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The paper looks at the major issues underlying devolution in the United Kingdom, i.e. a process whereby the historically diverse areas and regions constituting the seemingly uniform state have been slowly striving for independence, along with the formation of local, regional and even national identities. Hinging on the idea of ‘multicultural citizenship’, the paper seeks to analyse the ongoing public discourse centered on the gradual transfer of centralized London-based power to local and regional bodies across the UK. This discourse forms the pivotal background of devolution, overtly pointing to the idea of the so-called ‘new opening’ of the entire British political scene, clearly promoting the notion of strengthening the position of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and English regions as increasingly autonomous geographical and cultural areas as part of a weakening monolith by the name of the United Kingdom. Resting almost entirely on historic tensions between British identity and Scottish identity, it is made clear that the Scottish public debate has basically neglected the issues of the assimilation of its cultural minori¬ties with the ‘post-devolution’ reality. The devolution discourse stems from the rancorous debates and polemics which have taken place throughout the three hundred years of the Scottish and English Union, covering several social and political contexts, including the growing demands voiced by the SNP. Indeed, it has a major impact on the formation of Scots’ national distinctiveness alongside Scotland’s gradual emergence as a separate part of the British Isles.
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The paper was designed to address and highlight the question of whether and how some of the main functions of elections can be conceptualized and understood in special minority contexts. Concerning the five selected non-territorial autonomy regimes of Central and Southeast Europe (Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovenia), very little research has been carried out to explore the key and closely intertwined features and effects of minority elections on intra-community dynamics and voters’ behaviour such as special voter registration, electoral formula (proportionality/disproportionality), ballot structure, voter turnout, competitiveness, and electoral volatility – research that would take into account the sensitive nature of ethnic data and the relatively highlevel cultural-linguistic assimilation, too. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to fill this gap at least in part by identifying and examining their operation in practice, while a more in-depth analysis of the important elements of such processes needs further research. Taken together, these factors have a crucial influence not only on the public participation of the minority groups concerned, but on their future prospects as well.
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Review of: A. D. Smith, (2008) "Kombet dhe nacionalizmi në erën globale"; Tiranë: Instituti për Studime Publike dhe Ligjore & Dudaj by: Enis Sulstarova
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Fervent debates on human rights policies around the world have occupied the public opinion in Turkey especially in the post-Helsinki period. In the center of the debate lies the efforts to develop and expand human rights. However, Turkey’s efforts to improve its human rights policies in line with its EU membership goal also means Turkey’s trial with Turkish identity and Turkish nationalism. For the dominant nationalist perception, which has encapsulated the Turkish Republic since its establishment, is clashing with the EU values and human rights. The aim of this study is to discuss why social peace has not been established despite the improvements made via human rights legislation. It is observed that Turkey’s transformation that started with its EU candidacy and continued with the reform packages, constitutional amendments and democratization process has now slowed down or even has come to a halt. One of the primary reasons of this final situation is the lack of ‘overlapping consensus’ introduced by Rawls in his theory of justice. As a result, initiatives with good intentions reach the level of awareness of differences but not cause realistic steps to be taken for ‘recognition’. This study argues that, unless a citizenship model embracing all members of society is established, the cited initiatives will not result in lasting solutions.
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Although public inter-organizational collaborations can offer better public services, their management is a complex endeavour and they often fail. This paper explores identity construction as a key aspect that assists in managing successfully these collaborations. The study draws upon a longitudinal ethnographic study with a Greek public inter-organizational collaboration. The re-search illustrates that managers should encourage partners to construct collaborative and non-collaborative identities in order to achieve the collaboration aims. It also suggests that managers should seek both stability and change in the collaborative process and offers four collaborative patterns for the effective management of public inter-organizational collaborations.
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There has been always been a great buzz around Valerián Bystrický. It is not different even today. His study is almost continuously occupied by his friends, colleagues and pupils. They work not only at his household institution – the Institute of History of the Slovak Academy of Sciences – but also at other scholarly institutions and universities. They come to him for a friendly chat and to discuss their professional issues expecting his opinion and advice. Authors who participated on this publication represent a small sample of them. The topics included in this book represent a very broad and colorful spectrum and the same can be said about the view and professional erudition of Dr. Bystrický. It would be not very useful to list all the topics he has dealt with. They can be found in the selected bibliography of his writings at the end of this book. It doesn’t matter if he is dealing with European or Slovak history; the 1st and 2nd Czechoslovak republic or the war Slovak republic; politics, personalities or society – all his works are characterized by comprehension, detachment and great knowledge of sources. He doesn’t belong to theoreticians or speculative methodologists of various systems and –isms. He goes to the problem always in medias res. His method is the accurate documentation of historical processes and consistent knowledge about the searched topic and sources. That is how his pertinent works based on arguments had been created. Many of them belong to fundamental and pioneering works of our historiography. We must admire the curiousness and interest of Dr. Bystrický for new problems. We can say that a man with such an erudition and detachment can’t be surprised easily. It is a gift or a privilege that there is always something which he is interested in – he is still able to contemplate and to think intensely about historical and social problems. He is a proponent of the necessity to always take a clear and resolute stand to key questions. He is not shy to let his positive or negative attitude be known. The latter possibility brought numerous stories, occasional good-hearted acrimonies and anecdotes that are still very popular. They originated from the fact that he is a well-known enemy of smallmindedness and petty wars. As he often says: „Something is always going to happen.” For a scholar of his caliber, one must admire the graciousness of Dr. Bystrický which has an extra significance in the scholarly circles. In connection with his natural authority, it has a special value mainly for the middle generation of today’s historians. He has always treated them with human understanding and they have had the opportunity to cooperate with a wise and helpful man.
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In 1881 Ado Grenzstein started the weekly paper Olevik, which complemented Estonian press with various innovative features concerning language, contents and form. The article provides a survey of Grenzstein’s journalistic innovations, including one of the earliest Estonian evidences documenting an attempt to regulate the relations between a newspaper and its correspondents. Since the end of 1885 Grenzstein began to sense the need for a daily paper, which was expressed in his discussion over the possibilities of creating an integrated Estonian press. Karl August Hermann’s Postimees was released, since the end of 1887, three times a week, turning into a daily in August 1891. Press rivalry was gradually increasing in the context of internal reforms and strengthening censorship. Grenzstein’s need for a daily of his own grew ever more pressing. Although Olevik, as a paper opposing Baltic German privileges, enjoyed a wide readership and had an extensive web of correspondents all over Estonia, at the turn of the century both Grenzstein and his paper had to surrender to the conservative circle close to Jaan Tõnisson and his Postimees, which was supported by censor Jaan Jõgever. As Grenzstein made a point of playing by the rules and abiding the law he also lost the support of the radicals. An attempt is made to gauge the possible background of Grenzstein’s voluntary exile by examining his unpublished essay Uus hommik, where Grenzstein called on his sympathisers to unite. This text testifies to Grenzstein having developed a quite clear understanding of the changed power relations.
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Eesti kirjanduse ja laiemalt kultuuriuuringute valdkonda on raske, kui mitte võimatu, lahutada rahvusluse teemast. Suhted rahvuslusega on sealjuures mitmetahulised: kultuuriuuringud seavad endale ülesandeks kultuuri kriitilise analüüsimise, ent nad moodustavad paratamatult osa rahvuslikust kultuurisfäärist. Sestap võib kriitiline analüüs küll esitada oma tulemusi objektiivsena, ent siiski edasi kanda ajastu domineerivaid väärtushinnanguid. Järgmise põlvkonna kultuurianalüüs võib vaatlusobjektiks võtta needsamad „objektiivsed” analüüsid ning tuua esile nende analüüside „objektiivsuse” taga peituva hinnangulisuse ja ajastuomased moraalikategooriad.
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This article outlines the notion of censorship in affect as a principle structuring the realm of visibility of homosexuals in Polish theatre. Niziołek explores the relationship between society’s homophobia and ways of establishing the national community. This project attempts to deconstruct Poland’s dominant paradigm of national theatre by tracing counter-public queer performance in public theatre shows.
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Contrary to popular belief, African populations have been able to force, through social protest, numerous changes in their societies. One such example is Ethiopia, where its last emperor, Haile Selassie I (1930-1974), faced fierce opposition in the streets during his reign, specially the one boosted by students. This study focuses on how student protests in the country have evolved since 1960, what were the causes of their development and what impact they had on the government of the Ethiopian negus. Finally, it will be analysed whether the protests against the emperor were connected with the 1974 Revolution and the military coup that provoked the coming to power of the Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia, popularly known as Derg. In order to carry out this research, a detailed review of the bibliography has been conducted as well as an analysis of the period's newspaper and graphic material related to student protests.
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Ahmet Agaoglu’s name has been frequently mentioned on Turkish Idea and Political life after 1909. When he was adopted the nationalist and liberal worldview, he crossed with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s path many times. Sometimes he disagreed with Ataturk on some cases, but the love for Ataturk continued until his death. In this article, relations and memories between Ahmet Agaoglu and Atatürk will be revealed.
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Short historical essay from the one of the most innovative and influential Slovak historian is focused on the Slovak historiography. This text has been published at first time in 1997 and provides authors actual remarks toward attempts to canonize strictly nationalistic narrations of political history of Slovakia. He is criticizing the actual attempts to reconstruct history of Slovakia only as a progress to the national and state independency. The text is dealing with themes like "selection" and "interpretation". Lipták is approaching the characteristic "defensive stance" of the narrations that are inventing the national story of Slovaks. Referring to their mythological arsenal, which has in fact just a fragmentary and not comprehensive character, he is warning, that results of this kind of strictly ideological approaches of political history are just strengthening the process of deprivation of the own past (for example in historical context of Hungarian Kingdom). By contrast, he is stressing the need for wide contextualization of these themes in to the broad historical frames and applying for restitution of the "forgotten" spiritual and political capital. Lipták's critical remarks are focused on enormous interest of Slovak historians in political history (represented as a national history), which he read as a problem of tradition and society. The big chance for change he sees in usage of new methodological trends established and discussed in the western historiographies. Lipták's reflection is giving a notice of the importance of political history; alongside it he expresses a satisfaction that never and nowhere has been any historical model ruling the discourse for too long period.
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Filozof John R. Searle sa vo svojej známej knihe Th e Construction of Social Reality venoval, ako tomu už aj názov napovedá, otázkam súvisiacim s existenciou sociálneho sveta, teda tej oblasti reality, ktorá súvisí s bytím, činnosťou a myšlienkovým svetom ľudí. Searle sa zamýšľa nad tým, ako existujú sociálne, resp. inštitucionálne fakty alebo inak povedané, aké sú špecifi ká existencie sociálnej a inštitucionálnej reality v porovnaní s tzv. tvrdou, fyzickou realitou. Searleove úvahy majú veľkú relevanciu aj pre historické bádanie. V tejto eseji sa pokúsim niektoré otázky, ktoré si Searle kladie v súvislosti so spôsobmi vytvárania a udržiavania reality vecí a vzťahov sociálneho sveta, položiť v súvislosti s takými sociálnymi entitami a javmi, akými sú národ a národnosť (môj výklad sa však rovnako bude týkať aj súvisiacich kategórií: etnikum/etnická skupina, rasa, a javov: nacionalizmus, rasizmus a pod.). Searle vo svojej knihe ako jeden z príkladov sociálneho a inštitucionálneho faktu (entity) uvádza peniaze. Presnejšie, modernú menu, tzv. peniaze s núteným obehom. A práve príklad peňazí mi viackrát poslúži ako odrazový mostík pri uvažovaní o ontológii národa. Najprv však bude potrebné ozrejmiť si niektoré pojmy a súvislosti.
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This article deals with the mutual images and stereotypes of Slovaks and Hungarians presented in Czechoslovak, Slovak and Hungarian history textbooks published between 1918 – 1989. The textbooks employed the same principles while creating the image of the Self and the Other. In all cases the authors of the textbooks opted for creating a positive image of their own nation by employing images of its cultural and moral superiority, while the Others were characterized as immoral traitors on a lower degree of civilisational development. Narratives presented in official history textbooks reflect the political agenda, desirable values and the efforts the political elites made in order to create a collective identity of the citizens of the state and to develop the loyalty of subjects to the country they live in. Thus, every change of political regime brings with it the necessity to reinterpret the past and to reconstruct the national history – as such, in which the current state, or the current ambitions and political programs of the elites would be seen as the natural, legitimate and most desirable result of historical development.
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Over the past ten year the academic researches and publications pertaining to the AKP (Justice and Development Party) power in Turkey has culminated into an immensely rich literature, but the main tenets of the nationalist character of this party have not drawn an adequate academic and intellectual attention for various reasons. In an attempt to contribute to this relatively unexhausted discussion, this article will seek to unravel and evaluate the ideational foundations and symbolic components of the AKP’s nationalist position through a close analysis of Stratejik Derinlik (Strategic Depth), a supposedly theory-oriented book written in 2001 by the current Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. This article argues that at the very crux of the foreign policy outlook sketched out in Stratejik Derinlik is a systematic nationalist doctrine that has been rather haphazardly represented and propagated by the AKP officials. In this respect, Stratejik Derinlik can be treated as a fertile point of departure for investigating the ideological roots of AKP’s nationalism and the role this nationalism plays in the ongoing struggles for political hegemony in Turkey. The fact that the thesis and discourses deployed in the Stratejik Derinlik have functioned in the last ten years as a prominent point of reference for the official foreign policy approach in Turkey also testifies to a dramatic transformation of the Turkish state’s official ideology along the lines of the AKP’s Islamic conservative nationalism.
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About the state of Albania in the South Caucasus was first mentioned in the book of Strabo. For the first time Albanians as the name representatives of the Albanian population in the source are mentioned in connection with the events the last third of the IV. B.C authors II. A.D. Flavy Arrian. In the period of Alexander the Great a question "Alban" have concerned as well other antique authors Guy Pliny Sekund and Guy Juli Solin. The information received from Guy Plini Sekunda, Flavi Arrian and Guy Juli Solin confirms existence of the state Albania at the time of Alexander the Great. In an ancient sources ethnonym "Alban" had been used and as the name of all population of Albania, and the name of a separate tribe. Generalizing messages of antique authors, it is possible to draw a conclusion: Albanians lived in territory of coast of Caspian sea to a place of a confluence of the Kura in it, in the Caucasian mountains which surrounded a river basin of the Kura, on average and its bottom current, especially on the left coast. About an origin of the name "Albania" in the scientific literature there are various opinions. Some researchers consider that this name of a Latin origin with value "the Country of mountains". The authors who identify the river Alazan with the river of Alban which mentioned by Plini consider that ethnonym Alban and the name of Albania formed from the name of river Alban.
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