Category Archives: Weekly Features

Featured weekly article: Calculated Conviction: Contemporary Nationalist Ideology and Strategy

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Calculated Conviction: Contemporary Nationalist Ideology and Strategy

By Claire Sutherland

Volume 6, Issue 1, pages 69-89

Abstract

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.

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Featured weekly article: ‘Carnivals of Surplus Emotion?’ Towards an Understanding of the Significance of Ecstatic Nationalism in a Globalising World

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‘Carnivals of Surplus Emotion?’ Towards an Understanding of the Significance of Ecstatic Nationalism in a Globalising World

By Michael Skey

Volume 6, Issue 2, pages 143-161

Abstract

This paper focuses on public events that celebrate the nation and how they may offer important insights into the study of wider discourses of (national) identity and belonging. Drawing on theories from both anthropology and media studies, it argues that these events should not be simply dismissed as sudden outbursts of patriotic emotion but instead can be used to extend Billig’s work on Banal Nationalism (1995) by analysing in more detail the relationship between the banal and the ecstatic. This approach to the study of such events will also echo the calls of those who have argued that we need to move beyond the functionalism of a Durkheimian position (Couldry 2003). This conceptual framework will then be used to provide a definition of what I have tentatively labelled ‘ecstatic nationalism’. In the final section, Sassen’s (2000) concept of the ‘strategic lens’ will be used to illustrate how such events may offer a significant opportunity for studying the complex subject of national identity during relatively bounded and liminal moments in an era that has been widely characterised as ‘globalising’ (Featherstone 1990).

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Featured weekly article: Emerging Ethnic Identities and Inter‐Ethnic Conflict: The Guji–Burji Conflict in South Ethiopia

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Emerging Ethnic Identities and Inter‐Ethnic Conflict: The Guji–Burji Conflict in South Ethiopia

By Asebe Regassa Debelo

Volume 12, Issue 3, pages 517-533

Abstract

The politics of ethnicity was formally institutionalised in Ethiopia in 1991 with the introduction of ethnic federalism. This study deals with emerging ethnic identities and the dynamics of the inter‐ethnic relationship between the Guji and Burji peoples in south Ethiopia. The article argues that, following the enunciation of ethnicity as a leading political order in 1991, identities have been articulated in such a way that past historical incidents and memories have been reactivated and old labels have been redefined by ethnic entrepreneurs for various motives. This promotes (re)construction of ethnic identities and inter‐group polarisation. In the Guji–Burji case, it is this fragile relationship that is easily changed into inter‐ethnic conflict as a result of competing interests over resources. The article concludes that while the cause of the current Guji–Burji conflict is primarily economic in nature, it took on an ethnic dimension within the context of politicised ethnic identities that hardened group boundaries. Synchronising past relationships – both conflicting and harmonious – with the contemporary scenario, the article tries to shed some light on the dynamics of the Guji–Burji relationship, focusing particularly on the post‐1991 political order in Ethiopia and its local implications.

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Featured weekly article: The Hanification of Xinjiang, China: The Economic Effects of the Great Leap West

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The Hanification of Xinjiang, China: The Economic Effects of the Great Leap West

By Amy H. Liu and Kevin Peters

Volume 17, Issue 2, pages 265-280

Abstract

In 1999, the Chinese government launched the Great Leap West – an ambitious economic undertaking to develop China’s western frontier. The strategy was to use increasing wealth to abate historical ethnic tensions. And while provinces like Xinjiang have experienced impressive growth, relations between the Han‐dominated Beijing and the Uyghurs in Xinjiang have remained unchanged, if not worsened. The former claims the economic benefits have been enjoyed by all – regardless of ethnicity – and have aided regional development. In contrast, the latter alleges the growing riches have primarily benefited the Hans. This article examines these two arguments. Using original data, we find evidence to support both claims – with some qualifications. While the Han migrants have benefited immensely from the Great Leap West, it seems the Uyghurs have also enjoyed growing wages. The implications suggest that while Beijing is not necessarily wrong to invest heavily in Xinjiang, the government needs to exercise more consideration of local cultures.

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Featured weekly article: Towards an Explanation for the Bosnian Genocide of 1992–1995

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Towards an Explanation for the Bosnian Genocide of 1992–1995

By Marko Attila Hoare

Volume 14, Issue 3, pages 516-532

Introduction

Scholarly interest in genocide has grown exponentially over the past two decades, due largely to two high‐profile genocides during the first half of the 1990s: the genocide in Rwanda of 1994 and, in particular, the genocide in Bosnia‐Hercegovina of 1992–95. Yet, paradoxically, the Bosnian genocide has inspired relatively little original research from scholars outside of Bosnia‐Hercegovina itself. This article will examine the existing literature while suggesting a theoretical and historical framework by which the genocide might be understood. It will examine how far the genocide can be explained through internal versus external causes, ideological determination versus contingency, and short‐term versus long‐term factors.

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