Reconsidering the Insular Cases


Book Description

Over a century ago the United States Supreme Court decided the “Insular Cases,” which limited the applicability of constitutional rights in Puerto Rico and other overseas territories. Essays in Reconsidering the Insular Cases examine the history and legacy of these cases and explore possible solutions for the dilemmas they created.




Puerto Rico Self-determination


Book Description




Crossing Waters


Book Description

2023 Honorable Mention, Isis Duarte Book Prize, Haiti/ Dominican Republic section (LASA) 2023 Winner, Gordon K. and Sybil Lewis Book Award, Caribbean Studies Association An innovative study of the artistic representations of undocumented migration within the Hispanophone Caribbean Debates over the undocumented migration of Latin Americans invariably focus on the southern US border, but most migrants never cross that arbitrary line. Instead, many travel, via water, among the Caribbean islands. The first study to examine literary and artistic representations of undocumented migration within the Hispanophone Caribbean, Crossing Waters relates a journey that remains silenced and largely unknown. Analyzing works by novelists, short-story writers, poets, and visual artists replete with references to drowning and echoes of the Middle Passage, Marisel Moreno shines a spotlight on the plight that these migrants face. In some cases, Puerto Rico takes on a new role as a stepping-stone to the continental United States and the society migrants will join there. Meanwhile the land border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the only terrestrial border in the Hispanophone Caribbean, emerges as a complex space within this cartography of borders. And while the Border Patrol occupies US headlines, the Coast Guard occupies the nightmares of refugees. An untold story filled with beauty, possibility, and sorrow, Crossing Waters encourages us to rethink the geography and experience of undocumented migration and the role that the Caribbean archipelago plays as a border zone.




Crossing Boundaries


Book Description

Crossing Boundaries: Ethnicity, Race, and National Belonging in a Transnational World explores ethnic and racial nationalism within a transnational and transcultural framework in the long twentieth century (late nineteenth to early twenty-first century). The contributors to this volume examine how national solidarity and identity—with their vast array of ideological, political, intellectual, social, and ethno-racial qualities—crossed juridical, territorial, and cultural boundaries to become transnational; how they altered the ethnic and racial visions of nation-states throughout the twentieth century; and how they ultimately influenced conceptions of national belonging across the globe. Human beings live in an increasingly interconnected, transnational, global world. National economies are linked worldwide, information can be transmitted around the world in seconds, and borders are more transparent and fluid. In this process of transnational expansion, the very definition of what constitutes a nation and nationalism in many parts of the world has been expanded to include individuals from different countries, and, more importantly, members of ethno-racial communities. But crossing boundaries is not a new phenomenon. In fact, transnationalism has a long and sordid history that has not been fully appreciated. Scholars and laypeople interested in national development, ethnic nationalism, as well as world history will find Crossing Boundaries indispensable.




Boom and Bust in Puerto Rico


Book Description

Who is to blame for the economic and political crisis in Puerto Rico—the United States or Puerto Rico? This book provides a fascinating historical perspective on the problem and an unequivocal answer on who is to blame. In this engaging and approachable book, journalist A. W. Maldonado charts the rise and fall of the Puerto Rican economy and explains how a litany of bad political and fiscal policy decisions in Washington and Puerto Rico destroyed an economic miracle. Under Operation Bootstrap in the 1950s and '60s, the rapid transformation and industrialization of the Puerto Rican economy was considered a “wonder of human history,” a far cry from the economic “death spiral” the island’s governor described in 2015. Boom and Bust in Puerto Rico is the story of how the demise of an obscure tax policy that encouraged investment and economic growth led to escalating budget deficits and the government’s shocking default of its $70 billion debt. Maldonado also discusses the extent of the devastation from Hurricane Maria in 2017, the massive street protests during 2019, and the catastrophic earthquakes in January 2020. After illuminating the century of misunderstanding between Puerto Rico and the United States—the root cause of the economic crisis and the island’s gridlocked debates about its political status—Maldonado concludes with projections about the future of the relationship. He argues that, in the end, the economic, fiscal, and political crises are the result of the breakdown and failure of Puerto Rican self-government. Boom and Bust in Puerto Rico is written for a wide audience, including students, economists, politicians, and general readers, all of whom will find it interesting and thought provoking.




Crossing the Border


Book Description

The West Papuan claim to the right of self-determination was denied by a series of political acts by the United States, the Netherlands, Indonesia and the United Nations, in the 1960s. The result was the spasmodic flight of thousands of refugees over the next two decades. Today, the task of containment of West Papuan discontent continues. In a thesis divided into four distinct sections, Dr. Alan Smith presents enlightening insight into the 1984-85 refugee crisis; details Papua New Guinea’s responses to the crisis; focuses on the underlying causes of the refugee influx and the limited prospects for achieving a solution; and argues that solutions to problems stemming from the crisis require the development of an authoritative international procedure for treating frustrated self-determination claims. Finally, Dr. Smith shares his views on the UN’s involvement with the claims of indigenous peoples for self-determination and how it represents a unique opportunity for achievement. Crossing the Border is a thesis that utilizes thorough research to examine both the West Papuans’ self-determination rights as well as their rights as refugees.




Crossing Borders, Reinforcing Borders


Book Description

Along the U.S.-Mexico frontier, where border crossings are a daily occurrence for many people, reinforcing borders is also a common activity. Not only does the U.S. Border Patrol strive to "hold the line" against illegal immigrants, but many residents on both sides of the border seek to define and bound themselves apart from groups they perceive as "others." This pathfinding ethnography charts the social categories, metaphors, and narratives that inhabitants of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez use to define their group identity and distinguish themselves from "others." Pablo Vila draws on over 200 group interviews with more than 900 area residents to describe how Mexican nationals, Mexican immigrants, Mexican Americans, African Americans, and Anglos make sense of themselves and perceive their differences from others. This research uncovers the regionalism by which many northern Mexicans construct their sense of identity, the nationalism that often divides Mexican Americans from Mexican nationals, and the role of ethnicity in setting boundaries among Anglos, Mexicans, and African Americans. Vila also looks at how gender, age, religion, and class intertwine with these factors. He concludes with fascinating excerpts from re-interviews with several informants, who modified their views of other groups when confronted by the author with the narrative character of their identities.




Crossing the Threshold of Love


Book Description

The papal encyclical Humanae Vitae predicted the disintegration of marriage and family life, partly as a result of the widespread use of contraception. Pope John Paul II has since addressed the problem by articulating a fresh understanding of marriage, love, and sexuality which takes account of the dignity of the human person, and especially of women. In this most exhaustive and scholarly assessment of John Paul II's Christian anthropology ever written, Mary Shivanandan examines the scientific data and the theological analysis that underlie his teachings on marriage and sexuality. Her book will be an essential text for the study of the development, meaning, and implications of Catholic doctrine in this controversial area. It is both lucid and multi-disciplinary. Its appearance marks a new stage in the debate over sexuality in the modern world. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mary Shivanandan, STD, is a professor at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family. PRAISE FOR THE BOOK: "Mary Shivanandan has successfully accomplished a daunting task: the distillation of John Paul's profound and complicated vision of the essence of man and the meaning of marital love. . . . [A] very valuable presentation of the thought of John Paul on human sexuality, marriage, and the family. Anyone who wants to understand the Pope on these matters must have Shivanandan's book as part of his personal or formal curriculum."--New Oxford Review "An exceptionally brilliant study, Shivanandan very accurately and clearly sets forth the major ideas developed at length by Pope John Paul II in many of his writings. . . . She has entered into serious dialogue with contemporary thinking regarding the nature of the human person, the meaning of the human body, and the meaning of human sexuality, relating and contrasting this thinking with that of John Paul II."--Prof. William E. May, John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family "Shivanandan has made a significant contribution to the enrichment of our understanding of marriage. In a concise way, she reveals the subtle insights of John Paul II, which resonate in so many people's lives once they are explained in such a clear way."--Rev. Msgr. Peter J. Elliott, Casa Internazionale del Clero, Rome "The monumental text book the prolife movement has been waiting for. This is the definitive study of the Pope's innovative theology of the body and its implications for human life and marriage. . . ."--Faith & Culture Bulletin "This is an exceptional study. Shivanandan not only offers a tour de force of the evolution of John Paul's thought, but also demonstrates its far-reaching implications for the lives of couples, families, and whole societies. She unmasks the deception of our 'safe-sex' society by demonstrating that only when we come to see the body and sexual intercourse as the expression of transcendence of the person will we be able to 'cross the threshold of love.' . . . Mary Shivanandan's new book Crossing the Threshold of Love should establish her as a recognized scholar, theologian, and expert on Pope John Paul II's anthropology. . . ."--National Catholic Register "Pope John Paul II's thought and teaching on human sexuality evolved over a couple of decades, and Professor Mary Shivanandan unpackages this thought carefully and extensively. . . . In presenting John Paul II's thought, Mary Shivanandan brings a thorough grounding in philosophy and a theological education. She also has twenty years of experiential learning in the matter of Natural Family Planning and what this can bring to communion in one flesh. A full index of subjects as well as a generous bibliography enrich this work."--Liguorian "Shivanandan is largely successful in bringing out the main elements of the pope's personalism. She has




The Ends of Empire


Book Description

This book offers a fresh analysis of constitutional, economic, demographic and cultural developments in the overseas territories of Britain, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Ranging from Greenland to Gibraltar, the Falklands to the Faroes, and encompassing islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Caribbean, these territories command attention because of their unique status, and for the ways that they occasionally become flashpoints for rival international claims, dubious financial activities, illegal migration and clashes between metropolitan and local mores. Connell and Aldrich argue that a negotiated dependency brings greater benefits to these territories than might independence.




Puerto Rico Status


Book Description