scholarly journals European Capitals of Culture

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Alexandros Sianos

Using English-language newspaper articles retrieved from digital repositories, this article examines the cultural asymmetrical encounter between Western and Eastern Europe after 1989. It argues that due to the rise of the Iron Curtain after 1948 and the post-war progress of the Western European integration project after 1950, the idea of ‘Europe’ was confined to the West until 1989. After 1989, however, the Eastern European nations were free to ‘return to Europe’, and in order to do so they followed the ‘reference model’ of the West. Taking the institution of the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) as a case study, the article demonstrates how both Western and Eastern European cities used the ECOC title as a gateway to modernity, why it acquired an extra functionality in the East as a stage where they could showcase their ‘European’ credentials, and how it gradually developed into one of the EU’s ‘soft power’ resources.

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (01) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Mochamad Fathoni

AbstractAfter 9/11, muslim in the west became minority even in his/her own country. There are presumption that Islam related to terrorism and this is the main reason why muslim in the world become minority, especially for muslim who live in the non-muslim country. Aim of the study is to find a new approach within muslim in diplomacy to protect the muslim minority or other minority in the plurality of today nation-state. We use literature studies through descriptive analysis in explained the relevance of maqoshid sharia in solving the minority issue and compare several case study of its implementation in several countries. The novelty of the study is that political scientists have not touched the topic from the basic teaching of Islam, which is maqashid sharia, as an approach in solving the problem related minority, especially muslim minority. The finding in the study is that maqashid sharia as an approach can be developed as soft-power diplomacy strategy which can be distinguished as Islamic diplomacy model in solving minority issue.Keywords: maqosid sharia, Islamic diplomacy, minorityAbstrakPasca peristiwa 9/11, warga muslim di negara-negara barat seakan menjadi minoritas di negaranya sendiri. Munculnya pra-anggapan yang mengkaitkan Islam dan terorisme merupakan sebab utama warga muslim dunia menjadi betul-betul minoritas. Hal ini terutama dialami oleh umat Islam yang berada di negara-negara non-muslim. Tujuan studi ini adalah diperlukan pendekatan baru dari umat Islam sendiri, terutama dari negara-negara Islam atau mayoritas muslim dalam berdiplomasi untuk melindungi minoritas muslim maupun minoritas etnis dan agama lain di tengah dinamika negara-bangsa yang semakin majemuk. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian studi pustaka dan menggunakan analisis deskiptif dalam menjelaskan relevansi maqasid syariah dalam menyelesaikan masalah minoritas disertai perbandingan sejumlah contoh studi kasus penerapannya di sejumlah negara. Kebaruan dari studi ini adalah belum ada ilmuwan politik yang menggunakan maqosid syariah sebagai pendekatan model diplomasi Islam di dalam menangani berbagai persoalan menyangkut isyu minoritas, khususnya minoritas muslim. Temuan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan maqasid syariah dapat menjadi strategi diplomasi soft power yang menjadi ciri khas model diplomasi Islam dalam mencapai kepentingan tidak saja menyelesaikan isyu minoritas.Kata-kata kunci: maqosid syariah, diplomasi islam, minoritas


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Woodward

Sport is widely acknowledged as an important contributor to the United Kingdom’s soft power resources. This article aims to broaden and deepen our understanding of sport and soft power in the United Kingdom through a case study of British expeditions to, and the eventual conquest of, Mount Everest. Based on original archival research, the article demonstrates that British state institutions intervened systematically and strategically to expedite, and massage the story of, the ascent of Everest to burnish British prestige and present a favourable image to the world. In doing so, the article provides evidence that sport has been intrinsic to the United Kingdom’s diplomatic repertoire and soft power assets for considerably longer than existing accounts discern. Moreover, the Everest case offers important cues for contemporary policymakers. In particular, it demonstrates the need for the United Kingdom to project a clear, credible and consistent image if it is to profit from its soft power resources.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Codó ◽  
Jessica McDaid

Abstract Although the figure of the English language assistant (ELA) dates back a long while, its current popularity is unprecedented in some areas of the world. Such is the case of Spain, where the goal of raising English standards among the younger generations has become a national obsession. Using critical ethnographic methods, this paper examines the experience of three British LAs placed in secondary schools in Barcelona. It draws on a focused case study of one of them – combined with ethnographic snapshots of the other two, interviews with school teachers and regional programme administrators, relevant programme publications, and social media data. The analysis reveals three major tensions shaping the ELA experience in the 21st century revolving around: (a) the underspecified and unskilled nature of the job; (b) its culturalist imagination and state diplomacy mission; and (c) the native speaker ideology constituting its raison d’être. This paper provides new insights into the intertwining of the ELT infrastructure with global travel and tourism capitalised as skill boosters for employability purposes, and showcases the importance of foreign language education as a soft power tool.


2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Innes ◽  
Linda McKie

Understanding discursive shifts over the twentieth century in relation to family roles, paid work and care is essential to any critical review of contemporary family theory and policies. This paper charts aspects of these shifts. An analysis of case records of the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (RSSPCC), 1945 to 1960 is presented. Based upon these data we reflect upon the construction of the working-class family in the West of Scotland and draw upon one case study to illustrate issues further. This post-war period was one of rapid social and technological change. It is commonly perceived as a period of segregated gender roles, and in the UK a predominant male-breadwinner family model. The RSSPCC case records suggest that family lives and forms, particularly for those on low incomes, were diverse throughout this period. Although prosecutions for cruelty and neglect are dominant in perceptions of the society, most of its work was in material assistance, advice and surveillance. This latter aspect is considered in this paper.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Ji

As two major English translations of a famous sixteenth-century Chinese novelThe Journey to the West, Monkeyby Arthur Waley andThe Monkey and the Monkby Anthony Yu differ in many respects due to the translators’ different concerns and translation strategies. Whereas Waley’s translation omits many episodes and significantly changes textual features of the original novel, Yu’s translation is more literal and faithful to the original. Through a comparison of the different approaches in these two translations, this paper aims to delineate important differences in textual features and images of protagonists and demonstrate how such differences, especially the changing representation of Tripitaka, might affect English-language readers’ understanding of religious references and themes in the story. It also seeks to help us reconsider the relationship between translations and the original text in the age of world literature through a case study of English translations ofThe Journey to the West.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-518
Author(s):  
Michal Kolmaš

AbstractFor the last few decades, the discipline of international relations has been littered with anarchy. Since Waltz'sTheory of International Politics, it has been assumed that states are formally equal sovereign unitary actors operating in an anarchic world system and that their identities and interests are defined by the very existence of anarchy. This article shatters this conception. It offers a ‘hierarchical worldview’ in order to illustrate that the very concepts of state, sovereignty, and anarchy are discursive creations inherently tied to the practice of hierarchy. I use a case study of Japanese national identity to illustrate this practice. The narratives of Japan as an autonomous and sovereign state were inextricably linked to Japan's hierarchical relationship toward Asia and the West (pre-war) and the USA (post-war). Japan's sovereignty and autonomy were then formulated within the practice of hierarchy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (54) ◽  
pp. 107-148
Author(s):  
Martin Solik ◽  

The ongoing polarization of European society in the political-ideological context is apparent. This polarization causes considerable tension in society. Sophisticated soft power based on political values and policies that Russia has been using against the West especially since 2012 is a power struggle for people’s minds and souls. Russia does not only try to undercut faith in Europe and its institutions among its citizens, but it also aims to offer a “better” alternative. There is an increasing effort to create an alternative value universe against the “nihilist” and “decadent” West – not only in Russia but also in the whole World. There is quite a visible ambition from the Russian side to become the “illiberal” world leader. This contribution has been drawn up in the context of this urgent issue. The article examines whether Russian soft power fulfils the criteria of attractiveness or just coercion, and what Russia is pursuing by promoting this form of power


Atlanti ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-255
Author(s):  
Maria Guercio

The contribution discusses digital preservation issues with specific reference to the role of standards and policies relevant for digital repositories certification and auditing. The analysis will focus on the OAIS reference model and related standards at the basis of ISO 16363 and ISO 16919, their evolution in the last decade and the critical aspects still open (such as the development of accreditation bodies and the level of parameters for metrics and assessment). The role of policies for digital preservation is also examined as output from international research (InterPARES and APARSEN) and in the Italian legislation, briefly described as a case study.


1977 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 557-572
Author(s):  
A. Hamish Ion

Protestantism in the early Meiji era has long interested Western students as an aspect of the encounter between Japan and expanding European culture in the nineteenth century. Edward Warren Clark (1849–1907) and other American laymen, who went to Japan as teachers and not society missionaries, played a significant role in the process during the 1870s. Edward Warren Clark is known to Western scholars of the Meiji period for his contribution to the development of English-language education and as the author of books based upon his experiences in Japan. In his letters to William Elliot Griffis (1843–1928), Clark reveals opinions concerning Japan and Japanese acquaintances, and the hopes and tribulations of teaching Western studies. These are interesting in themselves as one American's views, and they also shed more valuable light upon Japanese attitudes toward the West between 1871 and 1875. In this study of cultural contact, particular attention will be paid to Clark's evangelistic work in Shizuoka and later in Tokyo, and the influence of his Christian ideas and misconceptions upon certain Japanese, especially Nakamura Masanao (Keiu, 1832–91).


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Buckley

Wars and Rumours of War brings together a wide selection of contemporary English-language primary material in order to illustrate how authors from both Asia and the West saw contemporary events. For the first time, this new series makes available books, journal essays and periodical articles, many of which may be absent from standard bibliographies, with a view to widening debate and underlining the diversity of opinion that was available to contemporary audiences in Asia and beyond who were  anxious to follow developments as they unfolded. Roger Buckley, who also edited the successful The Post-War Occupation of Japan (2013) series, argues that no apology should be required for this immediacy and that evidence drawn from the era must remain the bedrock for any retrospective analysis. In a world of rival imperialisms all the powers wished to safeguard their interests on the Asian continent by deploying military force as and when an emergency dictated.


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