Introduction to the Special Issue: Far from Colorblind. Reflections on Racialization in Contemporary Europe

European history is to a significant extent also a history about racialization and racism. Since the colonizers of past centuries defined boundaries between “civilized” and “savages” by applying value standards in which the notions of race, ethnicity, culture, and religion were interwoven and imposed on human beings perceived as fundamentally different from themselves, racialization became deeply inherent in how (white) Europeans viewed the world, themselves, and others. In this Special Issue, we assume that colonialist racialization constitutes the base of a persistent and often unreflective and indirect racism. Implicit value systems according to which white people are automatically considered as more competent, more desirable, preferable in general terms, and more “European” translate into patterns of everyday racism affecting the self-image and life chances of white and non-white Europeans. In this introductory article, which defines the conceptual framework for the special issue, we contest the idea of a “post-racial” condition and discuss the consequences of ethno-racial differentiation and stigmatization for racialized groups such as Black Europeans, European Roma, and non-white migrants in general. Finally, we argue for the need to further problematize and critically examine whiteness.

The impact of colonialism on policy and knowledge production in International Relations

Is there an academic–policy divide, and does that gap need to be bridged? For decades, International Relations (IR) scholars have reflected on their roles and responsibilities towards the ‘real world’, while policy-makers have often critiqued the detachment of academic research. In response, there have been increased calls for academics to descend from their ‘ivory tower’. However, the articles in this 100th anniversary special issue of International Affairs interrogate this so-called theory–policy divide and problematize the exchange of knowledge between academics and practitioners, highlighting the colonial underpinnings of their historical entanglements. In this introductory article we bring together the core arguments of the special issue contributions to delineate three prominent dynamics in the academic–practitioner nexus: the role of academia as a supplier of knowledge for colonial policies; the influence of imperial practice and policy-makers in shaping IR and academic knowledge production; and the contestation from academics and/or practitioners against racial hierarchies in knowledge production and policy-making. Confronting the exclusions, amnesias and denials of colonialism in the theory and practice of International Relations is the necessary first step in any process of repair towards a more just and viable politics.

Measuring tourism success: are we on the brink of a new paradigm?

PurposeThe article aims to introduce the strategic question and demonstrate its relevance and reality. It also profiles the articles selected for the annual global trends issue and explains how they illustrate the various angles impacting the adoption of a new paradigm to measure tourism success.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on a review of articles selected to identify commonalities and differences in respect to the evolution of the concepts and methodologies explored in this global trends issue: sustainability, the contribution of tourism to host communities and measures of tourism success. A brief explanation of the positions and proposals presented by authors as well as their key contributions is also presented.FindingsThe tourism industry has traditionally been based on economics and financial return, with the metrics for measuring tourism performance remaining fairly static over the years. These placed a strong emphasis on the number of tourists and their levels of expenditure at the destinations. However, it is interesting to note a clear evolution towards a new perspective for a holistic and balanced approach between the economic, social/cultural and environmental dimensions of sustainable tourism development.Originality/valueThis introductory article sets the scene for an emerging paradigm to measure tourism success, and it highlights the various contributions to the development of sustainable tourism and the challenges faced by the tourism sector, the role of Destination Management Organizations and the need for quality data to support decision-making by public and private organizations.

Guest Editorial: Power in Engaged Scholarship: Dimensions and Dynamics of Knowledge Co-Creation

Collaboratively engaged research is shaped by dynamic power relationships among individuals, institutions and communities. Where some disciplines have explored the theoretical and methodological implications of power relations, the engagement movement writ large has suffered from a lack of explicit conceptual models and in-depth analyses of the role of power in the process of knowledge co-creation. Over the last 30 years, considerable attention has been paid to how resources and expertise within academic institutions can be brought to bear on the intractable social and economic problems of local communities. A necessary, yet under-theorised aspect of these dynamics is the extent to which the positionality and interpersonal relationships between actors impact the outcomes and durability of these processes. In this introductory article, we describe our effort to cultivate a conversation about power in engaged research. We organised an Author Collective for scholars and practitioners with a wide range of perspectives to expand our theoretical understanding of power’s role in university- community engagement. By reflecting on identities, approaches and experiences, the authors in this issue explore power as a vehicle for understanding the impact of positionality and interpersonal relationships on the process and outcomes of collaborative research.

Social work and economic justice in Aotearoa New Zealand

The social work profession is dedicated to the promotion of social and economic justice, but often has a limited appreciation of what economic justice actually looks like either in theory or practice. Economic justice, a form of distributive justice, assesses how fairly economic resources are distributed in a society. Currently, in Aotearoa New Zealand, both income and wealth inequality have reached historically high levels. Inequality research has demonstrated a causal link between inequality and a host of social and health issues that, while they impact society as a whole, affect the nation’s most marginalised populations to an increasingly greater degree. Social work literature in Aotearoa New Zealand has limited research in this area. This introductory article will begin with an overview of concepts related to economic justice, such as distributive justice, income inequality, and wealth inequality. Following this is an overview of the 2020 Economic Justice Online Forum and an exploration of the implications for social work.

Art and Memory as Reconciliation Tool? Re-Thinking Reconciliation Strategies in the Western Balkans

The violent demise of Yugoslavia and the bloody period that marked most of the 1990s in this region have sparked academic interest in the peacebuilding and reconciliation initiatives which emerged after the conflict. Scholarly literature on the subject went in the directions of transitional justice, social psychology and socio-political approaches. However, an unexplored alley of scholarly interest remains in the role of the arts in these processes. By examining the role of arts and memory creation, this introductory article posits these against the background of a problematic reconciliation process in post-conflict areas of the Western Balkans as its core topic. Situated in a post-Yugoslav geographic space, where ethnic conflicts still hinder development, people rest much on the interpretation of the meaning of lived experiences, and the role of images, arts, myths and stories, which are used to either create or dissemble the path to peace between the many ethnic communities that inhabit this area of Europe. The use of several overlapping, yet differently interpreted themes relating to lived experiences and history shows them as symbolic transitional justice policies. They broadly deal with how such knowledges are interpreted through lived moments, such as cinema, museums and public monuments.

Introductory article for Special issue: Conceptions of early childhood and institutions in a global context

The recognition of the importance of early childhood education (ECE) has been growing continuously in recent years. Early childhood institutions are where professional pedagogy and child-rearing practices meet first in someones' life (Tobin et al., 2009), it has great significance in education. Acknowledgement of the existence of the needs of young children's education is evident, however, we have limited chances to compare different education systems outside of Europe and the United States. Realizing this situation, we came to the conclusion that it is highly necessary and required to publish such an analytical issue in the Hungarian Education Research Journal. Teacher's views and their narratives of childhood are relevant if we aim to understand the fundamental differences of ECE institutions in any region or country. In our present investigation we collected data from Hungary, Laos and Malaysia in order to acquire greater knowledge on the conceptions of early childhood in the three countries. We assumed however that the teachers' qualification and the early childcare system is diverse, yet we have found similarities among the teachers' perception.

Crisis as a Challenge and Enabler for Entrepreneurship: Lessons from the Pandemic

Introductory article by the editor of the special issue

The Russian language maintenance and language contacts

In our introductory article, we outline the main sociolinguistic features of Russian as a heritage language of post-Soviet immigrants in European settings and beyond. We offer a general overview of the evolution of Russian as a global language, with a particular focus on its geodemographics and economic and social value as a lingua franca . Based on this, we analyse the main principles defining the maintenance of Russian as a language of migration and as a heritage language in different countries, and emphasise the most important questions that still need to be addressed in this field of research. The main objective of this special issue is to combine the most recent research on the vitality of different languages of post-Soviet republics in new political milieu, with a particular focus on European and Asian countries, but there are other objectives as well. We propose to explore the factors that have either favoured or hindered the maintenance and transmission of languages of post-Soviet immigrants and repatriates, and how these sociolinguistic processes become evident in language vitality on both private and public levels. Our special issue primarily addresses the questions of family language policy, new language contacts and their management, and linguistic landscape in heritage speakers, diasporas and their new settings in Europe, Asia and the US.