The ideological dimension describes the encounters between imported values and other values, beliefs, philosophies, norms, customs and rituals that are embedded in transactions at the local level.
2.1.2.1 Ideological encounters
Ideological encounters lead to a final version of translation of the imported ideas or practices, which is processed within the architecture of the transmission dimension. The original imported package at some point collides with the beliefs, philosophies, norms, customs and rituals that are prised in the recipient society or believed by the actors. The purpose of analysing the ideological dimension is to uncover how the recipient society, particularly domestic actors, handles the ideological intersection between the imported package and existing values and customs and how they resolve points of contention.
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Merry through her concept of vernacularisation1. Vernacularisation was borrowed by Merry from the field of language use. Having observed how formal words are transformed into common parlance to reach more people, she saw how western ideas (for example, human rights) could similarly be transformed in new non-western contexts to be made meaningful to local people. Merry explains vernacularisation as ideas extracted from transnational sources or universal standards, detached and despatched, traveling from their original contexts to new contexts, and then being adapted (or/and reframed) in the recipient nations or regions (Levitt & Merry, 2009; Merry, 2006b).
In Merry’s conception of vernacularisation, the role of actors and organizations engaging in the transfer are stressed, for they are the translators, situated in the middle, potentially bringing local criticism up to the international discourse and imported ideas down to the local discourse. They are the managers of ideological encounters. As such, they are powerful in steering the interpretation of imported ideas, but vulnerable in being loyal and committed to global standards or local voices (Merry, 2006b). With Merry’s conception of vernacularisation, the actors are more than channels and valves, shaping the delivery path and scope of the imported package. Additionally, the actors can serve as ‘vernacularisers’, who may directly modify the content of the imported package, changing the meaning of imported ideas.
The ideological dimension proposed in this thesis includes two types of ideological encounters. First, the ideological dimension concerns the localisation of imported ideas and practices, that is, the communication between foreign and local voices. Second, actors’ professions, their other values or newly-received philosophies, which are
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The term ‘vernacularise’ means to translate something into the natural speech peculiar to a people. See http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vernacularize.
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unrelated to local culture or tradition, can affect how the imported package is received ideologically. The two types of ideological encounter correspond to Merry’s conception of vernacularisation (Levitt & Merry, 2009; Merry, 2006a) and also appear in studies of policy transfer (Dinnen, 2010; Merry, 2006a; Nyamu, 2000; Van Wormer, 2008).
Levitt and Merry (2009) identified two dilemmas of vernacularisation, one relating to ideological encounters between local belief ‘demands’ and universal ideas, the other relating to ideological encounters between other belief ‘demands’ and international ideas. A resonance dilemma occurs when translators sway between localisation of and universality of the imported ideas. An appeal to localisation could increase local acceptance, yet possibly cost global support, whereas an appeal to universality may secure global political support, but neglect local perspectives. An advocacy dilemma refers to the situation in which a translator must decide whether strategically to imbue the imported idea with ongoing practices to enhance its acceptability and attractiveness or alternatively stay true to the imported idea. The strategic alignment entails the imported ideas and practices that are already functioning in the recipient society, which differs from respecting local traditions and customs. Advocacy based on operative practices can smooth the transfer process but fall short in bringing changes to the recipient society.
The dilemmas of resonance and advocacy in ideological encounters are evident in studies of the practices of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. The following discussion is presented with the purpose of showing how and why the ideas of ‘truth’, ‘justice’, and ‘reconciliation’ were translated differently in recipient societies.
The resonance problem of imported ideas ‘bumping’ into local cultural beliefs and practices, and finally being reframed with adapted content and architecture, has been
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identified in studies of peace building in Bougainville and Indonesia. In Bougainville, reconciliation was implemented in alignment with local views, which underlined admission of wrongdoing, compensation, apologies, and possibly reciprocal forgiveness. There were Christian ceremonies before the cross with the perpetrators admitting wrongdoing and seeking forgiveness from victims or their families. There were also traditional rituals with reciprocation which allowed perpetrators to make reparation to victims and their families who, in turn, offered forgiveness (Braithwaite, Charlesworth, et al., 2010).
But, in Indonesia, values were prioritised differently: the values of truth and acknowledgment of wrongdoing were not rated as highly or considered so central to reconciliation as they were in Bougainville. In some regions of Indonesia, admission of wrongdoing was thought to worsen existing conflicts. To seek community harmony, acknowledgment or blame for wrongdoing was not necessary; the truth that might uncover the wrongdoing was not seriously sought. Reconciliation in Indonesia was generated, at the time of the study, through a more superficial peace, reciprocation of kindness, without recognition of truth and responsibility (Braithwaite, Braithwaite, et al., 2010).
In these two examples, the final products of the imported package were primarily reconstructed based on local values and rituals. As a result, the products were different, even contrary to one another, in spite of the fact that both societies expressed the same preference for reconciliation.
Sri Lanka’s Truth Commissions illustrates the advocacy dilemma in ideological encounters: imported ideas colliding with the value priorities of actors that are distinct from the above mentioned local cultural elements. Sri Lanka put into practice their version of Truth Commissions in three districts with three different interpretations of
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what ‘truth’ was: identification of perpetrators and recommendation for prosecution, financial reparation for the victims and their families, and reconciliation and national healing. The differences have been attributed not to local community customs and expectations, but rather to the personalities and preferences (and possibly agendas) of local leaders responsible for their implementation (Hayner, 2002). Local leaders’ value priorities for these events were irrelevant to either national or local traditions, history, culture, and religion. Nevertheless, they were influential in bringing about ideological transformation.
2.1.2.2 Analyses of ideological encounters
In analysing these two types of ideological encounter in the present study, the expectation is that there will be instances of integration and of contradiction among competing values, beliefs and priorities. Integration or contradiction of values is a useful analytic approach, pointing out where ideological collision occurs and what subsequent effects are. For instance, in Bougainville, integration of values was found to expedite the transfer while at the same time reinforcing decaying values. Prayers and the belief of forgiveness in Christianity and indigenous reconciliation rituals were all integrated into Bougainville’s peacebuilding process. Integration advanced the peacebuilding operation and in the meantime strengthened a traditional belief, women’s leadership role in reconciliation (Braithwaite, Charlesworth, et al., 2010). In contrast, ideological contradictions brought challenges to arrive at new interpretations to transplant ideas of gender equality in Fiji and restorative justice in Hong Kong. When considering ‘reconciliation’ and ‘responsibility’, the emphasis shifted from individuals to communities because Hong Kong and Fiji, like other non-western societies, hold beliefs that bring greater coherence between individual self, family, and honour than western societies (Louw, 2006; Merry, 2006b; Ratuva, 2010).
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Ideological encounters can be further analysed to assess the extent to which local values or rituals are retained or utilised in the translation of the imported ideas or practices. In other words, an analysis can be conducted of the degree to which the content and forms of the imported ideas and practices are reframed by the local tradition. Sally Engle Merry and her colleague propose a continuum of vernacularisation from replication at one end to hybridization at the other. Replication is defined as vernacularisation that involves a superficial localisation with little change in the imported package, except in the way in which the imported ideas are put to use. By contrast, hybridity is vernacularisation that involves more communicative exchanges between traditions and new ideas. The local symbols, beliefs, and practical forms are more integrated into the translation of the imported package. The ideological interaction and contestation are far livelier in the case of hybridity than replication (Levitt & Merry, 2009). This continuum provides a way of describing and explaining variation in localisation in different places.
Lastly, in considering the analysis of localisation, two issues require further clarification. First, distinguishing local and foreign values may be useful, but it is important to note that this distinction does not imply that these two value systems are absolutely opposite, separated, and fixed. Local culture and traditions change over time, and local experiences can alter the global conceptualization (Levitt & Merry, 2009; Saade, 2008). In addition, discussions on localisation do not aim to judge local values as advanced or backward. The purpose of an analysis including localisation is to acknowledge local values as a plausible schema in a recipient society or in the minds of domestic actors. Experiences of localisation denote the possibility of the local amending global discourses. For this reason, localisation is generally deemed as an indispensable aspect of an analysis of policy transfer (Kapur, 2002; Louw, 2006; Nyamu, 2000; Van Wormer, 2008).
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In sum, the proposed ideological dimension can shed light on multiple possible interactions involving different values in policy transfers. Two kinds of ideological encounters are examined: First, between the imported package and local values and second, between the imported package and the actors’ professional values and value priorities related to the targeted policy. In order to uncover ideological encounters, attention focuses on identifying where and how values contradict. Also of interest are instances of value integration.