Anticipating demographic superiority: Kazakh thinking on integration and nation building

"In order to understand and to forecast what kind of nations will take shape in the new states of the former Soviet Union it is important to focus on the express objectives and actual strategies of the nation builders.... In this article I will concentrate on the ideological aspect, that is, on official and semi-official statements outlining the idea of ?the Kazakhstani nation', as Kazakhstani nation builders would like to see it develop." Particular attention is given to the changes in the ethnic composition of the country due primarily to the different demographic characteristics of the main ethnic groups that make up the population, the ethnic Kazakhs and Russians, and to the political implications of the growth of the Kazakhs from a minority to a majority ethnic group.     

对外政策优先还是国内政治优先?——埃卡特·克尔关于德意志第二帝国海军扩张问题的研究

德国历史学家埃卡特·克尔将社会和经济力量引入对第二帝国海军问题的研究,针对传统兰克史学所遵从的"对外政策优先"原则,提出"国内政治优先"的论断。克尔在德国国内政治和社会经济基础上,揭示海军扩张与帝国主义政策这两个问题与当时德国的社会经济状况、阶级结构、利益集团和政党政治之间的紧密联系。克尔的研究侧重社会史,强调经济和社会结构的决定性作用,重视阶级分析方法的使用,有很强的马克思主义色彩。克尔的研究表明,外交史和国际关系史的书写在档案之外还应关注更广阔的经济、社会力量,兼顾国际关系与国内政治,综合社会、文化、经济和观念诸方面并展现它们相互影响和交织的立体图景。     

Overurbanization and underdevelopment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-national study

"This paper discusses both the urban bias and world-system theories of overurbanization and presents a cross-national analysis of 32 African nations to test these perspectives. The analysis is divided into three parts. First, the effects of urban bias (i.e., the disparity in welfare between rural and urban areas) and economic dependence on overurbanization are examined. Next, the association between overurbanization and (1) the structure of the labor force and (2) economic growth is tested. Finally, the relationship between the structure of the labor force and economic growth is evaluated." The results indicate that "the rural-urban disparity and foreign investment facilitate overurbanization, and that an increase in level of overurbanization has a deleterious impact on both the structure of the labor force and economic growth. Furthermore, there is strong evidence indicating that an increase in service-sector employment has a negative effect on economic growth."     

Immigration and the Remaking of New York

Abstract

The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act abolished quotas that favored European immigrants, and for the first time placed all countries on an equal footing. The law resulted in increased overall immigration, and altered the sources of immigrants to the U.S. Since 1970, New York City has absorbed 2.6 million immigrants, primarily from non-European sources, who have dramatically altered the City's racial/Hispanic mix. Using immigration and birth records, as well as data from decennial censuses, this paper examines immigration to New York and assesses the demographic impact of these flows on the City's population.

Current immigrant flows have noticeably increased the ethnic diversity within the major race/Hispanic groups. This is largely due to increases in refugee flows, and to recent changes in immigration law that allow for “diversity” visas, which are aimed at countries that are under-represented in immigration flows to the U.S. Diversity immigration has provided New York with a continuing flow of new groups, most recently from Bangladesh, Mexico, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, who have established enclaves in many of the City's neighborhoods. The increasing diversity poses serious challenges for social service and health care professionals, who need to devise new strategies to deal with the disparate socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, and belief systems of new ethnic groups. This is especially important given that New York's ethnic mix will continue to be churned, especially by way of diversity immigration and refugee flows from all parts of the globe.     

Repression and the Spread of Ethnic Conflict in Kurdistan

Why do ethnic conflicts spread to neighboring states? This article examines the effect of transborder ethnic groups on the spread of ethnic conflict. It argues that when a transborder ethnic group is in conflict in one state, neighboring states perceive a threat from members of that ethnic group residing in their own territory, leading the state to take preemptive repressive action. This repression in turn changes the ethnic group's security situation within the state and can result in violence and thus ethnic conflict. Ethnic conflict spread is not determined by the actions of either the ethnic group or the state alone, but is a product of threat perception and interaction between the two groups. This argument is tested in a set of cases in a region where an ethnic conflict seems to have spread—the Kurds in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey from 1961–2003.     

Fertility and childbearing practices among poor Gypsy women in Hungary: the intersections of class, race and gender

This article explores changes in childbearing practices among Gypsy (Roma) women in a small village in Northern Hungary. The author benefited from several years of ethnographic field research and data collected in this village, where the proportion of the out-of-wedlock births and births to teenage—mostly Gypsy—mothers have increased by a factor of three in the past 10 years as the population of the village has become more and more impoverished and the opportunities for geographic or social mobility declined sharply for the ethnic minority. The author argues that bearing children early is a sign of passage to adulthood in this group of women, a function which had been assigned to other social institutions before 1989. Early childbearing at the same time exacerbates the problem of Gypsy women: this is the first study which documents the consequences of poverty on women’s and children’s health by showing an increase in low birth weight babies in the community since 1989.     

The Religious Dimension of Post-Communist “Ethnic” Conflict

1 This paper is a result of the ongoing research project, “Transnational Politics in the Black Sea Rim: Religions, States, and Minorities” (April 2009–March 2012) financed by the Japan Ministry of Education. The draft of this paper was presented at the international conference, “The Modernization of Russia and Eurasia: Challenges and Opportunities,” held at National Chengchi University (Taipei) 13–14 November 2010. View all notesThe collapse of socialist regimes resulted in tremendous regional realignments in the regions surrounding the heartland of Eurasia. Remarkably, not only states, but also transnational actors have played significant roles in this process. This study highlights transnational ethnicities (Mingrelians, Armenians, and Muslims) in Abkhazia, and tries to describe how the involvement of transnational religious organizations (such as the Armenian Apostolic Church and Turkey's Diyanet) affected the politics around these minorities. In the Black Sea rim, interstate and transnational politics are rather autonomous from each other. For example, when scores of powerful countries, such as the United States and European Union member states, desperately tried to ignore Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, regarding it as a lawless act, Turkey's Diyanet admitted that Russia's recognition of Abkhazia created a new legal situation and began to fulfill its long-dreamed-of desire to help the Abkhazian Muslims. According to political conjuncture in Abkhazia, the same Gali population changes from Georgians to Mingrelians and back. This demonstrates how ethnic categories are used in a constructivist way in the Black Sea rim.     

Prayers,pilgrimages and petitions: The secret church and the growth of civil society in Slovakia

The historical feud between Hungary and Romania over Transylvania has escalated in proportion and intensity in recent years. Territorial dispute is no longer central to the present debate. Rather, it is the treatment of approximately two million¹ ethnic Hungarians residing in Transylvania that has generated considerable tension between the governments of Janos Kadar and Nicolae Ceausescu. Transylvania's ethnic Hungarians represent an obstacle to Ceausescu's policy of “national communism,” which promotes “Romanianism” to the detriment of the country's minority populations. In Hungary, reformists both within and outside the Kadar government have pressed the regime for a satisfactory solution to the perceived mistreatment of Hungarians living in neighboring socialist countries. By complicating relations between the two countries, the nationality question also effectively limits the degree to which Hungary and Romania can cooperate succesfully on regional endeavors. Finally, particularly in the case of Romania, exacerbation of the nationality question has attracted increased concern among “external” players, including the Soviet Union and the United States.     

An Analysis of Race Equality Policy and Practice in the City of Birmingham,UK

The city of Birmingham is home to a significant number of ethnic minorities. In 2004 it is estimated that almost a third of the city's one million people are of ethnic minority origin. How the city's institutions have responded to race equality issues is analysed in the light of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report (1999) and the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. Based on secondary analysis of documentary evidence and interviews with key actors, it is shown that ethnic minorities are disadvantaged in education, the labour market, and in relation to health and housing. It is argued that the local authority has made some genuine efforts to ensure that all its citizens are provided equality of opportunity; however, given the diversity and socio-economic polarity of the ethnic minorities in Birmingham, we conclude that race equality policies remain ineffective and a great deal more is required to ensure that ethnic minorities are treated equally as full British citizens.     

Ethiopian federalism: autonomy versus control in the Somali region

This study examines the relationship between Ethiopia's federal and regional authorities since the Tigray led regime came to power in 1991. The redivision of Ethiopia into ethnic regions was aimed to effect two changes: to abolish certain ethnic domination of the state; and to enable various communities to govern their local affairs. Using material from the Somali Region, this article evaluates whether ethnic‐based regional authorities have sufficient autonomy from the centre to be accountable to local populations. The ability of local people to elect their leaders is central to undoing past ethnic injustices. Although communities have gained from the new order, however, the federal ruling party tightly controls regional political authorities. Federal domination of regional governance is partly the result of the ineptness of local elite. This arrangement creates formal ethnic regions without significantly altering power relations in Ethiopia. Consequently, the spirit of the 1991 change is lost as local communities lack leeway while a new ethnic group reigns supreme at the federal level.     

Populations on the move

"This article sets out the broad nature of population movements and changes in distribution which are taking place in the major continental areas of the Third World, while making comparisons and contrasts. It outlines the differing approaches to these movements, and the interpretations of varying ideological and disciplinary points of view. It describes contemporary practical problems and indicates possible future developments." The primary focus is on internal migration.     

The Return of "Captain Moonlight": Informal Justice in Northern Ireland

In the working-class areas of Northern Ireland alternative forms of justice operating in parallel to the State's criminal justice system exist. This informal criminal justice system, administered by paramilitaries, includes threats, warnings, beatings, shootings, and executions. Informal justice mechanisms emerged in the early days of "the Troubles" and have continued to develop. This article maps the development of informal justice in both republican and loyalist areas of Northern Ireland and examines the ways in which paramilitaries "police" their communities and mete out "punishments."     

Understanding Belarus: Belarussian identity

In the first of this three-part series of articles the linguistic situation in Belarus was analysed. The research questions that inform this second article are: 1) What kind of ethnic identity evolved in Belarus that makes most Belarusians insensitive to ‘their own’ national symbols and attached to those embodying their kinship with neighbouring countries? 2) What is the status of the Belarusian national movement when viewed through the prism of the most reputable theories of ethnic nationalism? My attempt to respond to these questions stems from my field observations and familiarity with scholarly studies and other material. Anthony David Smith's classic volume on ethnic origins of nations and Miroslav Hroch's perceptive book on national movements in Europe's ‘small nations’ are of special importance. A quintessential piece on Belarusian identity is Yanka Kupala's play ‘Tuteishiya’; written in 1922 and published in 1924, it was banned by the Soviet authorities primarily because Russian expansionism in regard to Belarus was painted by Kupala as a mirror image of Polish expansionism. The play is every bit as topical today as in the 1920s.     

Determinants of demographic change in transition Estonia

The author discusses the transformation of Estonia to a market economy, with a focus on trends in demographic development. "The transition of society in Estonia has been accompanied by significant changes in the demographic behaviour of the population, including nuptiality, fertility, mortality and population migration.... However, this period has been relatively short, and it is premature to conclude which of the current trends are long-term in nature, and which will have only a short-term effect."     

The Myth of Ulsterization in British Security Policy in Northern Ireland

For many years, the term "Ulsterization" has been a byword for the cynicism with which British governments decided to transfer the responsibility (as well as the human cost) for law enforcement to the local population of Northern Ireland. This analysis, however, demonstrates that Ulsterization has generally been misunderstood. Given that the expansion of local security forces was limited to the police, it is perhaps more appropriate to use the term "de-militarization." Also, the label "Ulsterization" has prevented students of the conflict from understanding the most significant development to follow from the policy changes of 1974-75, namely, the professionalization of the local security forces.­     

Civilizations Out of Sync

Efforts by the Bush Administration to launch an international public relations campaign — under the guidance of the marketing guru behind the Uncle ben' rice advertisements — is a bit naive. "If the Muslim world only understood our good intentions, all would be ok," seems to be the idea. And Hollywood has been enlisted to tell the world, "This is not a war against Muslims."     

A Premonition of Obama: La Raza Cosmica in America

Ryszard Kapuscinski, who died in 2007, was one of the 20th century's greatest literary journalists. He personally witnessed the dramatic post-World War II upheavals of decolonization and revolution across what we used to call "the Third World" and set down his reflections in such best-selling books as The Emperor , about the fall of Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and Shah of Shahs , about the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. He served on NPQ 's editorial board until his death.
When I last saw Kapuscinski for coffee at the Hotel Bristol in Warsaw in the summer of 2005 he was busy preparing a lecture on Herodotus, the ancient Greek traveler and historian regarded as "the father of journalism."
In 1987, NPQ brought Kapuscinski to Los Angeles to roam around and observe North America's largest "Third World city." He stayed at the New Seoul Hotel in the heart of Koreatown, venturing from there all the way down to Disneyland, Hispanic East L.A. and the wealthy Westside. At the end of each day, we sat down to gather his impressions.
Kapuscinski saw the United States as the place where the idea of "la raza cosmica"—the cosmic race—would be realized. For him, America was a premonition of the plural, racially mixed, culturally hybrid civilization the whole world would one day become. In a way, his insight was also a premonition of the presidency of Barack Obama, a self-described cultural and racial "mutt." In a world where the contamination of globalization has sparked troubling yearnings for a return to purity, being a nation of mutts, Kapuscinski understood, is America's competitive advantage.     

The Haiku and the Double Helix

The Changing Global Order: World Leaders Reflect " illumines the human prospect as few works of its kind do," the eminent Cambridge political historian Ralph Buultjens wrote of NPQ's last collection in the Boston Review of Books. But he also properly identified one shortcoming: a lack of coverage of the biosciences "that will surely shape the world to come." For a variety of reasons, NPQ's many pieces over the years on science didn't fit into the geo-cultural and geo-political framework of that project. This special issue serves as a corrective to that shortcoming.     

Factionalism and secession in North Sulawesi Province,Indonesia

This article begins with an analysis of the national programme of economic decentralisation and regional autonomy that was introduced in Indonesia in 2001. It discusses the impact of decentralisation in North Sulawesi Province by examining the changes in its ethnic and religious composition during 1998–2001 and the consequences of these changes. Unlike other provinces in Indonesia, North Sulawesi has not experienced any ethnic and religious conflict as it is dominated by Christians and protected from attacks by Muslim organisations by four Christian militias. However, the decentralisation programme has strengthened the regencies at the expense of the provinces and can result in a third generation of conflicts in Indonesia between the provincial governments and the regencies, and between the regencies themselves.     

Critiquing Liberal Cosmopolitanism? The Limits of the Biopolitical Approach

Today there is a widespread recognition of the erosion of political community on the territorial basis of the nation-state. Instead, alternative framings of "being" political or of engaging in politics have argued for a more radical post-territorial space of political possibilities, of what it means to be political, and of how we envision political community. Through focusing on the two dominant articulations of post-territorial political community, liberal cosmopolitan and radical poststructuralist approaches, this article seeks to analyze the possibilities and limitations inherent in the search for political community beyond the boundaries of the nation-state. The aspiration to engage in, construct, or recognize the existence of a post-territorial political community, a community of broader humanity, has been articulated in liberal terms as cosmopolitanism, driven by global civil society, and in poststructuralist terms as "political cosmopolitanism,""cosmopolitanism-to-come" or the "solidarity of the governed," given its force by the creativity of the resistance to liberal universalism of the "multitude." This article seeks to draw out the similarities between these two contrasting approaches, ostensibly based upon either the extension of or the critique of liberal political ontologies.