Claims to the Past. A Critical View of the Arguments Driving Repatriation of Cultural Heritage and Their Role in Contemporary Identity Politics

Abstract

This article explores the role that the worldwide movement of repatriation of human remains and cultural heritage—from museums and other institutions to minorities and indigenous populations—plays in contemporary identity politics. Beyond the obvious positive outcomes of this process, including a significant democratization of the field of archaeology, the repatriation movement poses challenges, mainly because it relies on concepts such as past–present continuity that are sometimes subtly, sometimes not so subtly, problematic for legitimizing group identities and group claims to cultural heritage and human remains. It is argued that while archaeologists and anthropologists must continue to support the idea of increasing democratization of interpreting the past, they must also maintain the right to remain critical to all claims of the past by any particular group.     

The “Role” of Nationalism in Chinese Foreign Policy: A Reactive Model of Nationalism & Conflict

A growing literature has sought to address the question of Chinese nationalism, and particularly whether or not its rise over the last decade could make China more prone to international conflict. Yet these discussions have often not been well grounded in either theories of nationalism or international relations (IR) theory. This paper will seek to fill this gap by using a constructivist approach to examine how nationalism is constituted by the interaction of states. By doing so, it will be argued that Chinese nationalism can best be understood as a reactive response to international events rather than domestic political manipulation. Michael Alan Brittingham is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at McDaniel College. He has previously taught at the University of Louisville. In 2005, he completed his dissertation entitled, “Reactive Nationalism and Its Prospects for Conflict: The Taiwan Issue, Sino-US Relations, & the ‘Role’ of Nationalism in Chinese Foreign Policy” in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. His current research interests include international relations theory, Chinese foreign policy, and nationalism.     

Service Provision for the Global Economy: The Evolving Indian Experience

Since 1995, the offshoring of services to India has rapidly evolved from a curiosity only studied by a few scholars to a phenomenon portending a major shift in the geography of global economic activity. The article examines the evolution of Indian global services provision quantitatively and qualitatively through the use of four case studies. The first case study examines the challenge that the Indian information technology systems integrators (ITSIs) pose to the formerly larger—but now roughly comparable in terms of employment—incumbent developed-nation ITSIs. Because IT systems have become central to nearly every enterprise, the second case study illustrates the wide variety of enterprises that now have significant Indian offshore operations. The third case study describes the rapid growth of offshore integrated circuit design in India, a nation with now commercial-scale integrated circuit production. The final case study describes the emergence of high-opportunity entrepreneurial startups in India and the increasing number of Silicon Valley startups that very early in their lives or even as part of their business model have significant operations in India. The concluding discussion situates India within the global economy and speculates upon its future evolution.     

Judiciaries as crucial actors in Southern regulatory systems: A case study of Indian telecom regulation

This article addresses regulatory reforms in the Indian telecommunications sector and emphasizes the role of the Indian judiciary. Our claim is that when confronted with a series of disputes relating to the nascent telecom regulatory landscape, the Supreme Court of India sought to make a constructive contribution to both the actual disputes as well as the overall regulatory framework. Our reading of these cases suggests that in the sphere of telecom, the Supreme Court has been less interested in stamping its own authority on issues, and has instead sought to bolster the authority and legitimacy of the recently constituted telecom regulatory institutions. We seek to draw attention to the role of the Indian judiciary as marking an exceptional feature of evolving regulatory systems in the Global South. Conventional wisdom in the regulatory jurisprudence that has evolved in the Global North suggests that judiciaries should have little or no role to play in regulatory systems. We suggest that to overcome the special challenges that regulatory systems in the Global South confront, more established institutions and actors might have to lend credibility and legitimacy to enable nascent regulatory actors to develop over time. At least in the Indian case, this is one way to understand the Indian judiciary's interventionist actions in the sphere of telecom regulation.     

United in Diversity? Asymmetry in Indian Federalism

Many studies highlight constitutional asymmetry as a desirablefeature of federal systems in multinational countries. Thisarticle looks at India which, mainly because of the specialprovisions for Kashmir in the 1950 constitution and the statusof newer small states in the north-east, is generally describedas asymmetrically federal. I show that, while India exhibitsconsiderable de facto asymmetry, asymmetry in the constitutionalpowers granted to individual states has (i) not been importantfor India's ability to ‘hold together’ as oftenassumed and (ii) not entailed special protection of culturalor national minorities. I thus cast doubt on the normative politicalphilosophy, particularly informed by Canadian and Spanish debates,that advances the idea of asymmetrical federalism as a modelof governance in potentially divided societies.     

Heritage,semiotics and innovations: architectural space,object-designs,meanings and implications in sustainable development

When matters of sustainable development and innovation are on the table for discussion in Africa, culture is often sidelined. Designs, shapes and sizes of new technological innovations need to integrate African aesthetes as a way to uphold the culture of people represented who often utilize or benefit from the inventions or constructions. Artefactual materials or objects (such as buildings) should appeal to the people of Africa and solve their daily challenges. Using semiotics, this paper cautions innovators, planners, thinkers and producers of “modern” residential homes; that these, as material objects, have other roles they play. Dwellings assume the heritage of a people far removed from the traditionally thought spaces and objects such as drums, museums, songs, literary texts, pieces of cloth and so on. As such, planners have a mandate to deliberately uphold their people’s cultural sensitivity if sustainable development is to mean in Zimbabwe and Africa in general.     

The policy response to COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the equity market sentiment: The Indian experience

We examine the dynamics of the impact of the evolving policy response during the COVID-19 pandemic on the equity market sentiment in India. We operationalise our study by examining the India VIX, the fear gauge of the Indian equity market as an indicator for the market sentiment, and the country level Government Response Index of the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University as an indicator for the policy response. The relation is examined through the Markov-switching model using high-frequency daily data from January 30, 2020, to May 31, 2021. The evidence suggests that the policy response has a positive impact on the market sentiment when the market is fearful. Further, the evidence suggests that both the high-fear state and the low-fear state of the market sentiment given by the model are short-lived indicating heightened volatility and possible speculation during the ongoing pandemic in the Indian equity market.     

Reconstructing Heritage in the Aftermath of Civil War: Re-Visioning the Nation and the Implications of International Involvement

Abstract

Culture is an indispensable asset in post-conflict recovery processes; however, it can also be used as a means of continuing violence on a symbolic and ideological level, particularly in the case of civil wars. In a reconstruction paradigm this violence often takes the form of struggles over history, memory, heritage, and identity. Despite the context-specific differences of conflicts, their aftermaths do retain some common elements—such as an emphasis on re-envisioning history and re-defining national identity. This article examines three issues: the intentionality guiding choices about what to rebuild, the symbolic landscape that emerges as a result, and the ethical issues that arise from third party intervention in the reconstruction of cultural heritage. The rhetoric that surrounds reconstruction projects differs widely from the reality on the ground and I will argue that it is important to understand this in order to assess the impact that reconstruction can have on attempts at reconciliation, identity and state-building. This article also examines some of the ethical issues involved in the post-conflict reconstruction of cultural heritage including the role of international values associated to ‘heritage of mankind’ and their possible conflict with local valuations of cultural heritage. This area of study is becoming increasingly urgent. International organizations have escalated their involvement in post-conflict reconstruction work and in these interventions they impress their particular code of values on fragile societies often without a full appreciation of the possible long-term consequences of their actions.     

Insurgency and Peace Building in the Northeast Indian State of Manipur

This article looks at the ongoing insurgency in the remote Indian northeast, and has a special focus on the state of Manipur. Manipur is regarded as India’s eastern most state, and is geographically sandwiched in between East Asia proper and South Asia proper. This article tries to analyze the different facets of this very complex situation, and pays special attention to how the conflict has changed its character with the passage of time. For purposes of this article, primary data was collected by interviewing local people of Manipuri descent in eastern India to get first hand information about the conflict. Finally, at the end of the article, methods of peace building have been suggested as the way forward.     

Indian spies inside Pakistan: South Asian human intelligence across borders

This article examines India’s historical efforts to spy inside Pakistan from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. It draws from memoirs of notable Indian spies who were jailed for espionage in Pakistan and spy ‘fiction’ written by former Indian intelligence and military officers who allege their writing is based on actual cases. The article highlights commonalities among Indian spies using the words of Indian officers to better understand human intelligence efforts inside Pakistan. It finds that Indian spies in these books have initially been Hindus or from multi-religious families, from the Indian-Pakistan border and have been poorly treated by the Indian government and its intelligence services.     

Civil Society and Violence in India's Northeast

The dominant view of India's Northeast highlights violence as a predominant feature and presents civil society as non-existent. Nevertheless, between a militarily-willed state and violent insurgencies lie very many formal associations and informal networks that organize the space for a civil society. The paper attempts to highlight the existence of such relatively lesser-known institutions of civil society in the region. However, there seem to be differences in the very nature of associations of civil society. Homogenous, intra-ethnic networks of civil society in the rural Northeast seem to be more vulnerable to violence and nationalistic fervour. In contrast, formal associations or inter-ethnic informal networks in the urban Northeast seem to handle conflicts and violence better. While the contents herein are expected to inform public discourses on a fragile region, they might also help challenge popular notions about the potential of an existent civil society in similar regions.     

The perils of empire: nationhood and citizenship in Portugal

After the demise of the Portuguese empire and even more after joining the European Union, the Portuguese state redefined the borders of national belonging. The shift was one from a multi-continental nation, which included parts of Africa, to a more restricted definition of nationhood, one that stressed Portugal's connection to Europe and thus defined belonging by descent. This article, based on research conducted in Lisbon, Portugal in 2003, discusses the impact of this shift on Portuguese citizens of ethnically diverse backgrounds. The Portuguese state, media, academia, and civil society are all involved in constructing, disseminating, and hence consolidating a notion of nationhood that treats ethnically diverse minorities as foreigners, placing them outside the national community. Not producing or disseminating information on ethnic minorities, the Portuguese academia, media, and the state are all actively involved in reproducing a process that perpetuates exclusion and obstructs the construction of political alliances to confront widespread discrimination.     

当前中国一种非理性的民族主义述评

民族主义在当代中国的发展主流是健康的,但其中也出现了一种非理性的表现形式。民族排外主义就是当前中国非理性民族主义的主要表现形式。文章重点分析民族排外主义在政治、经济、文化等方面的具体表现及其消极后果,并提出民族主义理性化建构的思路与对策。     

The paradox of nationalism: The common denominator of radical right and radical left euroscepticism

What can explain the strong euroscepticism of radical parties of both the right and the left? This article argues that the answer lies in the paradoxical role of nationalism as a central element in both party families, motivating opposition towards European integration. Conventionally, the link between nationalism and euroscepticism is understood solely as a prerogative of radical right‐wing parties, whereas radical left‐wing euroscepticism is associated with opposition to the neoliberal character of the European Union. This article contests this view. It argues that nationalism cuts across party lines and constitutes the common denominator of both radical right‐wing and radical left‐wing euroscepticism. It adopts a mixed‐methods approach, combining intensive case study analysis with quantitative analysis of party manifestos. First, it traces the link between nationalism and euroscepticism in Greece and France in order to demonstrate the internal validity of the argument. It then undertakes a cross‐country statistical estimation to assess the external validity of the argument and its generalisability across Europe.     

Effect of testing and social distancing measures on COVID-19 deaths in India: Role of pre-existing socio-economic factors

We examine the effect of testing and social distancing measures on the severity of COVID19 across Indian states during the 68th day nationwide lockdown period. We also explore whether pre-existing socio-economic factors such as quality of health care and the ability to practice social distancing influences the effect of these policy measures across states. Using daily level data between April 1 and May 31 for 18 of the major states, we find that both testing and social distancing have a negative effect on COVID-19 fatalities in India. Further, testing is more helpful in reducing CFR for states with lower per capita health expenditure and weaker medical infrastructure. This highlights how ramping up testing can aid states that have a weak health care system through the detection of infection, contact tracing and isolation. In contrast, social distancing measures are more effective in states that are less populous and have lesser people dwelling in single-room houses. Our results confirm the role of pre-existing institutional factors in shaping the effect of policy actions on health outcomes.     

试析民族主义在非基督教运动中的作用问题

在非基督教运动中,不同党派、不同信仰的人们向基督教发起猛烈攻击,民族主义在其中起了非常重要的作用。不同信仰的人们都无一例外地受到民族主义的影响。原因在于,20世纪初,反对帝国主义,争取民族独立成为压倒一切的任务。在中国人的心态中,除了向西方学习的心理外,还有不可磨灭的“救亡图存”的民族情结。如果说非基督教运动中存在着某种支配力量的话,那就是民族主义。本文将就民族主义在非基督教运动中的作用做一探讨。     

The 2013 South Tyrolean Election: The End of SVP Hegemony

The results of the 2013 South Tyrolean elections, held on 27 October, caused major changes in the political system of the autonomy. For the first time since the Second World War the South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP) lost its absolute majority. While the German secessionist parties increased their electoral support, the Italian parties suffered heavy electoral losses, thus leading to an under-representation of Italian speakers in the political institutions. The election report shows how the electoral results affect the South Tyrolean system of ethnic proportional representation, which is characterized by an increasing asymmetry.