Boike Rehbein – författare

Incorporating original fieldwork carried out over a period of more than ten years, combined with innovative theoretical argument, Globalization, Culture and Society in Laos presents one of the first sociological investigations into modern Laos. Boike Rehbein gives a fascinating overview of contemporary Lao culture and society, whilst linking local and national phenomena to tendencies of globalization and the history of the region.

The book introduces a new theoretical approach based on the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, applying this sociology to the interpretation of Lao history. It also examines various aspects of Lao culture and society, including economics, politics, language, higher education, music, and religion. Rehbein concludes by attempting to synthesize these cultural elements with the impact of globalization to give a synopsis of contemporary Lao society.

Written by an expert in Lao history and culture, familiar with the language and the people, this book will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Laos, Southeast Asia, social theory and globalization.

Incorporating original fieldwork carried out over a period of more than ten years, combined with innovative theoretical argument, Globalization, Culture and Society in Laos presents one of the first sociological investigations into modern Laos. Boike Rehbein gives a fascinating overview of contemporary Lao culture and society, whilst linking local and national phenomena to tendencies of globalization and the history of the region.

The book introduces a new theoretical approach based on the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, applying this sociology to the interpretation of Lao history. It also examines various aspects of Lao culture and society, including economics, politics, language, higher education, music, and religion. Rehbein concludes by attempting to synthesize these cultural elements with the impact of globalization to give a synopsis of contemporary Lao society.

Written by an expert in Lao history and culture, familiar with the language and the people, this book will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Laos, Southeast Asia, social theory and globalization.

Inequality is one of the most discussed topics of our times. Yet, we still do not know how to tackle the issue effectively. The book argues that this is due to the lack of understanding the structures responsible for the persistence of social inequality. It enquires into the mechanisms that produce and reproduce invisible dividing lines in society. Based on original case studies of Brazil, Germany, India and Laos comprising thousands of interviews, the authors argue that invisible classes emerge in capitalist societies, both reproducing and transforming precapitalist hierarchies. At the same time, locally particular forms of inequality persist. Social inequality in the contemporary world has to be understood as a specific combination of precapitalist inequalities, capitalist transformation and a particular class structure, which seems to emerge in all capitalist societies. The book links the configurations to an interpretation of global domination as well as to symbolic classification.

Inequality is one of the most discussed topics of our times. Yet, we still do not know how to tackle the issue effectively. The book argues that this is due to the lack of understanding the structures responsible for the persistence of social inequality. It enquires into the mechanisms that produce and reproduce invisible dividing lines in society. Based on original case studies of Brazil, Germany, India and Laos comprising thousands of interviews, the authors argue that invisible classes emerge in capitalist societies, both reproducing and transforming precapitalist hierarchies. At the same time, locally particular forms of inequality persist. Social inequality in the contemporary world has to be understood as a specific combination of precapitalist inequalities, capitalist transformation and a particular class structure, which seems to emerge in all capitalist societies. The book links the configurations to an interpretation of global domination as well as to symbolic classification.

This book questions why Southeast Asian nation states are struggling to adopt full-fledged liberal democracy and attempts to better understand the relationship between globalization and models of democracy.

Country studies are covered mostly by native Southeast Asian scholars who analyse recent developments as well as specific concerns that have arisen from political crises, citizen uprisings, ethnic identity politics, political reforms, social justice and inequality, and the persistence of the political elite. The collection highlights factors which have impacted the different regional and national paths taken such as: the legacy of the Cold War, rapid economic development and liberalization, external economic globalization, the important role of informal politics, powerful elites, and weak but emerging middle classes.

This book will be of interest to scholars and students of regional studies of Southeast Asia, Democracy, Sociology, Politics and GlobalizationStudies.

Inequality remains one of the most intensely discussed topics on a global level. As well as figuring prominently in economics, it is possibly the most central topic of sociology. Despite this, there has been no book until now that unites approaches from economics and sociology.

Organized thematically, this volume brings international scholars together to offer students and researchers a cutting-edge overview of the core topics of inequality research. Chapters cover: the theoretical traditions in economics and sociology; the global and national structures of inequality in the contemporary world; the main dimensions of inequality (including gender, race, caste, migration, education and poverty); and research methodology. In presenting this overview, Inequality in Economics and Sociology seeks to build a bridge between the disciplines and the approaches.

This book offers an encompassing understanding of an increasingly fragmented and highly specialized field of research. It will be invaluable for students and researchers seeking a single repository on the current state of knowledge, current debates and relevant literature in this key area.

Inequality remains one of the most intensely discussed topics on a global level. As well as figuring prominently in economics, it is possibly the most central topic of sociology. Despite this, there has been no book until now that unites approaches from economics and sociology.

Organized thematically, this volume brings international scholars together to offer students and researchers a cutting-edge overview of the core topics of inequality research. Chapters cover: the theoretical traditions in economics and sociology; the global and national structures of inequality in the contemporary world; the main dimensions of inequality (including gender, race, caste, migration, education and poverty); and research methodology. In presenting this overview, Inequality in Economics and Sociology seeks to build a bridge between the disciplines and the approaches.

This book offers an encompassing understanding of an increasingly fragmented and highly specialized field of research. It will be invaluable for students and researchers seeking a single repository on the current state of knowledge, current debates and relevant literature in this key area.

After the end of Euro-American hegemony and the return of the multi-centric world, Eurocentrism in philosophy and the social sciences has come under attack. However, no real alternative has been proposed. This provides an opportunity to reassess the philosophy of the social sciences that has been developed in the West. This book argues that the re-emergence of a multi-centric world allows the Euro-centric social sciences in general, and critical theory in particular, to finally disengage from countless paradoxes and impasses by which they have heretofore been hindered. The author presents a solution in the form of the "kaleidoscopic dialectic." This dialectic is unique in that it is able to overcome the precarious dichotomy between universalism and relativism by relying on an original approach to the philosophy of science. With this approach, the focus is on the configurations embedded in the ethics of understanding, accommodation and learning and on their connections to broader social scientific critique. This book demands that the European social sciences make philosophical and methodological adaptations to the new realities of the social world by becoming more reflexive and, by extension, less Euro-centric.

After the end of Euro-American hegemony and the return of the multi-centric world, Eurocentrism in philosophy and the social sciences has come under attack. However, no real alternative has been proposed. This provides an opportunity to reassess the philosophy of the social sciences that has been developed in the West. This book argues that the re-emergence of a multi-centric world allows the Euro-centric social sciences in general, and critical theory in particular, to finally disengage from countless paradoxes and impasses by which they have heretofore been hindered. The author presents a solution in the form of the "kaleidoscopic dialectic." This dialectic is unique in that it is able to overcome the precarious dichotomy between universalism and relativism by relying on an original approach to the philosophy of science. With this approach, the focus is on the configurations embedded in the ethics of understanding, accommodation and learning and on their connections to broader social scientific critique. This book demands that the European social sciences make philosophical and methodological adaptations to the new realities of the social world by becoming more reflexive and, by extension, less Euro-centric.

Over the past decade, Laos’ exposure to global capitalism has resulted in extensive economic and social transformations. Precapitalist social structures both persist and are transformed into a particular configuration of classes. This entails increasing social inequality, a widening range of habitus and new forms of ethos.

This book pursues the theoretical aim of shedding light on the old question raised by Max Weber about the relation between capitalism, ethos and society. The empirical study consists of a description of the social structures, their embodiment in the habitus and world-views in Laos against the background of a critical revision of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology. To achieve these aims, the author develops a qualitative methodology as neither Weber nor Bourdieu explained how to empirically study habitus and ethos. The empirical material for the book was gathered over a period of more than five years and comprises several hundred life-course interviews in all sections of Lao society as well as a representative quantitative survey. The author argues that precapitalist social structures persist and continue to shape the social fabric of contemporary Laos. At the same time, they are transformed by global and local capitalism. The book shows how the hierarchies contained in each structure shape the habitus of the Lao population and how these in turn influence the development of a capitalist and a religious ethos. The argument makes use of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology and adapts it to the setting of Laos by introducing new as well as indigenous concepts. While social structure, habitus and beliefs are subject to a capitalist transformation and unification, the newly emerging classes and milieus are not copies of Western forms but retain their local history.

Filling a gap in the literature on Laos and offering new perspectives on core concepts such as habitus, class, lifestyle, work ethic and its religious underpinnings, this book will be of interest to academics in the fields of Sociology, Religious Studies, and Southeast Asian Studies.

Over the past decade, Laos’ exposure to global capitalism has resulted in extensive economic and social transformations. Precapitalist social structures both persist and are transformed into a particular configuration of classes. This entails increasing social inequality, a widening range of habitus and new forms of ethos.

This book pursues the theoretical aim of shedding light on the old question raised by Max Weber about the relation between capitalism, ethos and society. The empirical study consists of a description of the social structures, their embodiment in the habitus and world-views in Laos against the background of a critical revision of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology. To achieve these aims, the author develops a qualitative methodology as neither Weber nor Bourdieu explained how to empirically study habitus and ethos. The empirical material for the book was gathered over a period of more than five years and comprises several hundred life-course interviews in all sections of Lao society as well as a representative quantitative survey. The author argues that precapitalist social structures persist and continue to shape the social fabric of contemporary Laos. At the same time, they are transformed by global and local capitalism. The book shows how the hierarchies contained in each structure shape the habitus of the Lao population and how these in turn influence the development of a capitalist and a religious ethos. The argument makes use of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology and adapts it to the setting of Laos by introducing new as well as indigenous concepts. While social structure, habitus and beliefs are subject to a capitalist transformation and unification, the newly emerging classes and milieus are not copies of Western forms but retain their local history.

Filling a gap in the literature on Laos and offering new perspectives on core concepts such as habitus, class, lifestyle, work ethic and its religious underpinnings, this book will be of interest to academics in the fields of Sociology, Religious Studies, and Southeast Asian Studies.

This handbook provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive review of the literature on inequality. It provides comprehensive overviews of the main theoretical traditions, concepts, dimensions, methodologies and contemporary debates around inequality as well as outlines of the situation of inequality in the world regions. Each entry covers the most relevant literature on the respective topic and gives an introduction to the key discussions. This authoritative reference work includes contributions from established and upcoming scholars based all over the world, and is truly global in perspective. It serves as a first introduction to the study of a particular field or issue related to inequality. The distinctive aspect of this handbook is its emphasis on the lived realities of inequality, its relational and cultural aspects, as well as the economic and quantitative aspects. 

This is a must-read reference volume for students, researchers and professionals interested in thistopic across the spectrum of the social sciences.