Nation-Building or Nation-Destroying?

1972 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walker Connor
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Transportation Networks ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
The State ◽  
Ethnic Heritage ◽  
Common Identity

Scholars associated with theories of “nation-building” have tended either to ignore the question of ethnic diversity or to treat the matter of ethnic identity superficially as merely one of a number of minor impediments to effective state-integration. To the degree that ethnic identity is given recognition, it is apt to be as a somewhat unimportant and ephemeral nuisance that will unquestionably give way to a common identity uniting all inhabitants of the state, regardless of ethnic heritage, as modern communication and transportation networks link the state's various parts more closely. Both tendencies are at sharp variance with the facts, and have contributed to the undue optimism that has characterized so much of the literature on “nation-building.”

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Enze Han
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
The State ◽  
Historical Account ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Territorial States

The first chapter introduces the issue topic and presents a set of research questions for the study. It then discusses briefly the argument of the book, its methodology, as well as the structure of the book. Specifically, it points out that this book is a comparative historical account of the state and nation-building process in an “organic” upland area that shares lots of similarities in terms of geography and ethnic diversity, yet has become increasingly incorporated into a set of neighboring modern states. Departing from existing approaches that look at such processes mainly from the angle of singular, bounded territorial states, the book argues that a more fruitful approach is to see how state and nation building in one country can influence, and be influenced by, the same processes across borders.

scholarly journals Ethiopia: From a Centralised Monarchy to a Federal Republic

Afrika Focus ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 13-48
Author(s):  
Christophe Van der Beken
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Federal Republic ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
State Structure ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Liberation Movements ◽  
Radical Transformation

Ethiopia: From a Centralised Monarchy to a Federal Republic Although the Ethiopian state traces its roots back to the empire of Axum in the first centuries AD, the modern Ethiopian state took shape in the second half of the 19th century. During that period the territory of the Ethiopian empire expanded considerably. Several ethnic groups were incorporated into the empire and the foundations for a strong, centralised state were laid Centralisation of authority in the hands of the emperor and a strategy of nation building that denied the ethnic diversity of Ethiopian society characterised the rule of Emperor Haile Selassie. At the same time, these elements contributed to its decline. Haile Selassie was ultimately deposed by a military committee in 1974. This announced the end of the Ethiopian monarchy and the transformation of the Ethiopian state, following the Marxist model. In spite of Marxist-Leninist attention to the 'nationalities issue', Ethiopia remained a centralised state, dominated by one ethnic identity. This gave rise to increasing resistance from various regional and ethnic liberation movements. The combined effort of these movements caused the fall of military rule in May 1991. The new regime, which was dominated by ethnically organised parties, initiated a radical transformation of the Ethiopian state structure that leads to the establishment of a federation in 1995.

Afars of Ethiopia in the system of ethnic federalism

2018 ◽  
pp. 126-146
Author(s):  
Roza Ismagilova
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
Ethnic Relations ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Horn Of Africa ◽  
State Structure ◽  
Ethnic Federalism

The article pioneers the analyses of the results of ethnic federalism introduced in Ethiopia in 1991 – and its influence on Afar. Ethnicity was proclaimed the fundamental principle of the state structure. The idea of ethnicity has become the basis of official ideology. The ethnic groups and ethnic identity have acquired fundamentally importance on the political and social levels . The country has been divided into nine ethnically-based regions. The article exposes the complex ethno-political and economic situation in the Afar State, roots and causes of inter- and intra-ethnic relations and conflicts with Amhara, Oromo, Tigray and Somali-Issa, competition of ethnic elites for power and recourses. Alive is the idea of “The Greater Afar”which would unite all Afar of the Horn of Africa. The protests in Oromia and Amhara Regions in 2015–2017 influenced the Afar state as welll. The situation in Ethiopia nowadays is extremely tense. Ethiopia is plunging into serious political crisis. Some observers call it “the beginning of Ethiopian spring”, the others – “Color revolution”

Development of Interethnic Relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the First Decades after the Second World War

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 87-96
Author(s):  
Elena Yu. Guskova
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Second World War ◽  
The State ◽  
World War ◽  
Interethnic Relations ◽  
The Republic ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
First Time ◽  
Second World

The article is devoted to the analysis of interethnic relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in the 1940s and 1960s. The article is based on materials from the archives of BiH, Croatia, Slovenia, Yugoslavia. The documents show the state of affairs in the Republic – both in the economy and in ideology. In one or another way, all of them reflect the level of tension in the interethnic relations. For the first time, the article presents the discussion on interethnic relations, on the new phenomenon in multinational Yugoslavia – the emergence of a new people in BiH under the name of “Muslim”. The term “Muslims” is used to define the ethnic identity of Bosniaks in the territory of BiH starting from the 1961 census.

Deafness and Ethnic Identity: The Idea of a Deaf State and its Resonances with American Exceptionalism and Frontier Ideology

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-90
Author(s):  
Marion Rana
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
American Exceptionalism ◽  
Manifest Destiny ◽  
The United States ◽  
Culture Studies ◽  
Deaf Identity ◽  
American Nation

Abstract This article focuses on the nineteenth century as a pivotal time for the development of a Deaf identity in the United States and examines the way John Jacob Flournoy’s idea of a “Deaf-Mute Commonwealth” touches upon core themes of American culture studies and history. In employing pivotal democratic ideas such as egalitarianism, liberty, and self-representation as well as elements of manifest destiny such as exceptionalism and the frontier ideology in order to raise support for a Deaf State, the creation and perpetuation of a Deaf identity bears strong similarities to the processes of American nation-building. This article will show how the endeavor to found a Deaf state was indicative of the separationist and secessionist movements in the United States at that time, and remains relevant to Deaf group identity today.

Women’s Czech Folk Costume: Negotiating Ambivalence and White Ethnicity in the Midwest

2021 ◽  
pp. 0887302X2110275
Author(s):  
Erin French ◽  
Kelly L. Reddy-Best
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
White Ethnicity ◽  
Czech Population ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Ethnic Heritage

Folk costume is traditionally worn to represent and preserve ethnic heritage. Large numbers of Czechs emigrated to America from the 1870s to 1920s, but eventually, a generation was born that had little contact with their immigrant ancestors. The purpose of our research was to examine what role folk costume plays in the negotiation of Czech ethnic identity and how meaning is constructed and communicated through Czech folk costumes for modern-day wearers. We conducted 11 indepth, semi-structured interviews with descendants of Czech immigrants in a previously unexplored Czech population of the Midwest. We identified four major themes: feelings of connectedness; sense of pride and joy; importance of perceived authenticity; and variation, nuance, and meaning of costume construction and style. Through our work, we contribute to the preservation and documentation of modern-day Czech traditions, ongoing discussions surrounding defining cultural traditions, and business practices of retailers.

“Forward to David the Builder!” Georgia's (re)turn to language-centered nationalism

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 522-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christofer Berglund
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
The State ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
The Past ◽  
Building Project ◽  
The Rose ◽  
State Language

After the Rose Revolution, President Saakashvili tried to move away from the exclusionary nationalism of the past, which had poisoned relations between Georgians and their Armenian and Azerbaijani compatriots. His government instead sought to foster an inclusionary nationalism, wherein belonging was contingent upon speaking the state language and all Georgian speakers, irrespective of origin, were to be equals. This article examines this nation-building project from a top-down and bottom-up lens. I first argue that state officials took rigorous steps to signal that Georgian-speaking minorities were part of the national fabric, but failed to abolish religious and historical barriers to their inclusion. I next utilize a large-scale, matched-guise experiment (n= 792) to explore if adolescent Georgians ostracize Georgian-speaking minorities or embrace them as their peers. I find that the upcoming generation of Georgians harbor attitudes in line with Saakashvili's language-centered nationalism, and that current Georgian nationalism therefore is more inclusionary than previous research, or Georgia's tumultuous past, would lead us to believe.

Ethnic Identity in Abkhazia and the Paradigms of Its Institutionalization: From the Soviet Past to the Present [Etnicheskaia identichnost’ v Abkhazii i paradigmy ee institutsionalizatsii: ot sovetskogo proshlogo k nastoiashchemu]

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 113-129
Author(s):  
Nuri Bagapsh ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Modern Identity ◽  
History Of Formation

The article focuses on the aspects of nation-building and the main paradigms of the institutionalization of ethnicity in Abkhazia during the Soviet era and assesses the impact of Soviet practices of ordering ethnic categories on the modern ethnocultural and ethnopolitical landscape of the country. I examine the history of formation of the ethnic mosaic of Abkhazia, analyze the particular Abkhazian ways of solving general issues of the early Soviet nation-building, and discuss the influence of Soviet nation-building on the modern identity of various groups of Abkhazia’s population. The article further assesses the impact of ethnic mixing on the shaping of identity of Abkhazia’s population and explores the questions of civil nation-building and multilevel identity.

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