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Safe fieldwork in an unsafe neighborhood. Researching lynching in a Latin-American slum
Safe fieldwork in an unsafe neighborhood. Researching lynching in a Latin-American slum
On July 23, 2007 Hólger Morales is caught breaking into a house in Atucucho, a slum in the outskirts of Quito. Morales is kicked, hit and eventually set on fire by an angry mob of neighborhood residents. He dies of his injuries on the spot. The author conducted four months of ethnographic fieldwork in Atucucho in search for explanations for and meanings of the lynchings in Atucucho. In this article he highlights some of the challenges, difficulties and restrictions of doing potentially dangerous fieldwork. He discusses, among other things, the process of gaining access to the neighborhood, the importance of a good gatekeeper and the extra measures taken because of the 'delicacy' of his subject of study.

The notion of local politics in the modern global village is reviewed, arguing that local perspectives may provide excellent insights into broader processes, possibly leading to "glocal" descriptions. Two currents in which local politics are studied from a broader perspective are distinguished: (1) studies in which local power structures are analyzed using explicit sociological & political models, & (2) studies in which local politics are studied in the framework of larger political processes, analyzing the relationships between local & (inter)national politics. Adapted from the source document.

As a starting point comparative pol'al sci is circumscribed as the field within the discipline of pol'al sci which, in the methodological sphere, focuses on problems of comparison &, as to the substantial side, concentrates on problems of pol'al change, pol'al development, & pol'al modernization. The elaboration is accomplished by posing 3 questions: (1) Does comparative pol'al sci have a method of its own (the comparative method)? (2) Does comparative pol'al sci have a subject matter of its own? (3) If the previous questions are answered in the negative, does comparative pol'al sci refer to a particular perspective as regards pol'al life? It is concluded that comparative pol'al sci, although lacking a method & a subject matter of its own, may be considered a subdiscipline of pol'al sci: standing for a relativistic outlook on pol'al life, it seems to have an important task in the context of pol'al sci. Its main characteristic will remain the search for universal generalizations. B. J. S. Hoetjes (U of Amsterdam, the Netherlands) in a COMMENT, states that a definition of a field of (pol'al) sci should give the characteristics of the substantial problems & concerns within such a field. For a definition of comparative pol as a subfield of pol'al sci this implies the rejection of a purely methodological definition, the more because the comparative method does not seem to offer any distinct approach to the study of pol; one should look for a category of empirical pol'al phenomena to characterize the subfield. On this point Rosenthal is not seen to be very clear: he mentions the pol'al problems of developing areas as 'the' typical object of comparative pol, but the basic concern, according to him, is the widening of the empirical base to the theories, hyp's & generalizations. Since the study of any topic could very well contribute to this purpose, there remains no typical topic to characterize the subfield of comparative pol. At the same time, the widening of the empirical range of pol'al theories by itself can be considered the typical & legitimate concern of the 'empirical pol'al theorist' as a specialist within the field of pol'al sci. It seems useless as well as confusing to double-label this specialist as 'comparative pol'al sci'st.' Modified HA.

A review essay on books by (1) M. Boogers, Lokale politiek in Nederland. De logica en dynamiek van plaatselije politiek ([Local Politics in the Netherlands. The Logic and Dynamics of Local Politics] Den Haag: Lemma, 2007); & (2) H. Reynaert [Ed], De kerktorenpolitiek voorbij? Lokale politiek in Vlaanderen ([The Churchtower over Politics? Local Politics in Flanders] Brugge: Vanden Broele, 2007).

THE CONTOURS OF A THEORY OF STATUS POLITICS ARE SKETCHED. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IS 1ST CONSIDERED IN TERMS OF THE PLAY & COUNTERPLAY OF 3 GROUPS OF FACTORS: (1) PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE AMBITION TO PARTICIPATE, (2) INDIVIDUAL POLITICAL RESOURCES, & (3) INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS. SECONDLY, A THEORY OF POLITICAL STRIVING IS CONSTRUCTED. EMPHASIS IS PUT ON THE RELATIONS BETWEEN POLITICAL AMBITION & THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE OF THE POLITY. POLITICAL POSITIONS ARE DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF DEMAND & SUPPLY, & INDIVIDUAL POLITICAL RESOURCES ARE INTERPRETED AS A NECESSARY CONDITION OF THE INCUMBENCY OF POLITICAL POSITIONS. A MODEL CONTAINING 6 RELATIONS IS PRESENTED. 3RD IS THE INTRODUCTION OF INCENTIVES. THE THEORY OF POLITICAL STRIVING ASSUMES POLITICAL AMBITION TO VARY ACCORDING TO CHANGES IN THE LEVEL OF RESOURCES & THE SUPPLY OF POLITICAL POSITIONS, BUT THE THEORY OF POLITICAL INCENTIVES ADDS THE ELEMENT OF SATISFACTIONS CONNECTED WITH POLITICAL PARTICIPATION. INCENTIVES ARE VIEWED AS EMOTIONAL NEEDS, SUCH AS STATUS, WHICH ARE SATISFIED BY MEANS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION. THE POSSIBILITY OF EXTENDING THE MODEL OF POLITICAL STRIVING IN THE DIRECTION OF STATUS IS ANALYZED. STATUS & PROGRAM ARE ASSUMED TO BE POLAR TYPES OF INCENTIVES. THE 3 VARIABLES OF THE MODEL ARE (A) POLITICAL AMBITION BASED ON EMOTIONAL NEED OF SOCIAL PRESTIGE, (B) POLITICAL RESOURCES THAT ARE PARTICULARLY SUITED FOR SUCCESSFUL PARTICIPATION IN STATUS POLITICS, & (C) STATUS POSITIONS IN THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE. THE SUPPLY OF POLITICAL POSITIONS HAS CONSIDERABLY INCREASED IN HOLLAND IN RECENT YEARS. RESEARCHING WHETHER THIS IS BECAUSE OF A TREND TOWARDS STATUS POLITICS IS A DELICATE MATTER BECAUSE OF TABOOS & POLITICIANS' DEFENSE MECHANISMS. 4 FIGURES. MODIFIED HA.