Dislodged from History, Confronted by Walls : Picturing Migration as a Global Emergency

This essay examines select visual representations of refugees and migrants as embodied subjects in photography, art, and video. It focuses on American asylum politics and explores the questions of free movement, the right to have rights, and the ethics and efficacy of border walls. It argues that the catastrophe of global forced displacement makes the elimination of national borders and the nation state itself a revolutionary necessity.

Between mobile corridors and immobilizing borders: race, fixity and friction in Palestine/Israel

This article wrestles with the question of ‘national’ borders in racial capitalism. We do so through an examination of border and capitalist corridors. We focus particularly on the Israeli border, branded and then sold to the rest of the world by the epistemic community of border-makers and interlocutors. In tracking the Israeli border and showing the implication of the experts and their markets, we ask how the border reflects and is refracted through a global order organized by the twin dictates of racism and capitalism. We are especially interested in how racialized processes of bordering, ostensibly governed by national exigencies, are transplanted on to other contexts. Two points emerge from this: in the first instance, we ask who and what enables this movement of the border. And in the second, we interrogate which logics and practices are transplanted with the border, as it is reproduced and seemingly fixed in a new place. We examine the violent ontologies that give shape and reputation to Israel's high-tech border industry, which has become a model for the ever-growing global homeland security industry. We ask: has Israel's border become an exportable commodity and who are the actors who have enabled this ‘achievement’? Related to this, what sort of occlusions and structural violence does the fetishization of the Israeli border rely on?

Americar Dreams (An Introduction)

Even though Baudrillard’s catchy piece of advice as for the most effective method of exploring America’s landscapes (both real and imaginary) comes from his postmodernist travelogue limited to its titular country, it is probably difficult for anyone interested in contemporary car cultures not to extend Baudrillard’s praise of the driving experience and perceive it in cognitive rather than transportation terms, not necessarily bounded by national borders. True, American driving culture and all its related contexts—its remarkable history, its contribution to social mobility, its spectacular cars, its mythologies, the list goes on and on—is not only the oldest one historically, but—given its ties with American life-styles, politics, social stratification and the overall consumerist mindset—also the most extreme one. From Henry Ford’s Model T storming millions of American households at the beginning of the 20th century to Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster shot into space in the second decade of the following one, cars have shaped American horizons, both private and collective, like no other machine. This introductory text presents the concept of the present issue of RIAS as well as the concepts underlying its feature texts.

Healthcare - Where to from here?

In writing an editorial it is difficult to ignore the impact and ramifications of addressing the Covid Pandemic. In Australia, there is emerging political and media signals that are saying we must start to move on and get people back to work and living normally. At the same time our health bureaucracies are pointing to higher vaccination rates, new variants, the need for ‘booster shots’ and continued reticence in some about opening state and national borders....

Who are Our National Heroes beyond National Borders?

The focus of this article is on monuments to national heroes built at the initiative of the Bulgarian nation state, political party or migrant community beyond the national borders. Three analytical perspectives are presented: geographical, cultural and social, given that monuments are both physical objects and represent non-physical relations. The place of a monument is essential in the interpretation of its function, reflecting intercommunity negotiations and the views of community elites regarding the place of the in the host society. Another basic issue is who Bulgarian national heroes are abroad, who has selected them, and what means and procedures brought them there. Our hypothesis connects the core of the national celebrations (both pantheon and calendar) within the national territory with its periphery in what is a dynamic system. These reflections are illustrated with three case studies: Botev’s monument in Beijing, Vazov’s bust in Moscow and Levski’s memorial plate in Yeniköy (Romania). An inventory and a map of all the monuments dedicated to these three figures are attached.

The Practice of ‘Othering' during COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia: From the cities to the highlands

This paper attempts to throw light on the concept of ‘othering’ previously framed through the prism of identity politics. As COVID-19 continues to ravage our economy and social life, we turn to looking at two contested sites of the highland national borders and the urban cities to understand how the ‘othering' idea manifests itself right when the pandemic began in late December 2019. The first situation is described in social media as Malaysia’s mass rage and xenophobic rants against Rohingya refugees and the second scenario is the closure of international borders between Sarawak and East Kalimantan in the uplands located in the northeast of Central Borneo. By analysing texts in the form of narratives, anecdotes and communication encountered through social media, the paper raised questions whether these were manifestations of specific forms of marginalisation of people based on perceived group differences or simply expressions of fear of COVID-19 disease and anxiety about scarcity of resources as a result of the pandemic.

MONITORING PROPOSAL OF THE SPECIES VIOLET CARPENTER BEE XYLOCOPA VIOLACEA IN POLAND

The main purpose of this scientific publication is to present the suggested methods of monitoring the species violet carpenter bee Xylocopa violacea, which belongs to Hymenoptera of the bee family Apidae. Despite the fact that this insect is only partially protected under Polish national law, there are very few identified localities of these animals in Poland. The main problem related to the uncertainty of the number of the violet carpenter bee Xylocopa violacea is the lack of monitoring within national borders. The proposed method of population status assessment is based on the field research. These studies include the observations of many elements of the population and the environment and on predicting what are the prospects for protecting the violet carpenter bee Xylocopa violacea in Poland. The proposed method of population status assessment is based on the analysis of species presence and abundance and the proposed method of habitat status assessment is based on the analysis of area, food base, type of environment, elements of the habitat, the nature of the surroundings and habitat stability. The proposed methods can be also applied for Xylocopa valga, which can be easily confused with the violet carpenter bee Xylocopa violacea. What is the most important – regular monitoring may contribute to the recognition of other places of occurrence and will enable effective protection of the violet carpenter bee Xylocopa violacea in Poland.

The Covid-19 Impact on the Tourism Industry: Short Holidays within National Borders

The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily hit international economy giving a particular setback to the tourism sector. Between March and May 2020, during the first lockdown, and between October and December of the same year, during the second lockdown, a questionnaire was administrated in Italy, Greece and Great Britain. Through the questionnaire, people’s feelings and expectations of their desire to take a vacation were collected regarding the period of constraint due to the new coronavirus and the possible end of the pandemic, or the first government approved travel openings. In particular, the question of how long it would take to decide on a holiday, the type and duration, after the period of constriction due to the coronavirus was over, was asked. Both surveys, in the two different lockdown periods, showed the potential desire of tourists to leave relatively quickly, and to take forms of domestic tourism, characterized by small and short-lived trips. The favorite destination being the seaside.

Specific cultural and political challenges in cross-border public participation

The Site Selection Act (StandAG) regulates the individual procedural steps for a scientifically sound, participatory and transparent search and selection of a site for the safe final disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The result should be supported by a broad social consensus; those affected should be able to tolerate the outcome. For Germany, as the European country with the most neighbouring states, it is likely that some of the sub-areas, siting regions and possible sites defined in the selection procedure will be located on or in the immediate vicinity of one or more national borders; however, in the construction of a repository for high-level radioactive waste, “affectedness” does not stop at national borders, so that the public (citizens and other stakeholders) from neighbouring countries must be involved in the participation processes at an early stage and on an ongoing basis. The focus of this presentation lies on the challenges of cross-border participation based on previous experience in other subject areas and specific cultural and political framework conditions in neighbouring countries. We therefore address the following questions: What risks and obstacles must be taken into account in cross-border public participation and how can these be overcome? What specific cultural and political framework conditions exist in neighbouring countries and to what extent can these have an effect? The literature on cross-border cooperation describes that regions that cooperate across borders face particular challenges because they are each integrated into different national, institutional and legal systems in which responsibilities and competences may be assigned differently (cf. Beck, 2018; Scherer and Zumbusch, 2011; UNECE, 2009). Identifying and implementing success factors is a major challenge and can at the same time be an important prerequisite for successful transboundary participation in the search for a repository. Indications in this respect can be derived from other cross-border procedures between Germany and neighbouring states (cf. Abromeit, 2007; Nijsten and Paulussen, 2004; Saxenhofer et al., 2017). Participation and its manifestation within a state, a region or a specific place is strongly dependent on the respective cultural and political framework conditions. Nation states have different characteristics in their political systems as well as political cultures (Rogoff, 2015; Enserink et al., 2007). In Western Europe they differ primarily in terms of their democratic model, i.e. whether, for example, they are more parliamentary-representative or direct-democratic and whether there are more centralised or decentralised responsibilities and decision-making powers. The political culture is primarily determined by the way state and non-state actors interact and cooperate with each other, which is also reflected in the way public participation in decision-making is handled. Historical factors play an important role here. In certain thematic fields or issues, there can be a long tradition of cooperative processing and solving of problems. The research project HErüber (Sperfeld et al., 2021), which is commissioned by the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE), analyses specific risks and obstacles, as well as cultural and political framework conditions. Based on a literature review, first results are presented.