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Te will to improve is a rich description of governmental practices effected by national and international institutions. Te book is divided into seven chapters. Author explains how colonial and neo-colonial regimes have viewed less powerful people as deficient, backward.
Te will to improve is a rich description of governmental practices effected by national and international institutions. Te book is divided into seven chapters. Author explains how colonial and neo-colonial regimes have viewed less powerful people as deficient, backward.
Te will to improve is a rich description of governmental practices effected by national and international institutions. Te book is divided into seven chapters. Author explains how colonial and neo-colonial regimes have viewed less powerful people as deficient, backward.
BOOK REVIEWS Te Will to Improve: Governmentality, Development, and the Practice of Politics Taxia Muiia\ Li Duxi Uxiviisir\ Piiss, Duiuax, NC, :oo; , ii. :., Paiiinacx Riviiwio n\ Manii Sanocai Te Will to Improve is a rich description of governmental practices eected by national and international institutions and directed at systematic improvements for marginal populations. Tis eth- nography details the way development strategies are deployed; in particular, Li analyzes the interactions between the dierent actorsvillagers, development organizations and non-governmental organizations, government ocials and institutionsthat take place in the development encounter, as exemplied by cases from the Central Sulawesi region of Indonesia. Te book is divided into seven chapters. Te rst describes the history of Indonesia for the last 200 yearsin the context of development inter- ventionsuntil the end of the Suharto regime in 1998. Te subsequent ve chapters present various programs that were formulated to improve the lives of villagers in Sulawesi from the beginning of colonial rule through the rst years of the twentieth century: their general objectives, contradictions, consequences and their ultimate failures. Troughout her book, Li explains how colonial and neo-colonial regimes (but also national, regional and local elites) have viewed less powerful people as decient, backward, and in need for improvement. In addition, indigenous subsistence practices have been seen as destructive of the environment and not productive enough, thus requiring correction. Te institutions in charge of de- velopment were interested in improving populations, improving the landscape, and improving productiv- ity; in the process, people were subjected to forced resettlement, excluded from their land, and drawn into intensied agricultural production (p. 61). In her analysis, Li critiques and extends the works of Ferguson (1994) and Escobar (1995), and she uses Foucault (1991) to dene the purpose of government and sovereignty, to theorize the limits of government, and to understand social control and power inequalities. Gramscis ideas (Crehan, 2002) are the basis for Lis description of the ways people mobilize for change and protest; and Marx (1887) constitutes another important source because of his presentation of analytical tools to study the material conditions of human existence. Lis illustration of contemporary development discourses and practices in Central Sulawesi centers on the social tension resulting from the creation of the Lore Lindu National Park in 1982 (nal bound- aries were established in 1993). Indigenous peoples were pushed from their traditional lands and gardens and relocated to less fertile ones outside of the park. Te development agencies charged with helping people recover (while still supporting the goals of conservation in the park) analyzed the situation in preliminary historical, economic and social studies. However, when the time came to plan and implement the designed projects, they disregarded the informa- tion previously acquired about problems such as growing landlessness, high indebtedness among the indigenous population, vulnerability to displacement, among others (p. 126). Teir excuses were that these problems identied were not merely technical, were too complex and could not be solved by them. Tus, they never accomplished their goal of signicantly improving peoples lives. Li argues that by tackling only technical prob- lemsby dening specic and localized issues and dissecting them (p. 123)the development organiza- tions did not recognize the structural conditions that created the troubles in the rst place. Furthermore, whenever interventions failed, and problems became worse, there was always a need for more interventions (p. 122). Te institutions and people responsible for the development programs did not initially examine their own practices as potentially responsible for the further marginalization of people; instead, villagers were blamed for their inability to improve their own conditions and were then subjected to social engineer- ing to modify their behavior and make them comply Journal of Ecological Anthropology Vol. 13 No. 1 2009 79 with the mandate of the government and develop- ment/conservation institutions. After repeated failures, development organiza- tions eventually tried to implement dierent programs and improve their own performance, but these eorts obtained the same results. Te Nature Conservancy, for example, in the 1990s failed to achieve its goals of raising conservation awareness and increasing eco- nomic gain through sustainable practices (p. 140), because such goals and the concepts used to dene them did not match those of the local people who were primarily concerned with their right to cultivable land (p. 139). Later, Te Nature Conservancy attempted a new strategy framed within the concepts of commu- nity and partnership, supposedly paying attention to what the villagers had to say (p. 193). Tey did not succeed however, even though villagers proved adept in the conservation discourse. Allied either with villagers or with the pro-park alliances, other non-governmental organizations also exerted pressure and added more components to the problem of access to land in Sulawesi. Wahana Lingku- nan Hidup Indonesia (Friends of the Earth Indonesia) and Yayasan Tanah Merdeka (Free Land Foundation) critiqued foreign donors and ocials plans, and these two organizations helped villagers claim sovereignty over some expropriated lands (p. 148). Eventually, after three demonstrations by villagers demanding a solution to their land tenure and access problems, the organizations helped the group self-identied as the Free Farmers Forum take over the Dongi-Dongi valley inside the park (p. 153). Nevertheless, after reclaiming the land, more conicts ensued between the farmers inside the park and other indigenous groups claiming ownership over the same land, as well as between pro- park and pro-farmer alliances (p. 168). Tis book constitutes an important reference for those involved in the elds of applied, engaged or public anthropology and, in particular, for in- dividuals working for development organizations or in public and international policy. Li promotes a reection on academic and professional exercises of delivering abstract notions of improvement and appropriate ways of life to others (in less powerful positions), which rarely correspond to peoples reali- ties, heterogeneity, needs and wants. Although Li explains the ways in which improvement organiza- tions have themselves attempted to improve, the fundamental causes of problems of marginalized populations continue to be unaddressed. In addition, the author appears to provide concrete examples for James Scotts (1985) argument that peasants are not necessarily interested in revolu- tions, or total structural change. Instead, peasants negotiate their right to a modest or decent way of life (with work, land and income) as established in their relationship with the dominant group through an implicit social contract that tacitly mediates and expresses the needs of both social groups. Tus, revolutions, for Scott, appear more as conjunctural events that respond to an orthodox, middle-class intention of transformation supported dialectically by the angry peasantry subjected to unacceptable measures of injustice. Many of the peasants described by Li saw the need to protect the environment, but they also wanted to make a prot and did not mind giving the government its own share in the form of taxes (p. 227). Tey were not anti-government; they simply wanted to participate in and be recognized as valuable assets to their country (p. 280). Li disagrees with Escobars implicit premise that, in development, there is conspiracy (p. 286). Te shortcoming in this position and Lis analysis is the lack of treatment of crucial questions that arise from her own conclusions: Who has the power to make the structural changes needed in order to improve peoples lives? And, what would be the con- sequences for development organizations, govern- ments and major nancial institutions in allowing such change? Te failure of institutions to deliver their promises, to address the real problems, and to pay attention to (or not ignore) the facts may speak of a predetermined and tacit agenda that is aligned with the main goal of capitalist logicto expand the marketwhich contrasts with the needs of villagers. In addition, institutions providing funds for development are often banks, with very specic objectives of economic growth. Li makes some interesting observations in the last chapter. She examines, for example, a World Bank project called Kekamatan Development Program in which alternatives that encourage competition, tough Journal of Ecological Anthropology Vol. 13 No. 1 2009 80 surveillance, and control practices are proposed for vil- lagers to acquire resources and fulll their goals, in self- designed, and self-regulated, projects, funded by the Bank. It is an attempt to study the mechanisms of local social capital, but it is also an attempt to insert people in the market economy, and make them behave in accordance to the capitalist standards of competition, accumulation and progress. Even though Kekamatan Development Program was considered (and replicated) as successful by the World Bank, it also failed to ad- dress the real issues in peoples livesalthough it did succeed in modifying their conduct towards market and accumulation activities. In conclusion, it is evident in Lis account that historical attempts to improve peoples lives in Su- lawesi while reconciling conservation, capitalism and social justice is impossible for two reasons: the lack of attention to political economic structures, and the absence of villagers participation in decision-making. At the same time, in many cases populations resist and eventually reclaim what has been extracted from them. Te will of some to improve the lives of others does not cease, however. Li poses an important question: If there is evidence of populations abilities to resist and claim spaces of justice on their ownespecially since partnership, participation and collaboration are today recognized as crucial in developmentwhy are there still trustees interested in assisting them to improve? Trusteeship, and the hierarchy that sepa- rates trustees from the people whose capacities need to be enhanced, (p. 278) are embedded in the will to improve (p. 281). In this sense, it would be worth the eort to further explore Lis thesis. Mabel Sabogal, Department of Anthropology, Uni- versity of South Florida, msabogal@mail.usf.edu References Ciiuax, K. 2002 Gramsci, culture, and anthropology. Berkeley, CA: University of California. Esconai, A. 1995 Encountering development: The making and unmaking of the third world. Princ- eton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Fiicusox, J. 1994 The anti-politics machine: Develop- ment, depolitization, and bureaucratic power in Lesotho. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Foucauir, M. 1991 Governmentality, in The Foucault effect: Studies in governmentality. Edited by G. Burchell, C. Gordon and P. M iller, pp. 87-104. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Li, T. 2007 The will to improve: Governmentality, development, and the practice of politics. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Maix, K. 1887 Capital: A critical analysis of capitalist production. Translated by S. Moore and E. Aveling. London: Swan Sonnen- schein, Lowrey & Co. Scorr, J.C. 1985 Weapons of the weak: Everyday forms of peasant resistance. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Trough attempts to dig up truths about a so- ciety destroyed by nuclear fallout, this ethnography chronicles one of the most devastating chapters in American history. In 1954, 67 nuclear bombs were tested in the Marshall Islands by the United States military. Despite warnings about the possible eects of this testing on the local inhabitants, the bombing Te Rongelap Report: Consequential Damages of Nuclear War Bainaia Rosi Jouxsrox axo Hoii\ Baixii Liir Coasr Piiss, Waixur Ciiix, CA, :oo8 :1 Pi. :,., Paiiinacx Riviiwio n\ Lauiix Haiiis Journal of Ecological Anthropology Vol. 13 No. 1 2009 81 schedule was carried out as planned, spreading ra- dioactive waste across entire islands and their inhab- ited villages. For decades, the Rongelapese have been forced to serve as research subjects for U.S. military scientists and endure the severe environmental and health eects of a situation completely outside their control. Using the voices of the islands residents collected from decades of research, Johnston and Barker bring to life the details of Rongelapese resi- dents experiences. Te most signicant contribution of the book is the detailed explanations that are provided of the eects of nuclear testing on the Rongelapese over the past 50 years. Te analysis begins with their cultural practices, values and traditions before the nuclear bombings in 1954 and ends with testimonies of relocated Rongelapese attempting to get back to their homeland. Tese personal narratives all serve as evidence for the nal Rongelap Report, pieces of which are carefully placed at the end of each sec- tion of the book to synthesize authors ndings. Te full version of this report was used by representatives of the Rongelapese in court hearings against the US government. Before nuclear testing, the Rongelapese were intimately connected to their land. Food, toys, shelter, transportation and tools were all created from natural materials. Land and water territo- ries were dispersed using local rules maintained by the traditional hierarchy of leaders within the community. Spiritual and social values were also tied to the island landscape. Te authors suggest that not only was it the place that the Rongelapese buried their dead, but it brought meaning to peoples lives. Before nuclear testing, the authors describe the Rongelapeses relationship with land as symbiotic, based on individual narratives and portrayals of life before nuclear destruction. Ron- gelapese who were interviewed explain that when hunting, they would kill only male crabs so that the females could reproduce, never take all the bird or turtle eggs, and only kill the young birds so that the older ones could reproduce. Tese and other resources were exchanged and used to maintain social relationships and to conrm basic values essential to Rongelapese culture. Te contamination from the nuclear bombings obliterated the social relationships that mediate use of natural resources on the island. Johnston and Barker spend the last third of the book discussing the specic ramications of nuclear testing for the Rongelapese, which include involuntary displacement from their homes, loss of access to natural recourses and natural habitats, loss of land rights, and loss of their every- day existence including customary laws and tradi- tions. Because the nuclear fallout was so expansive, much of the landscape was permanently destroyed. Troughout this chapter, the Rongelapese talk about birds found with hard white pebbles in their throats, radioactive coconut crabs, and arrowroot that are completely hollow inside, capturing the severity of impacts on food resources. Health consequences from the initial nuclear explosion and from the toxic environment in the years that followed devastated the Rongelapese way of life. After the bombs went o, white radioactive powder fell directly on many people, leaving them with discoloration and blisters that covered their bodies. Johnston and Barkers key informant lost his 15-year-old child to leukemia. His story, unfortu- nately, is only one of many. Almost all Rongelapese were forced to have their thyroid glands removed due to concentrated levels of radioactive material, a surgery that has left them without a singing voice, and with a daily, chronic need for medication. Te reproductive eects of the bombing were perhaps some of the most disturbing. Troughout the third chapter, men and women talk about having children without arms or legs, of stillbirths, babies with Downs Syndrome, even giving birth to grapes. One woman talks about a child being born with the entire back side of his scull missing. She states, You know, it was heart wrenching having to nurse my son, all the while taking care that his brain didnt fall into my lap (p. 146). Although dicult to absorb for the reader, such stories need to be told, and the authors create a forum for Rongelapese to do so. Te nal chapters of the book discuss the cul- pability of the United States, including the decision to drop nuclear bombs despite the perceived risk of fallout, and the governmental ocials lack of at- tention to the needs of the Rongelapese in the years Journal of Ecological Anthropology Vol. 13 No. 1 2009 82 following the disaster. While the U.S. did provide health care to residents after the bombing, it was much more focused around scientic investiga- tions than it was on the actual health complaints of the people themselves. In a letter written to the U.S. government, a Rongelapese man states, you have never really cared about us as peopleonly as a group of guinea pigs for your governments bomb research eort. Tere is no question about your technical competence, but we wonder about your humanity (p. 139). Tese events lead the authors to discuss the need for justice and reparations, citing specic historical circumstances in which the U.S. government was forced to repay local civilians for breeches of contract and/or losses of critical resources. Under what is termed Te Memorandum of Decision and Order they call for restitution, indemnity and satisfaction under four general categories. Tese include: 1) the hardships, injuries and consequential damages of the loss of healthy, self-sucient way of life; 2) the natural resource damage and related socio-economic stigmatization; 3) consequential damages to human exposure to fallout from the nuclear weapons testing program; and 4) negligence, negligent misrepresen- tation, battery and related consequential damages of involuntary participation in human subject re- search. While the Rongelapese were awarded some consequential damages by the RMI Nuclear Claims Tribunal, the authors continue to demand further compensation for each individual abuse that falls under these four main categories of concern. To date, most of the literature on the eects of nuclear weaponry on human populations has been produced by medical personnel, focusing primarily on the physical consequences of radiation, which include reports of thyroid cancer and leukemia (Na- tional Research Council 2003; Institute of Medicine 1999). Other studies, produced outside of the medi- cal elds, have focused on the social and cultural ef- fects of nuclear fallout in the United States (Caldwell 2007; Johnson 1996; Fradkin 1989; Rosenberg 1980) and the Marshall Islands (Johnston 2007; Dibblin 1990), however they tend to be primarily subjective. While these reports provide emotionally charged personal accounts of the victims, they con- tain little evidence to connect environmental and health problems to the actual bombings. Tis is one of the main contributions of Johnston and Barkers ethnographythe way they link these impacts to the bombings with convincing evidence. Te major reason for this gap in other reports is likely to be the highly condential nature of the research subject. U.S. military personnel are in control of all activities surrounding nuclear weapons testing; therefore it is incredibly dicult to obtain any information without an ocial international criminal hearing. By joining forces with local and government personnel, Johnston and Barker were able to weave together ethnographic accounts of nuclear testing victims with data collected from the U.S military. Tis combination of qualitative and quantitative data gives much needed validity to their ndings, leaving the reader with a more complete understanding of the experiences of the Marshallese people by captur- ing what this event means to their lives individually and collectively. Unlike previous books on this topic, one comes away from this ethnography with a bet- ter understanding of diering perspectives, a sense of responsibility for what happened, and a desire to provide the voices speaking out through the pages with the reparations that they deserve. Tis ethnography is appropriate to use in un- dergraduate and graduate level anthropology courses to illustrate how meticulous ethnographic eldwork can serve as essential evidence in cases concerning human rights violations. In addition to demonstrat- ing what applying anthropology can accomplish, this book also suggests the importance of long-term ethnographic analysis and multiple methodologies for acquiring data, as well as what can be gained from engaging with professionals both in and outside of anthropology. Te readability of this ethnography makes it highly accessible to the public, and more importantly, to policy makers and military personnel who can make a contribution in working to prevent these atrocities from occurring again. Lauren Harris, Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, lakharris@gmail.com Journal of Ecological Anthropology Vol. 13 No. 1 2009 83 References Caiowiii, S.J. 2007 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Program status. Washington, DC: U.S. Govt. Accountability Office. http:// www.gao.gov/new.items/d071037r.pdf. Dinniix, J. 1990 Day of two suns: US nuclear testing and the Pacific Islanders. New York: New Amsterdam. Fiaoxix, P.L. 1989 Fallout: An American nuclear tragedy. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press. Ixsriruri oi Mioicixi (U.S.), Narioxai Ri- siaicu Couxcii (U.S.), x NirLiniai\, Ixc. 1999 Exposure of the American people to Iodine-131 from Nevada nuclear-bomb tests Review of the National Cancer Institute report and public health im- plications. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Jouxsrox, B.R. 2007 Half-lives and half-truths: Confronting the radioactive legacies of the cold war. Santa Fe, NM: School for Advanced Research Press. Narioxai Risiaicu Couxcii (U.S.), x NirLi- niai\, Ixc. 2003 Exposure of the American population to radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons tests A review of the CDC-NCI draft report on a feasibility study of the health consequences to the American population from nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States and other nations. Washington, DC: National Research Council Rosixniic, H.L. 1980 Atomic soldiers: American victims of nuclear experiments. Boston: Beacon Press.