Counter-narrating political ethnocracy: Interrogating Malay–Chinese ethnic relations in Flower in the Pocket and Nasi Lemak 2.0

Asian Cinema ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuan Chee Wah

This article focuses on the analysis of two Sinophone films made by Chinese Malaysian filmmakers, which are Flower in the Pocket (Liew Seng Tat 2007) and Nasi Lemak 2.0 (Namewee/Wee 2011), and discusses how these films engage Malaysian ethnocracy by interrogating the ever-problematic Malay–Chinese relationship. Both filmmakers belong to the new generation of Chinese Malaysians who feel the need to question the political system and long for a more inclusive national identity. Flower in the Pocket depicts the uncomfortable relationship between Malays and Chinese by examining the stories of two families from both ethnic backgrounds while questioning how Malays have taken their privilege position and economic protection for granted. Nasi Lemak 2.0 instead parodies the mainstream Malay-centric ideology by deconstructing the image Malay heroism while satirizing UMNO’s manipulation of ethnic politics.

Author(s):  
A.M. Koskeyeva ◽  

The article discusses the paradoxical policy of the Soviet government in the 80–90s of the twentieth century in relation to the creative intelligentsia. The author also pointed out that the problem of the threat of loss of national identity was acute at various meetings and congresses of the Kazakh creative intelligentsia before perestroika, during the thaw and stagnation. It is known that with the deepening crisis in society and the escalation of social and ethnic tension in 1986, an uprising of Kazakh students in Almaty followed. This December uprising, which shocked the world, proved that a new generation with a high level of national identity, measured by the honor of the people, came to the Kazakh land. The article also analyzes the views and actions of the young generation, especially the Kazakh youth studying in Moscow, who gave a worthy answer to the political system. And also the actions of Mukhtar Shakhanov did not go unnoticed.


Author(s):  
Hesham Mesbah

This chapter explores how national anthems of African and non-African Arab nations reflect a collective national identity. The national anthems of 22 Arab countries were analyzed using the textual thematic analysis to identify the common attributes of national identity in these anthems and the variance in referring to political entities, national symbols, and natural artifacts according to the political system (republic vs. monarchy) in the country. The analysis shows five thematic components of the national identity presented by those anthems, with an emphasis on the themes of religion and local political leaders in the anthems of monarchies. On the other hand, republics base their identity on religion, history, and nation-related natural and national artifacts. The anthems of the republics show a higher level of complexity (thematic richness) and more tendency to use emotionally charged, forceful language, in contrast to the anthems of the monarchies.


Author(s):  
Uradyn E. Bulag

This article invokes a Chinese political concept of ‘sinicization’, aiming to capture the nature of ethnic relations in China historically, and the political fate of ethnic groups in contemporary China. Sinicization has powerful genealogical and governmental dimensions; it is not primarily an ‘acculturation’ process as it is understood generally. Sinicization may not kill people directly, but it murders the non- Chinese sense of genealogical differences and their polities. The discussion concludes that sinicization has made a remarkable success in the PRC more than at any other time in Chinese history. Chinese policies have been directed at destroying the possibility that non-Chinese national identity might have any political meaning, at destroying the minorities' capacity to think and engage in politics independently as sovereign ethnic groups.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 025-032
Author(s):  
Ali Salgiriev ◽  
Vakha Gaziev ◽  
Magomed Soltamuradov ◽  
Sultan Galbatsov

In the Northern Caucasus, political elites traditionally play a key role in managing political processes, prevent and resolve conflicts, counter sociocultural threats, terrorism, and political extremism. The stability of the political system depends on the degree of political elites’ responsibility and their ability to negotiate with the federal political and administrative elite and to relay the interests of society. New threats to the normal functioning of state authorities are currently emerging, indicating the inefficiency of Russia’s policy aimed at preventing information security threats. In recent years, active social strata (mainly young people) have been mobilized with the aim of overthrowing legitimate authorities and objectionable politicians, changing regimes, etc., using modern network technologies, disinformation and fake news. Due to its historical and socio-cultural characteristics, as well as poly-confessional structure, the population of the Northern Caucasus is highly sensitive to territorial issues, as well as issues of religion, culture, ethnic relations, etc. In many respects, information technologies determine the position and power of high-status actors, primarily political elites, within the political system.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-193
Author(s):  
Nouri Gana

This article examines the cultural politics of bastardy in the films of Tunisian filmmaker Nouri Bouzid at a time when questions of national and cultural identity have come to the fore in Tunisia in the wake of the Revolution of Freedom and Dignity. Nouri Bouzid is the doyen of Tunisian cinema. Not only was he involved in every major postcolonial film, whether as a screenwriter, a scriptwriter, or even as an actor, but he single-handedly directed more than half a dozen films, each of which enjoyed wide national and international acclaim. His debut film, Man of Ashes, dramatizes the trauma of child molestation and the collapse of filial relations as well as the emergence of a new generation of men who seek to recast filial and familial relations beyond blood ties and familial limitations. This same cinematic pursuit is further developed in his later films with striking consistency and perseverance. At a time when the postrevolutionary public sphere is saturated with heated debates around Tunisian national identity, propelled by fantasies of purity and virile filiation, Bouzid’s bastard characters serve, the author argues, not only to warp and reclaim the political playing field for revolutionary purposes but also to remind Tunisians of the disturbing legacy of bastardy (instituted by a long history of colonial rape from the Romans to the French) to which they had been and continue to be heirs, and with which they have to reckon. Studying the rhetoric of bastardy in Bouzid’s cinema leaves us in the end with the touching yet unsparing conclusion that for Bouzid there are no Tunisians until they have assumed their bastardy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-381
Author(s):  
Jean A. Berlie

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the just and highly praised Timorese nationalism leading to independence, deal, in particular, with the attitude of the East Timorese and raise questions about their national identity. Design/methodology/approach This paper is largely based on an anthropological and political science research with interviews. Findings East Timor’s nationalism is unique and formerly linked to Liurai chiefs. Political nationalism is discussed in the third part of the paper. Originality/value This research is the first of its kind. East Timor research is mainly centered in the period 1975–1999 of Indonesian occupation. The concepts nationalism, identity and politics are under-researched concepts in East Timor. There the political system is unique.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-144
Author(s):  
Ryszard Żelichowski

The mass influx of immigrants to Europe in 2015 shook the foundations of the political system of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The concept of populism dominated the political discourse related to various concepts of how to solve this problem. After the death of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh, two politicians using harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric and murdered by Islamic fanatics, a new generation of right-wing populist activists appeared on the political scene of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Two of them, Geert Wilders and Thierry Baudet, run their own political parties and are increasingly successful. The Freedom Party of Geert Wilders became the second strongest party in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Forum for Democracy party founded by Thierry Baudet won two seats in the Second Chamber of Parliament in the 2017 election.The author of this article focuses on both these politicians and their party programmes. He argues that the culmination of populism in Europe, which fell between the peak of the 2015 migration crisis and the 2017 parliamentary elections, has changed the attitude of leading politicians to this concept. Populism has been ‘permanently’ appearing in salons. The thesis of ‘good’ populism, proclaimed by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, indicates its inclusion in the arsenal of political means also used by liberals to defend a democratic order.


Modern Italy ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Orsina

The Italian political crisis of 1993–1994 and the new political dynamics to which it gave rise, and which persist today, have strongly shaped both public debate and historiographical reflection on the Italian Republic. This article assesses the impact of the political changes of the post-1994 period (and notably Berlusconi's entry into politics) on the debate over the so-called First Republic, with regard to: Italian national identity in the post-Fascist period; the functioning of the political system, especially in relation to the role of the political parties; anti-Fascism and its internal divisions; communism and anti-communism.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (02) ◽  
pp. 131-140
Author(s):  
Efrén O. Pérez ◽  
Margit Tavits

AbstractWhat makes people take ethnic divisions into account when judging politics? We consider here the possible effect of language. We hypothesize that speaking a minority tongue primes ethnic divisions, leading people to interpret politics more heavily through this prism. In two survey experiments with bilingual adults, we demonstrate that subjects assigned to interview in a minority language are indeed more likely to evaluate politics based on ethnic considerations: they rank ethnic relations as a more important political issue and they are more likely to correctly identify the anti-minority party in their political system. These results suggest that people may think about politics differently depending on the language they use.


1967 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 717-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Parenti

A question that has puzzled students of ethnic politics can be stated as follows: in the face of increasing assimilation why do ethnics continue to vote as ethnics with about the same frequency as in earlier decades? On the basis of his New Haven study, Robert Dahl observes that “… in spite of growing assimilation, ethnic factors continued to make themselves felt with astonishing tenacity.” Nevertheless, he asserts, “the strength of ethnic ties as a factor in local politics surely must recede.” Dahl sets up a “three-stage” model to describe how political assimilation will follow a more general social assimilation. However, one of his co-researchers, Raymond Wolfinger, demonstrates in a recent article in this Review that ethnic voting patterns persist into the second and third generations, and that “at least in New Haven, all the social changes of the 1940's and 1950's do not seem to have reduced the political importance of national origins.” The same observation can be made of religious-ethnic identities, for as Wolfinger notes, citing data from the Elmira study, social mobility in no way diminishes the religious factor as a determinant of voting behavior; in fact, in the case of upper and middle class Catholics and Protestants, religion seems to assume a heightened importance as a voting determinant. Wolfinger marshals evidence to support the arresting proposition that, melting pot or not, ethnic voting may be with us for a long time to come, a finding which craves explanation.Part of the reason for the persistence of ethnic voting may rest in the political system itself. Rather than being a purely dependent variable, the political system, i.e., party, precinct workers, candidates, elections, patronage, etc., continues to rely upon ethnic strategies such as those extended to accommodate the claims of newly-arrived ethnic middle-class leadership; as a mediator and mobilizer of minority symbols and interests, the political system must be taken into account.


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