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Introduction: The Darker World

Zachary Shore

in What Hitler Knew: The Battle for Information in Nazi Foreign Policy

This introductory chapter begins with a brief description of the ominous situation faced by Hitler's diplomats in Nazi Germany. It then discusses the purpose of the book, which is to examine how ... More

This introductory chapter begins with a brief description of the ominous situation faced by Hitler's diplomats in Nazi Germany. It then discusses the purpose of the book, which is to examine how governmental officials reached decisions on foreign policy under the stresses and strains of a violent dictatorship. It considers both the regime's domestic political environment, and its control of information. The book shows how the control of knowledge—or information—affected decision-making in Nazi Germany, and is a portrait of how a dictator's seeming strength can actually be his weakest link.Less

After Military Rule in Latin America: Argentina, Chile, and Guatemala

Zoltan Barany

in The Soldier and the Changing State: Building Democratic Armies in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas

This chapter describes the politics following Argentina's and Chile's last bout with authoritarianism. In spite of some important similarities between Argentina and Chile, military rule and the ... More

This chapter describes the politics following Argentina's and Chile's last bout with authoritarianism. In spite of some important similarities between Argentina and Chile, military rule and the subsequent democratization process have been dissimilar. The chapter argues that the disparate performance of the Argentine and Chilean praetorian elites yielded for them different bargains with the opposition. These different deals led to vastly different outcomes, that is, profound disparities between military politics in contemporary Chile and Argentina. In Chile, democratizers have succeeded in gradually reducing the military's political autonomy to a level acceptable by democratic standards. On the other hand, their Argentine colleagues have gone too far in what has amounted to a virtual vendetta against the military as an institution and, in the process, seriously impaired its ability to protect and project Argentine national interests. The chapter's secondary case is Guatemala, a Central American state ruled for most of the Cold War by unusually brutal military dictators.Less

Market Integration and Fairness: Evidence from Ultimatum, Dictator, and Public Goods Experiments in East Afric a

Jean Ensminger

in Foundations of Human Sociality: Economic Experiments and Ethnographic Evidence from Fifteen Small-Scale Societies

An analysis of the role of market integration and fairness in the responses of the Orma of northern Kenya in the Ultimatum, Dictator, and Public Goods Games is presented. The Orma are a ... More

An analysis of the role of market integration and fairness in the responses of the Orma of northern Kenya in the Ultimatum, Dictator, and Public Goods Games is presented. The Orma are a pastoral–nomadic community who are divided into three sections in the Tana River District and are dependent mainly on cattle, but in increasing numbers are diversifying into trade and wage labour; this research took place among the geographically central Galole Orma. The chapter describes the political economy of the Orma, and the methods used for the study, and presents and analyses the results of the three games, looking at the effects of wage/trade income in the Ultimatum and Dictator Games. The results are consistent with the general finding from the overall cross‐cultural project that shows fairness increasing with market integration. Something appears to trigger fair‐mindedness in association with exposure to market institutions, maybe a higher premium on reputation, and eventually, this norm appears to be internalized, as evidenced by its emergence in the anonymous, one‐shot, economic experiments.Less

Overview and Synthesis

Joseph Henrich, Robert Boyd, Samuel Bowles, Colin F. Camerer, Ernst Fehr, Herbert Gintis, and Richard McElreath

in Foundations of Human Sociality: Economic Experiments and Ethnographic Evidence from Fifteen Small-Scale Societies

A summary is given of the results obtained from all fifteen field sites of the cross‐cultural behavioural experiments project reported in the book and comparisons are made between them. Two lessons ... More

A summary is given of the results obtained from all fifteen field sites of the cross‐cultural behavioural experiments project reported in the book and comparisons are made between them. Two lessons are drawn from the experimental results: first, there is no society in which experimental behaviour is even roughly consistent with the canonical model of purely self‐interested actors; second, there is much more variation between groups than has been previously reported, and this variation correlates with differences in patterns of interaction found in everyday life. The results are thought to bear on fundamental questions about human behaviour and society such as the nature of human motivations, and how these motivations are shaped by the societies in which people live, but the discussion is limited to the implications of the study for rational actor and similar models of human behaviour. The chapter is arranged in eight main sections which: (1) give an account of the cross‐cultural behavioural experiments project, describing the main economics experiments used – the Ultimatum Game (only this game was used at all experimental sites), the Public Goods Game, and the Dictator Game – and the locations and characteristics of the ethnographic studies involved (two each in Ecuador, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania; and one each in Bolivia, Chile, Indonesia, Kenya, Paraguay, Peru, and Zimbabwe); (2) present and analyse the experimental results; (3) attempt to explain differences in behaviour across groups; (4) attempt to explain individual differences in behaviour within groups; (5) discuss local group effects; (6) examine experimental behaviour in relation to everyday life; (7) discuss the research methods used and suggest ways that the between‐group behavioural differences found could have originated as products of patterns of social and economic interactions; and (8) draw conclusions.Less

Measuring Social Norms and Preferences Using Experimental Games: A Guide for Social Scientist s

Colin F. Camerer and Ernst Fehr

in Foundations of Human Sociality: Economic Experiments and Ethnographic Evidence from Fifteen Small-Scale Societies

The work of the cross‐cultural behavioural experiments project presented in this book is rooted in the logic of game theory and the practices of experimental economics, and this chapter provides an ... More

The work of the cross‐cultural behavioural experiments project presented in this book is rooted in the logic of game theory and the practices of experimental economics, and this chapter provides an introduction to the fundamentals of behavioural game theory, and the procedures and conventions of experimental economics. It starts by defining the main social preference terms used – self‐interest, altruism, reciprocity, inequity aversion, and then sketches game theory in broad terms and describes some basic features of experimental design in economics. Seven games that have proved useful in examining social preferences are introduced; these are the Prisoner's Dilemma Game, the Public Goods Game, the Ultimatum Game, the Dictator Game, the Trust Game, the Gift Exchange Game, and the Third‐Party Punishment Game). The games are defined formally, indicating the aspects of social life that they express, and describing behavioural regularities found in experimental studies; these behavioural regularities are then interpreted in terms of preferences for reciprocity, inequity aversion, or altruism. The final sections of the chapter describe some other games anthropologists might find useful, and draw conclusions.Less

Dictators and Ultimatums in an Egalitarian Society of Hunter–Gatherers: The Hadza of Tanzani a

Frank Marlowe

in Foundations of Human Sociality: Economic Experiments and Ethnographic Evidence from Fifteen Small-Scale Societies

It has often been suggested that the foundation for much human cooperation is the widespread food sharing observed among hunter–gatherers. To investigate this proposition, the study reported here ... More

It has often been suggested that the foundation for much human cooperation is the widespread food sharing observed among hunter–gatherers. To investigate this proposition, the study reported here enlisted one of the few remaining societies of active nomadic hunter–gatherers – the Hadza of Tanzania (who are one of the most egalitarian societies in the ethnographic literature) – to play two related games: the Ultimatum Game and the Dictator Game. The characteristics of the study population are first described, and then the methods used to conduct the games are outlined and the results presented and analysed in terms of six variables (age, gender, comprehension, numbers of siblings and children, and camp population/size). The Hadza made lower offers in both games than are typical of complex societies, and the offers were lower in small camps than larger ones; these findings contrast with the strong Hadza sharing ethic. Possible interpretations are discussed; these include a combination of greater fear of punishment (for not sharing) in larger camps and a greater desire to escape from constant sharing in small camps, and three other explanations that have been proposed by evolutionary anthropologists for widespread food sharing – tolerated scrounging, delayed reciprocity, and costly signalling.Less

War and the Constitution: Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt

Arthur M. Jr. Schlesinger

in The Gettysburg Lectures

This chapter gives a striking account of two American presidents who confronted national emergencies that demanded bold and preemptive action—Lincoln and Roosevelt. The chapter describes them as ... More

This chapter gives a striking account of two American presidents who confronted national emergencies that demanded bold and preemptive action—Lincoln and Roosevelt. The chapter describes them as mysterious, crafty, and ruthless as politicians, discussing significantly their policies at handling war-making power and internal security. Lincoln's involvement in the war was huge and he chose to act independently of the Congress. He exaggerated the threat to national security but the stakes were high as in the case of a foreign war in Roosevelt's time. Franklin Roosevelt's emergency was different in form but he was completely mindful of Congress. Amidst an utterly divided Congress, he pushed toward enacting the Lend-Lease bill that would align the United States in the most unequivocal manner with Britain in its war against the Axis states.Less

Caesar's Body: How to Turn Victory into Defeat

Luciano Canfora and Julian Stringer (eds)

in Julius Caesar: The People's Dictator

The conspirators lost everything in the moment when they left the body of the dictator unattended and abandoned the idea of getting rid of it by throwing it into the Tiber. The Caesarians begin to ... More

The conspirators lost everything in the moment when they left the body of the dictator unattended and abandoned the idea of getting rid of it by throwing it into the Tiber. The Caesarians begin to regain ground when they were able to make political and emotional capital out of the corpse, whose cumbrous presence weighed increasingly heavily, and in the end decisively, on Roman politics. In the very first moments after the murder, Brutus and the others make every possible effort to get the situation under control. Their efforts were mostly doomed to failure. The fact that for a brief moment they seemed to have succeeded is demonstrated by Antony's panic: he dressed as a plebeian and fled. Brutus tried to talk to the senators, but they were bent on fleeing with all speed from the scene of the attack they witnessed. Neglecting to dispose of the body and proceeding to a renunciation of all Caesar's works, they could think of nothing better than to go to the Capitol, waving their daggers and calling on imaginary citizens to ‘make the most of their freedom’. In the space of a few hours the conspirators lost all the advantages of surprise and the confusion of their opponents, by trying to present to the people some abstract ‘freedom’.Less

The Is and Ought of Sharing: The Equality Heuristic Across the Lifespan

Monika Keller, Michaela Gummerum, Thomas Canz, Gerd Gigerenzer, and Masanori Takezawa

in Simple Heuristics in a Social World

The chapter reports a series of studies comparing sharing behavior, moral judgment, and the negotiation of sharing in the dictator game, a nonstrategic fairness task in behavioral economics. ... More

The chapter reports a series of studies comparing sharing behavior, moral judgment, and the negotiation of sharing in the dictator game, a nonstrategic fairness task in behavioral economics. Participants of five age groups of 9-, 12-, 14-, 17-year-olds and adults first made (hypothetical) individual decisions and then negotiated in groups of three persons of the same sex how much to share with an anonymous same-sex other group. Sharing equally was the modal choice across all age groups; the youngest and oldest participants offered somewhat less than the other age groups. Arguments in the group negotiations were scored according to a coding manual. The arguments for both fair offers and offers that deviated from equal splits became increasingly elaborate across age groups; groups that offered less than equal splits provided more and more different arguments. A second study including the same age groups assessed offers in an anonymous individual context and also moral judgments of what was evaluated as the fairest offer in this context. No differences in offers were found compared to the first study; across all age groups the majority of participants evaluated equal sharing as the morally right offer. Offers and fairness judgments were in general found to be highly consistent. However, the discrepancy between the fairness judgment and the actual offer, e.g., offering less than what was evaluated as fair, increased substantially in adolescence and in particular in adulthood.Less

4. 4. National Communism and Political Violence, 1945–1989

Mark Biondich

in The Balkans: Revolution, War, and Political Violence since 1878

This chapter examines Communist dictatorship and policies, focusing particularly on the instrumentalization of nationalism, retribution, and memory. Far from ‘putting a lid’ on nationalism, all ... More

This chapter examines Communist dictatorship and policies, focusing particularly on the instrumentalization of nationalism, retribution, and memory. Far from ‘putting a lid’ on nationalism, all Balkan Communists embraced nationalism at critical junctures. ‘National Communism’ was personified by the Communist dictators Josip Broz Tito, Enver Hoxha, Todor Zhivkov, and Nicolae Ceausescu, all of whom used nationalism to buttress their regimes. The interplay of Communist modernism and local traditions of political culture are assessed, as are the dynamics of the national questions across the region.Less

The Relatively Liberal Views of People from Catholic-Majority Countries: An Examination of Spain, Italy, and Brazil

Amy Adamczyk

in Cross-National Public Opinion about Homosexuality: Examining Attitudes across the Globe

The fifth chapter focuses on Spain, Italy, and Brazil. These nations all have strong Catholic histories, but they vary in the extent to which residents find religion important. The Catholic Church ... More

The fifth chapter focuses on Spain, Italy, and Brazil. These nations all have strong Catholic histories, but they vary in the extent to which residents find religion important. The Catholic Church cannot be described as particularly tolerant of homosexuality, but Catholic-majority nations tend to have more liberal residents than mixed Protestant and Muslim-majority societies. This chapter provides the rationale for why residents living in many Catholic societies tend to be more tolerant. The answer is related, in part, to a decline in religious belief, even as residents continue to affiliate as Catholic; a focus on the faith’s emphasis on social justice over strict adherence to religious precepts; and the type of relationship the church has had with these nations’ recent dictators.Less

Our Enemies

Robert L. McLaughlin and Sally E. Parry

in We’ll Always Have the Movies: American Cinema during World War II

This chapter examines Hollywood war films' depictions of the Germans, Italians, and Japanese as the enemies of the U.S. during World War 2. Examples of these type of the films include Hell's Angels, ... More

This chapter examines Hollywood war films' depictions of the Germans, Italians, and Japanese as the enemies of the U.S. during World War 2. Examples of these type of the films include Hell's Angels, Grand Illusion, and The Great Dictator. The chapter mentions the frequently heard truism that Hollywood films crudely and obviously present the enemy as Other to the point of denying their humanity. It also suggests that Hollywood films employed a complex process involving pre-existing pop-cultural representations and ideological comparisons and contrasts to construct an idea of the countries the U.S. was at war with to help the American public understand why they had to be defeated.Less

Vespasian: The Emperor Who Succeeded

Holly Haynes

in The History of Make-Believe: Tacitus on Imperial Rome

This chapter discusses the accession of Vespasian and also looks at how Roman ideology enters a new phase—that of superstitio—in which Roman society legitimates the princeps as a military dictator by ... More

This chapter discusses the accession of Vespasian and also looks at how Roman ideology enters a new phase—that of superstitio—in which Roman society legitimates the princeps as a military dictator by believing he has literal, godlike powers. Tacitus allows that of all the previous emperors, Vespasian was the only one who changed for the better, and speaks well of his soldierly abilities while simultaneously mentioning his stinginess. However, the latter trait, reminiscent of Galba, does not bode well. Tacitus also remarks upon the fact that to pay for munitions, Vespasian imposes a heavy financial burden, sustained by delationes, upon the wealthy; it is a practice that does not cease with the war.Less

Modern Sovereignty: Perversion of Democracy?

in Binding Violence: Literary Visions of Political Origins

This chapter suggests parallels between perversion, the castle's structure of political exception, and an aspect of modern political sovereignty that is usually thought of as a zone of power above ... More

This chapter suggests parallels between perversion, the castle's structure of political exception, and an aspect of modern political sovereignty that is usually thought of as a zone of power above the law, which can potentially unleash annihilating violence to “solve” a crisis of membership. The question for modernity is whether this zone of exception is a mechanism gone wrong—Creon's “mistake”—or rather intrinsic to its foundations—Sade's castle. The chapter looks at these questions from the vantage point of a literary genre that emerged with the reinvention of politics on both sides of the Atlantic: the “dictator novel,” which exposes the clash between democratic (called “civilized”) and nondemocratic (“barbaric”) forces in the constitution of the newly independent American states.Less

Vargas Liosa's Appeal to History: Within and Beyond Latin America

in Binding Violence: Literary Visions of Political Origins

This chapter examines Vargas Llosa's The Feast of the Goat. The three stories in the novel offer a “total vision” of how Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina's dictatorial regime (16 August 1930–30 May ... More

This chapter examines Vargas Llosa's The Feast of the Goat. The three stories in the novel offer a “total vision” of how Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina's dictatorial regime (16 August 1930–30 May 1961) changed the Dominican Republic forever. Vargas Llosa not only defetishizes Trujillo with his literary realism; he also historicizes the dictator by granting Trujillo himself a historical vision about his own justifications for his refoundation of the state.Less