When she was a year old, she grew into a beautiful baby, Grace and her parents have the same appearance but Victoria was different from her family. She was naturally a big girl, liked her paternal great-grandmother, and her breasts made her like heavier. She had an hourglass figure that would have worked well in another era. It can be seen from the quotation here: "Victoria was different; she had a square look to her, a bigger frame, and broad shoulders for a child." (p. 28) From the quotation above, Victoria was born different with her family, both her parents and grace had thin frames, her father was tall and her mother and the baby were delicate and fine boned and had small frames. Grace and her parent have the same appearance, Victoria was different, and she look liked her grand mother that has big body. Victoria always become mockery from people around her, in her school, the teacher also mocked Victoria about her physical, Victoria feel that she really born different from her family. We can take conclusion that Victoria always feel that she was the galoshes because she had big body and she did not same with her family, her parent and sister are thin. And they like an apple, orange and banana but Victoria was always galoshes in her family and it is causes that made Victoria experienced mental bullying from her parent and people around her. The Impacts of Victoria Dawson mental bullying Bullying is a major social problem that can have serious effects on the wellbeing of young people. Many studies have suggested that greater frequency and severity of bullying is associated with poorer psychological wellbeing and with adjustment problems in later life. Difficulties later in life, such as family or workplace violence, may be more likely if the person is a bully- victim. Of the several impact of mental bullying that has been mentioned in review of related literature, which include that impacts of mental bullying that occurs in the character of Victoria is she feel sadness and self esteem. Victoria feel Sadness and self esteem; sadness is different to depression, as when people feel sad the feelings often pass in time but with depression they might not. Bullying can make people feel sad and lead to depression. People who are bullied are at more risk of depression and suicide attempts than those who are not being bullied. And Self esteem is Bullies often attack victims self esteem through verbal harassment and social exclusion. Individuals who are consistently berated and excluded by bullies may begin to believe that the bully's personal insults are true. (http://bullyingendshere.ca/EFFECTS_OF_BULLYING.html). When Victoria child, she experienced mental bullying especially from her parents. Victoria parents always embarrassed; humiliation; and condescending Victoria. In her society, Victoria also get name calling from people around her. And it made Victoria feel sadness and undermined her self-esteem, which is there are three impacts because of Victoria feel sadness and self esteem are: Search for self identity to New York Search for self identity to New York is an example from the impacts of Victoria Dawson feel sadness. Victoria Dawson always experienced mental bullying from people around her, because physical appearance. She had different physical appearance from her parent. Because her parents and people around her embarrassed, gossiping and give name calling to Victoria about physical appearance, Victoria feel suppressed and unwelcome they had made her feel for so long. Gracie was liked their only Child and she feel like the family stray dog. She did not even look like them, and she could not take it anymore. Growing up being the 'tester cake' is not easy, and even though Victoria is intelligent and ambitious, she is constantly reminded that men did not want smart girls. When Victoria finally moved out to go to college, each visit to her parents results in her dad's teasing and her mother weight-related questions. At least with her new life in New York, where Victoria is soon to be employed as a teacher, she can escaped from her family and finally start a new life in which she is accepted as who she is. Gracie had parents who worshipped and adored her, and supported her every move and decision. That was heady stuff. And she had no reason to rebel against them, or even separate from them. She did everything their father thought she should. He was her idol. And Victoria had parents who ignored her, ridiculed her, and never approved of a single move she made. Victoria had good reason to moved far away "She was willing to push herself out of her comfort zone if it meant finding herself at last, and the place where she belonged. All she knew now was that it wasn't here, with them. No matter how hard she had tried, she just wasn't like them." (p.62) Victoria leaved her cruel family in Los Angeles to become an English teacher at one of Manhattan's swankest private high schools. From the quotation above, we know that Victoria wanted to push herself out of her comfort zone, to finding herself, because they always made fun of her and diminished and dismissed her. They always made her feel unwanted and not really good enough for them. So she decided to become an English teacher at New York. The conclusion from analysis about Search for self identity to New York is Victoria decided to move to New York to fulfill her dreams and escape her family. She ready to start her new life in which she is accepted as who she is. And though her new life is exciting, the old temptations remain, and she continues to wage war with the scales. Victoria struggles to find a life far from the hurt and neglect of her childhood, the damage created by her parents, the courage to find freedom, and become who she really is at last. Struggle from her Body Image Struggle from her body image is a second example of the impacts Victoria Dawson experienced mental bullying. That makes Big Girl fascinating is how it chronicles Victoria struggles with her weight. Victoria becomes known as their tester cake, an experiment allowing them to get the recipe right the second time. She receives years of put-downs from her narcissistic father, and her mother ignores the comments, often adding her own advice as to how Victoria could make more of her looks and maybe someday get a man. The main character, Victoria, struggles with her weight, body image and self-esteem from childhood. Her parents frequently criticize her and favor her younger, thinner sister. As a consequence, Victoria constantly battles her weight, trying different diets and exercise programs, only to slide back into comfort eating when her parents upset her. It can be seen from the quotation here: "The summer before Victoria entered high school she went on her first diet, she had seen an ad for an herbal tea in the back of a magazine, and sent away for it with her allowance. The ad said that it was guaranteed to make her lose ten pounds, and she wanted to enter high school looking thinner and more sophisticated than she had in middle school." (p. 34) From the quotation above we know that Victoria Dawson had a big body and she unsatisfied with her body and she felt sad. So, she went on her first diet, she want looking thin and more sophisticated likes Victoria's sister Grace, the beautiful anger and the perfect replica of her parents is at the center of attraction in this family. We can take the conclusion that Victoria really wants struggles with her weight, Victoria parents frequently criticize her about her weight, and Victoria constantly battles her weight. Victoria really wants to look thin and reflected her family, so she did everything possible in order to lose her weight. She attempting diets, failing diets, trying at the gym, putting the weight back on, and getting therapy and surgery her nose. Finally, she gets a nose job to increase her self-worth. See a Psychiatrist People who bully others may also benefit from therapy, though they may be reluctant to acknowledge their bullying behavior openly. In therapy, bullies may begin to understand the impact their hurtful behavior has on others, explore reasons for why they bully, learn new skills for communicating positively with others, and/or address personal experiences that may have contributed to their bullying behavior. Often bullies have unresolved personal wounds that contribute to their bullying behavior, and addressing these emotional wounds or identity/social issues in therapy can be an integral step towards stopping bullying behavior. (http://www.goodtherapy.org/therapy-forbullying.html). And the last example of the impacts Victoria experienced mental bullying is she see a psychiatrist. "Big Girl" tells the story about a young woman who has been made to feel different because she does not look like her family all her life. Victoria Dawson was considered too big boned and heavy in her family and for most of her life, she was made to feel different and inadequate. She was also made to feel unloved, unlovable, and ugly. Her parents were of a different time and were very narcissistic. Her father was the kind of man who would make comments about something but make it out to be a joke, but the comments, even though joking, her mother was not much better and followed along with whatever her husband did and said. And it is hurt and would make Victoria feel like she was worth nothing for many years. When she got back to New York, she was disheartened by the things her parents had said, and the weight she had put back on, and because Harlan suggestion she see a psychiatrist. At the first time Victoria meet the psychiatrist, she asked few details about Victoria and her family background. It can be seen from quotation here: "She asked Victoria a few details about where she had grown up, where she had gone to school, and college, how many siblings she had and if her parents were still married or divorced." (p.234) From the quotation above, we know that Victoria really see a psychiatrist because suggestion from Harlan. Although in the beginning she feel agonized and afraid, she afraid if the women discovered that she was crazy. When she asked few details about Victoria, all the question is easy to answer for Victoria, especially when she answered the question about Grace, Victoria lit up like a light bulb when she answered the question about having a sibling, and then described her and how beautiful she was. From analysis about see a psychiatrist, we can take the conclusion that Victoria feel sadness and father joke is hurt her heart. So, she see a psychiatrist because Harlan suggestion. And after she sees a psychiatrist she feels free than before, she had been entirely open and honest with her. She had a feeling that she had opened a door that afternoon and let the light into the dark corners of her heart. CONCLUSION The conclusion is divided into two in This Study is about the main female character, Victoria Dawson from the novel "Big Girl" based on the statement of the problem. In analyzing the character, this study uses Psychology of Bullying theory. There are three statements of problem; What mental bullying is experienced by Victoria Dawson in Danielle Steel's Big Girl, What are the causes of Victoria Dawson mental bullying in Danielle Steel's Big Girl and What are the impacts of Victoria Dawson mental bullying in Danielle Steel's Big Girl. Those questions have been answered in the analysis. Victoria Dawson mental bullying is the main topic has been explained detail based on the theory above. As explained in the review of related literature there are several kind of mental bullying, But of the several kinds mental bullying that have been mentioned, which includes the kinds of mental bullying that depicted to Victoria Dawson mental bullying are; Humiliation, Embarrassed and Condescended. And the first explanation has used those three kinds of mental bullying to analyzing Victoria Mental Bullying. As seen in the novel, Victoria Dawson as the main character, she experienced mental bullying from her parents and people around her because different physical appearance than her family. Victoria parents were born from perfect physical appearance. Her father, mother and sister have the same appearance, but Victoria was different. When Victoria was a child, she experienced mental bullying from people around her and especially from her parents and three kind of mental bullying that have been mentioned its occurs to Victoria Dawson. In the second explanation, this study discusses about the causes of Victoria Dawson mental bullying. The causes of Victoria Dawson mental bullying its come from Family factor, There are two causes that made Victoria experienced Mental Bullying from family factor; Narcissistic her parents and Being Different from her Family. Victoria Dawson is a 6-year-old girl; for the first, she experienced mental bullying from her family when she was born And from people around her because she was a chubby little girl with blond hair, blue eyes, and ordinary looks, Victoria Dawson has always felt out of place in her family, because narcissistic her parents and she was being different from her family especially in body-conscious. And the last explanation discusses about the Impact of Victoria Dawson Mental Bullying. The impacts of Victoria Dawson mental bullying its she feel sadness and self esteem which is there are three impacts because of Victoria feel sadness and self esteem; Search for Self Identity to New York, Struggle from her Body Image, and See a Psychiatrist. Mental Bullying that Victoria experienced from her parents and people around her brings many impacts to Victoria, She feel sad, not confident and lonely. So, she decided to search self identity to New York, Struggle from her body and See a Psychiatrist to fulfil her dream, raised her self esteem and wants to look thin and reflected with her family. REFERENCE Ahmed, E. & Braithwaite, V. (2004). Bullying and Victimization. Causes of Concern for Both Families and Schools. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Beane, A. (1999). Facts about bullies/victims and preventive advice. United States: Free Spirit Publishing Inc. Beane Allan L., Ph.D. (2003). Bully Free Program. Helpful Fact Sheets for Parents. United States: Free Spirit Publishing Inc. DeHaan, Laura Ph.D. (2009). Bullies. United States: NDSU. Elliot, Michele. (2005). Bullying Wise Guides. New York: Hodder Children's Books. Feist, Jess, and Gregory J. Feist. (2002). Theories of Personality 5th ed. Boston: MC Graw Hall. Olweus, Dan. (1993). Bullying at School. What we know and what we can do. London: Blackwell Publishing. Olweus, Dan. (2004). Bullying at School. London: Blackwell Publishing. Sejiwa. (2007). Bullying panduan bagi orang tua dan guru. Jakarta: Grasindo. Steel, Daniell. (2010). Big Girl. United States: Delacorte Press Publisher. Sullivan, Keith. (2000). The Anti Bullying Handbook. London: Oxford University. Internet Source: (http: Bullyingendshere.ca/ Effect of Bullying. Html) Accessed in 14th 2013 (http: Selfishness and Narcissism in Family Relationships - article by Dr. Lynne Namka.html) Accessed in February 2013 (http: Goodtherapy.org) Accessed in 12th 2013 (http: What causes bullying.html) Accessed in 11th 2014

"Fake News" bilden seit Menschengedenken ein zentrales Problem für die individuelle und öffentliche Meinungsbildung. Dabei wird die Wirkung verbreiteter Desinformation heutzutage durch die technischen Möglichkeiten im Bereich der Online-Kommunikation, etwa durch die Echokammern in sozialen Netzwerken oder den Einsatz künstlicher Meinungsverstärker, mitunter noch verstärkt. Effekte von einmal geäußerter Desinformation lassen sich aus kognitionswissenschaftlicher Perspektive nur noch sehr schwer korrigieren. Die Arbeit beschäftigt sich daher mit dem (kommunikations-)grundrechtlichen Schutz vo...

"Fake News" bilden seit Menschengedenken ein zentrales Problem für die individuelle und öffentliche Meinungsbildung. Dabei wird die Wirkung verbreiteter Desinformation heutzutage durch die technischen Möglichkeiten im Bereich der Online-Kommunikation, etwa durch die Echokammern in sozialen Netzwerken oder den Einsatz künstlicher Meinungsverstärker, mitunter noch verstärkt. Effekte von einmal geäußerter Desinformation lassen sich aus kognitionswissenschaftlicher Perspektive nur noch sehr schwer korrigieren. Die Arbeit beschäftigt sich daher mit dem (kommunikations-)grundrechtlichen Schutz vo...

FEMALE REPRESENTATIVE AND RESISTANCE IN OKA RUSMINI'S EARTH DANCE Mita Hati Priyantini English Literature, Faculty of Language and Arts, Surabaya State University. Mitahati@rocketmail.com Mamik Triwedawati SS. M.Pd. English Department, Faculty of Language and Arts, Surabaya State University Abstrak Novel Earth Dance merupakan novel karya Oka Rusmini yang menyuarakan kaum subordinasi seperti wanita maupun queer. Dalam tesis ini, penelitian di lakukan terhadap dua tokoh representatif yakni Telaga sebagai tokoh utama dalam novel dan Kenten sebagai karakter queer. Dengan demikian, dapat di rumuskan tiga masalah yaitu (1) Bagaimana penggambaran representatif wanita dalam novel Earth Dance oleh Oka Rusmini; (2) Bagaimana representatif memimpin perlawanan dalam novel Earth Dance oleh Oka Rusmini; dan (3) Bagaimana dampak dari perlawanan terhadap tokoh-tokoh dalam novel Earth Dance oleh Oka Rusmini. Data dari tesis ini di ambil dari novel sebagai sumber utama dan membaca intensif untuk langkah berikutnya. Untuk menjawab semua masalah, penelitian menggunakan teori Feminisme untuk menggambarkan representatif dan perlawanan perempuan, baik penyebab dan dampakanya. Penelitian kepustakaan di gunakan sebagai data pendukung dalam analisis. Selanjutnya, deskripsi analisis di gunakan untuk menjelaskan hasil analisis. Setelah merumuskan tiga masalah dan langkah penelitian di atas, di temukan bahwa representatif wanita yang melakukan perlawanan di sebabkan karena adanya dominasi laki-laki yang meminggirkan wanita dalam konteks budaya Bali. Namun, pada akhirnya perlawanan wanita tetap mendapatkan hukuman dari para dewa yang harus di terima. Kata Kunci: wanita, representatif dan perlawanan. Abstract Earth Dance is novel by Oka Rusmini which championing the subordinate group such as woman or queer. In this thesis, the study is focused on two representative characters; they are Telaga as the main character and Kenten as a queer character in the novel. Thus, there are three problems which will describe in this study (1) how is female representative depicted in Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance; (2) how is female representative leads to female resistance in Oka Rusmini's Earth dance; and (3) how is the impact of female resistance in Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance characters. The data from this thesis are taken from novel as the main source and intensive reading for the next step. To answer the three problems, the research use theory of Feminism to depict female representative and resistance, whether the cause and impact to the doer. Library research is used as supporting data in analysis. Next is the analysis description used to explain the result of analysis. after the discussion the three problems above, the result is, that female representative did the resistance is because the male domination which subordinate them in the context of Balinese custom. Yet, in the end, these female resistance have to willingly accept their punishment from the gods. Key words : woman, representative and resistance. INTODUCTION The term of women derives from rakta swanita which means women's seed. Balinese custom were originates from Hinduism, in which the concept of Balinese women is contiguous as Hindu women; they are born, lived and are bound with their desa adat. The concept of of unity between men and women is called arddanisvarimurthi in which men and women are described to complete each other. While Balinese custom establish the joint responsibility of a marriage couple for sociopolitical and religious duties, the earlier ethnography of Bali has often associated men as the heads of the households with the role of representing households (Nakatani, 1997:727). Nakatani found that Balinese women have not only double but also triple roles. This research is done on women's roles in her family as a wife and mother, their social roles and a breadwinner in the custom. At the end, she calls Balinese women as wonder women. If super women are demanded to do their house chores as well as their career, 'wonder women' are demanded to do their role in desa adat as one of the characteristic of Balinese women. Bali which is known as the patriarchal system which oppressed women to will under men's dominance. Balinese custom arranged women to submissive to their husband though the women is in a high caste or lower caste status without a protest (Chaitanya, 2010:4-5). For Balinese women, the primary tasks are to produce a good quality children, fostering balance and harmony within family and to work as a family team in society/adat (Suyadnya, 2006:6). In the previous age, Balinese women are work in the house and made songket to earn more money and fulfill the household needs. Married women in Balinese have also roles in maintaining the ritual represented their household. They must take care of preparation and presentation of offering, ceremonial gift-giving and ritual assistance as their main task or they divide the certain task, especially the presentation of offering and gift-giving to their daughter or another female member in the house (Nakatani, 1997:736-737). Through Nakatani's definition of women, that the society prejudice women's main chores are to maintaining the household and take care of their family and it has become obstacles for their career. Most of Oka rusmini's works break taboo to tradition and vividly talking about body and erotic caused much controversy among her family, friends and even society who read her works. They might be disturbed, but she ignored. As an author, she can do something expressing her dissatisfaction, unhappiness and anxiety via the written words. Oka had produced three novel, collection of short stories and poetry, those are, Tarian Bumi (Earth Dance translated into English by Lontar foundation and German as Erdentanz), Putu Menolong Tuhan (Putu Helps His God, translated in English by Vern Cork), Sagra, Pemahat Abad (The Sculptor of the Century, translated in English by Pamela Allen), Tempurung, and Pattiwangi. In every her novels, poetry, and short stories, Oka Rusmini works are ingenious in the sense that focus almost solely on female characters and convey feminine perspective in a consistent and provocative manner. In addition to critiquing the caste system, which in her view is very much shaped and controlled by patriarchal system in Balinese Hindu, Oka depicts competition and tension among her main female characters, and this competition can often be fierce, sometimes even be violent. She explores without reservation the positive as well as the negative qualities of Balinese women from both social groups., but at the same time she never forget to reiterate that patriarchy bears the ultimate responsibility for the social problem related to the caste system. Based on background of the study above, it can be simplify the three problems which emerge as the discussion in this study. How is the female representative depicted in Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance? How does female representative leads to female resistance in Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance? How is the impact of female resistance in Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance characters? In analyzing the data, this study use the theory of feminism. The theory of female resistance contains the definition of female representative which leads to resistance and the impact to the main character in the novel. RESEARCH METHOD In carrying out the study, the library reasearch, which used for literary work deal with this study, is basically descriptive and qualitative research. Most of the data collected from many speech dialogue in Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance as the object analysis which define into twenty chapter in the novel. Earth Dance was firstly published by Indonesia Tera, Magelang, Indonesia in 2000 and was originally serialized in the newspaper Republika, 4 march-8 April 1997. The data is analyzed by using feminism criticism, which is why the librarian research is used as the method. Conducting this analysis will be used to answer the questions in the statement of the problems. The procedure of analysis divided as follows; (1) The first step is to collect data speeches, thoughts, and quotations which have relation to the discussion, (2) Then clasify the data of speeches, thought and quotations to the Telaga and Kenten as the object of analysis, (3) Selecting quotations of the data are finally analyzed by the theories that are mentioned above to describe the concept of female resistance, (4) The ideal characteristic of female resistance begins with the description of female in this novel in order to know what is the impact on Telaga's character as the main character through other characters, (5) Finally, to depict the characterization of Telaga and the impact of female resistance to indicate the significance of resistance in Telaga's personality, the analysis is done by the theories that have been mentioned in preeceding explanation. ANALYSIS The first question will be revealed the main problem that focuse on how female representative in Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance. In this discussion, the female representative divide into three sub-chapters; (1) Physical description of Ida Ayu Telaga Pidada as a brahmana, (2) physical description of Kenten as a lesbian character, and (3) diferentiate of language uses between brahmana and sudra. The second question will be revealed the second problem which focuse on how is female resistance in Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance. The discussion is emerge the main character rebells her own fate as a brahmana and female queer character who ignores the society which determine her as queer. The last question is, how is the impact of female resistance to the main character will be revealed by the discussion which divide into four sub-chapters; (1) punishment for rebel the caste system, (2) Telaga exilled from griya, (3) Telaga changing caste, and (4) Kenten isolated from society. Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance brings up the issues of gender and class-society. Narrated by Ida Ayu Telaga surrounded by four women who shapes Telaga's character and resist from her own custom, which in Telaga's mind was unfair. Telaga is a brahmana woman who feels trapped and unhappy with her own caste and custom. Her mother was a sudra who ambitious to married only to brahmana man. One the issue which cause problematic among woman is physical appearance. It is like that they were race as the most beautiful among others. Physical appearance of main character in Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance Telaga is describe as beauty as a goddess and belongs to brahmana. Made the other girls envy of her. When she was danced oleg, it had always been a public secret that nobody could surpass Ida Ayu Telaga Pidada. Oleg is a dance of love, a dance about delights of romance, about the beauty of courtship (Earth Dance, 2011:13). One of the prominently character named Kenten. She is a best friend of Sekar and also the female queer character. She is a commoner and living only with her mother. Her father was disappeared and doesn't mention in the novel. she was a woman with ten men power and well built phsically strong. Kenten realizes since the begining of her different in desire. Although, she has to play the role of woman, especially in every month when a blood flows between her two legs. She needs to cleanse her body every month. Language system to caste is describes in Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance in some of dialogues and monologue of Telaga's, as in evident in Telaga's speak as third-person narratives below: "Telaga considered him as an idiot, but an idiot who she had to approach with respectful titles: aji – noble father, or ratu – lord. He was a man without character; a man who could be proud of nothing but his masculinity. How could she trust him? As a child, Ida Ayu Telaga Pidada had ashamed to call him her respected father. Telaga's father had an Ida Bagus as a father and Ida Ayu as a mother, so people said his noble blood was of the very highest carat. And so, Telaga had to call this man she hardly knew "Ratu"." (P.17) Through the quotation above is proving that Language uses was strictly adhered by Balinese people. In the past infringement of these rules were harshly punished by fines and even debt slavery. Today, the extreme of language use have been largely abandoned because these sanction can no longer be applied. In Balinese caste system, everything has arranged even in the language uses. The Balinese language is itself a hierarchical, while most words have only one form and is thus insensitie to status; some 1,500 everyday words have two or more lexemes which are hierachically ranked and thus status highly sensitive. The basic rule is that the inferior must uses refined when speaking to a superior caste, whereas superior may use less refined to inferior caste (Howe, 2005:113). In Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance brings up the issues of gender and class-society. Narrated by Ida Ayu Telaga surrounded by four women who shapes Telaga's character and resist from her own custom, which in Telaga's mind was unfair. Telaga is a brahmana woman who feels trapped and unhappy with her own caste and custom. Her mother was a sudra who ambitious to married only to brahmana man. Throughout her entire childhood, Telaga witnesses the oppresive forces of adat and their impact on her mother, wondering if this is what it means to be a noble woman. She can only oppose the practice silently, asking herself many questions while watching the harsh life that her mother has to endure as an ex-sudra woman who has dared to enter the sacred brahmana realm. Telaga's own daily life is mostly confined by the griya walls and the complex rules that regulate her almost every move. Telaga's state of mind with regard to all these restriction is conveyed by free indirect speech. "Unfortunately, she could not enjoy that time for long. Telaga inevitably had to return this borrowed era to Life. She wished she could trick her way back into childhood, even just for a day or two. If only she could, she would grab that time and hide it so Life couldn't find it and ask Telaga for its return. But Telaga could not persuade all-powerful Life to compromise. Life insisted on the following of rigid rules: rules that could not be bent, even slightly." (P.57) The quotation blur's the narrator voice and what occur's in Telaga's mind. The narrator is involved emotionally in Telaga's lament concerning her lost childhood because of her noble status. Telaga is actually complaining about the gods' cruel decision to snatch her childhood so quickly from her, but such complain can only be uttered in the form of a monologue. And moreover, it is softened to the point that it sounds more like nagging than protesting, as if Telaga wants to be sure that it will not offend the gods. Differ from Telaga, Kenten is sudra and the queer character who has different desire for mostly normal women. in Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance who describe as a stubborn woman. No one dared to bother her. Like Luh Sekar, she disdains men, but whereas Luh Sekar is willing to use men to achieve her ambitions, Luh Kenten does not need men and never intends to marry one for any reason. The novel describes her as a lesbian. She feels sexually aroused by looking at Sekar's naked body, but develops an aversion towards her own feminine body. As the result of resistance, female representative in the novel are willingly to receive the consequences of their desire against the rules. The main characters in the novel; Telaga and queer character; Kenten, are the most impacted because of their desire to resistance from the persistent custom which subordinate them. The consequences which had to be submissive by Telaga and Kenten will impact on their entire life. Delueze explain that power do not repression of desire, instead it is the expansion of desire (Colebrook, 2002:91). Ideology is take the concepts of how individual acts against their interest. Colebrook framed that feminity seen in the Jane Austen's or any novelistic composition of character describes on the fabrics, skin colour, gestures, rhythms of speech and body parts – the thiness of waist which it is become the misspresented of ideological stereotypes of woman. Woman is a group of socialy coded affect and intensities that have gone into making up the image of personhood (Colebrook, 2002:93). It is the law of Balinese hinduism if a noble woman who marry man bellow their caste will be exilled from her house. She no longger posses nobility and she cann't posses everything from her former house. Her child will be her husband caste (Avelling, 2006:2). Telaga and Wayan couldn't bear the feelings any longer even they tried harder to ignore it. So, they decide to face every risk which confronts them. Begin with Telaga who exilled from griya and do not allowed to bring anything from her former house. She her child must join to Wayan's caste as a sudra and living with her mother-in-law who opposes her marry to her only son. Yet, because Telaga is no longer a brahmana, she must address everyone in griya with the highest title – Ratu. The worst of it, Wayan found dead in his studio. Telaga had to endure Wayan's mother and sister who since begining didn't accept she coming to their house. Luh Gumbreg who realize that Telaga didn't get blessing from her family before she married with Wayan, ask Telaga to held pattiwangi ritual. The ritual which is remove the noble status from noble woman who marry a commoner. The ritual is also become the reminder for the others noble women to not do the same thing as Telaga. CONCLUSION Oka Rusmini is a Balinese writer who assert Balinese tradition in every her novel. Earth Dance is one of her novel which brings up the issue of female representative who resist against subordination. The main character, Ida Ayu Telaga as the narrator, represent female in high class-caste society who against the people grouping in Hinduism. Divide people into four categories and determine them based those categories. The higher the class-caste, the more they receive privilages and subordinate the lowest caste. While, the queer character – Kenten as a commoner must facing society's judge because her queerness. Both Telaga and Kenten who are representative their female in Balinese society and resist with their own ways. Telaga choose to betray her caste by marrying a commoner – Wayan Sasmita, and receive insult whether from people in griya even her own mother and from Wayan's family. She is no longer a noble woman, instead she is a commoner such her husband. Her child also bear the caste of her husband as a commoner. Through Telaga's action, she unintentionally purify her mother's past mistake by marry a brahmana man. Kenanga who was a pragina is a sudra who ambitious marry only to a brahmana man, after she finally marry Ida Bagus Tugur – Telaga's father, she never living a peace. Ida Bagus Tugur was marry Kenanga only to posses Kenanga's body. Differ from Telaga, Kenten as a female queer resist from her society by ignoring people's jugdements. Kenten is Kenanga's close friend. They become closer because of people in the village consider them as a shame. Since Kenanga was kid, her father caught for joining the Communist party, and since then people judge her as a communist's daughter. Kenten who desire for Kenanga's body could only keeping a secret for herself. No one she could confide in, although everybody in the village knews her intimacy with Kenanga. It can be conclude that female representative in Oka Rusmini's Earth Dance resist from rules that subordinate them. The rules which determine them to be truely woman who submissive to their husband and family. A woman who strong and balance the household. As the consequences of their resistance, they should abandon and willingly receive what destiny determine them according to the Balinese Hinduism law. REFERENCES Andrini, Susi. 2003. "Oka Rusmini's Pen Breaks Tradition". Dalam The Jakarta Post, 24 Januari. Jakarta. Blair, Emily. 2007. Virginia Woolf And The Ninetenth-Century Domestic Novel. New York: New York Press. Colebrook, Claire. 2002. Routledge Critical Thinker: Gilles Delueze. London: Routledge Darma Putra, I Nyoman. 2011. A Literary Mirror: Balinese reflections on modernity and identity in the twentieth century. Nethrlands: KITVL Press. Howe, Leo. 2005. The Canging World of Bali Religion Society and Tourism. Abingdon: Routledge. Morton, Stephen. 2003. Routledge Critical Thinker: Gayatri Cakravorty Spivak. London: Routledge. Homer, Sean. 2005. Routledge Critical Thinker: Jacques Lacan. Abingdon: Routledge McAfee, Noëlle. 2004. Routledge Critical Thinker: Julia Kristeva. London: Routledge Salih, Sara. 2002. Routledge Critical Thinker: Judith Butler. London: Routledge. Thornham, Sue. 2000. Feminist Theory and Cultural Studies: Stories of Unsetted Relation. Terjemahan Asma Bey Mahyudin. Yogyakarta: Jalasutra. Internet Source: Nakatani, A. 1997. Private or Public?: Defining Female Roles in The Balinese Ritual Domain. Southeast Asian Studies, (Online), Vol 34, Nomor 4, (http://repository.kulib.kyotou.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/56616/1/KJ00000131966.pdf?origin=publication_detail diakses 12 Februari 2014). Wayan Suyadnya, I. 2006. Balinese Women and Identities: Are They Trapped In Tradition, Globalization Or Both?, (Online), (http://qjournal.co.id/new/index.php/paper/1598/balinese-women-and-identities-are-they-trapped-in-traditions-globalization-or-both-, Diakses 12 Februari 2014). Bell, Millicent. 1986. Female Regional Writing: An American Tradition. Revue française d'études américaines, (Online), No. 30, (http://www.jstor.org/stable/20873460, diakses 26 Januari 2014). Zatlin, Phyllis, 1987. Women Novelists in Democratic Spain: Freedom to Express the Female Perspective. Anales de la literatura española contemporánea, (online), Vol. 12, No. 1/2, (http://www.jstor.org/stable/27741803, diakses 26 Januari 2014). Rodgers, Audrey T. 1979. Images of Women: A Female Perspective. College Literature, (online), Vol.6, Nomor 1, (http://www.jstor.org/stable/25111245, diakses 26 Januari 2014). Peacock, Martha M. 1993-94. Geertruydt Roghman and the Female Perspective in 17th-Century Dutch Genre Imagery. Woman's Art Journal, (online), Vol. 14, Nomor 2. (http://www.jstor.org/stable/1358443, diakses 26 Januari 2014). Niehof, A. 1998. The changing lives of Indonesian women; Contained emancipation under pressure, (online), (http://www.kitlv-journals.nl, diakses 12 Februari 2014).

The Central America region is a small market. The region contains around 43 million inhabitants (0.6 percent of total world population) who generate around 0.25 percent of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While the region has successfully embarked on a regional integration agenda and has strong commercial links with the US, extra-regional trade-mainly with large fast-growing emerging economies-remains a challenge. Export performance is analyzed along three dimensions that, together, give a fairly comprehensive picture of competitiveness: 1) the composition, orientation and growth of the export basket; 2) the degree of export diversification across products and markets; and 3) the level of sophistication and quality of their main exports. This analysis allows exports dynamics at the different margins of trade (intensive, extensive, and quality) to be evaluated and individual countries' to be benchmarked with peers in the Central American region. The results of this report allow policy makers to identify key areas to explore in the overall discussion of export competitiveness in the Central American region. This paper relates to the literature on challenges and opportunities that trade liberalization can bring to the Central American region. Much of the recent literature focuses on the role of the free trade agreement negotiated by Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, with the US.

The results of the research described above were obtained on a representative sample of Croatian youth from 15-24 years of age in the second half of 2002. The research was carried on in the context of a regional research project on youth under the auspices of the PRONI institute from Sweden. The main objective of the project was to provide empirical data on life, needs, attitudes and aspirations of young people as a means of assisting the process of youth policy review. The process was initiated by the Council of Europe with a view to strengthen youth participation in democratic changes of the countries in the region. This report is the most recent one in a long and well-established tradition of studying youth issues in Croatia. Therefore, it often includes comments and references to earlier research findings for the purpose of determining the changes in youth trends, as well as for the purpose of validity testing of our data. On the other side, the data presented in this report may, together with earlier studies, be used as a reference point in the process of reviewing the National Programme of Action for Youth, as well as in developing a comprehensive, efficient and youth-centred national youth policy. The core of the findings is probably that the criteria for determining the upper age-level of youth period should be reviewed and extended to include those who are 30 years of age. The fact that more and more young people remain longer in education, that they decide to marry and have children later in their life, that they consider changing their job and probably, if possible, enroll in re-training programmes for that purpose, as well as that they desire to reach full independence by relying on their own abilities and endeavour, speaks in favour of the need to redesign our traditional approaches to youth upper age-limits. Other findings that help us understand some important dimensions and trends of contemporary life of Croatian youth are summarised below. The most basic socio-demographic data demonstrate that very few young people from our research who are 24 and below are married and few think of having children before the age of 25. About half of them live in a two-child nuclear family in a house/apartment of their own that, averagely, comprises more than two rooms. Very few have an opportunity to live in an apartment of their own, although four fifths express desire to live separately. The aspiration towards such independence is mainly motivated by socio-economic and maturity factors: it is a prominent feature of young people who are university students, whose fathers have more education, and who are over 20. Since the chances of having their own apartment in a reasonable period of time are rather minimal, not only due to the difficulties in finding a job but due to extremely high prices in the housing sector, such prolonged co-habitation and dependency on parents and/or relatives is a frequent cause of young people' s frustrations and is probably related to, together with other factors such as poverty and limited capacity of pre-school child-care institutions, a constant decrease in the average number of children per family. On average, young people are satisfied with their present life and expect no change in the future. Despite a high unemployment rate especially among them, approximately three quarters assess their own present and future life, the life of their closest friends and their peers in Western Europe as good or excellent. Their optimism is somewhat even higher than it was found in the end of 1990s. When asked to imagine their life in 10 years ahead majority see it as a success, either in general terms or in specific terms of their professional advancement or family happiness. Dissatisfaction with present life grows with age and with opportunities to enter the world of work and become fully independent, since the young between 20-24 years of age, both employed and unemployed are more inclined to perceive their present life as unsatisfactory. Interestingly enough, the age does not have influence on the assessment of future, which means, in the context of this research, that young people in general, irrespective of age, equally believe that future brings better opportunities. In reference to their professional and educational aspirations, almost two thirds of the young want to continue education, while one fourth of them think of finding a job. The differences are mainly determined by residential, social, and age factors. Thus, a primary aspiration of pupils and university students, as well as of those who live in Zagreb or in families of higher socio-economic status, is to continue their education. Contrary to them, rural young people, those who live in low-income families, as well as those who are over 20 are more inclined to seek for a job or to continuing the job they currently hold. Over two fifths of young people plan to leave their present place of residence so as to be able to meet their professional and educational aspirations. Almost half of this group prefer to move somewhere inside the country, most often to a bigger city which is perceived as the place that offers better opportunities for career and social positioning, while other half think of going abroad. The percentage of the young planning to leave the country for good rose from 11% in 1986 and 18% in 1999 to 19% in 2002. Their migratory plans are connected to their residential status, i.e. to the conditions in the place or region where the young actually live. Young people from Zagreb are less willing to go somewhere else; rural youth and youth from Eastern Croatia wish to migrate to another place inside Croatia more than any other group, while all groups (except youth from Middle and Northern Croatia who want that somewhat more than others) equally (do not) want to settle abroad. Data on a desired place for living are quite similar to those on migratory plans. The number of youth preferring to remain in their present place of residence and the number of those having no migratory plans are almost identical. When compared to earlier studies, we see an increase in the number of young people preferring to live in large cities. In addition, almost one quarter express their preference for living abroad, majority of which opt for a Western European country. The fact that almost one fifth of all has plans and almost one fourth prefer to live abroad indicate the existence of two closely related but, nevertheless, separate dimensions of youth migratory thinking. While the preference for other counties may mean only an inclination, having plans on migrating abroad most certainly includes active search for such a possibility. In light of our findings it means that at least one fifth of Croatian youth not only dream of leaving the country but actually make plans how to make it a reality. Employed youth is far from being satisfied with their jobs. Every second confirms his or her disappointment. Approximately one fifth of both them and those that are still in the process of education desire jobs in the service or business sector; little less in number think of entering more creative and/or dynamic professions or professions related to education, health care and social services. This means that their professional aspirations are somehow higher that those of their parents, majority of whom have secondary school completed and are mainly employed as industrial, service and shop workers or clerks. Nevertheless, if their choices are compared to the structure of the employed force in Croatia and if we add to it a rapidly changing labour market in all transitional countries, their professional preferences seem rather realistic. This is probably why almost half of the young hold that their chances for getting a preferred job are high or very high. The data also confirm that their estimations are related to age and socio-professional status since pessimism increases with age (except for the university students) and is tightly linked to unemployment status. In any case, optimism prevails among the young and it, as well, may be linked to their strong motivation to succeed in life by relying on their own abilities despite unfavourable social and economic context in which they live. It is also possible, at least partly, that self-assurance of young people comes from positive educational experience. Over half of the young state they feel happy and satisfied when thinking of their schools or universities. However, it is not clear whether their satisfaction should be understood in terms of acquiring subject-matter knowledge and skills or in terms of developing certain personal qualities through participating in school life. Earlier studies on youth have proven that the young have complex relations towards education which are the outcomes of both institutional tasks and personal expectations. Moreover, our results document that feelings about school are correlated with sex and socio-professional status.Girls and university students, in general, are more satisfied with their education, while the unemployed are among the least satisfied. It is also possible that positive feelings about education also relate to school grades. Earlier studies have shown that female pupils receive somewhat better average scores than their male schoolmates, which may explain why girls have more positive feelings about school than boys. • On the other hand, it is clear that school is by no means a source of information about the events in the country and the world for young people since a great majority of them actually receive news through ordinary media (TV, radio, newspapers and magazines). Moreover, Internet has become an important source of information about the country and the world for approximately one fifth and over one fourth of them, respectively. This shift has to do with the fact that over two thirds of the young from our study are computer users and that more than half of them already have computer at home. It is, therefore, obvious that new information and communication technologies are becoming part and parcel of young people' s daily life what needs to be taken into account when policies and programmes of action for promoting their wellbeing are designed, especially in reference to underprivileged youth. Namely, our research confirms that the use of computer correlates with residence (urban environment), family background (parents with higher education and higher socio-economic status), age, and education factors (younger population and students). Nevertheless, young people are not enslaved by new information communication technologies. Most of them spend their free time associating with friends, engaging in sport activities, going to disco-clubs, watching TV or performing outdoor activities, while far less enjoy music, reading books or art exhibitions. In addition, many young people have no daily obligations, except in relation to school and spend their free time idling or sleeping. This means that the majority of youth either do nothing or engage almost solely in the so called passive and/or receptive activities for self-entertainment. Despite that fact, almost three fourths of them claim they are more or less satisfied with how they spend their free time what brings us to the conclusion that the main problem is not the quality of their free time activities but their lack of awareness that the quality itself is being at stake. However, it should be pointed out that their opinions are related to age and socio-professional status. Young people who belong to an upper age-cohort and who are unemployed exhibit far more dissatisfaction with their free time than the youngest. Overpronounced dissatisfaction among the unemployed seems to be an indicator of an overall discontent with one' s own life. For the unemployed, free time becomes a burden not only because they cannot perceive it in terms of an offduty activity but because they can not afford it financially. In reference to the use of psychoactive substances, it seems that tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption are the most widespread types of risk behaviour among the youth. Approximately one third of them smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol daily or weekly ; three fifths are non-smokers and one fifth never drink alcohol. Smoking increases with age and employment. Alcohol, on the other hand, is solely related to gender in a way that young women drink less than their male peers. Such trend may be the sign of a subtle male initiation rite de passage that has outlived its traditional context. Since the data on smoking are more favourable than those from earlier research it may be presumed that an anti-smoking media campaign, which has been going on rather aggressively throughout the country, has brought positive effect, whereas non-existence of similar anti-alcohol campaign may be the sign of a relatively high level of a social tolerance for alcohol consumption. As far as drug are concerned, Croatian youth is more inclined to the so-called 'soft' drugs. Over one third of the young have tried or used twice or more only marijuana ; hashish and ecstasy is mentioned by less than one tenth of them, whereas other 'hard' drugs have been only tried or are consumed by 1-3% of them. The consumption of marijuana is associated with a recognizable youth group, what confirms earlier studies. A group of highest risk is made of young people between 20 and 24, male, university students, the residents of Zagreb, Istria, Croatian Littoral and Dalmatia, and whose fathers have higher education level. A great majority of young people tend to see themselves in rather positive terms: they are self-assured, think they have a good number of personal qualities; believe in their capabilities when compared to other people and have no doubts that most people they know like them. This may be related to feeling of security they experience in the context of their immediate environment since a great majority of the young claim that they can almost always get warmth, care and support from their parents and support from their friends. On the other hand, only every second of them feel the same about their teachers. It seems that most Croatian families are characterised by an exercise of indirect and flexible control over their children in the course of their growing up. In over half of the cases parents or relatives hardly ever determine rules for their children' s behaviour although they do control the choice of their friends, as well as their evening outdoor activities. Moreover, young people claim that their parents are especially keen of their school progress since they almost regularly keep records on their children school situation. • When asked about the most serious problems of their generation, the majority of young people in Croatia mention socially unacceptable behaviour, such as drug abuse, alcohol consumption and violence, unemployment, low standard of living, the lack of life chances and mass migration of young experts abroad. Since unemployment was repeatedly displayed as the major problem of young generation in earlier studies, their present preoccupation with socially unacceptable behaviour may be related either to the sample structure (majority of them are students) or to a general social climate which is, due to predominance of media campaigns mainly geared against smoking and drug abuse (but not against alcohol consumption, except for safe driving), inducing an over-sensitisation to behavioural issues causing, on the other side, the lack of awareness of existentially important issues of young people that are of an utmost importance for their independence and self-satisfaction. Young people are inclined to attribute responsibility for solving these problems primarily to themselves, their parents and public authorities, i.e. firstly to those actors that function at the private level (personal and parents' responsibility), than to public sector (government, education system) and, finally, to the civil society (nongovernmental organizations, youth associations and religious institutions). This means that youth principally count on their personal strength and family support, as well as that they have explicit expectations of state institutions, whereas they think of receiving the assistance from the civil sector only exceptionally. Notwithstanding, since half of the young studied have failed to mention personal responsibility, it clearly demonstrates that both strong sense of self-responsibility and its avoidance stand side by side as two features of Croatian youth. Among the measures that Croatian youth see as the most efficient for solving their problems two are underlined: equal education and career opportunities, on the one hand, and strict punishment of drug dealers and restrictions on alcohol selling, on the other hand. Since the majority of youth consider socially unacceptable behaviour, including drug-addiction, to be the gravest problem of their generation, it is understandable that they see the way out in strict punishing of drug dealers, (rather than consumers), what is still inadequately determined by Croatian law. Other most frequently mentioned measure has to do with the youth quest for developing society of equal chances which is in line with their perception of unemployment as the second most frequently mentioned youth problem in Croatia. Although lesser in number, the young refer to their under-representation and require their participation in decision-making to be ensured at all levels. They also require better adapting of secondary and higher education to the needs of contemporary life, as well as better quality of education, in general; some speak in favour of establishing a ministry for youth affairs, developing national strategy for promoting youth well-being, setting up of funds for youth initiatives, better legal regulations of the places of youth entertainment, i.e., the issues majority of which have already been integrated into the recently adopted National Programme of Action for Youth that is seen as an initial step in developing a national youth policy. The values that the majority of young people hold personally important or very important are healthy environment, peace in the world, gender equality, and rights and freedoms of the individual. Second group of the most personally preferable values encompasses solidarity among people, social justice, economic security, respect for differences, rule of law, inalienability of property, civil society, free market, freedom of the media, protection of minorities, religion and democratic system. The bottom of the scale is occupied by social power, national sentiment, European integration, and high economic standard. The review of their preferences demonstrates a relatively respectable level of democratic potential of young people in Croatia. They are more oriented towards comfortable life based on key principles of democracy and civil society, which is in correspondence with earlier research that have documented the shift to a more individualistic value system, including youth' s preference for independence and their focus on self-realisation and material security. However, their relative devaluation of the importance of European integration may be, on the one hand, the sign of either their dissatisfaction with, or their criticism of the way new European order has been established, partly due to the fact that Croatia has been somehow unjustly left behind. On the other hand it may be the consequence of their perceiving the integration merely in terms of a political objective of which very little they experience in everyday life. This is not to say that they devaluate the importance of European integration for Croatia as such. It would be more accurate to say that Croatian young people are becoming more and more pragmatic in their social positioning of which many think not only in the context of Croatia but in the context of Europe and the world. Having in mind a long tradition of Croatian youth emigration to Europe and the fact that almost 20% of contemporary youth plan to leave the country for good (mostly for a European country), their relation toward European integration may mean that they see it only as an added value to an already established youth migratory pattern in Croatia. of young people about the determinants of upward social mobility in Croatia reflect their accurate perception of social anomalies that, if left unquestioned, threaten to deepen social inequalities and diminish democratic potential of the society. Namely, a great majority of the young see as important or highly important for social promotion in Croatia a combination of the following variables: adaptive behaviour, personal endeavour, knowledge and skills, and connections and acquaintances. University degree, money and wealth, and the obedience and submissiveness to the 'boss', are identified less but, nevertheless, reflect a combination of appropriate and inappropriate means of social promotion. Somehow more troublesome is the finding that one third to one half of the young consider belonging to certain nation or political party, as well as bribing and corruption as important determinants of one' s success in Croatia. These data present an index of youth's perception of Croatian society as the society of unequal chances since it, by allowing nondemocratic practice to play an important role in social promotion, actually discriminates against those who in this matter believe in, and rely on their own abilities and efforts. When compared to earlier studies, it is highly troublesome that almost the same factors of social promotion are estimated as important by both socialist and ' transitional' young people in Croatia. Overall examination of the above results may be seen as an indicator of a process of relative homogenisation of young people in today' s Croatia – certainly, within the issues here examined and at the present level of analysis. There is no doubt that young people here described have many characteristic in common, especially in reference to their marital status, family pattern, housing conditions, parent' s educational background, attitudes towards present and future life, professional and educational aspirations, desired accommodation, sources of information, satisfaction with free time, positive feelings about themselves, feeling of security in relation to their parents and friends, as well as in reference to their abuse of psychoactive substances. They also share their desire for autonomy and independence, and for the recognition by the society at large, as well as their dreams of a more just society in which life opportunities would match individual abilities and endeavour. When they differ, it is mostly due to their varied socio-professional status and age. Residential status, father' s educational background, gender, and regional background are less important. The tendencies that have been documented suggest that youth are divided primarily by their actual social status and stage of attained maturity, and only secondarily by socialization factors, such as social origin in a narrow and broad sense of the term, and a gender socialization patterns. However, further analysis of data should disclose youth dominating trends with more accuracy.

THE USE OF NATURALLY OCCURRING MOOD- altering substances is deeply rooted in the traditions and cultures of many communities worldwide. As documented in other societies and historical records,1,2 various compounds have been employed for altering consciousness and for their curative effects.3 Two substances traditionally used in the Middle East include hashish and khat.4 Hashish, as cannabis, has been known in the region since ancient times.5 Khat, also known as chat, derived from the leaves and young shoots of the khat plant (Catha edulis), is used for its stimulant effect.6 Technological advances that enable high purification of drugs and transporting them fast, and increasing urbanisation, have caused these mood altering substances to be taken out of their traditional role in societies and have come to pose new, complex and challenging threats.7 These threats have been manifested in two important ways: () wider use of drugs, and (2) a shift from natural drugs to the more potent purer forms. Globally, illegal money derived from illicit drug transactions amounts to 400 billion dollars annually, and is second only to the arms trade.8,9 The countries of the Arabian Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) offers an interesting study area because their diverse cultures have experienced rapid acculturation, a phenomenon often equated with a rise in psychosocial stress.10 Psychosocial stress has often been associated with vulnerability to self poisoning11 and substance abuse.12 Although there are no adequate statistical studies to indicate the incidence of substance dependency in the GCC, it is clear that substance abuse is not a minor problem considering the number of reported drug seizures by the authorities.13 In real terms, the drugs seized by law enforcement authorities constitute only 5–0 percent of the actual quantity.14 Comprehensive data on the pattern of substance dependency is hampered by the criminal and moral stigma associated with substance dependency. Whatever the real number of people afflicted with addiction, substance dependency is a severe problem when considered in terms of personal distress, family disruption and interference with productivity and economic growth. Efforts have been undertaken in GCC countries to reduce the demand for drugs and to prevent drug abuse before it occurs. These efforts are coordinated through the Demand Reduction Committee, created in 200 with members from all countries of the GCC. The committee provides leadership in coordinating and facilitating strategies in this area including law enforcement, rehabilitation and leading and assisting the community in the task of education and prevention of substance abuse. Some studies have suggested that substance dependency occurs in adolescents in all strata of the society.14–16 However, these studies are limited to self-report questionnaires based on secondary school students. Although peer pressure is likely to play a significant part in the initiation of substance abuse,16 the subsequent heavy abuse is often associated with various psychosocial factors. It has been suggested that of all the social factors that predispose individuals to substance abuse, boredom is the most significant.14,17 The recent affluence and modernisation of the GCC societies have led many people to have a lot of spare time, as household chores are carried out by expatriate servants.14 The detrimental effects of such a lifestyle, including substance dependency, have been speculated in the literature.13,18–21 In a study cited by Al-Harthi14 of personality profiles and descriptive analyses of typical substance users enrolled in a treatment centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the most frequently stated reason for indulging in drugs was to escape boredom. This view, though substantiated by other studies in the region,22,23 has not taken into account the relationship of individual temperament to substance abuse. Recent studies have suggested that phenotypical "risk takers" or "sensation seekers" are often not inhibited from yielding to various illicit practices including substance abuse.24 Future studies in the region should examine the association between personality types, risk taking behaviour and boredom. The premise that the rise in substance dependency might be precipitated by erosion of traditional family networks and skewed social expectations might be relevant to GCC countries. Al-Hashmi18 has suggested that modernisation has resulted in the Omani family becoming nuclear at the cost of the traditional extended family. Concurrently, domestic servants brought from overseas, often illiterate in the dominant language, are providing much of the socialisation to children. Reinforced by frequent international travelling, satellite televisions and the Internet, acculturation appears to have occurred too quickly in GCC societies. Smith has remarked that these changes have brought these communities development that took a thousand years in Europe in less than 20 years.25 Studies from other parts of the world that have experienced similar rapid pace of modernisation have shown disintegration of native culture and identity as well as dissolution of the social network, to which individuals had previously turned for help when in trouble.26 In addition, the spread of education have resulted in higher levels of expectations. In the new social order, individuals in the region tend to regard employment opportunities, guaranteed higher levels of income, and especially, higher social standing, as acquired rights. Frustration of the desire to climb the social ladder leads to social insecurity.14 The present situation of society in transition fits with the classical sociological observations of Ibn Khaldun and Emile Durkheim: rapid transformation leads to breakdown of traditional social cohesion.14As a result, the sense of belonging becomes a luxury, leading to social drift, alienation, and the proliferation of social misfits. The society itself may become anomic. The relationship between acculturation, anomie and drug taking has received empirical support.27 The present tendency is to view substance abuse in its psychosocial context rather than on moral terms. While more studies that are comprehensive are needed to examine the pattern of use and misuse of drugs in the GCC countries, there are various reasons to assume that substance dependency is likely to continue to pose a problem in the region. First, the geography helps both trafficking and consumption. GCC countries are located close to the "Golden Triangle" or "Drug Belt", a part of Asia where underdevelopment and political instability have fuelled drug driven economies. Second, being on a major route for international airlines and sea routes by virtue of being in the middle of the world, GCC countries are at constant risk of being used as trans-shipment points for drug trafficking. The Arabian Peninsula has a vast coastline with its horizon overlooking major sea routes to different continents. Even if vigilance to guard its borders is heightened, such a long coastline would remain porous. Moreover, effective surveillance would require more allocation of resources and work force, drawing vital resources away from establishing essential remedial and rehabilitation services for the victims of substance abuse. Thirdly, the increasing number of visitors and the presence of foreign labour in the GCC also help make the "Gulf route" a crossroad for trans-world drug supplies. Some individuals may fall prey to the fallouts from these passing illegal shipments even though they may be destined elsewhere. It is also possible that an increase in consumption of illicit substances among the local population has in itself escalated the demand. In support of the latter view are the rising statistics on the mortality related to drug abuse and the number of clients seeking treatment in rehabilitation centres in the GCC states.15,28 Dispensing accurate information on issues related to substance abuse is a key component to fighting drug abuse. Studies are needed to illuminate the effect of substance dependency in the GGC countries as the mass media often tends to downplay the risks of drug use, or sometimes even glamorises it. Evidence is emerging on the personal consequences of substance dependency. Okasha, in the context of Egypt, has demonstrated that substance dependency is likely to lead to underachievement at school or work and exacerbate family stress, financial burdens and exposure to criminal activity.29 However, literature does not discern whether these social problems are the cause or the effect of the substance dependency. Substance dependency is often associated with psychiatric morbidity30 but it is not clear whether this is cause or effect. Karam et al in their report from Lebanon suggest a strong relationship between addiction to substances of abuse and psychiatric diagnoses.31 These authors further suggest that certain personality types often abuse specific substances. However, such a simplistic view appears to be merely reiterating the chicken-or-the-egg argument. Some authors have suggested that substance dependency is a form of self-medication, which implies that individuals with substance dependency have high levels of psychosocial distress and use illicit drugs in an attempt to alleviate their distress. This is relevant to the suggestion that some psychiatric symptoms may mimic withdrawal effects of chronic substance dependency and withdrawal symptomatology co-varies with cognitive and psychological functioning.32 In addition to psychiatric illness, substance dependency has been seen to increase the risk of adverse drug reactions. A well-known complication of substance dependency is the risk of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and other infections.33 VISIBLE PATTERNS IN THE GCC The discovery of oil in the GCC has brought rapid modernisation as well as unprecedented material progress and economic security.34 Although GCC nationals, like other cultural groups in developing countries, are thought to have beliefs that protect them against developing substance dependency, such beliefs appear to be eroding with the rising tide of acculturation and economic restructuring. Demographic factors such as the preponderance of adolescents in the population will continue to elude those advocating demand reduction policies even if harsher penalties are decreed for traffickers and users. Approximately 60% of the population in the region are less than 20 years old.35 As reported elsewhere, 36 adolescents are prone to risk taking behaviour, a temperament that has been associated with developmental milestones including the underdevelopment of the orbital-frontal cortex.34 In GCC countries, the rate of juvenile delinquency has, in a span of 0 years, increased approximately by 400%. Unless the needs of such a large and important segment of society as its young people are addressed, this may present a demographic time-bomb with unpredictable social consequences. With a fast growing population, competitions for social and occupational roles are likely to be more intense, leaving many failed individuals behind. With such a demographic trend, it is likely that many individuals carry a greater risk of developing various adjustment difficulties including substance dependency.37 Data emanating from other developing countries suggest that drug peddlers tend to target the poor and the unemployed. Whereas substance dependency in other parts of the world is often associated with economic and social breakdown,38 no study has examined whether substance dependency in the GCC countries follows the same pattern.39 Preliminary observations in Oman suggest that there is relationship between unemployment and propensity for substance abuse.14 Interestingly, the study suggests that addiction to illicit drugs is likely to interfere with employment, often rendering some individuals to lose their jobs. In the midst of such conflicting views, further studies are needed to ascertain the conditions that trigger drug dependency in the community.40 While more information is needed in order to make an informed policy on substance dependency, there is some evidence pointing to which substances are widely abused in GCC countries. First, clinical reports suggest that solvent misuse is extensive although no formal studies have been conducted. Hafeiz41 has suggested that abuse of solvents often occurs in order to overcome the boredom of modern living. There is also increasing evidence to suggest that some of these agents cause mental disorders42 as well as neurological complications.43 The chemicals in question include glues, liquid shoe polish, deodoriser, petrol, cologne and insecticides.44,45 A special pattern of substance dependency associated with social deviancy and delinquency also involves a home-made mixture of dates and ointments as well as inhalation of intoxicating fumes derived from burning the wings of cockroaches and ants with volatile substances. Habitual inhaling of these substances is often associated with a failure to thrive.42 Secondly, inhaling smoke derived from nicotine based substances is now common in many GCC countries.46,47 Tobacco is often chewed, snuffed or smoked either in cigarettes or in sheesha. The latter (also known as hookah) is a smoking device, widely used in some communities of the Arabian Peninsula, to smoke jurak, a cooked tobacco-fruit mixture, and burnt by an electrical device or by charcoal. The produced smoke passes through the water at the base of the sheesha and then a long-tube before it is inhaled. Though most smokers consider sheesha less harmful to health than cigarette smoking,48 this has not been substantiated in regional studies.48,49 Experimental and clinical studies have found that nicotine, an active ingredient of both sheesha and cigarettes, not only triggers cardiovascular diseases, but also predisposes frequent users to various neuropsychiatric disorders.50 The question remains whether smoking triggers mental illness or people with mental illness are more likely to smoke.51 Pharmacological studies have unequivocally shown that nicotine is as addictive as other well-known psychoactive drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines.52 However, GCC countries have given a low priority to this a public health issue. Demand for nicotine has been falling in industrialised nations, 53 but a similar picture is not emerging from middle and low income countries. Cigarette companies are now targeting the developing world.53 Moreover, cigarette companies are manufacturing products of differing quality for sale in different markets. It has been shown that cigarettes of the same brand sold in developing countries have higher tar content than in the country of origin.54 Some studies have suggested that certain cigarettes are made from more potent, hence, more addictive, nicotine.53,55 As there is no known effective program to educate people about the dangers of smoking, prevention and smoking cessation appear to an unattainable goals. To compound the problem, some proponents of the "gateway phenomenon" suggest that smoking is a springboard to hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin, 56 though there is also evidence to contradict this view.57 The social problems precipitated by alcoholism have not yet been reported in the GCC countries though some reports suggest that drinking problems are proliferating.13,44,58 The World Health Organisation59 estimates that more then 5 million people are disabled because of alcohol use, making it the fourth leading cause of worldwide disability. Theobald has suggested that approximately 0% of alcohol consumers will at some time experience serious health problems related to their drinking habit.60 As many individuals are now facing the daily challenges of modern living and the pressures of modern life, alcohol abuse is thought to be one of the elusive antidotes to modern insecurity.17 Some recent findings suggest that individuals who have a high subjective level of insecurity in their lives are likely to abuse alcohol to ward of their psychosocial stress. Interestingly, people with such attributes have been seen to have refractory types of alcoholism.61 Alcohol syndromes such as delirium tremens and Korsakoff's psychosis are known to occur among people who consume it regularly.50 Persons at risk of drinking problems cannot be reliably identified in the population; therefore the pattern of drinking and its psychosocial correlates are indicated for the GCC countries. The bulk of the studies21,45,58 have focused solely on exploring the validity of research instruments on cross-cultural application of drinking attitude and behaviour. Little is known on the effect of alcohol repackaged as "cologne" available in some GCC countries.62,63 Colognes or ethyl alcohol-containing perfume and after-shave are sometimes ingested as an alcohol substitute.64 Relevant to this, it would be important to determine whether the availability of alcohol and other soft drugs deters people from going into narcotics that are more dangerous. One suggestion is that in those societies of GCC where there is a relaxed attitude towards alcohol, there are fewer propensities towards heroin and other dangerous drugs.14 It also not clear how such information would be helpful in planning intervention programs in GCC countries, as the experiences from other societies suggest a complex relationship between alcohol and substance abuse. The "gateway theory" would suggest that using alcohol leads people to use harder drugs like cocaine and heroin.65 There is also scant information on the pattern and psychosocial correlates of over-the-counter medications in the GCC countries. Though generally viewed as harmless, many of them have the potential for abuse, particular those that are considered to be amphetamine-like stimulants.66 These includes nasal decongestants, bronchodilators, appetite suppressants and energy pills and drinks. While there is no evidence to suggest that cocaine and hallucinogens are widely consumed in the GCC countries, 13 the story of opiate use is somewhat different. Historical documents suggest that opium was considered as a medicinal substance in the Middle East. It was recommended by various towering Arab figures such as Ibn Sina.1 More recently, however, its semi-synthetic counterpart, heroin, far removed from its cultural context, is becoming the drug of choice for addicts in the GCC countries. Being close to heroin producing regions of the world, GCC appears to be the trafficker's place of choice. Being capable of causing compulsive dependency within a short time, heroin has a devastating effect on the user and society in general. To those who are addicted to heroin, it appears the habit leaves them little time for meaningful life. To compound the problem, as 90% of GCC heroin addicts use it intravenously, sharing of contaminated needles causes infections of human immune deficiency virus and a high incidence of other infections.33 Similarly, the number of cases of heroin addiction is often directly related to the number of crimes.27 Despite stringent regulations to reduce the supply and demand, the habit proliferates. Judging from the quantities of drugs seized by the authorities, the last decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of cases of heroin addiction, the number of addicts seeking rehabilitation, and death due to heroin overdose.PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE Rehabilitation for addiction is often in the hands of psychiatric or penitentiary services though some specialised centres have emerged in some GCC countries.16 Culturally sensitive interventions seem to be often relegated to fringe importance. Medical interventions are likely to grow considering the many claims about new pharmacological tools that take advantage of the chemical properties of alcohol and other drugs. However, drug treatment for substance dependency should not hold up the search for psychosocial predisposing factors, which, in turn, could be a springboard for educational strategies to reduce demand. Indeed, blind adherence to pharmacological intervention not only seems similar to drug peddling, but also may be counterproductive in the long term. A biomedical explanatory model of substance dependency may lead to stigma, and lessen the individual and societal accountability in tackling compulsive dependency. Stressing personal responsibility, on the other hand, motivates one to change, as well as help one understand the challenges ahead and evolve coping mechanisms.67 As distress and stress are experienced in a socio-cultural context, rehabilitation services should avoid committing what Kleinman has called a "category fallacy", where a view of human nature developed for one cultural group is uncritically applied to members of another group for whom its validity has not been established.68 According to Kleinman, this results in a "distortion of pathology" rather than a critical understanding of the ways in which the members of a different cultural group perceive, experience and communicates beliefs and distress. One of the essential grounds for formulating enlightened policies toward drug dependency is to consider the society's outlook towards mood altering substances. Despite the documented frequency of substance abuse in GCC countries, a review of the literature reveals no objective studies on knowledge, attitude and perception. Opinion towards substance dependency among citizens of GCC countries is likely to have a wide-ranging influence, affecting issues as diverse as personal consequences of substance dependency, prevention, care and management of people with substance abuse. Historical and cross-cultural studies have suggested that individuals with substance dependence are likely to encounter active discrimination and harassment which, in turn, exacerbates their psychosocial predicament and perpetuates their relapse into drug taking.37 Similarly, it has been suggested that social attitudes can be more devastating than the addiction itself, and the addict's family suffers as well.69 Although many victims of substance dependency could benefit from treatment, attitudes of society towards them is likely to hamper their seeking rehabilitation. As a result, many are likely to stay underground until addiction has reached an advanced stage of irreversible pathology. This not only increases pessimism of the victims and those around them but also shatters the prospect of recovery. Therefore, more research in GCC countries should be conducted in order to shed light on socio-cultural factors that precipitate individuals to succumb to substance abuse. This would open the door for contemplating strategies to achieve a reasonable level of prevention as well as to prioritise which aspects of services are pertinent to the region. Grinspoon and Bakalar have suggested that of all the mistakes repeated, the most serious is trying to free society of drugs via legislation and regulation.70 Indeed, many studies1 suggest that no punitive measure deters availability and abuse of drugs.14 It appears that financial gain is one of the strongest determining factors. Globally, though consensus from the experts in the field suggests that substance dependency is a disease, public opinion often considers it a form of moral degeneracy that can destroy social values. As a result, victims of substance dependency are sent to the prison. Many countries have pursued the idea of creating a national consensus towards zero tolerance for substance abuse and death penalty for drug traffickers. The policies fluctuate between curbing trafficking, reducing demand and decriminalisation of certain classes of drugs.71 Some countries have considered decriminalizing soft drugs and the debate continues on the rationale of dispensing heroin to heroin-addicts.72 Although more time is needed to assess the long-term outcome of these new programs, history has shown that none of the previous campaigns to curb the spread of substance misuse has worked. Instead, the situation appears to be summed up in Bob Marley's lyric, "So you think you have found the solution; But it's just another illusion". CONCLUSION The problem of drug abuse in the GCC is a multi-dimensional one without easy solutions. This paper has touched upon several of these issues. Even though for zero tolerance to substance dependency is advocated, no program has been found to be universally successful in reducing drug dependence. Historically, many societies have tried both criminalisation and decriminalisation but to no avail. Despite all the technologies to monitor and legal authority to bring the drug traffickers to justice,including the threat of death penalty, dealing with substances that cause addiction is becoming a global challenge of ever increasing magnitude. More discouraging, the problem has even affected societies where one would expect cultural factors to protect them from the attraction of drugs. The purpose of this paper, thus, is to "point a finger to the moon", the moon symbolising the complexity of substance dependency. One should not confuse the moon with the finger that points to it.