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15302. Debate: La France qui tombe? Free-Falling France or Free-Trading France
- Author:
- Sophie Meunier
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- The most common perception of France found these days in the American media is that of an arrogant country, whose international gesticulations are the last hurrah masking its inevitable decline into oblivion. The French have not yet come to terms with their lengthy collapse, which started with the devastation of World War I, continued with the humiliation of their defeat in 1940 and was furthered by the loss of their colonial empire. This would explain their support, still to this day, for a Gaullist policy made up of power incantations, in contrast to real power-or lack thereof.
- Political Geography:
- America and France
15303. Debate: Le Monde qui tombe? La Fin du Monde? Tradition and Change in the French Press
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Le Monde, or rather its current management team of publisher and editor Jean-Marie Colombani, managing editor Edwy Plenel, and director-of-the-board Alain Minc, has been the critical target over the past year of several best-selling books, accompanied by scores of articles in the rest of the French press. This avalanche of unwelcome attention for the newspaper was launched with the 630-page, exhaustively documented La Face cachée du Monde (The Hidden Face of Le Monde), by Pierre Péan, perhaps France's most highly-regarded investigative journalist, and Philippe Cohen, economics editor for the newsweekly Marianne. Other critical books that appeared during 2003 included Ma part du Monde by former Le Monde journalist Alain Rollat; Le Pouvoir du Monde by Bernard Poulet, an assistant managing editor at business magazine L'Expansion; Bien entendu … c'est off by former Le Monde political reporter Daniel Carton and Le Cauchemar médiatique by former Le Monde television chronicler Daniel Schneidermann.
- Political Geography:
- France
15304. Debate: Le Monde qui tombe? Premières leçons d'un audit sauvage
- Author:
- Pierre Grémion
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Lorsque, le 26 février, le livre de Pierre Péan et de Philippe Cohen est sorti, je me suis précipité chez mon libraire. Trop tard! Les quelques exemplaires don't il disposait avaient déjà été enlevés. C'est le lendemain seulement que j'ai pu être servi. Le libraire s'était levé aux aurores pour faire lui-même son réassortiment. Il ne put en mettre en vente que 30 exemplaires: tous épuisés le soir même. "Si j'en avais pris 50 (mais nous ne pouvions pas, nous étions contingentés), ç'aurait été pareil. Je les aurais vendus dans la journée", m'a-t- il dit.
15305. L'expérience, Le Désir Et L'histoire: Alain Corbin ou le "tournant culturel" silencieux
- Author:
- Dominique Kalifa
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Il est de nombreuses façons d'envisager l'oeuvre d'Alain Corbin dans le paysage historique contemporain. On peut partir des divers objets élaborés par l'historien jusqu'ici (les sociétés et les comportements ruraux, l'histoire des sens et des appréciations, le paysage, etc.) et montrer l'étonnante capacité d'invention ou de renouvellement dont il fit preuve dans leur mise en forme. Souvent privilégiée, cette approche est évidemment pertinente, mais elle peine parfois à se dégager du simple panégyrique. On peut, de façon plus synthétique, insister sur la cohérence du projet d'ensemble (l'histoire des sensibilités), le penser dans le temps long de l'historiographie et l'inscrire dans une série de filiations (la psychologie historique de Lucien Febvre, l'histoire des mentalités façon Robert Mandrou, l'ombre portée de Michelet et du projet romantique de réanimation du passé), elles-mêmes infléchies par l'apport de sociologues comme Norbert Élias ou de philosophes comme Michel Foucault.
15306. L'historien, L'ethnographe Et L'employé De L'état Civil
- Author:
- Emmanuelle Saada
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Laboratoire de Sciences Sociales À l'origine de ces quelques éléments de réflexion sur les lectures américaines d'Alain Corbin, il y a le souci de percer une énigme et, plus encore, de comprendre un malentendu: ces deux objectifs offrent une belle occasion de saisir les modes sur lesquels sont appropriés les travaux des historiens français et, au-delà, d'éclairer certains points nodaux de l'oeuvre de Corbin. La réception américaine sera donc surtout ici prétexte à une entrée un peu décalée dans l'imposant massif corbinien. Les termes de l'énigme sont bien simples: dans une conjoncture extrêmement difficile pour les presses universitaires aux États-Unis, et plus encore pour la publication de travaux étrangers, presque tous les livres d'Alain Corbin sont traduits en anglais 1, ce dont je crois aucun autre historien français de sa génération ne peut se flatter. Puisque l'on peut raisonnablement penser que les spécialistes de la France lisent ces ouvrages à leur parution, en version originale, la persistance de ce flux depuis 1986 2 semble indiquer l'existence d'un public non francophone, constant et peut-être même fidèle.
15307. Alain Corbin Et L'histoire Des Femmes
- Author:
- Michelle Perrot
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- De la vaste table ovale des Archives départementales de Caen (Calvados) où Alain Corbin, étudiant-"le beau ténébreux", disait-on alors-préparait, à la fin des années cinquante, son diplôme d'études supérieures à ce dossier qui lui est consacré, presque un demi-siècle s'est écoulé: le temps d'une vie, le temps d'une oeuvre particulièrement originale qui a introduit, dans la pratique de l'histoire contemporaine, des ruptures et des novations libératrices; une autre manière de voir et de sentir; un autre imaginaire. J'en ai été le témoin ébloui et, à maintes reprises, une collaboratrice amicale. Qu'il s'agisse de l'Histoire de la vie privée (tome IV), dont Alain Corbin a écrit près d'un tiers-"Le secret de l'individu"-,sans doute la partie la plus brillante, des recherches sur un dix-neuvième siècle dont nous partageons l'attrait, des thèses d'étudiants, ou encore de l'histoire des femmes, nos rencontres ont été fréquentes, nos échanges constants, et notre complicité de plus en plus vive.
15308. La Politique Comme "Culture Sensible": Alain Corbin face à l'histoire politique
- Author:
- Christophe Prochasson
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Qui n'aurait de l'oeuvre d'Alain Corbin qu'une connaissance superficielle pourrait soutenir que l'étude de la politique n'y trouve guère sa place. L'historien ne s'est-il pas d'abord tourné vers l'examen attentif des structures profondes, du mental qui organise la vie de tous les jours, commande ses dérives, gouverne les sentiments et les passions qui s'y déploient? Quoi de plus contraire donc à la politique telle que ses représentations les plus communes nous la donnent aujourd'hui à voir: une activité rationnelle, où la cognition semble l'emporter sur l'émotion, lieu de la résolution technique des problèmes quotidiens, espace d'affrontements idéologiques? On pourra sans mal juger naïve cette imagerie. Elle n'en est pas moins courante. Et ce n'est rien dire qu'Alain Corbin n'y cède point! Traite-t- il pour autant la politique avec désinvolture? C'est le contraire que je souhaiterais mettre en évidence. Il y a d'ailleurs belle lurette que les lecteurs les plus attentifs de Corbin savent de quoi il retourne: il arriva même à un recenseur des Filles de noce 1 de présenter l'ouvrage comme le plus grandlivre d'histoire politique de l'année.
15309. Torpor And Rage: From Haute-Frêne to Hautefaye
- Author:
- Arthur Goldhammer
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Alain Corbin is a historian of astonishing range.1 Two of his works, The Life of an Unknown and The Village of Cannibals, exemplify the breadth of his historical vision. The latter reconstructs a murder that takes place in the village of Hautefaye in 1870, while the former recovers the lost world of a forgotten man who, as it happens, died within a few years of that event. The Village is thus a study of what Corbin calls, in the preface to The Life, "a fortuitous event" that casts "a brief and lurid light on the myriads of the disappeared." But such events were, as Corbin reminds us, "exceptional, products of a paroxysm offering momentary access to an underlying reality without telling us much about the torpor of ordinary existences." The torpor of ordinary existences: the phrase is striking, and it is not only an apt description of the life of Louis-François Pinagot but also an important clue to what Corbin believed was missing from the reigning schools of French historiography.
15310. Une "Histoire Au Second Degré": Le style d'Alain Corbin
- Author:
- Michel Beaujour
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- L'historiographie pratiquée par Alain Corbin implique, comme condition de possibilité, l'existence d'une archive d'observations "sociologiques" contemporaines des modes de vie que l'historien évoque, à son tour, dans une perspective épistémologique et idéologique propre à la fin du vingtième siècle. Il faut qu'un discours de type (pré) ethnographique, sociologique, géographique, hygiénique, médical, etc., soit constitué dès le dix-huitième et le dixneuvième siècle pour que Corbin ait la possibilité de pratiquer aujourd'hui ce qu'il appelle selon les contextes une "histoire culturelle" , une "histoire des mentalités" ou bien une "psychohistoire", etc.
15311. L'impossible Présence De L'historien
- Author:
- Stéphane Gerson
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Parti "sur les traces d'un inconnu" au dix-neuvième siècle, Le Monde retrouvé de Louis- François Pinagot marque, non pas un tournant, mais une étape significative dans l'oeuvre d'Alain Corbin. Ce livre détonne dans l'historiographie contemporaine, interpellant ses lecteurs dans sa conception et dans sa rhétorique. Il le fait dès ses premières pages, surtout dans ses premières pages: un "prélude" singulier, mélange de voix, de genres, de caractères typographiques qui appréhende Louis-François Pinagot, l'énigmatique sabotier percheron, dans sa présence et dans son absence. "Louis-François Pinagot a existé", lance Corbin en ouverture, avant de présenter l'ouvrage, un peu plus loin, comme une "méditation sur la disparition". Le prélude renvoie à Pinagot, mais aussi à un auteur qui se découvre dans ce même espace liminal entre absence et présence. On trouve d'une part l'historien qui intervient comme sujet (le "je") et comme personne (avec sa biographie, ses convictions et incertitudes, ses émotions ), l'historien qui adopte de multiples figures et acquiert, au sein d'une relation personnelle avec cet individu, une visibilité qu'il n'avait pas dans les écrits antérieurs de Corbin; d'autre part, l'historien qui, loin de se complaire dans cette visibilité, tente de la cantonner, s'estompant, se dérobant, rechignant à se mettre en avant.
15312. Intervention Au Colloque De New York University
- Author:
- Alain Corbin
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Vous admettrez aisément que je n'ai pas manqué d'éprouver, au cours de ces deux journées, un sentiment mêlé de surprise et d'étrangeté. Étant loin d'estimer mon travail digne d'une telle attention, je suis très touché du regard porté sur lui par l'ensemble des participants à cette réunion. Cela dit, Priscilla Ferguson nous a proposé une explication de l'intérêt paradoxal suscité par mes travaux: la Frenchness de mes French Stories ferait que mes livres plaisent aux lecteurs anglo-saxons, ou les agacent. Je veux dire aussi ma reconnaissance. L'identité de chacun de nous se forge sous le regard de l'autre. Aussi est- il évident que, de ces deux jours, je vais sortir transformé. Vous m'avez éclairé sur moi- même; à cela près que je discerne dans vos propos un trop-plein d'indulgence. Les contempteurs ne sont pas ici, si ce n'est par l'écho de quelques recensions ironiques.
- Political Geography:
- New York
15313. The Relationship Between France And The United States: Reflections for an American Audience
- Author:
- Lionel Jospin
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Since the relationship between France and the United States is going through a difficult period, we must find opportunities to talk things over. It is true that it is not always easy to broach the subject of this relationship between the US and France in a balanced and reasonable way. We idealize its past and blacken its present. On the one hand, invoking the illustrious names of such figures as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Pierre- Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, or the marquis de la Fayette romanticizes the actually very complicated political and diplomatic process that brought France to America's aid during the War of Independence. Neither the monarchical France of the Ancien Régime, nor that of the revolutionary Terror that led up to the Caesar-state of Bonaparte could have been in perfect symbiosis with the young American democratic republic, despite our shared Enlightenment references.
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, and France
15314. Review Article: Making A Colonial Culture? Empire and the French Public, 1880-1940
- Author:
- Edward Berenson
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Did ordinary citizens support empire? Did a broad public respond to the plethora of colonialist propaganda, ideas, and images that circulated during the era of high imperialism (1880-1940)? Historians of French colonialism have joined their British counterparts in a renewed scholarly debate over public attitudes toward overseas expansion. Although a few historians have maintained that empire enjoyed wides pread support, until recently the consensus in both the French and British literature has been that imperialism interested elite groups far more than average citizens. Working people, according to most scholars, have been influenced least of all.
- Topic:
- Culture
15315. From Ravensbrück to Algiers and Noisy-le-Grand: Dialogues with Deportation
- Author:
- Donald Reid
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Germaine Tillion and Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz drew on their experiences as deported resisters at the Ravensbrück concentration camp to put forth narratives of deportation with compelling sets of imperatives for survivors and their audiences: Tillion placed the experience of camp prisoners in a continuum of clochardisation preceded by slavery and colonialism, enterprises in which France played a larger role than Germany, while de Gaulle Anthonioz extended the camp experience past 1945 to the creation and maintenance of an underclass in advanced capitalist societies like France. Reflection on their years at Ravensbrück encouraged Tillion and de Gaulle Anthonioz to look upon those left outside of prosperous postwar France - clochards in Algeria and the desperately poor in France - as being of the world they had lived in in the camps. This encouraged them to revisit their experience as providing understanding and insights for the survival and resistance of these disinherited.
- Political Geography:
- France, Germany, and Algeria
15316. Elections: Explaining the Timing of the French Socialist Party's Gender-Based Quota
- Author:
- Katherine A. R. Opello
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- This study uses the case of the French Socialists to show that electoral incentives best explain the timing of party officials' quota decisions. It would be easy to assume that the ideological predispositions of party officials and the agendas of women's organizations and party feminists would be determinant here, but there are two main reasons why this is not the case. First, non-electoral explanations, like ideology, fail to consider the constraints imposed on actors by the electoral system. If political actors try to ensure that they win an electoral game defined by the existing electoral system, it seems unlikely that non-electoral concerns would outweigh strategic or electoral ones. Second, evidence suggests that PS officials responded to feminists' requests for gender quotas only when they had electoral incentives to do so. Specifically, women's organizations' demands for quotas were met when these organizations posed an electoral threat, and PS feminists' quota proposals succeeded when party officials had electoral incentives to co-opt them.
15317. L'Autonomie corse face à l'individualisme de la République
- Author:
- Elisabeth Vallet
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Les évolutions amenées par la révision constitutionnelle du 28 mars 2003 -la plus importante depuis 1958 - présentent le risque de transformer un État nation en un État groupusculaire et consacrent le principe d'une décentralisation "dissymétrique". Dans ce contexte, transposer à la Corse par exemple le raisonnement qui a conduit à la reconnaissance en 1998 de l'existence du peuple kanak pourrait durablement fragiliser les fondations de l'État. Pour autant, les dispositions constitutionnelles présentent une élasticité qui permet de "supporter des interprétations très diverses". Elles offrent notamment la possibilité d'un glissement vers la forme hybride de l'État autonomique. Si cette mutation contrevient à la perception traditionnelle de l'unité étatique, elle met un terme aux pragmatismes de circonstance et au traitement conjoncturel des revendications régionales.
15318. Mixité sociale et habitat des familles immigrées: Perspective historique
- Author:
- Catherine Grémion
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- Ainsi, la conjonction de trois facteurs-les mouvements de mobilité spatiale et résidentielle chez les uns, la progression des mesures en faveur du droit à la vie familiale et la fin de l'emploi faiblement qualifié chez les autres-a-t-elle contribué à générer une situation nouvelle et créé un phénomène spécifique, les "quartiers en difficulté". La tendance à l'exit 21 des plus qualifiés de ces habitants, qui quittent ces lieux pour des zones plus favorisées, se voit contre-balancée par un attachement réel d'une forte proportion de ses membres à un mode de vie spécifique.
15319. What Do the French Think of Us? The Deteriorating Image of the United States, 2000-2004
- Author:
- Richard Kuisel
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- What do the French think of Americans and the United States? This is a grand question whose answer reveals a crucial dimension of the current tension in Franco-American relations. It is also a question that can be answered reasonably well. Transatlantic troubles have stirred interest in ascertaining the state of public opinion. The result is an extraordinary number of comprehensive surveys conducted over the last five years. The US Department of State, for example, has systematically monitored French attitudes. So have many French and American polling agencies like SOFRES, CSA, and the Pew Center. Foundations like the French-American Foundation and the German Marshall Fund of the US have also sponsored research. Between fifteen and twenty thousand Frenchmen and women have recorded their opinion in such surveys. This evidence provides a unique opportunity for research into how the man- or woman-in-the-street views the United States.
- Topic:
- International Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, and France
15320. The Iraq Crisis and France: Heaven-Sent Opportunity or Problem from Hell?
- Author:
- Charles Cogan
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- The level of damage from the March 2003 imbroglio in the UN Security Council remains to be thoroughly assessed, particularly in view of the continuing violence in Iraq. In a sense, this crisis was a heaven-sent opportunity for France to stand for a principle and at the same time maintain its reputation of being able to face up to the United States, in this case threatening the use of a powerful diplomatic tool at its disposal, the veto in the UN Security Council. The crisis that landed in the Security Council represented a unique way for France to assert its "difference" from the United States, which it had been seeking to do, with varying degrees of success, since de Gaulle's time. The French could hardly be expected to pass up such an opportunity, especially since, as they saw it, the issue was crystal clear from the point of view of logic: The United States had failed to make the case for invading Iraq that had any contemporaneity to it-Resolution 687 was twelve years old. The question of "Why now?" had not been satisfactorily answered.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, and France
15321. La Commission Stasi vue par un de ses membres
- Author:
- Jean Baubérot
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- République, appelée plus généralement "Commission Stasi," du nom de son président, a joué un rôle central dans l'adoption de la loi du 15 mars 2004 interdisant le port "ostensible" de signes religieux à l'école publique. Pourtant, dans le rapport qu'elle a remis au président de la République le 11 décembre 2003, la question des "signes religieux" à l'école n'occupe qu'environ huit pages sur les 151 qui constituent le rapport. Ce rapport propose vingt-six mesures, et seule celle sur les signes religieux a été adoptée par les députés et les sénateurs pour avoir force de loi. La commission a-t-elle été "trahie"? Certains de ses membres l'affirment. Pour ma part, je ne le pense pas. Il est vrai que je n'ai pas voté cette proposition d'interdiction, et j'ai été moins surpris que mes collègues par la tournure des événements. Par ailleurs, étant à la fois historien et sociologue, j'ai tenté-au fur et à mesure du déroulement des travaux de la commission-de comprendre ce qui se passait et dans quel contexte cela advenait. C'est de cela dont je voudrais rendre compte.
15322. Lifting the Veil
- Author:
- Patrick Weil
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- On July 3, 2003, President Jacques Chirac set up an independent commission to study the implementation of the principle of laïcité [secularism] in the French Republic. I was a member of that commission, chosen most likely for my expertise in the field of immigration policy and nationality law and as a former member of the High Advisory Council on Integration. I arrived with the idea that a law was probably unnecessary for resolving the problems. Yet, after four months of public hearings involving representatives of all religious confessions, political parties, unions, NGOs, and above all actors on the ground-principals, teachers, parents, students, directors of hospitals and jails, company managers - I endorsed a report recommending twenty - five different measures, including the ban on conspicuous religious symbols in public schools. In this essay I would like to explain why.
- Topic:
- Law
15323. European Integration in the Light of the International Relations Theories
- Author:
- Sinem Akgül Açikmese
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- This article contends that most of the intellectual work on European integration reflect major dichotomies between the theories of International Relations. During the first few decades of the integration process, the core European integration debate involved idealism-oriented neo-functionalists and realism-oriented intergovernmentalist approaches; whereas the current scholarship on European integration mirrors the main division that has emerged within the discipline of International Relations since 1980's between rationalists regarding the integration process as the products conscious member states' behaviour and constructivists focusing on policy-formation based on norms and common values. The main purpose of this article is to analyse the evolution of European integration within the context of the traditional and contemporary debates of International Relations. Since the sui generis nature of the integration process in the shape of the European Union constitutes a barrier to theorizing efforts in general terms, this article argues that each theory can only explain some pieces of the integration puzzle.
- Topic:
- Government and Political Theory
- Political Geography:
- Europe
15324. The Realist Theory of the International Relations: Origin, Scope, Critique
- Author:
- Mustafa Aydin
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- Realist theory occupies a special place in the theoretical development of International Relations discipline. As the dominant theory of the discipline from mid-1930s up until mid-1980s, realism has often been dubbed as the theory of the International Relations because of its overwhelming influence on IR academia. In addition to controversial concepts it brought into IR discussions, realism has served the discipline by pioneering the study of international developments through conceptual analysis instead of traditional methods based on historical, legal, and philosophical studies. Although its various fundamental aspects (such as its conservative approach to world politics, emphasis on state and power, failure to define national interest convincingly, deterministic approach to international politics) have been criticized over the years from many perspectives, realist tradition has re-emerged time and again as the leading conceptual explanation of the discipline. Finally, despite all its exposed weaknesses, the realist theory of IR, with its clear and simple explanations, is still the most widely used approach in the area.
- Topic:
- International Relations, International Political Economy, and Political Economy
15325. "East" and "West" from the Sociology of Knowledge Perspective
- Author:
- Sennur Özdemir
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- This study elaborates and (re)conceptualizes the 'east' and the 'west', representing the two distinct historical and 'socio-economic whole from a 'sociology of knowledge' dimension. The most important consequence of the defining characteristics of 'the west' (as being hierarchical, class-based and exclusive), lies in its class-based and partial nature resulting in an identification of knowledge with power. This is also responsible for the 'metaphysical nature' of the 'western' knowledge and science: 'Dualistic-exclusive and polaristic' character of 'western habitus' creating a large gap between 'theory and practice' can also be understood in this context. All these together explain the reasons for not being capable of 'universal and representative' of modern knowledge and science. As a result, this study projects that as 'eastern characteristics' has increasingly become more hegemonical on global level, a transition from cyclically reproducing 'exclusive and contradictory' relational and methodological 'western' 'style' to comprehensive new paradigmatic methodologies and syntheses will be expected.
- Topic:
- Islam, Religion, and Political Theory
15326. Are Events in Iraq after the Occupation an Ordinary Security Problem?
- Author:
- Nihat Ali Özcan
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- The US carried out the Iraqi occupation quickly, easily and with few casualties. It put an end to the security bureaucracy in the name of building new Iraq after the war. After a short while it faced unexpected resistance in the regions where Sunnite Arabs live. Insurgents have proved by their choice of targets and use of methods that they have a long-term and systematical resistance strategy. The insurgents could organize quickly because of effective tribal order, power of old security bureaucracy which kept its integrity after the war and refusal of foreign occupation. Insurgents want to control the public in order to get rid of weakness. Therefore, the keypoint of contention is who will control the public. While insurgents commonly use "terror" and "violence", occupiers try on the one hand to make insurgents ineffective, on the other, to win the "heart and brain" of the public. Security questions may spread to whole country in Iraq where there are ethnic and religious struggles. Iraqi Shiites may be involved in the conflict. Kurdish claims on Kirkuk may bring an ethnic conflict to the agenda. If the US administration can't provide stability in Iraq as soon as possible, Iraq may drift into a civil war.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Terrorism, and War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Arabia, and Kirkuk
15327. Future of the European Union: Problems of Legitimacy, Constitutionalisation, and the Ultimate Goal of European Integration
- Author:
- Sanem Baykal
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- One of the pivotal issues the European Union is trying to solve right now is the link between identity, legitimacy and political order in Europe. This study argues that the Union will have to strike a balance between democracy and efficiency while reshaping its institutional structure, as it can only secure the allegiances of European peoples if it is deemed to be useful and successful by its citizens, while accomplishments would only be regarded as satisfactory when the process is legitimate and democratic. This study illustrates that the Draft Constitution adopts the option of maintaining the essence of the status quo as regards the institutional structure. The democratic and political deficits of the Union need to be bridged by innovative approaches which are compatible with the unique qualities of the Community method. The European Union constitutes a novel type of polity which necessitates original approaches to issues such as democracy, legitimacy and politics.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe
15328. North Korea's Nuclear Ambition: Causes and Consequences
- Author:
- Mustafa Kibaroglu
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- Because of the inferiority complex first against Japan, then against the United States, the North Korean leadership embarked upon nuclear weapons development program from the inception of their state. Due to the tangible and comprehensive support provided by the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China in the field of nuclear science and technology, North Korea has seemingly passed a significant threshold on the way to become a de facto nuclear weapons state. As of 2004, it is widely believed that North Korea has already extracted enough plutonium for a couple of nuclear warheads. Combined with its 1,350 kilometer-range ballistic missile capability, North Korea stands as one of the most significant threats to regional and global security and stability. In the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks on the United States, Russia and China have greatly reduced their support to North Korea and intensified their efforts to mend the differences between that country and the US, just like Japan and South Korea did for long, with a view to not to pave the way to the escalation of a crisis on the Korean Peninsula.
- Topic:
- Nuclear Weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, Asia, South Korea, North Korea, Soviet Union, and Korean Peninsula
15329. Future of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and China
- Author:
- Selçuk Çolakoglu
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- Sino-Russian bilateral relations have steadily developed during the 1990s. With the help of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which was established in 1996, China and Russia had the chance to balance the hegemony of the US in the world and to prevent the interfering of other great powers to central Eurasian issues. Central Asian countries, which have been historically and strategically squeezed between Russia and China, have also taken part in the SCO. With the US military operation of Afghanistan after September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, the new era has started in Central Asia and the SCO has been affected negatively within this process. The attitude of Russia and China is very important for the future of the SCO as an organization. The SCO will be able to protect its entity and continue to develop, as long as the cooperation between China and Russia carries on depending on mutual interests.
- Topic:
- Regional Cooperation and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, Central Asia, and Asia
15330. Hierarchy of Norms in the Primer Law during the European Contitutionalisation Process
- Author:
- A. Füsun Arsava
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- The discussion over the proposed derogations regarding the establishment of the United Cyprus Republic on the basis of Annan Plan and its EU membership has been the main motive in writing this paper. Since the acceptance of these derogations as secondary law stipulations could have resulted in a risk of annulment on the basis of their being in breach of primary EU law, some attention was paid to the possibility of accepting them as part of the accession agreement, thus rendering onto them primary law status. In connection with these discussions, this paper discusses the validity of derogations as primary law rules vis-à-vis founding treaties of the Union within the context of hierarchy of different norms in the EU legal system.
- Topic:
- Law
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Cyprus
15331. A Structural Theory of Imperialism
- Author:
- Johan Galtung
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- Galtung develops a theory of imperialism to account for inequality within and between nations and the resistance of this inequality to change. He distinguishes between Centre and Periphery and argues that those in power in the former have a community of interest with those in power in the latter. The result is a relationship which operates at the expense of the majority of the people in the Peripheral countries, but which is largely in the interest of the majority of the people in Centre countries. Two mechanisms of imperialism are defined. One is the pattern of vertical interaction whereby the dominating nation enriches itself as a result of the interaction process. The second mechanism is the feudal interaction structure whereby the dominated nations in the periphery are kept apart.
- Topic:
- Imperialism and Political Theory
15332. Classical Geopolitical Theories in International Relations and Their Contemporary Interpretations
- Author:
- Ismail Hakki Iscan
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- Geopolitics, which is the science of politics on geography, has throughout the history focused on geographical areas to be controlled or on geographical reasons for expansion of states. Those who aim to rule the world by controlling certain geographical areas have especially searched for ways of controlling Eurasia. In the core of geopolitical approaches that this paper deals with, is the aim of controlling the World through control of Eurasia first.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Energy Policy, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eurasia, and Asia
15333. Reform of the EC Competition Law and Analysis of the Modifications Achieved
- Author:
- Ercüment Tezcan
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- The modernization of the application of the competition law of the European Community (EC) was carried out by the Council Regulation 1/2003 of December 16, 2002. This Regulation has repealed the regulation 17/62 of 16 February 1962 in force for more than 40 years. The Regulation 1/2003 is characterized by the abrogation of the notification and the preliminary authorization and its decentralization attempt for the application of the competition law of the EC. The national authorities and jurisdictions will be qualified from now on in this field by legal exception. Besides various details, the most important aspect of the new regulation is its gradual decentralization of the EC competition law, which should be considered within a broader framework of the reforms on the EC competition law, undertaken in the second half of 1990's.
- Topic:
- Government, Markets, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Europe
15334. Political Conditionality of Economic Interactions in the Middle East; Turkey's Relations with Iran, Iraq, and Syria
- Author:
- Mustafa Aydin and Damla Aras
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- The political logic (i.e., political perceptions of the ruling elite in a given country and nature of the political relations with other countries) determines economic activity, not the other way around, among the proto-capitalist states of the Middle East. As the political ties has primacy in the region in determining the course of economic relations, even market oriented democratic (or quasi-democratic) countries have to accept the prominence of political-strategic relations when dealing with such states. This paper will examine the interrelated fluctuation of trade and political tensions between Turkey and its immediate Middle Eastern neighbours - Iran, Iraq, and Syria. It will highlight the political determinants of the relationship between these countries; will discuss the role of the US as the independent variable; and will assess the possible effects of the emergence of Justice and Development Party government in Turkey on country's political and economic relations with its Middle Eastern neighbours.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Economics, and International Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Europe, Iran, Turkey, Middle East, and Syria
15335. Foreign Policy of Islamic Republic of Iran towards Central Asia and Azerbaijan
- Author:
- Atay Akdevelioglu
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- While Iran did not have a clearly deliniated policy towards Central Aisa (and Azerbaijan) during the Soviet period and conducted its relations through Moscow, it tried to develop constructive engagement with the regional states since the collapse of the Soviet Union. At the same time, Iran clearly came to accept the dominant postion of Russia in the region. Although it avoided involvement in internal affairs of the regional countries, Iran's political relations with them have not develop into a satisfactory level. In this, American discouragement of the regional countries to enter close relations with Iran, their identification of political Islam as domestic threat and Iran as its external hub, as well as Iran's own economic and technological weaknesses played important roles. Despite this political weaknesses and US pressures, however, Iran, with its suitable geographic location and acceptance of trampa with the energy reach countries, has emerged as an importan regional economic partner and alternative transit route.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Islam
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iran, Central Asia, Asia, and Azerbaijan
15336. The Just War Concept: From Antiquity to Present
- Author:
- Fulya A. Ereker
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- When taken as an aspect of "thinking on war", the concept of "just war" can be defined to include the ideas and practices that demonstrate when it could be justifiable to conduct a "war" and that aim at limiting the use of force even when it is deemed a just war. The concept of just war is a product of various cultural sources that have developed for centuries especially in the Western world. This study examines the historical development of the concept of "just war" and attempts to demonstrate the place that the tradition reached today. With this purpose in mind, the study, first of all, tries to explain the terms of "jus ad bellum" and "jus in bello" that together draw the conceptual framework of the theory of war and at the same time constitute the two different dimensions of the theory. Historical development of the concept is examined in sequential phrases that correspond to philosophical contributions to the tradition. The classification is based on the historical development of the West, because the concept itself is an element of the Western culture and tradition.
- Topic:
- Development, War, and Culture
15337. A Structural Theory of Imperialism - Part II
- Author:
- Johan Galtung
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- Galtung develops a theory of imperialism to account for inequality within and between nations and the resistance of this inequality to change. He distinguishes between Centre and Periphery and argues that those in power in the former have a community of interest with those in power in the latter. The result is a relationship which operates at the expense of the majority of the people in the Peripheral countries, but which is largely in the interest of the majority of the people in Centre countries. Two mechanisms of imperialism are defined. One is the pattern of vertical interaction whereby the dominating nation enriches itself as a result of the interaction process. The second mechanism is the feudal interaction structure whereby the dominated nations in the periphery are kept apart.
- Topic:
- Imperialism and Political Theory
15338. Chaos in Internationality, A Civilizational Evolution and an Islamic (F)actor: The Case of MÜSİAD in Turkey
- Author:
- Sennur Özdemir
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- A radical crisis in capitalist system has been determined in the first part of the study, in relation with the present chaotic international atmosphere, resulting in a civilisational turn (from the West to the East). The dominant role attributed to the (Islamic) East in this process will be argued in the second section. Lastly, this argument will be discussed around the MÜSİAD in Turkey, as an organisation (with an Islamic reputation) in recently declared 'model country' for the Islamic Middle East. The MÜSİAD has stamped on the agenda of 1990's in many respects with its multi-functional and multilateral positioning determined by the kinds of activities intersecting economic and socio-cultural (indirectly political as well) fields. This organisation is representative in reflecting Turkey's overall transformation in its multidimensionality (from a specific form of state capitalism to a specific form of market capitalism).
- Topic:
- Economics, Islam, and Religion
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Middle East
15339. Globalization and International Relations Theory
- Author:
- Gökhan Koçer
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- Globalization, frequently attributed to the Post-Cold War era, ignites discussions in different disciplines of social sciences. It also affects the IR theory. In the process, while various new paradigms are added to IR discipline, some of the current paradigms have lost their influences on the discipline. Today there is neither a consensus on naming the era in which we live in, nor a general paradigm, capable to explain the dynamics of the era under consideration. Globalization, at the same time, is considered as a joker concept, which can fill the vacuum between international system and international relations paradigm. Although globalization is not accepted as a system by itself, it is quite clear that it contains certain elements that contribute to the construction of a new international system. On the other hand, it can also be said that globalization -which is historically originated from liberalism- is a new version of realism and as such constitute a theory of IR.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Cold War, and Globalization
15340. US Policies toward Central Asia and Effects of the September 11
- Author:
- Çagri Erhan
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- As is had been the case during the Cold War, Central Asian region was one of the priorities in the US foreign policy in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Howevwr, this gegan to change in the second half of the 1990s as the US became aware of its vital interests in the region. This led to a situıation in which the place accorded to Central Asia in the American national security strategies began to increase. Following September 11 attacks the US started cooperating with the Central Asian republics closely. US troops began to enter the region under the rhetoric of "fight against terrorism" since the end of 2001. Thus, US administration began its military opening toward the region as it had been seeking ways to gain influence in the region since the second half of the 1900s. Wahington realized its aim guickly due to the "temporary approval" of Russia and willingness of the regional countries to cooperate.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, America, Central Asia, Asia, and Soviet Union
15341. Resolution of The International Court of Juctice Concerning the Wall Constructed by Israel
- Author:
- Erdem Denk
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- This study the advisory opinion given by the ICJ regarding the wall being constructed by Israel in the occupied territories. The Court has found that the wall, which is, according to Israel, being constructed due to security consideraions regard,ng terrorist attacks of various Palestinian gropus, is contarry to various principles and rules of international law. The basic justification of the decision is the fact that the wall is being constructed on areas which have the status of "occupied territories". The Court, which wasted the opportunity to assess the relationship between law and the struggle against terrorism, has also failed to deal sufficiently with the merits of the case althought it dwelled on every objection of Israel regarding procedural matters. Although it is a quite apt judgement,the rather general and abstract conclıisons regarding the mertis of the case gave those who criticised the judgement some space to base thier arguments. The Court should have given much more importance to its legal reasonnig regarding concrete breaches of Israel.
- Topic:
- International Law
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Israel, and Palestine
15342. Security Society Revisited: From the Interdependece of Similarities to the Co-habitation of Differences
- Author:
- Beril Dedeoglu
- Publication Date:
- 12-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- Karl Deutsch's "security community" approach which defends that development of mutual relations between societies rather than states will be beneficial, suggests that the increase of communication and displacement possibilities between social sectors allowing the elaboration of common values. largely contributed to this comprehension. This approach insists that establishment of mutual confidence between similar societies is important to assure peace. This kind of cooperation has also contributed to the formation of an opponent, enemy or "the other". In the actual complex interdependence system, those who are defined as the others are threatening the security of societies. Deutsch's approach which offers several important clues regarding the assurence of confidence between societies, when applied to the relationship between different societies rather than similar ones, could help reestablishing security societies.
- Topic:
- Security and Civil Society
15343. Immanuel Wallerstein: Reapproaching Social Sciences
- Author:
- Elçin Aktoprak
- Publication Date:
- 12-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- Immanuel Wallerstein is one of the distinguished social scientists differentiating our general way of understanding and perceiving the world by developing the thesis that is based on world-system analysis. The aim of this article is limited to a short explanation of his approach. In this context, in the first chapter Wallerstein's world-system analysis and social sciences approach will be dealt with and in the second chapter modern world-system will be examined. Wallerstein considers modern world-system as a capitalist world-economy. Hence, Wallerstein's perception on capitalism and geoculture and his opinions on class, race, national and ethnic identity will be held in the second chapter.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Economics, and Globalization
15344. Power and Systemic Dependence from Liberalism to Neoliberalism
- Author:
- Yücel Bozdaglioglu and Çinar Özen
- Publication Date:
- 12-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- This paper analyzes and compares the concept of power as defined both in liberalism/neolibaeralism and realism. As a result of this analysis, it is presented that there is not a big difference between the definitions of liberal/neoliberal and realist approaches in terms of the goals and both schools converge in that aspect. While realism emphasizes the importance of military power, liberalism/neoliberalism points out the importance of power arising from economic relations. Under this analytical framework, a definition of systemic power is presented. Systemic power is not the capacity of a state to have a direct influence on others' behaviors but power that arises from a state's ability to change the political and economic structure of the system. In this context, systemic power is crucial in creating and maintaining hegemony.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy and Political Theory
15345. Globalization, Western Modernization and Terrorism: Political Islam Against the West
- Author:
- Rasim Özgür Dönmez
- Publication Date:
- 12-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- The aim of the article is to evaluate the relationship between globalization, modernity and violence in the context of the antagonistic relationship between political Islam and the West. To put it more succinctly, this study seeks an answer for the question "why and how do globalization and modernity breed global political violence?" It tries to answer this question by means of evaluating the formation, the development and the transformation process of political Islam by considering and examining the role of the West, modernity and the changing political, economic and psychological conditions stemming from globalization. In this framework, this study consists of two sections. The first section evaluates the effects of globalization and modernity on the formation of political violence. The second section explains and examines the relationship between globalization, modernity, violence and political Islam.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Globalization, Islam, and Terrorism
15346. US-Japan Security Treaties: Formation, Evolution and Consequences
- Author:
- Hakan Gönen
- Publication Date:
- 12-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- This study examines the formation, evolution and consequences of the US-Japan post-war security relations. Since the end of World War II, the close US-Japan security relationship has benefited both nations. Japan relies on the US for protection from outside attacks by either conventional or nuclear forces. In turn, under the terms of the security treaty, Tokyo lends military bases on Japanese soil to American forces. In this context, Japan has been able to concentrate on rebuilding its economy with relatively little concern for its own defense. But both Tokyo and Washington have begun to reassess their security requirements in view of changing global threats in the post-cold war era.
- Topic:
- Security and Cold War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, and America
15347. The Unique Evolution of the State in the Turkic Republics of the Caspian Sea
- Author:
- Mert Bilgin
- Publication Date:
- 12-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- Post-Soviet countries are either passing through a transition period, or have already completed it, as an outcome of the neoliberal pressures of international actors. The attempts have focused on reconstruction of the state because of its being conceived as an impediment in front of political and economic liberalization. The states of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan resemble other transition economies in the sense that they share a similar Soviet legacy. Nevertheless, they deviate from the rest by the virtue of natural resources which endow the state the ability to re-produce itself. The state of Azerbaijan has liberated itself from the society by using the natural resource rents, which in turn outmode taxation as an instrument of revenue. Despite Kazakhstan's discernible progress in launching economic reforms, the state has politically kept its solid structure. The Kazakh state has preferred to allocate the natural gas revenues for economic transformation with no political liberalization. Under an autocratic regime, the Turkmen state has strengthened its positioning vis-à-vis the society with no economic and political transformation.
- Topic:
- Communism, Development, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan
15348. Table of Contents
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
- Institution:
- Macalester College
- Abstract:
- No abstract is available.
15349. Foreword
- Author:
- Ahmed I. Samatar and Lidwien Kapteijns
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
- Institution:
- Macalester College
- Abstract:
- This issue of Bildhaan is dedicated to some of the commissioned proceedingsof an international conference, “Somalis in America: TheChallenges of Adaptation,” which was held at Macalester College, July15–17, 2004.
- Political Geography:
- America and Somalia
15350. Beginning Again: From Refugee to Citizen
- Author:
- Ahmed I Samatar
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
- Institution:
- Macalester College
- Abstract:
- A key feature of this phase of globalization is a speedy catalyzation of a heretofore unseen degree of human mobility and cultural interpenetration. Unlike the earlier epochs in the making of the modern world (16th through the early 20th-century), when Europeans were the main groups leaving their homelands to find better lives in other parts of the word, the contemporary era is witness to a dramatic reversal movement. Many in Africa, Central and South America, and Asia have come or are earnestly planning to lift their heels for the “old” West (even to Southern and Eastern Europe) and “neo-Europe” (e.g., the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand). The phenomenal arrival of tens of thousands of Somalis in the United States within the last two decades (first as a trickle and then in larger numbers since the 1990s) is to a great extent part of this trend. It is a happening that is, in one sense, part of an old story, as President Roosevelt correctly asserted, and a continuous aspect in the quintessential making of these United States, marked by the settlement of people from almost every region of the world. As a matter of fact, since the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965 and the Refugee Act of 1980, more than twenty million legal immigrants have entered the U.S. A dramatic demographic consequence of these flows of people, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, is this: At present, those Americans who are foreign-born and their children compose around one-fifth of the American population. If the Somali presence in America is one slice of the latest iteration, the potential for a decent, let alone notable success—in both material and mental terms—depends on how, individually and collectively, they assess the complexities of the new environment and, subsequently, snatch any legitimate turns of chance. To state this point is not to under estimate how difficult circumstances have been, are, or could be. The life histories of others who came before Somalis, including some of European ancestry (e.g., the Irish and southerners from around the Mediterranean),testify to the cruel treatment that might await and the bogushindrances that one must struggle against during the transition.
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand