‘Whose Game They’re Playing’: Nation and Emotion in Canadian TV Advertising during the 2010 Winter Olympics

By Steven J. Mock

Volume 12, Issue 1, pages 206-222

Abstract

Through the examination of four commercials advertising products by transnational corporations broadcast to Canadian audiences during coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, this article explores how certain images, particularly those related to hockey, appeal to emotion through the conduit of national identity. Drawing out recurring symbols and themes, I demonstrate that it is not one’s love of hockey in itself, or the excitement one feels watching hockey to which these commercials appeal. Rather, hockey serves in these commercials as a national ‘totem’, an empty signifier like a flag whose primary meaning lies in its status as emblem of the group, recognised in common by members of the group as encapsulating and organising the otherwise heterogeneous assortment of myths, symbols, and values that constitute group identity. What these commercials do, intentionally or not, is re-enact a ritual of almost religious function in which the national group reaffirms its agreement to be a group by unanimously experiencing the same emotion over the same object. The success of the advertisement rests in the ability of the advertiser to incorporate the product as a participant in the ritual; as a vital ingredient to the successful completion of the ritual, if not as an honorary non-human member of the group itself.

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Attitudes towards Minorities in Post-communist and Democratic Poland

By Katarzyna Celinska

Volume 15, Issue 3, pages 474-491

Abstract

The political transformation of Eastern European countries heralded many fundamental economic, social, and cultural changes. One aspect of democracy – cultural democracy – focuses on the situation of minority groups. The treatment of minorities, while largely determined by law and actions of the government, is also influenced by the attitudes and opinions held by the citizens. This article analyses opinion polls conducted between 1994 and 2014 on attitudes towards ethnic and national minorities in Poland. The data comes from the Public Opinion Research Center (Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej – CBOS) and was published solely in the Polish language. This analysis is situated within Poland’s shifting political, social, and cultural contexts, and emphasizes current legislation concerning minorities in Poland.

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Comment on Ethnic Politics in Contemporary Afghanistan: The Impact of Post-2001 Foreign Intervention

By Rahmatullah Amiri

Volume 16, Issue 3, pages 505-509

“Note from the Editors: Rahmatullah Amiri, a student at the American University of Afghanistan, was seriously injured during the terrorist attack on the university in August 2016. Previous to the attack he had drawn on his ongoing field-based research to submit the following comment on ethnic politics in contemporary Afghanistan for inclusion in this Special Features section. He was injured before he was able to provide us with a revised version. In light of the circumstances, we have chosen to include his original comment, with minor editing done by the Special Features editors. We believe that the comment provides a window into the perspective of a young, careful observer of contemporary Afghanistan who has lived his entire life in the shadow of political violence.”

Introduction

Ethnicity has been much discussed in the context of Afghanistan. Yet, while much has been said about it by international commentators with an outside perspective, it is often forgotten that Afghans’ own understanding of the role of ethnicity in contemporary Afghanistan changes over time. Currently, there is increasing widespread concern among Afghans with the rise of ethno-nationalism.

The Afghan state has long rested on tribal and ethnic groupings. However, in the time of King Ahmad Shah Baba, ethnicity was not as important as tribes because the capital was Kandahar, where there were no other ethnicities, only Pashtuns. However, the Pashtun tribal confederations were divided into dozens of tribes, which were again divided into sub-tribes and sub-sub tribes. Often, these divisions, at all levels, were at odds with one another. Even today, some Pashtun tribes are often fighting each other. For example, nowadays, the two main Pashtun tribes that are in political competition with each other are the Barakzai and Popalzai tribes. These two tribes are not isolated examples, as each district, province, and region still has their own tribal politics. […]

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This article is part of a special section: 9/11 15th Anniversary – Ethnicity in Post-9/11 Afghanistan. Read the introduction to the section here.

Developing an Effective Romani Integration Strategy: Experiences of Ethnoculturally Neutral and Specific Policies in the Czech Republic

By Laura Cashman

Volume 8, Issue 3, pages 595-618

Abstract

While the question of how to integrate Romani communities has increased in political significance since the 1990s, a consensus has yet to be reached on how best to design integration policies for such a heterogeneous group of people. This article examines debates on whether ethnoculturally specific or neutral policies are more appropriate. Using the Czech Romani integration policy as a case study, it identifies as a significant problem the conflation of the Romani ethnic identity with the low socio-economic status of many (but not all) Roma. This has led to a policy focus on programmes to tackle social deprivation rather than addressing the discrimination which affects all Roma regardless of class. As a consequence of the decentralisation of power in the Czech Republic and the ingrained nature of anti-Romani prejudice, policies, whether ethnoculturally neutral or specific, will be implemented or rejected at the local level on the basis of local priorities.

Read the full article here.