Category Archives: Uncategorized

Debate: Economics and Violent Intrastate Conflict

Since the late 1990s, there has been a pronounced increase in econometric analyses of violent intrastate conflict, not least thanks to the now seminal distinction of “greed” versus “grievance” factors – prominently put forth by Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler – to explain the causes of civil wars.

To discuss the potential strengths as well as pitfalls of such distinctions and analyses, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism (SEN) has invited four experts in the field to address the question of “What contribution can the discipline of economics make to the study of violent intrastate conflict?” from their very own perspectives.

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Comment: Multiculturalism, Integration and Thilo Sarrazin

Over the years, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism (SEN) has published a variety of articles which engage with questions of multiculturalism in different societies from diverse academic perspectives. As part of SEN’s continuous engagement with these debates and aware of their relevance beyond the purely academic discourse, this current affairs comment is dedicated to the recent invitation of Thilo Sarrazin to the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Special Issue of SEN Focuses on Nation and Charisma

Contributors to Volume 10, Number 3, of Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, examine charisma as the source of political authority.

Navigate the links on the right for a selection of articles from this issue. The articles are available for download from the website of Wiley-Blackwell, which publishes SEN.

The multitude of possible relationships between ‘Nation and Charisma’, the theme of the 20th Annual ASEN Conference (13–15 April 2010) on which this special issue is based, are difficult to dissect:

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A New Pragmatic Debate on Multiculturalism: David Cameron And Professor Tariq Modood

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(Picture Property of Getty Images)

Prime Minister David Cameron has started the ball rolling on a new debate on the relationship between multiculturalism and political extremism. His criticism of “state multiculturalism” on February 5 triggered a round of fresh discussion about multiculturalism — perhaps more precisely, pragmatic multiculturalism — that promises a move away from ideal theories of multiculturalism to more policy-oriented views on the real effects of the concept of multiculturalism.

The full transcript of Cameron’s speech can be found here.

Two days later, Tariq Modood, Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy at the University of Bristol, responded with an op-ed piece in The Guardian newspaper.

The questions now are how will Cameron’s words translate to policy? And will there be policy response to Professor Modood’s counterargument?