Saving the Soul of the Nation: Essentialist Nationalism and Interwar Rural Wales

Rural History ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
WIL GRIFFITH
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Industrial System ◽  
Land System ◽  
Depressed State ◽  
Agricultural Community ◽  
The World ◽  
National Sentiment

AbstractThis article explores how the land and the agricultural community were made out to be central to the assertion of Welsh national identity between the world wars. Political Nationalism came out of a disillusion with Liberal national sentiment. Liberal nationalists had recognised the significance of the land in Wales and made secure a devolved administrative regime for agriculture, the Welsh Council of Agriculture, originally established before 1914. For the political Nationalists, however, this was far too little. They perceived a cultural and economic crisis which might be overcome only through complete self-government. That crisis originated historically in the annexation of Wales to England which had intruded an alien land system and destroyed a natural, patriarchal rural order; which had foisted an alien commercial, industrial system and had led to the Anglicisation of Welsh society. In its depressed state, inter-war Wales was subjected to a new and reactive form of politics, often influenced by European right wing ideas, which was anti-urban, anti-capitalist, anti-English and anti-modern, all of which had wider repercussions for the future of Welsh identity.

The Empire Strikes Back: How Right-Wing Nationalists Tried to Recapture Russian Literature

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 601-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Parthe
Keyword(s):  
Russian Literature ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Thought Process ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
The Way

This article attempts to reconstruct the khod myshleniia (thought process) of the ultra-nationalist, ultra-conservative camp, not just because it is interesting in and of itself but also because of the way that some of their ideas, concerns, and ways of seeing Russia and the world are shared by a growing number of people in the middle of the political spectrum. The extremists' ideas about russifikatsiia may not spread very far, but russkost' is a powerful and attractive concept.

scholarly journals Managing diversity: is Australia bucking the postmulticulturalist trend or on its way to embrace interculturalism?

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maren Klein
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
Unique Type ◽  
Managing Diversity ◽  
The World ◽  
Building Project

At a time when multiculturalism as an approach to managing diversity in society has been declared a failed policy in many western countries, Australia still seems committed to the approach as evidenced in public discourse and government declarations. The concept of interculturalism— promoted as a more appropriate approach to dealing with diversity in other parts of the world such as Europe and Canada—seemingly has no place in the Australian context. However, changes in the understanding of the concept, its application and degrees of commitment to it can also be observed in Australia. Not only has the meaning and execution of multiculturalism changed considerably over the years, there has also been vigorous debate and backlash, embodied in the political arena, by the (re) emergence of parties, and more recently, a variety of groupings with a nationalistic and/or nativist focus. More generally, a hardened attitude in public discourses concerning migration, social cohesion and national identity has developed over the last two decades. In the context of these developments, this article will trace the evolution of the Australian concept of multiculturalism and its concrete application focussing on the changes of the last two decades. A comparison of Australia’s purportedly unique type of multiculturalism and concept(s) of interculturalism to explore whether Australia’s nation-building project is indeed distinct from other countries’ diversity experience, or whether there is a place for interculturalism in Australia in an era of increasing mobility will conclude the article.

International Humanitarian Law and the Israeli Supreme Court

2014 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aharon Barak
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
The Political ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
Israeli Supreme Court ◽  
The Right

In contrast with most other municipal courts in the world, the Israeli Supreme Court routinely decides cases based on international humanitarian law (IHL). Since the Six Day War in 1967, both the state and the Supreme Court have agreed that the Court has jurisdiction to decide humanitarian issues that come before it from territory held under belligerent occupation. The Court has indeed done so in issues ranging from land seizures to targeted killings, ruling on the basis of the relevant IHL. The Court has been criticised for its judgments, both from the right wing of the political spectrum, who see it as interfering with military matters, and from the left, who see it as granting legitimacy to occupation. In this article, I briefly describe the development, both historical and legal, of IHL in the Israeli Supreme Court, the criticism of the way the law is applied by the Court, and finally the importance of the fundamental concepts of human dignity and proportionality to IHL decisions.

scholarly journals Ties of Solidarity and the Political Spectrum: Partisan Cleavages in Reported Solidarity Activity Across Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes M. Kiess ◽  
Hans-Jörg Trenz
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Disabled Persons ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
European Perspective ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
Community Commitment

The strength of solidarity ties among individuals is often discussed in relation to membership within a community of equals. This assumes strong links between reported solidarity actions, political attitudes, and national identity. We ask, first, whether differences in solidarity engagement can be explained by party affiliation: Do adherents of political parties driven by right-identitarian politics and adherents of parties driven by left-redistributive politics differ considerably in terms of reported solidarity action? Second, we investigate whether such differences can be explained by the nationality of the supported groups, and third, we explore whether there is a salience of reported solidarity action and party affiliation across European countries. We examine these questions by looking at cleavages in reported solidarity action in support of three different target groups: unemployed, disabled persons, and refugees. Our findings indicate first of all that partisan affiliation matters: cleavages in solidarity behavior follow traditional ideological patterns. Second, and contrary to the exclusive-communitarian rhetoric that is found in party programs and statements of right-wing populist parties, their adherents are among those supporting both nationals and foreigners least, while adherents of left and radical left parties engage in support toward nationals and non-nationals. Third, from a comparative European perspective, we observe similar patterns of a divide between an inclusive, solidary, and cosmopolitan left and a non-solidary right with low interests in community commitment.

scholarly journals Europe in the World after the Crisis: A Relational Approach

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Pullano
Keyword(s):  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Uneven Development ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
European Studies ◽  
Relational Approach ◽  
The World ◽  
The Eu

The economic crisis that has invested Europe since 2008 and the political crisis that peaked in the hot Greek summer of 2015 exposed the fractures and conflicts within the EU, but also within Europe at large. Arguably, this has led to a repositioning of Europe in the world, which is still ongoing. This reconfiguration of the internal European space happens in connection with the redefinition of the relations that Europe entertains with its outside (Moisio et al. 2013). Also, the crises have shown that ‘Europe’ means different things in different places. In this paper, it is argued that classical European studies need to be rethought accordingly: it is no longer possible (and perhaps never was) to conceive of Europe in hermetic categories, but European space and politics need to be re-conceptualized as heterogeneous and uneven, and this always in connection with the transformations happening beyond the artificial idea of Europe as a defined continent (Manners, 2012). Following the call of Jean and John Comaroff (J. Comaroff & J. L. Comaroff 2012), this paper argues that there is a need to look at transformations in contemporary Europe as a consequence of restructuring happening in other parts of the world. The uneven development characterizing today’s Eurozone may be read as a return of colonial relations or unfettered capitalism to Europe.

Illusion as a Basic Psychic Principle: Winnicott, Freud, Oedipus, and Trump

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Seligman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Psychosocial Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Oedipus Complex ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Healthy Living ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
The World

Illusion can be viewed as a creative engagement with the world, and as a central psychic motivation and capacity, rather than as a form of self-deception. Winnicott and other Middle Group writers have understood integrative, imaginative illusion as an essential part of healthy living and psychosocial development. As such, it emerges and presents itself in a variety of ways, in transaction with the realities that support or degrade it. In its absence, varied difficulties in living ensue. To elaborate and illustrate this conceptualization, Freud’s notion that the oedipus complex is resolved is reconsidered as a creative misreading of Sophocles’ Oedipus trilogy, one based on the plausible illusion of a civilizing psychosocial development that would serve as a protective bastion against his experience of the political chaos and violence of the first decades of twentieth-century European history. Finally, the place of illusion and disillusionment among those most disillusioned by the recent election of Donald Trump in the United States is considered in relation to the recent right-wing populist turn.

Social Memory as Ritual Practice: Commemorating Spirits of the Military Dead at Yasukuni Shinto Shrine

2003 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 443-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Nelson
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Social Memory ◽  
Political Context ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ritual Practice ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
American Perspective ◽  
The World ◽  
The Military ◽  
Over Time

For architects of citizenship and nationhood, there is no shortage of conflicts and wars from which to build modern myths about submerging individual suffering and loss to greater causes. The grief, anger, and despair of individuals can be integrated over time into collectively shared assumptions about the indebtedness of the living to their heroic compatriots and ancestors. To remember these conflicts and those who (depending on the political context) either “lost” or “gave” their lives has been throughout recent history a vital act of citizenship, both “affirming the community at large and asserting its moral character” (Winter 1995, 85). Certainly from an American perspective, national identity remains “inexorably intertwined with the commemoration and memory of past wars” (Piehler 1995, 3). This observation applies even more intensely elsewhere in the world (e.g., Russia, China, France, Japan) where the loss of combatant and civilian life has been far greater.

scholarly journals Globale Krise – globale Streikwelle?

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (177) ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten Bewernitz
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Labor Movement ◽  
World Wide ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Protest ◽  
Direct Influence ◽  
New Social Movements ◽  
The World ◽  
Statistical Problems

The world wide economic crisis since 2007 is followed by a wave of protests, revolts, riots and movements. In many parts of the world strikes, expecially general strikes or political mass strikes, are part of these movements. But is this already an indication for a global strike wave? In a first step, the article describes the various statistical problems that are associated with this question. Beyond the quantitative question it also has to be asked if and how the different strikes and social movements are related to each other. The article differentiates economic strikes, political mass strikes and strikes with direct influence on the political and democratical protests. In conclusion, the article suggests to see a renewed relation between social and political protest claiming the traditions of labor movement and the new social movements since the 1970s that shows a new quality in the actual uprising against the consequences of the crisis.

scholarly journals Narrating the story of a failed national transition: discourses on the Greek crisis, 2010–2014

HISTOREIN ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hara Kouki ◽  
Antonis Liakos
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
The Political ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Greek Crisis ◽  
The World

<p>This article traces the construction of the dominant, promemorandum discourse that has been propagated by the political establishment and mainstream media in Greece interpreting the current crisis as a crisis of the national identity: Greece failed to reform where necessary due to the domination of the traditional political culture that is to be blamed for the failed transition since 1974 to postwar European modernity. This narrative is examined within broader narratives and discourses that have attempted in different periods to conceptualise and prescribe the transition to modernity followed not only by Greece, but by other societies the world over. This brief study enables us to think of this exceptional "failed transition" as a not so exceptional or failed transition, while at the same time to observe how societies in crisis turn to history so as to make sense of their present.</p>

Hungary’s punitive turn: The shift from welfare to workfare

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsuzsanna Vidra
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Social Tensions ◽  
The Right ◽  
New Millennium

The Hungarian post-communist welfare state was created under the neoliberal influence of international organisations while retaining lots of elements of solidarity. The growing social tensions in the mid-2000s due to a second economic crisis in the new millennium led first the left then the right wing governments to shift the post-communist welfare state into a punitive type of workfare system. The article concludes that the political populism of the mid-2000s leading to an undemocratic governance by the 2010s better explains this paradigm shift than e as many authors argue — the neoliberal influence frame.

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