Download Western Supremacy: The Triumph of an Idea? by Sophie Bessis PDF

By Sophie Bessis

Sophie Bessis ebook provides a radical heritage of colonial and developmentalist suggestion. Bessis tells the tale of the West's courting with these components of the remainder of the realm it got here to dominate. Bessis follows this trajectory, from the conquest of the Americas, in the course of the slave exchange and the scramble for Africa, the White Man's burden, occur future and the expansion of "scientific" racism, directly to decolonization, the ideology of improvement, and structural adjustment.

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Extra info for Western Supremacy: The Triumph of an Idea?

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27 Scholars working in this paradigm argue that beliefs and attitudes are formed in early adulthood, and that 25 26 27 A recent exception is Jeffrey W. Legro, “The Transformation of Policy Ideas,” American Journal of Political Science 44, no. 3 (July 2000): 419–432. Sheri Berman, “Ideas, Norms, and Culture in Political Analysis,” Comparative Politics 33, no. 2 (January 2001): 233. Although they are often conflated, there are three distinct models of generational change: the “maturation” model, whereby beliefs change in predictable ways as people age; the “pendulum” model, whereby the members of one generation react to the beliefs of the previous one; and the “experiential” model, whereby the beliefs of members of generations are shaped by critical events.

These debates led to concrete political outcomes in the 1990s when many states, and groups within states, paid reparations, issued apologies, and otherwise sought to atone for their nation’s crimes during the Second World War. How can we account for this shift from amnesia to critical examination of national crimes? One way of approaching this question is through the study of “historical” or “collective” memory. “Memory” has become a fashionable concept in recent years, and the “memory boom” that began in the humanities in the 1980s has since spread to the social sciences.

Before going into further detail, it is important to differentiate my explanation of ideational change from the two paradigms I outlined earlier. First, like the elite manipulation paradigm, I focus on the role of political elites in shaping mass attitudes. Yet, rather than assuming that these attempts are successful, my concept of public debate leaves room for the unintended and unpredictable consequences of elite attempts to impose their ideas on society. Political elites may try to provoke and shape a debate, but often find that they are unable to control the process once it begins.

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