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Internal colonialism: essays around a theme
86
Book reviews
recognized the importance of political processes and decision-making in handling problems of urban geography, of planning, of accessibility to services and central places, of regional deprivation and welfare, of social justice and regional equalization, and would regard themselves as political geographers rather than political geographers-whether ‘reformist’ or ‘radical’ in Taylor’s terms-are concerned with other perceived sets of problems, and in particular the possible modes of structural transformation. To the more radical of these the basic concept of the state is open to discussion rather than ‘given’, and solutions to the problem: of plural societies are sought in communal rather than in state terms, with presumably changes in the structures of decision-making. The capitalistic ‘nation’ state is seen as the prime cause of pluralism, and to solve the latter, they would argue, requires radical change in the former. The question posed, but not answered, by this volume is whether the two approaches are compatible-or at least whether they can operate together within political geography as they have been doing for some time in geography as a whole. Certainly the debate has brought a new vigour into the field of political geography, and the contributors are to be congratulated on feeding more grist to that particular mill. Perhaps the two positions are not so far apart as at first appears. However, the debate is more than academic so far as pluralism goes. While the debate continues many people will die in Sri Lanka, the Lebanon, Northern Ireland and other places in which pluralism has a dimension of violence, and yet draconian solutions of imposed cultural-territorial uniformity have grim echoes of another national socialist whose aim was ‘Ein Volk; Ein Raum; Ein Reich’.
The first two essays by Stephen Wyn Williams and Michael Hechter have the most to offer in general terms. Williams provides a useful review of usage and the criticisms directed at the concept; however, his attempt at a reformulation is very disjointed, containing references to modes of analysis that are not easily assimilated (e.g. Harold Wolpe and Raymond Williams). Michael Hechter offers an interesting critique of his own research, particularly of his (1975) book, internal Colonialism. He argues that if he were writing the book in 1983 he would move towards an analysis of political mobilization in the ‘Celtic fringe’ of the British Isles that was more microsociological and less focused on the macrosociological processes of internal colonialism I found two essays out of the total of seven others especially perceptive and useful. These are by David Sibley and David Drakakis-Smith. They examine the uses and possible limits of an internal colonial model in exploring government regional policies in Northern Canada and aboriginal economic underdevelopment in Australia, respectively. A general, if unstated, conclusion of this book might be that as usually formulated as an ethnic-spatial model of occupational and general economic segregation, internal colonialism leaves much to be desired for most purposes. Yet the contributors, particularly Williams and Drakakis-Smith, the editors, retain a commitment to its potential. The possibility of extending its usage in relation to uneven economic development is demonstrated in a number of the papers. However, extension into the realm of political mobilization without considerable amendment and reformulation beyond what Williams has to offer seems much less appropriate.
W. Kirk Department of Geography Queens University of Belfast
John A. Agnew Departments of Geography and Social Science Syracuse University, New York
Internal Colonialism: Essays Around a Theme, D. Drakakis-Smith and S. Wyn Williams (eds), Department of Geography, University of Edinburgh, for the Developing Areas Research Group, Institute of British Geographers, Edinburgh, 1983, 203 pp. The lack of clarity and specificity in the term ‘internal colonialism’, and the possibility of rehabilitating it for use in research on uneven economic development and the political mobilization of minority groups, are the twin themes of this edited collection.
Democracy andElections, V. Bogdanor and D. E. Butler (eds), The University Press, Cambridge, 1983, 267 pp., X22.50 (hardback), ES.55 (paperback). Multi-Party Politics and the Constitution, V. Bogdanor, The University Press, Cambridge, 1983, 208 pp., 218.50 (hardback), f6.95 (paperback). Political developments in Great Britain after the 1979 General Election led many seasoned observers to expect major changes in the early
Book reviews
recognized the importance of political processes and decision-making in handling problems of urban geography, of planning, of accessibility to services and central places, of regional deprivation and welfare, of social justice and regional equalization, and would regard themselves as political geographers rather than political geographers-whether ‘reformist’ or ‘radical’ in Taylor’s terms-are concerned with other perceived sets of problems, and in particular the possible modes of structural transformation. To the more radical of these the basic concept of the state is open to discussion rather than ‘given’, and solutions to the problem: of plural societies are sought in communal rather than in state terms, with presumably changes in the structures of decision-making. The capitalistic ‘nation’ state is seen as the prime cause of pluralism, and to solve the latter, they would argue, requires radical change in the former. The question posed, but not answered, by this volume is whether the two approaches are compatible-or at least whether they can operate together within political geography as they have been doing for some time in geography as a whole. Certainly the debate has brought a new vigour into the field of political geography, and the contributors are to be congratulated on feeding more grist to that particular mill. Perhaps the two positions are not so far apart as at first appears. However, the debate is more than academic so far as pluralism goes. While the debate continues many people will die in Sri Lanka, the Lebanon, Northern Ireland and other places in which pluralism has a dimension of violence, and yet draconian solutions of imposed cultural-territorial uniformity have grim echoes of another national socialist whose aim was ‘Ein Volk; Ein Raum; Ein Reich’.
The first two essays by Stephen Wyn Williams and Michael Hechter have the most to offer in general terms. Williams provides a useful review of usage and the criticisms directed at the concept; however, his attempt at a reformulation is very disjointed, containing references to modes of analysis that are not easily assimilated (e.g. Harold Wolpe and Raymond Williams). Michael Hechter offers an interesting critique of his own research, particularly of his (1975) book, internal Colonialism. He argues that if he were writing the book in 1983 he would move towards an analysis of political mobilization in the ‘Celtic fringe’ of the British Isles that was more microsociological and less focused on the macrosociological processes of internal colonialism I found two essays out of the total of seven others especially perceptive and useful. These are by David Sibley and David Drakakis-Smith. They examine the uses and possible limits of an internal colonial model in exploring government regional policies in Northern Canada and aboriginal economic underdevelopment in Australia, respectively. A general, if unstated, conclusion of this book might be that as usually formulated as an ethnic-spatial model of occupational and general economic segregation, internal colonialism leaves much to be desired for most purposes. Yet the contributors, particularly Williams and Drakakis-Smith, the editors, retain a commitment to its potential. The possibility of extending its usage in relation to uneven economic development is demonstrated in a number of the papers. However, extension into the realm of political mobilization without considerable amendment and reformulation beyond what Williams has to offer seems much less appropriate.
W. Kirk Department of Geography Queens University of Belfast
John A. Agnew Departments of Geography and Social Science Syracuse University, New York
Internal Colonialism: Essays Around a Theme, D. Drakakis-Smith and S. Wyn Williams (eds), Department of Geography, University of Edinburgh, for the Developing Areas Research Group, Institute of British Geographers, Edinburgh, 1983, 203 pp. The lack of clarity and specificity in the term ‘internal colonialism’, and the possibility of rehabilitating it for use in research on uneven economic development and the political mobilization of minority groups, are the twin themes of this edited collection.
Democracy andElections, V. Bogdanor and D. E. Butler (eds), The University Press, Cambridge, 1983, 267 pp., X22.50 (hardback), ES.55 (paperback). Multi-Party Politics and the Constitution, V. Bogdanor, The University Press, Cambridge, 1983, 208 pp., 218.50 (hardback), f6.95 (paperback). Political developments in Great Britain after the 1979 General Election led many seasoned observers to expect major changes in the early