Following the news bites on Sunday, here at SEN, we’ve selected some articles from the journal’s past issues which speak to last week’s news highlights.
The Coherent Force of Struggle and Diversity in Chinese Nationalism: Volume 2, Issue 1, pages 2–10, March 2002 This article explores how various forms of identity are constructed within a limited range of parameters such as culture and race. I focus on how conceptions of the nation-state, ethnic groups, races, classes, regions, East and West are constructed in Chinese academic theory and in meetings of scholars of various political and academic background.
Reconfigurations in the Discourse of Nationalism and National Identity: Turkey at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century: Volume 9, Issue 3, pages 359–376, December 2009 Throughout recent decades, the processes of globalisation and Europeanisation have been influential in Turkey, bringing various changes to the economic, cultural and political spheres. Within the context of these processes, this article analyses the changes and continuities in the discourse of nationalism and national identity in Turkey through their reflections on school textbooks and curricula. On the one hand, the globalisation process has brought calls for democratisation, as well as citizenship and identity claims, from the societal actors in Turkey. On the other hand, it has given rise to concerns about preserving the status quo, which have then been channelled into the language of nationalism. The Europeanisation process has also fed these projects and discourses. Its effects, in moments of close interrelations between Turkey and the European Union, have consisted of bringing positive reinforcements for the decoupling of security concerns and nationalism, the formation of a new and democratic understanding of citizenship and the realisation of ambitions for democratisation in Turkey; however, in other times, backlashes have occurred.
Interview with Dr Muhamet Hamiti, Charge d’Affaires of the Republic of Kosovo to the UK: Volume 9, Issue 2, pages 333–342, September 2009 Dr Hamiti is the first diplomat of the Republic of Kosovo to serve in the UK since Kosovo’s declaration of independence in February 2008.1In an exclusive interview with SEN’s Vivian Ibrahim, he discusses the years preceding Kosovo’s independence, its nine years of United Nations administration and the euphoria that has existed since last year. Dr Hamiti also provides an insight into present-day relations with Kosovo’s immediate neighbours, the European Union and the UK. He concludes by discussing his role since undertaking his diplomatic post in October 2008.
From Rhetoric to Reality: A Critical Analysis of the National Action Plan for the Achievement of Gender Equality in Kosovo: Volume 9, Issue 1, pages 49–69, April 2009 This paper provides an overview of the current situation of Kosovo using a gendered perspective to highlight the challenges posed to the implementation of the National Action Plan for the Achievement of Gender Equality in Kosovo (NAP). The NAP arose through collaboration between the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Kosovan women’s movement and as such reflects both local and international gender knowledge and expertise. However, the current socio-political climate in Kosovo and its history of ethnic/religious conflict create significant difficulties that hinder the implementation of the NAP throughout all sections of society, and the subsequent achievement of gender equality. With this in mind, a contextualised assessment and discussion of the NAP is presented using feminist theory. Central to this is the recommendation that the incorporation of concrete steps stipulating how to achieve certain NAP objectives would contribute towards the successful achievement of gender equality in Kosovo.