The politics of ‘document’ and document illiteracy of Kurdish politics - PART I
- KurdishMedia.com - By Dr Kamal Mirawdeli
- 17/10/2008 00:00:00
PART 1: Semantics and significance of 'document':
To ´document´ is to record the actuality of an event, a process, a phenomenon. A document can be a word, a symbol, a sign, or any material substance that can, once questioned, articulate in one way or another the indicative existence of a certain occurrence. The document is usually associated with the written form of information. In this sense it is essentially linked to literacy. To be literate is to be able to read a written form and write down a verbal statement. To be politically literate is to understand the vital importance of the document, of transforming an argument from its oral articulation to its written expression.
In other words to be politically literate means:
• To be able to read a document
• To be able to write a document
• To be able to understand a document
• To be able to document what you read and understand about a document!
• To be able to document everything that needs to be documented.
• To be able to understand the mode of existence and function of the document to support your line of argument.
And in this age and time almost everything needs to be documented especially in politics and technology has made it so easy to document anything and everything. Actually the computer gives us various forms of document templates: Word, Excel, Access, Power Point, etc.
In short, the ABCD of literacy and knowledge starts with written exercise, with ´document´; so does the ABCD of history and politics.
The semantic filed of ´document´
We can understand the vital absolute paramount importance of the word ´document´ by just having a quick look at the semantic field occupied by its synonyms or associated words. Let us start with some simple (computer) dictionary meanings of the word ´document´ as a verb:
• Record
• Keep a record
• Detail
• Write down
• Provide evidence
• Give proof
• Verify
• Authenticate
Yes, you record something in some detail as much as possible or necessary, and here it is: the document has a life of its own! It can provide evidence, give proof, verify facts and authenticate claims! A very simple and straightforward matter indeed! It is for this reason that the document has taken its place at the heart of historical/political discourse broadening its semantic field to include even more serious processes and presumptions involving history, politics, philosophy and legal discourse. In this sense the document has become an essential tool of international politics and international law. The American Heritage Dictionary defines document as " A written or printed paper that bears the original, official, or legal form of something and can be used to furnish decisive evidence or information." The important words here are: written, original, official, legal, decisive evidence or information.
To analyse these words further:
• A document is a written entity, thus it is material, objective, clear, self-contained and final, and it represents originality, that is the original form and content of the document. In this sense, it is indispensable and irreplaceable as a special mode of the existence of information in a certain historical context.
• A document can represent the official and/or legal form and content agreed by the actors involved in the production of the original form of the document. Being official and legal means it has authority and power to justify itself whenever it is questioned or enacted. This however depends on the mechanisms provided in the document and the degree of its clarity or otherwise the interpretation of the actors or interested parties.
• In the absence of alternative authoritative information or evidence, the document provides ´decisive evidence´ to verify or refute opposing claims.
Political document
In this context, I am talking about the political document. There is no politics without documentation. Human history began with documentation, with traces and tracks of human polity inscribed in caves, stones, skins, trees, etc. Civilization started with the literacy of inscription. Though primitive societies had a great wealth of oral literature, it was only the written form that provided the vehicle for the preservation of human heritage in various human societies. And political history could not be born without the political document recording its presence and process. You can say greatest things, do greatest deeds but unless they are recorded and documented, and thus authorized and recognised, they remain bubbles and babbles. You cannot depend on human memory, good-will or faceless witnesses to recreate what time transfers and transcends or transgresses. Political document can be the text of a speech, a statement, minutes of a meeting, text of an interview, a photograph, a poster, etc. However the most common and obvious form of the political document, which is the purpose of this article, is the texts of political agreements, accords or pacts. This is the most significant type of document politically because it usually embodies important historical events and political settlements that affect the lives of nations and societies for a considerable length of time according to the nature, stature and structure of the relevant document.
Document and civilization
Documentation is also associated with transition from primitive societies whose politics is based on the ´words, promises, thoughts and whims´ of tribal chiefs or despots, to civilized societies where politics is based on social contract represented by documents that express the will of people, and written laws that regulate their social coexistence and way of life and define their relations with others. That is why all sovereign people have their own Constitution which expresses the common will of the people to live together in civilized way and protect their country, culture and way of life. And this Constitution will become 'mother of all laws' as their Parliament, where it is legitimate, functioning and pro-active, becomes 'mother of all institutions'. In other words there is no institutionalised society and functioning civil society without modern documents embodying the will of people and the mode of their political existence within the increasingly globalised world.
Document and power
Document is information produced and recorded with inherent evidence-giving authority. Thus like any other forms of knowledge it is organically linked to power. It is created by power and intends to sustain for a considerable length of time certain forms of power or power relations and equations. Thus although a document remains historically significant for discourse analysis and political argument at any point of time, its function of existence depends on the power relations and equations between or among its original and subsequent interested actors. A document, although materially/linguistically remaining an object of interest fort historical studies, can be politically suspended, frozen, forgotten, left to die by default, re-activated or annulled. This means that the production of the political document (the text of an agreement) is not in itself, unless as a historical evidence, of such a great value. The value depends on its durability and effectiveness in remaining valid, active and effective in servicing its objectives despite changing vicissitudes. Any political document /agreement represents a certain balance of power relations and equations.
The nature of this balance depends on:
• The identity of the actors: the political powers, institutions and people involved in the production of the document
• The conditions of its possibility: the historical factors shaping the content and style of the document
• The dialectics of local, regional and global context
• Any philosophical principles and values informing the document
• Its relationship or relevance to international law
• International actors and guarantees
- KurdishMedia.com - By Dr Kamal Mirawdeli
- 17/10/2008 00:00:00