Negotiating Unsustainable Food Transformations: Development, Middle Classes and Everyday Food Practices in Vietnam.

Amidst calls for making food systems more sustainable, new unsustainable food transformations unfold alongside economic development. Explanations for unsustainable food transformations in emerging economies vary greatly, but there is widespread agreement that demand from new middle classes play a crucial role. Yet this demand is to a large extent co-created by systems of provision, and middle-class consumers are constantly navigating food transformations in a search for healthy and safe food. Focusing on Vietnam's dramatic food transformations, and combining attention to the political economy of food with a social practice approach to consumption, the paper zooms in on the how middle-class households in Hanoi negotiate the rapid transformations of food systems and food environments. The paper concludes that new thinking on sustainable food systems is urgently needed and argues that vital insights can be gained by studying food practices and their interaction with everyday geographies of consumption.

Dans un contexte d'appels à rendre les systèmes alimentaires plus pérennes, de nouvelles transformations alimentaires non pérennes accompagnent le développement économique. Les facteurs qui expliquent ces transformations alimentaires non pérennes dans les économies émergentes varient considérablement, mais il est largement admis que la demande des nouvelles classes moyennes joue un rôle crucial. Pourtant, cette demande est en grande partie co-créée par les systèmes d'approvisionnement, et les consommateurs de la classe moyenne évoluent constamment sur le sujet des transformations alimentaires, à la recherche d'une alimentation saine et sûre. Cet article porte son attention sur les transformations alimentaires spectaculaires du Vietnam et combine un regard sur l'économie politique de l'alimentation avec une approche de la consommation par la pratique sociale. Il se concentre ainsi sur la façon dont les ménages de la classe moyenne à Hanoï approchent les transformations rapides des systèmes alimentaires et des environnements alimentaires. L'article en conclut qu'une réflexion renouvelée sur les systèmes alimentaires pérennes est nécessaire et urgente, et affirme que des informations vitales peuvent être obtenues en étudiant les pratiques alimentaires et leur interaction avec les géographies quotidiennes de la consommation.

[National populism and fascism in a comparative historical perspective. Max Weber's sociology of domination revisitedComparaison historique entre national-populisme et fascisme. Sur l'actualité de la sociologie de la domination de Max Weber]. / Nationalpopulismus und Faschismus im historischen Vergleich. Zur Aktualität von Max Webers Herrschaftssoziologie.

The rise of rightwing populism in the last decade, but more recently also the seemingly "authoritarian" measures taken by the state in protection against the COVID-19 pandemic, inspire ever more frequent comparisons with historical fascism. The paper discusses to what extent such a diachronic comparison is empirically and methodologically sound. The analysis is based in Max Weber's concept of "ideal type", which can be used as a tertium comparationis. The concept of "fascist minimum", which systematizes the structural features of fascist movements and regimes, provides a standard of comparison that combines theoretical rigor and empirical substance. Applying the concept of "fascist minimum", the article examines if and to what extent current tendencies of and in German politics deserve to be called "fascist".

La montée du populisme de droite au cours de la dernière décennie, mais aussi les récentes mesures étatiques de lutte contre la pandémie de coronavirus perçues comme « autoritaires ¼, ont suscité une augmentation des comparaisons avec le fascisme historique dans différents camps politiques. Cet article pose la question de savoir dans quelle mesure une telle comparaison diachronique est empiriquement solide et par là même pertinente. Sur le plan méthodologique, l'argumentation s'inspire du concept wébérien d'idéal-type qui peut être utilisé comme tertium comparationis. Le concept sociologique de « minimum fasciste ¼, qui agrège les caractéristiques structurelles générales des mouvements et régimes fascistes, constitue une échelle de référence théoriquement plus robuste et empiriquement plus consistante. Adoptant la perspective analytique du « minimum fasciste ¼, cet article examine si et, le cas échéant, dans quelle mesure les tendances actuelles de la politique et de l'État en Allemagne présentent des traits « fascistes ¼.

Classes Médias no Brasil: Do que se Trata? Qual seu Tamanho? Como Vem Mudando? / The Brazilian Middle Classes: Who Are They? How Extensive Are They? How Have They Evolved? / Classes Moyennes au Brésil: De Quoi s'agit-il? Quelle est Leur Étendue? Comment se Transforment-elles? / Las Clases Medias en Brasil: ¿Qué son? ¿Qué Dimensiones Tienen? ¿Cómo ha Sido su Evolución?

RESUMO O artigo procura responder à seguinte questão: até que ponto a melhoria nas condições de vida no país entre 2002 e 2014 resultou de mudanças na estrutura de posições de trabalhadores e trabalhadoras na divisão social do trabalho, a ponto de podermos sustentar que o Brasil tornou-se um país de classe média? Para isso, discute-se a literatura internacional e nacional sobre classes médias, incluindo o debate sobre a "nova classe média"; apresenta-se inovadora alternativa sociológica de construção da estrutura de classes no Brasil a partir da Classificação Socioprofissional francesa; mostra-se empiricamente a evolução dessa estrutura; e conclui-se que as classes médias cresceram significativamente no período, mas o país está muito longe de ser "um país de classe média".

ABSTRACT The following article aims to address the extent to which improvements in the quality of life in Brazil from 2002 to 2014 resulted from shifts in the structure of workers' roles in the social division of labor, and whether or not Brazil became a country of middle classes in the process. To do so, national and international literature on middle classes is examined, as is the debate on the "new middle class". An innovative sociological alternative for shaping the class structure based on the French socio-professional classification system is suggested, while an empirical study is used to demonstrate the evolution of this structure. The article concludes that the middle classes grew significantly during the period, however Brazil is far from constituting a "country of middle classes".

RÉSUMÉ Cet article cherche à répondre à la question suivante : dans quelle mesure l'amélioration des conditions de vie dans le pays entre 2002 et 2014 est-elle le résultat de transformations des positions occupées par les travailleuses et les travailleurs au sein de la division sociale du travail, au point d'entendre dire que le Brésil serait devenu un pays de classes moyennes ? Nous nous baserons à cette fin sur la littérature nationale et internationale sur les classes moyennes, mais également sur le débat relatif à la "nouvelle classe moyenne". Nous proposons une vision sociologique innovante de la construction de la structure de classes au Brésil en nous fondant sur la Classification socioprofessionnelle française pour analyser de façon empirique l'évolution de cette structure et en conclure que les classes moyennes ont connu une croissance significative durant la période, mais que le pays est encore loin d'être "un pays de classes moyennes".

RESUMEN El artículo busca responder a la siguiente pregunta: ¿en qué medida la mejora en las condiciones de vida en el país entre 2002 y 2014 ha provocado cambios en la estructura de los puestos laborales de los trabajadores y las trabajadoras dentro de la división social del empleo hasta el punto de poder afirmar que Brasil se ha convertido en un país de clase media? Para ello, se discute la literatura internacional y nacional sobre clases medias, incluido el debate sobre la "nueva clase media": se presenta una innovadora alternativa sociológica de construcción de la estructura de clases en Brasil a partir de la clasificación socio-profesional francesa, se muestra empíricamente la evolución de dicha estructura y se concluye que, aunque las clases medias han crecido de forma significativa en dicho período, Brasil está muy lejos de ser "un país de clase media".

Making the middle classes on shifting ground? Residential status, performativity and middle-class subjectivities in contemporary London.

This paper argues that shifts in access to housing - both in relation to rental and ownership - disrupt middle-class reproduction in ways that fundamentally influence class formation. While property ownership has had a long association with middle-class identities, status and distinction, an increasingly competitive rental market alongside inflated property prices has impacted on expectations and anxieties over housing futures. In this paper, we consider two key questions: (1) What happens to middle-class identities under the conditions of this wider structural change? (2) How do the middle classes variously manoeuvre within this? Drawing on empirical research conducted in London, we demonstrate that becoming an owner-occupier may be fractured along lines of class but also along the axes of age, wealth and timing, particularly as this relates to the housing market. It builds on understandings of residential status and place as central to the formation of class, orienting this around the recognition of both people and place as mutable, emphasizing that changing economic and social processes generate new class positionalities and strategies for class reproduction. We argue that these processes are writ large in practices of belonging and claims to place, with wider repercussions within the urban landscape.

Jovens de classes médias infratores e a questão da autoridade / Medium class youngsters in conflict with the law and the authority issue

A questão norteadora deste trabalho foi como os jovens de classe média, em conflito com a lei, percebem o seu ingresso e permanência na criminalidade. Participaram deste estudo de caso seis jovens urbanos, entre 16 anos e 19 anos, de ambos os sexos, três dos quais sentenciados e três que não passaram pelo sistema judiciário. Os critérios para a classificação dos jovens como classes médias foram: renda, bairro de residência da família, ocupação e escolaridade dos pais. Dois níveis de análise foram vistos nos resultados: dimensões societárias, familiares e individuais, e dinâmicas relacionais, uma delas referente ao exercício da autoridade e ao uso de limites, enfatizados pelos participantes como uma questão central para o ingresso e permanência na criminalidade. A ausência de um lugar social legítimo de pertencimento dos jovens apontou para a necessidade de (re)construção de valores, assim como de seus ambientes familiares e comunitários.

This work guiding question is how middle classes young people, in conflict with the law, perceive their entrance and permanence in criminality. Six urban young people, 16-19 years-old, both sexes, participated of this case study, three sentenced and three who did not pass by the juridical system. The standards used to classify young people as middle class were: revenue, neighborhood where the family lives, occupation and educational level of their parents. Two analysis levels took place as results: social, family and individual dimensions, and relational dynamics, one of these concerned to the exercise of authority and use of limits emphasized by the participants as a core issue referred to entrance and permanence in criminality. The absence of a legitimate social place of belongingness pointed to the need of (re) construction of values and family and community environments.

Jovens de classes médias infratores e a questão da autoridade / Medium class youngsters in conflict with the law and the authority issue

A questão norteadora deste trabalho foi como os jovens de classe média, em conflito com a lei, percebem o seu ingresso e permanência na criminalidade. Participaram deste estudo de caso seis jovens urbanos, entre 16 anos e 19 anos, de ambos os sexos, três dos quais sentenciados e três que não passaram pelo sistema judiciário. Os critérios para a classificação dos jovens como classes médias foram: renda, bairro de residência da família, ocupação e escolaridade dos pais. Dois níveis de análise foram vistos nos resultados: dimensões societárias, familiares e individuais, e dinâmicas relacionais, uma delas referente ao exercício da autoridade e ao uso de limites, enfatizados pelos participantes como uma questão central para o ingresso e permanência na criminalidade. A ausência de um lugar social legítimo de pertencimento dos jovens apontou para a necessidade de (re)construção de valores, assim como de seus ambientes familiares e comunitários. (AU)

This work guiding question is how middle classes young people, in conflict with the law, perceive their entrance and permanence in criminality. Six urban young people, 16-19 years-old, both sexes, participated of this case study, three sentenced and three who did not pass by the juridical system. The standards used to classify young people as middle class were: revenue, neighborhood where the family lives, occupation and educational level of their parents. Two analysis levels took place as results: social, family and individual dimensions, and relational dynamics, one of these concerned to the exercise of authority and use of limits emphasized by the participants as a core issue referred to entrance and permanence in criminality. The absence of a legitimate social place of belongingness pointed to the need of (re) construction of values and family and community environments. (AU)