Category Archives: SEN Article Spotlight

May News – Article Spotlights Round-Up

Read on for Article Spotlights from the SEN Archives focusing on SEN News Bites from May. Here, we focus on ethnic politics and conflict with articles on Israel, India, and the challenges and the challenges of citizenship and democracy in multi-national states.

Nissim Leon’s article focuses on the role of ‘religio-nationalist’ ideology within the Haredi community in contemporary Israeli politics:

Nissim Leon, Ethno-religious Fundamentalism and Theo-ethnocratic Politics in Israel, Volume 14, Issue 1, 2014, pp. 20-35.

This article addresses the transition of a fundamentalist confrontational religious ideology into an assertive, religio-nationalist ideology by the case of the ethno-Ultra-Orthodox (haredi) Shas party in Israel. Alongside the haredi proclivity towards insularity, we also detect, in recent decades, two new trends within the haredi mainstream. First, we see increasing numbers of haredim (Ultra-Orthodox Jews) integrating into different frameworks that are situated outside of the haredi enclave: the job market, the army, welfare and charity organizations, and more. A second trend, which I will elaborate upon here, is a fundamentalist religious interpretation of elements of Israeli national identity. This trend seeks to view Jewish law, in its orthodox interpretation, as a source for the conservation and maintenance of Jewish identity in Israel: firstly, through the turning of haredism into a dominant factor in the religio-communal arena in Israel; and secondly, through assuming responsibility for demarcating the boundaries of the Jewish collective.

Sarbeswar Sahoo’s article considers the role of Hindu nationalist politics in the south Rajasthan region of India:

Sarbeswar Sahoo, Ethno-Religious Identity and Sectarian Civil Society: A Case from India, Volume 8, Issue 3, 2008, pp. 453-480.

This paper analyses the role of Rajasthan Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad (RVKP), an ethnic Hindu(tva) organisation, among the tribal populations in south Rajasthan. It argues that the RVKP has been able to enhance its legitimacy and expand its socio-political support base among the tribals through a well-articulated and planned process of ‘ethnification’. This process has been carried out in four basic ways: (1) utilising development projects as means to spread the ideology of Hindutva, (2) bringing religious awakening and organising mass re-conversion programmes, (3) redefining indigenous identity and characterising certain communities as ‘the other’, and (4) with the support of the various state institutions. The paper concludes that by ethnicising indigenous identity, the RVKP has not just created a ‘culture of fear and violence’ in the tribal regions but also threatened the secular democratic ethos of Indian society.

This article by John French and Annika Hintze deals with problems of democracy and diversity since the fall of communism:

John French and Annika Hintze, From the Inside Out: Citizenship and Democracy in Multinational States, Volume 10, Issue 2, 2010, pp. 255-270.

Since the fall of communism, democracy has come to be seen as the ‘only game in town’– the only legitimate form of political system. Democracy is considered legitimate because it provides for individual rights and allows the people access to the resources of the state. If ‘we the people’ defines the limits of these entitlements, the next logical question is who are ‘the people’? In contemporary developed states, the problem of diversity is most often framed as a problem of immigration; the arrival of new groups threatens both the presumed homogeneity of established nations and their democracy. We argue for a new conception of democracy, which takes into account the constructed nature of ‘the people’ that democracy empowers. This paper attempts to provide such an account by advocating a new understanding of the relationship between nationalism, citizenship, and democracy.

Article Spotlights compiled by Dr Shane Nagle.

Article Spotlights – Northern Ireland

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From the SEN archives, this week’s Article Spotlights focus on Northern Ireland, which has attracted international news attention over the past couple of weeks due to the arrest of Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams. Each of the articles ‘spotlighted’ here considers ‘post-conflict’ analyses of the shared and divided society in Northern Ireland.

Cillian McGrattan’s article considers ideas around the ‘shared society’ of Northern Ireland since 1998:

Cillian McGrattan, ‘Moving On’: The Politics of Shared Society in Northern Ireland, Volume 12, Issue 1, April 2012, pp. 172-189.

‘Debates over the direction of the Northern Irish peace process have moved from decommissioning and all-party inclusion to community relations and whether society is becoming more or less integrated and shared. This article contends that what is missing from this debate is consideration of the fact that a process of de-politicisation is occurring – specifically, inspired by a progressivist imperative, political discourse and engagement are increasingly moving from the public sphere to more privatised concerns. I argue that that vision does not speak to the trauma of the past and that the silencings, limitations, and dilemmas it leads to are most lucidly seen in recent Northern Irish drama productions. I conclude by sketching an alternative ethical vision based on an attachment to remembering historical injustices and a repudiation of the social pressure to draw a line under the past.’

Wallace McDowell’s focus on representations of Britishness and masculinity within the Loyalist community:

Wallace McDowell, Staging the Debate: Loyalist-Britishness and Masculinities in the Plays of Gary Mitchell, Volume 9, Issue 1, April 2009, pp. 89-112.

‘This paper, which emanates from the field of theatre studies, examines plays written by Belfast writer Gary Mitchell in and around the time of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement of 1998. Mitchell occupies a unique position in Irish theatre, being the first playwright to emerge from and offer a dramatic critique of paramilitary-dominated Loyalist communities. Central to the paper is the argument that Mitchell offers a set of important insights into how such communities reflect academic debates around masculinities, imagined national communities and the relationship between masculinity and violence. The paper looks at three plays which received premieres around the time of the Belfast agreement and utilises the theoretical approaches offered by proponents of hegemonic masculinity as well as post-Foucauldian thinkers.’

This article by Anna Drake and Allison McCulloch considers the role of history education in divided ‘post-conflict’ societies like Northern Ireland:

Anna Drake and Allison McCulloch, Deliberating and Learning Contentious Issues: How Divided Societies Represent Conflict in History Textbooks, Volume 13, Issue 3, December 2013, pp. 277-294.

‘History education can either exacerbate polarization and division or it can have conciliatory potential. Looking at a number of divided societies, we identify trends in curriculum portrayals of inter-group conflict. Noting the power of re-telling the past, we argue for a conciliatory approach to textbook design that entails the inclusion of multiple narratives. We detail why groups need to set out their own account of events and discuss the importance of the way that groups develop their accounts. We recommend an institutional, process-based approach to textbook design grounded in the values of deliberative consociationalism and argue that the conciliatory approach is best pursued in a two-stage model of deliberations. We develop this model and focus on how deliberations might occur and with what restrictions, taking seriously concerns about the applicability of deliberation in divided societies.’

Article spotlights compiled by Dr Shane Nagle.

Article Spotlights

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From the SEN archives, this week’s Article Spotlights focus on nationalism and the nature of its manifestation in two of its – very different – contemporary arenas, Ukraine and Sc0tland.

The current situation in Crimea is at its heart the result of an incongruence of territorial and ethno-cultural boundaries, and Roel Jennissen’s article considers the historical background and contemporary implications (as of 2011) of ethnic population movement in Central and Eastern Europe in those regions formerly occupied by the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires and Nazi Germany.

Roel Jennissen, Ethnic Migration in Central and Eastern Europe: Its Historical Background and Contemporary Flows, Volume 11, Issue 2, October 2011, pp. 252-270.

This article aims to describe the historical background of international ethnic migration in Central and Eastern Europe. The rise and fall of the Habsburg Empire in Central Europe and the Ottoman Empire in Southeastern Europe has been the underlying cause of many ethnic migration flows in Central and Eastern Europe in the post-communist era. Moreover, the German Ostkolonisation, border changes after the two World Wars, and interstate migration in the former Soviet Union caused a large pool of potential ethnic migrants. In addition to the description of this historical background, this article contains a description of important contemporary ethnic migration flows that originate from the aforementioned historical developments, and a discussion of future developments of ethnic migration in Central and Eastern Europe.

Claire Sutherland’s article focuses specifically on its contemporary manifestations as a political ideology:

Claire Sutherland, Calculated Conviction: Contemporary Nationalist Ideology and Strategy, Volume 6, Issue 1, March 2008, pp. 69-89.

The article is intended as a contribution to nationalism theory, one which analyses nationalism as a political ideology. It sets out to theorise how contemporary nationalist parties as agents and strategists of ideology go about mobilising loyalty to the nation. Although strategy and tactics appear to play an ever-increasing role in party politics, this trend is understood here as a form of renewal rather than a rejection of ideology. I contend that nationalism theory must be updated in the light of multi-level governance. Theoretical approaches to contemporary nationalism must take into account its strategic flexibility in the face of changing state, sub-state and supra-state relationships. The article argues that the multi-faceted concept of ideology is a useful tool for investigating both nationalist principles and strategy. The work of Michael Freeden (1998; 1999) is used to unpack ideology’s heuristic potential. After having established strategic thinking as an inherent and necessary component of nationalist ideology, the final part of the paper focuses on nationalist party strategy. It turns to Albert Hirschman’s (1970) typology of exit, voice and loyalty to identify and compare contemporary nationalist party strategies as a response to the changing dynamics of state politics. The analysis applies the relationships Hirschman builds between these concepts to the realm of territorial politics. It thereby complements Freeden’s theory of ideology in characterising and classifying nationalist party responses to their evolving political environment.

Article Spotlights January Round-Up

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articlespotlight Read on for some past SEN articles from the archives that reflect on some news items reported on the blog over the past month, on current and events and news relevant to nationalism and ethnicity studies:

Zionism and Bilingualism: Palestinian-Jewish Bilingual Schools in Documentary Films, Carmit Romano-Hvid, Volume 13, Issue 3, December 2013, pp. 455-465.

This article discusses the experience of Arabic-Hebrew bilingual schools in Israel through the lens of four documentaries. It investigates Zionism’s view and understanding of bi-national and bilingual education based on the stories of the documentaries, and on background information received through interviews with the film-directors and school principals. I argue that the materials shown in the documentaries could serve as evidence that even in a bi-national and bilingual educational setting, the hegemony of the majority ethnic group is present and felt. The cinematic choices reflect repetition of specific tropes (e.g. how national holidays are celebrated, creating ‘balance’ between representations of Palestinian and Jewish suffering) but remain silent about the linguistic challenges and the remaining inequality.

Ethnic Politics, Political Elite, and Regime Change in Nigeria, Henry Ani Kifordu, Volume 11, Issue 3, December 2011, pp. 427-450.

Since the 1960s, intermittent social conflicts in Nigeria appear mostly linked to ethnic groups’ differences. Considering the importance of regime change in social and political stability, this article critically analyses the historic and dynamic role of the core political executive elite in the political system’s stability. The article argues that ethnic politics persist in Nigeria based on the nature of interactions between political institutions, institution-builders, and society. It asserts a contradictory link between deep-rooted elite interests and popular preferences in ways that undermine orientations towards democracy. The empirical focus is on the composite nature of the core political executive elite analysed through their ethnic and educational backgrounds. It is observed that, although ethnic shocks are variously motivated, the atypical shape and inequity in power and role distribution at the highest levels of executive office-holding stand out as a salient source and target of antagonism by ethnic groups. This finding has a paradoxical implication: deep-seated economic and political interests of the elite play a diversionary role from the real causes of ethnic conflicts in Nigeria.

New Imaginings: The Legacy of Benedict Anderson and Alternative Engagements of Nationalism, Mark Hamilton, Volume 6, Issue 3, December 2006, pp. 73-89.

Where should we look as scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to decipher contemporary sources of nationalism and understand nations’ historical origins? This article draws on Benedict Anderson’s scholarly legacy and highlights potential pathways for future studies of ethnicity and nationalism. It outlines major themes from the landmark text Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (1983), reviews its impact and significance, describes heated scholarly critiques, and, finally, proffers three directions for ongoing research: the intersecting inquiries of political-economic mobilisation, of relational networks, and of hybrid identities.

SEN Journal Online Exclusives – ‘Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Education’ (4): Education, Reconciliation, and Peace-building in the Basque Region

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Our special series on Nationalism and Education from the SEN Online archives comes to an end with…

‘Advancing Peace Culture in the Basque Autonomous Community: The Basque Education Plan for Peace and Human Rights (2008-2011)’, by Stuart Durkin, in Volume 13, Issue 3 (December 2013), pp. 342-357.

‘Approved in December 2007, The Basque Education Plan for Peace and Human Rights (2008-2011) represents the most sophisticated policy development of its kind in over 30 years of autonomous governments. While by no means a panacea for ethno-nationalist conflict in this context, the policy is nevertheless a significant development and carries the potential to make a significant contribution to the cause of sustainable peace-building and reconciliation.

By way of both an exposition of its principal aims and objectives, as well as an analysis of the political furore which accompanied its development, the article exposes the policy’s principal limitation, its tendency towards indirectness. The article argues, however, that in structural terms peace education is advanced through the creation of a coordinating forum between the Basque government and organised Basque civil society. Moreover, despite this tendency towards indirectness, the policy initiates the necessary task of approaching issues hitherto largely avoided.’