Around the Bloc: Tbilisi Botanical Garden for Sale?
Protests grow in Georgia over former prime minister’s suspected land grabs.
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Protests grow in Georgia over former prime minister’s suspected land grabs.
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Bullets fired after car refuses to stop at checkpoint, drawing ire of human rights activists.
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In an annual rite of spring, thousands of spawning fish are attempting to jump over the country’s famous waterfall Venta Rapid.
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Allowed to enter the Czech Republic, Night Wolves leave without major incident.
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Civic activists appear to have a better chance at effecting change than traditional parties.
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In yet another sign of Russians’ greater acceptance of the brutal Soviet leader, local Communist Party plasters Novosibirsk with sympathetic billboards.
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New EU proposal for asylum reform includes fines for those who do not comply and elicits predictable response from region’s politicians.
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The aim of this paper is to show how politics, culture and ethnicity interweave in the context of the Rushdie Affair in both the real‑life dimension of the historical events taking place in the late 1980s, as well as the literary dimension of the novel by Hanif Kureishi entitled The Black Album. The paper briefly outlines the Rushdie Affair as it unfolded in the British public sphere with particular emphasis placed on the process of consolidation of the Muslim identity among the representatives of different ethnic groups in Great Britain in the political and cultural context of the event which is deemed to be defining from the point of view of British Muslims. The author of the paper presents the profile of Hanif Kureishi, to indicate why he is ideally positioned to look critically at both sides of the conflict. The paper analyses the novel itself insofar as it examines the implications of the Rushdie Affair depicted in The Black Album, the reactions of the second‑generation immigrants of Pakistani descent in the face of the controversy, the influence this event exerted on the process of their searching for identity as well as their integration into British society. Two opposing identity options taken up by the protagonists of The Black Album are analysed by the author of the paper.
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The revitalisation of ethnicity as a concept associated with politics has been a meaningful social fact since the early 1960s. This process began at that time in Western Europe. In Central and Eastern Europe the increase of the power of ethnicity had a dramatic effect towards the end of the twentieth century. An important part in this revitalisation is played by the language policy which has a huge influence on the socio‑political stabilisation of many entities. Its success, both from the point of view of the interests of the state and of the group distinguished through language, depends on the legal and political culture of both these parties. The initiative should, however, be on the part of the state. In turn, the actions of the authorities negating the importance of language – often the main identity factor of a minority group – foster an uncontrolled growth of the ethnos. This may lead to the increase of ethnically motivated separatism destabilising both separate states and whole regions. Thus, the issue of language is used in ethnopolitics as a starting point either for obtaining political and legal results or for maintaining the ones already achieved. In either case the evaluation of these activities depends on the expectations of the involved parties. Generally it is possible to distinguish three ways of perceiving language as a factor – applied by politicians and ideologically biased intellectuals – influencing the existing political, legal and cultural order. Namely, language may be considered: 1) a recognized threat; 2) an approved means of support; or 3) a postulated opportunity for a beneficial change and its continuity.
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The paper will adopt the position that language is an intrinsic and largely non‑negotiable part of individual culture and identity. The recognition of one’s own language receives more and more support in international political and institutional frameworks. The promotion of linguistic diversity is the official policy of the European Union. Due to such policies, it is to be expected that languages will remain in contact in the context of all sorts of levels of governance. In order to manage linguistic diversity in multilingual and multicultural areas, the introduction of a global regime of language policies is unavoidable. These policies will need to satisfy transnational requirements and conditions, like universal human rights and the norms and standards of Europeanization set by the EU, OSCE, Council of Europe, and so on. However, because there are manifold connections between language and power, as we know from the work of political scientists such as Pierre Bourdieu, and sociolinguists such as Peter Nelde, that a language element is always a part of intergroup conflict. Hence, it is to be expected that language policies will be subject to power conflicts and hegemonic strives. In order to support my claim, I will analyze the language policies of states with Hungarian language minorities in Central Europe, particularly Romania, Slovakia, Serbia (Vojvodina), and Ukraine (Trans‑Carpathia). The policies can be studied in terms of concrete variables, like individual/collective rights, territorial rearrangements, thresholds, the Language Charter, multilingual education, the linguistic landscape, and so on. The range in which these variables are instantiated is determined by local politics; hence, it is a case of the politics of language policy.
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Language policy (both explicit and implicit) of the EU serves several objectives: to ensure the equality of EU member states and their citizens, to enable the smooth functioning of EU institutions, to improve the economic performance of the EU and to create a sense of community within the UE. These objectives are contradictory which leads to a choice between the idealistic principle of equality of languages and the pragmatic inequality of languages, which in turn generates tensions in the EU over the economic and political consequences of both the equality and inequality of languages. The principle that the EU is a free association of member states implies the equality of all 24 (after Croatia’s accession) official EU languages. This discriminates against citizens whose mother tongues are different than those 24 languages, and, at the same time, generates problems related to the abundance of languages (organisation and costs of translation/interpretation). The smooth functioning of EU institutions, of the EU economy and market, requires the use of a reduced number of languages which is economically and politically disadvantageous for users of other languages and provokes conflicts as in the case of the unique European patent.
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After the separation from Serbia following a referendum in 2006, the Republic of Montenegro started rebuilding its international image by reinventing its past and present. In fact, through an extensive campaign in both foreign and domestic media, the government attempted to change the perception of Montenegro’s history, focusing especially on the difference between Serbs and Montenegrins. This is understandable considering the minimal numeric superiority of those in favour of the independence, where the national factor was the main determinant. The image of the new Montenegrins, also in light of Montenegro’s route to joining the EU, must be detached from Serbia’s problems (– such as Kosovo) and must divert attention from the ever‑growing problem of international criminal traffic. One of the most emblematic examples of such recreation of virtue are the commercials for Montenegrin tourism, inviting to explore ancient forests, enjoy traditional food and experience “Montenegrin hospitality”: the aim is to send a positive message of non‑nationalistic, Europe‑friendly ethnicity. The purpose is also for Montenegro to be perceived as serene, as opposed to the ex‑partner country, seen largely as wildly nationalistic and ethnically obsessed: therefore, a new form of “soft” ethno‑cultural image has been introduced, incorporating only the best and cleverly minimizing the “non‑acceptable” aspects of its culture and history.
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The paper introduces the national aspects of the new Hungarian constitution. We find direct references to the “Hungarian nation” in the text of the Fundamental Law of Hungary, and these references reveal the concept of the nation of the constitution‑making? political majority. This concept is rather controversial and is widely debated in political and also in scientific discussions. I examine the problematic issues around the concept of the nation, which are the following: Is the concept of the nation clear? Does it imply the “cultural” or the “political”/“democratic” notion of the nation? What is the situation of the nationalities living in Hungary? What is the situation of the Hungarians living beyond the borders of Hungary? This paper intends to contribute to the discussion on the values of the new constitution of Hungary.
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The expansion of the European Union and the accession of ten new EU member states in 2004, as well as the accession of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, meant that the new borders of the EU came to encompass most of the Roma minorities living on the Old Continent. The Roma, as well as being the largest ethnic group in modern Europe, are also its most marginalised group. They have been and continue to be ostracised, excluded from society, and discriminated against on all possible social levels. I will focus on the mass exodus of the Roma to Western Europe, which was triggered by the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union. Thousands of new Roma emigrants moved to the West in search of a better life, without possessing jobs, health care or social insurance, living en masse in camps on the edge of towns and cities. The beginning of the global economic crisis in 2008 and this massive influx of Roma immigrants living in extreme poverty was an explosive mix which led to a deepening and intensification of Anti‑Roma feeling in Western Europe creating a radicalisation of policy concerning Roma.
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It would be a mistake to assume that ethnopolitics is only a matter of confrontation between different ethnic groups. On the contrary, there is a range of examples where it is pursued in a spirit of compromise and co‑operation. One of them is the case of the Jewish Autonomous Region of Birobidzhan, in Post‑Soviet Russia. Often ethnic groups realize that co‑operation and cultural coexistence are more profitable than conflict. Beginning in 1928 the Soviet Union set aside a territory the size of Belgium for Jewish settlement, located some five thousands miles east of Moscow along the Soviet‑Chinese border. Believing that Soviet Jewish people, like other national minorities, deserved a territorial homeland, the regime decided to settle an enclave that would become the Jewish Autonomous Region in 1934. In fact, the establishment of the JAR was the first instance of an officially acknowledged Jewish national territory since ancient times. But the history of the Region was tragic and the experiment failed dismally. Nevertheless, Birobidzhan’s renewed existence of today is not only a curious legacy of Soviet national policy, but after the break‑up of the Soviet Union and the definite religious rebirth, represents an interesting case‑study in respect to interethnic relations.
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Today, approximately 15% of the total Norwegian population of 5 million are immigrants, and this number is growing. This article investigates how public social service institutions and local policies are challenged by the new realities of migration and how they attempt to meet them in Norway, by identifying and discussing tensions between policies and practices. The article exemplifies these tensions through focusing on the Education sector and the Health and Care sector, and their respective treatment of two groups, labour migrants and refugees. Interviews were conducted with immigrants and public service providers in three municipalities. In the analysis of various white papers on migration and integration issues, we use the concepts of group pluralism and individual pluralism as analytical tools. In the empirical analysis, we have searched for critical issues arising in the relationship between providers and receivers of services. We find that when national policies meet practice at the municipal level, the municipal context and economic incentives are important factors. Other central aspects include the history, traditions and functions of the social service institutions that are responsible for carrying out national policies at the municipal level. Here, the main professional bodies appear to exercise their own particular logic in regards to the integration and inclusion of migrants into the Norwegian society.
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The present work concerns an anthropological outlook on the political consequences of corporate and economic migration to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and labour market segregation. The complexity of cultural codes and the clash of customs are discussed in the paper, which is based on a two‑year period of sociological field research conducted in the KSA by the author. The ethnographic materials are enriched by discourse from daily Saudi papers and other international publications. The study contains an insight into race and ethnicity as seen by Saudis themselves and also allows a deeper understanding of the power distribution in this particular modern Islamic society. In the climate of the European economic crisis, the sustained demand for highly qualified migrant workers in the KSA provides a lucrative alternative for specialists across market sectors and this often involves their families. In light of the globalised market, many corporations run multi‑billion dollar contracts inside the Kingdom and relocate their own work force to achieve business goals. The need for specialists and for cheap manual labour from abroad is a direct result of the Saudi education system, together with the work ethic amongst the majority of Saudi nationals, which is heavily influenced by the cultural and sociological consequences of the Wahhabi interpretation of the Quran. This interpretation has a major impact on Saudi society and on migrants, particularly women. The social order is widely supported and successfully reproduced through a united message present in education, the national media and local mosques. Concerns over ethnic divisions are focused on conflicting ideologies, represented in the interactions between newcomers and the indigenous population.
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In order to understand and resolve internal armed conflicts one must comprehend why and how people revolt, and under what conditions they brutalise i.e. increasingly resort to terrorism, banditry, brigandry, “gangsterism” and other forms of violence that violate contemporary local and/or present‑day international norms that I believe are, in the final analysis, all based on the principles of conscience, empathy and honour. Contemporary “global” or regional norms distinct from those of the rebelling community, and the norms of the regime community and/or colonial power, are also considered. My pessimistically formulated and thereby quite testable brutalisation theory combines theorising elements of disciplines ranging from cultural anthropology to military psychology, so as to better explain rebellions or any armed conflicts and their morally corrosive effects. The theory’s main variables are: violence‑values (my composite term) on proper and improper violence; conflict‑inducing motivations, in particular grievances, avarices, interests and ideologies, that bring about i.e. cause or trigger the conflict; combat‑stresses like fear, fatigue and rage resulting from or leading to traumas (and hypothetically to brutalities as well); and conflict‑induced motivations, in particular grievances, avarices, interest and ideologies, that happen by, through and during the conflict. The present paper is an exploratory introduction to an ambitious research project, succinctly titled “Brutalisation in Anti‑Imperial Revolts”, with advice and support from Professor Tomasz Polanski. The paper addresses the project’s relevance and its epistemological and methodological challenges. The project seeks to explain rebellion, banditry and other forms of violence that may or may not be inherently brutal. It seeks to ascertain the causes and degrees of any brutalisations i.e. increasing violations of norms during rebellions by peripheral, marginalised ethnic (indigenous) communities against their overlords in classical, medieval and “modern” (industrial) times. It introduces seven selected cases of “peripheral‑ethnic revolts” by indigenous communities – as (semi‑) state actors, non‑state actors or both (yet possessing at least residual ruling capabilities) – against Imperial powers across the ages, with a special focus on banditry, “brigandry” (brigandage), guerrilla and other forms of irregular warfare. The first stage of the research will analyse and compare the causes i.e. motivations and involved norms, sorts of violence and degrees of brutalisation in these seven cases.
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The aim of the paper is to analyse the English riots of summer 2011 and reflect on the questions of race and ethnicity – will they add significantly to our understanding of these events? The paper presents the timeline of social unrest, its dominant actors and events (starting from the manifestation organized by Mark Duggan’s family and friends), as well as the main theoretical themes and analytical perspectives present in British debate on the riots. The author argues that while the ethnocultural perspective cannot be seen as a leading one, in order to properly understand the events of August 2011 the links to previous riots and the history of racial tensions between police and members of certain communities should be unfolded and explored.
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