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Gespaltenes Europa?
Regionen und Nationen in Bewegung.
Abstracts (english)
Friedbert
W. Rueb: The Acceleration of Ethnic Conflicts. On the Politization of
Ethnicity in Ex-Yugoslavia; FJNSB 2/99, pp. 8-22
Those aiming to explain the
beligerant outbreak of ethnic conflicts in ex-Yugoslavia start most
frequently from the following assumptions: the differences between people
and nations are an unquestionable matter of fact and almost ontologically
predetermined; the state built in 1918 was a bastard nation-state without
any chances of survival; the ethno-nationalist violence is thus interpreted
as an unavoidable self-realization of a cultural code of violence of
the Balkan people. Against this position Friedbert W. Rüb argues
that 'Yugoslavianism' was no fiction but a practicable model of integration
of a multicultural society, whose institutional, economic and social
foundations were destroyed by identifiable actors. The strategies and
factors fueling the acceleration of ethnic conflicts and genocide are
at the center of this analysis.
Georgia Bekridaki/Michael
Weck: Conflict Resolution in Ethnically Divided Societies - Northern
Ireland and South Tyrol, FJNSB 2/99, pp. 23-35
In the view
of Bekridaki and Weck, the resolution of nationalist conflicts depends
primarily on three dimensions: (1) the social-structural homogeneity
or heterogeneity of the ethnic groups involved in the conflict; (2)
the influence of external nationalist actors and their alliance relationships
to local conflict parties, and (3) the negotiating abilities and implementation
capacities of political elites. The comparative analysis of the Northern
Irish and South Tyrol cases suggests that the prospects for successful
conflict resolution have been much more favourable in South Tyrol. In
Northern Ireland, a negotiated settlement was blocked for a long time
by a highly politicized, heterogeneous population, which allowed competing
elites to split parties and set up rivalling organizations. The Northern
Ireland Agreement of 1998 was finally enabled by the withdrawal of support
by the Catholics' and Protestants' international allies.
Liam O’Dowd: Beyond Competing Nationalisms? The Prospects
of the Northern Ireland Agreement, FJNSB 2/99, pp. 36-44
O'Dowd discusses
the success chances of the 1998 Northern Ireland Agreement. First, in
addressing this question one must take into account the role of British
nationalism. Against the uncritical and one-sided problematization of
Irish nationalism, O'Dowd calls for a new assessment of British nationalism.
Second, the chances of a lasting agreement will also depend on the development
of closer ties between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The
conflict-mitigating potential of the consociational institutions provided
for in the agreement may be endangered, both by an underestimation of
British nationalism and by the unequal distribution of power resources
between the partners to the agreement.
Pedro Ibarra/Carmelo Moreno: The
Conflict in the Basque Country - Social Movements, Politics of Appreciation,
and Historical Rights, FJNSB 2/99, pp. 45-54
Pedro Ibarra and Carmelo Moreno discuss the possibilities of a peaceful
settlement of the nationalist conflict in the Basque country. It is argued
that the conditions for a solution of this long-lasting conflict are better
than ever. The authors put forward a proposal that is based on the recognition
of the historical rights of the Basque country and a related renegotiation
of political and institutional matters. Liberal and communitarian theories
of collective rights are discussed, claiming that a solution is only possible,
when an essentialist approach towards exclusive collective rights is overcome
by an inclusive understanding oriented towards a constant and negotiated
reconstruction of these rights. The authors highlight the practicality
of this proposal in regard to the constraints and opportunities emanating
from the Spanish constitution, the political structures, the prominent
discourses and identity constructions. Both authors conclude that social
movements have taken a particularly constructive stance, as they have
been actively developing and enabling this permissive situation and the
different solutions being discussed.
Wanda Dressler: From Corsica to
Kazakhstan. Towards a Comparison of National and Regional Phenomena
in Europe, FJNSB 2/99, pp. 55-64
Starting from the interrelations between culture and power Wanda Dressler
describes the state-of-the-art of nationalist and regionalist movements
in Western and Eastern Europe in a comparative perspective. Processes
of nationalization on the one hand, and of decentralization and regionalization
on the other call for a normative reconstruction of the political space.
In the liberal western societies with their established nation states
subnational movements prevailed since the 1960s. These movements revendicate
a decentralization and a cultural autonomy for their regions, both linked
to the model of citizenship. Nationalist and populist-chauvinist counter-movements,
however, have opposed this discourse of democratization and inclusion.
In regard to these tensions - apparent also within individual movements
- the emancipatory and conservative references to political identities
need to be evaluted. In Eastern Europe, demands for political and economic
decentralization and democratic inclusion are voiced by nationalist and
ethnic-cultural movements since 1989. However, and particularly due to
crises of the transformation process, the scope of action of the political
elites is wider in these countries, and enables them to establish and
instrumentalize a discourse on exclusion and ethnic homogeneity.
Walter Reese-Schaefer: Recent Developments
of Communitarist Politics, FJNSB 2/99, pp. 65-76
Walter Reese-Schaefer supplies an overall picture of the impact of communitarian
ideas on German politics. He first sketches the latest developments of
communitarianism, moving then to a portrayal of the national and international
reception of communitarian ideas. He describes the future prospects of
communitarian approaches for the promotion of civic commitments based
on examples from Germany and Europe, and evaluates them critically. It
is shown that a programmatic reference to communitarian politics is present
across all political parties. However, their impulse is not geared to
the party programmes in the first instance, but primarily to societal
actors. The prospects of societal reforms from the bottom are highlighted
in conjunction with a mentality of self-organization. |