The Versailles Settlement and Identity in French Flanders

This article examines the local reactions to the Versailles negotiations and final settlement along the north-eastern frontier of France, discussing both immediate reactions to the post-war conditions, as well as longer-term trends in identity formation within the region. It shows that the practical considerations of rebuilding after the war outweighed desire for revenge upon Germany, and that on average they were less interested in forcing Germany to pay more, than ensuring the short term costs were met whoever paid them. It also shows that the peace settlement did have a concrete effect in solidifying the border as a marker of identity, with increasing distinction made between the French Flemish and the neighbouring Belgian population.     

Identity and anxiety: Germany’s struggle to lead

At a time when calls for German leadership abound, we need to ask what kind of leadership Berlin is likely to offer. This paper builds on scholarship that presumes identity as an essential precondition for orderly social life. My focus is on how identity is secured through ontological security-seeking. Ontological security theory reveals how Germany is responding to rising calls for leadership in Europe and beyond and traces these responses to an increasingly stressed identity narrative. It explains both Germany’s reluctance to lead and, being pressed to lead, how leadership is legitimated through discursive adaptation. Whether “leading from the center” or exercising “servant leadership”, ontological security theory exposes the specific interactions between a national self-narrative and a rapidly changing environment. I show how these interactions challenge Germany’s identity and its ability to adapt; how they cause ontological anxiety, and how the scope and direction of adaptation to structural change account for the kind of leadership Germany is able to offer. What we observe is a determined effort to position the country between a traditional culture of restraint that can no longer meet Germany’s responsibilities and a position of hegemony that speaks of self-serving behaviour and dominance.     

Consoling Display of Strength or Emotional Overstrain? The Gendered Framing of the Early “War on Terrorism” in Transatlantic Comparison

This contribution addresses the diverging discourses of the United States, France and Germany in reaction to the terrorist attacks of 2001 in New York and Washington, with a focus on gender. As a discourse analysis, it explores the ways in which the different narratives instantiate dichotomous conceptions of gender. It is argued that owing to the centrality of gendered constructions for identity, and owing to the mutually constitutive nature of the relation between identity and foreign policy, the comparative perspective adopted adds to the understanding of the disparities in enacting foreign policy between these three close transatlantic allies. Not only does this paper expose the contingency of the gendered underpinnings of the US, French and German high-level policy discourses that were constitutive of the early “war on terrorism” but it also shows how these stories matter. The three countries' foreign policy formulations in response to “9/11”, particularly their respective choices between identifying the attacks as acts of war or crime, pursuit or rejection of regime change, and unilateralism and multilateralism, make explicit that the varying degrees of dichotomously gendered framings of identity are constitutively significant for foreign policy formulations.     

The German community in 19<Superscript>th</Superscript> century Hong Kong

This article examines the development of the German community in Hong Kong between the 1840s and the outbreak of the First World War. It pays particular attention to the question of how the Germans, as a minority group in the crown colony, attempted to strike a good balance between integration and segregation, cultural assimilation and dissimilation, national identity and marginalization. Through investigating their social life, missionary activities and economic activities in Hong Kong, it shows that they, on the one hand, cooperated closely with the British who were in charge of key political and economic affairs, and on the other hand worked with the local Chinese on different social stratums. Although the unification of Germany in 1870 strengthened the sense of nationhood among German people in Hong Kong, they strove to strengthen the German cultural and economic network that already existed in and around the colony, without sacrificing their business and social interests which were interwoven with those of the British and the local Chinese. It is this strategy that enabled them to survive in Hong Kong until 1914.     

European debates during the Libya crisis of 2011: shared identity,divergent action

The war in Libya of 2011 is generally portrayed as yet more evidence of the European Union (EU)'s inability to formulate a coordinated foreign policy. While the crisis took place in the EU's backyard, joint foreign policy action was hindered by member states' disagreements on whether or not to establish a no-fly zone in Libya. While this is true of political decision-makers, this paper investigates whether governmental decisions were reflected in similar divisions in national news media or whether references to European identity and criticism of European disunity transcended national media boundaries. Comparing a total of 6746 newspaper articles from Germany, France, the UK, Austria and the USA, the findings show that intergovernmental differences did not lead to similarly divided public spheres. Public debates in France, Germany and Austria constantly referred to a European foreign policy identity, though EU identity references were largely absent from UK newspapers.     

Brockdorff-Rantzau and the Struggle for a Just Peace

Weimar Germany’s first foreign minister, Count Brockdorff-Rantzau, presented the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 with a pamphlet of detailed German counterproposals to the peace terms. In a concise cover letter, which was translated into English by the author of the article, the experienced diplomat Brockdorff-Rantzau put forward his most convincing arguments for a fair settlement at Versailles. Though the counterproposals were ultimately rejected, this rare document represents one of the only direct attempts at negotiation that took place between Germany and the Allied powers. This article analyzes Brockdorff-Rantzau’s style of negotiation in order to discern whether the German government’s hopes for a balanced settlement were based on naiveté or cynicism. By outlining three coherent themes in his writings—anger/defensiveness, compromise, and the rule of law—this paper argues that Brockdorff-Rantzau’s words are indicative of a more cynical motivation behind his seemingly perspicuous arguments.     

Refugee Returns, Civic Differentiation, and Minority Rights in Croatia 1991-2004

Many studies on refugee returns tend to amalgamate the experiencesof migrants and concentrate on return as an end point of therefugee cycle. In reality, however, returnees do not share thesame experience and endure the effects of their displacementlong after they have returned. This study claims that a moreuseful tool of analysis is to consider both the paths of dislocationand the challenges of return and reintegration. It introducesthe concept of ‘civic differentiation’ as a meansof exploring patterns of return and reintegration in post-warCroatia where returning migrants enjoy vastly different accessto critical resources, above all housing and employment. Thisstudy considers the relevance for reintegration of ethnic identity,property ownership, exit routes and time spent in exile, anddescribes five return scenarios: settlement as ethnic colonization;forcible relocation as a result of regional policies; the returnof retirement; settlement following property repossession; marginalizationand exclusion.     

“价值观外交”:德国新政府的外交基轴?

德国新政府提出的“价值观外交”是对默克尔政府开启的“价值观外交”的延续和继承,是作为后现代和后民族国家的德国成功转化身份的必然结果。德国国内政治生态、国际秩序变革和默克尔时期“价值观外交”实践的正向激励,都会促进德国新政府加速推进德式“价值观外交”。但德国的“价值观外交”不完全等同于“意识形态外交”,它给中德关系发展带来的既有机遇也有挑战。未来针对德国新政府对华政策中的“价值观外交”,中国应在坚持“红线”的基础上,注重从积极面入手,明确双方在多边主义规则和制度方面的共同点,争取相互合作以塑造更具包容性的国际秩序。     

The Cold War and European integration, 1947-63

The author discusses the impact the Cold War had on European Integration and, in particular, on the American efforts in support of that initiative. He shows that the perceived Communist threat was an important but not the only motivating force behind America's endorsement of a unified Europe. The other motif he singles out independently of, although not unrelated to, the Cold War was the American aim to contain a renascent Germany. It was this purpose, he maintains, that determined the American long-term option for a supranational structure for an integrated Europe after the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany.     

Security and an Ersatz identity

From the time of the emergence of the two German states in 1949, national questions and security issues were closely linked. The conjoining stemmed in part from Germany's unusual situation as a divided nation, and the ultimate dependence of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) upon the United States for guardianship and protection. West Germans tended to suppress a sense of nationhood, and to identify with Western institutions, especially the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Economic Community (EEC). Membership in the latter allowed Germans to increasingly regard themselves as Europeans first and foremost, thereby avoiding delicate feelings of national identity. NATO not only accorded protection to the FRG, but also institutionalized and enshrined an affinity with the United States. Over time, a maturing process occurred whereby Germans would reconsider their identity and deliberate about their sense of nationhood.     

Back to the future: How Serbia is heading the way of post‐versailles Germany

This analogy written before Milosevic's ouster theorizes that Serbia in the aftermath of Kosovo mirrors Germany after 1919 as a nation forced to accept an imposed peace. From the evidence a resurgence of Serb nationalism and territorial ambition is still inevitable. Various parallels support this conclusion including the use of post‐war sanctions, demands to hand over a wanted war criminal and owe up to guilt, geographical fragmentation, political uncertainty, economic depression, and military association with Russia. The salient point remains one of oversight by the victors to acknowledge an ignominious settlement is the source of all grievances and patterns of instability.     

Recall in Germany: explaining the use of a local democratic innovation

While recall recently has gained slightly more attention from academia, the use of recall has hardly been under systematic scrutiny. Our study tackles this research gap and seeks to answer the following question: What combinations of conditions facilitate or constrain the use of local recall (in Germany)? It provides a qualitative comparative analysis of conditions of recall use in 11 German federal states. Building on theories of democratic innovations and previous studies on recall, we develop an analytic framework systematizing the conditions we include in our empirical analysis along three dimensions: institutional design, attitudinal context, and political context. While our article focuses on Germany, our analytic framework can be applied to study recall in other countries and on other levels, allowing for more systematic comparative research. Applying fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, our article provides a comprehensive picture explaining the use of recall. It shows that political and attitudinal conditions serve as an equally important explanation for recall use as the institutional design of recall does. Our article gives new insights considering the conditions for the use of direct democratic instruments.     

Identity,Insecurity, and Great Power Politics:The Tragedy of German Naval Ambition Before the First World War

Why did Germany pursue naval expansion at the turn of the twentieth century? This question has long puzzled scholars of international security, who consider German naval ambition to be an instance of suboptimal arming—a decision that decreased Germany's overall security and risked the survival of the German state. This article argues that the social desire to be recognized as a world power guided Germany's decision to challenge British naval hegemony. From the beginning of its naval planning, Germany had one clear aim: a powerful fleet of battleships stationed in the North Sea would alter the political relationship with Britain in such a way that it could no longer ignore Germany's claim to world power status. Reconceptualizing Germany's naval ambition as a struggle for recognition elucidates the contradictions at the center of German naval strategy, explaining how the doomed policy could proceed despite its certain failure. The article concludes that the power-maximizing practices of great powers should be seen as an important component of identity construction and an understudied dimension of contemporary security practice.     

从强制仲裁到劳动法庭:印度尼西亚劳动争议解决机制的晚近发展

后苏哈托时期,印度尼西亚废除了苏哈托政府时期的压制性劳工政策,并对其劳动争议解决机制进行重大改革,废除强制仲裁,建立劳动法庭,鼓励争议的自愿性解决。然而,由于缺乏法治和自治传统、经济落后等原因,改革的实效并不理想。然而,印度尼西亚的改革展示了一个转型社会劳动争议解决机制改革的经验和问题,值得思考和借鉴。     

On the Brink of War: The Crisis Year of 1915 in Relations Between the US and Austria-Hungary

This article deals with the development of political relations between the United States of America and Austria-Hungary in 1915. These relations are especially marked by the pressure applied by the Austro-Hungarian government towards diminishing American support of the countries of the Entente. It was a conflict of crucial significance—the actual performance of American neutrality was at stake. The study proves that, as early as 1915, Vienna had already considered the United States as a de facto ally of the powers of the Entente, and it did not put much hope in President Woodrow Wilson's mediating efforts. Furthermore, the article disproves the generally held but erroneous view that, almost till the end of the Great War, the American administration and public felt a certain fondness toward the Danubian monarchy. This is evidenced by the harsh reactions of the American press to the scandalous activities of the Austro-Hungarian embassy in the United States. However, the relations of the United States with Austria-Hungary were less dramatic than those between the United States and Germany.     

German crisis management and leadership—from ignorance to procrastination to action

The financial crisis of 2008 and even more so the crisis of the Eurozone drastically increased the demand for decisive leadership and public crisis management. Due to the size of its economy and its position in the global as well as in the European economy, Germany should take the lead in this crisis management. Germany’s management of the two crises differs but also shows strong similarities. A “center-left Grand Coalition” managed the global financial crisis; a global crisis in which Germany was one among several relevant global players. A center-right government under the leadership of the same chancellor then during the sovereign debt crisis manages the Eurozone crisis. This is a regional crisis but with global implications. German government was slow in responding to both crises but acted eventually after some procrastination. Both cases, however, differ with regards to Germany’s actual role in crisis management. During the global financial crisis, other global actors pushed Germany to the forefront. The Eurozone crisis, a regional crisis, demands a leading role of Germany, the largest economy and member state of the EU. The paper, however, argued that the German crisis management with regards to the Eurozone is very much driven by ideas that preserve German norms but do not live up to the challenges of the crisis. Germany’s insistence in its own interests and norms hinders the delivery of a comprehensive crisis management of the Eurozone crisis within the European Union.     

Reparations in the Long Run

This paper explores how policy-makers during the Second World War attempted to “learn the lessons” of history from the reparations settlement imposed after the First World War. It shows how these lessons were developed and articulated in the formulation of, in particular, American foreign policy, and also their consequences for foreign policy during and after the Second World War. The paper demonstrates the important role of European advisors in shaping American policy, thereby illustrating that not all American lessons of history were born in the USA. It also draws out how many of these lessons have found an echo in the historiography of German reparations that has emerged over the past fifty years. In both periods the issues of enforcement and compliance, the issues that concern us generally in this volume, dominated the debate between advisors and policy-makers.     

Reparations in the Long Run

This paper explores how policy-makers during the Second World War attempted to “learn the lessons” of history from the reparations settlement imposed after the First World War. It shows how these lessons were developed and articulated in the formulation of, in particular, American foreign policy, and also their consequences for foreign policy during and after the Second World War. The paper demonstrates the important role of European advisors in shaping American policy, thereby illustrating that not all American lessons of history were born in the USA. It also draws out how many of these lessons have found an echo in the historiography of German reparations that has emerged over the past fifty years. In both periods the issues of enforcement and compliance, the issues that concern us generally in this volume, dominated the debate between advisors and policy-makers.     

Autocratic legitimation in Iran: Ali Khamenei’s discourse on regime “insiders” and “outsiders”

The article analyses Ali Khamenei’s discourse on insiders and outsiders in the Islamic Republic of Iran, arguing that it shows the leader of an electoral revolutionary regime striving to counter elite fragmentation and growing democratic demands. It studies identity demarcation as a tool of autocratic legitimation. In a political system where the possibility to access political positions depends on supporting a belief-system, all cadres share a basic identity, which rulers can exploit to draw boundaries between “us” and “them”. The analysis reveals how Iran’s leader capitalizes on the existence of an insider-outsider divide to promote ideas about an imagined “we” of the regime. The “we” is portrayed as an Islamic we, fully committed to his rule. The article maintains that Khamenei developed this discourse in response to the challenge of the Iranian reform movement. It analyses, first, the context in which the discourse emerged and, second, the discursive strategy itself, to substantiate the claim. It concludes that the discourse had two essential aims in the containment (1997–2003) and crushing (2009–2010) of the pro-democracy reformist and Green movements: to de-legitimate Khamenei’s opponents through othering and to legitimate the counter-mobilization of repressive agents.     

Film and Media Scholarship on Contemporary India: The Assemblage,the Narrative,and “Bollywood”

Reading the work of film scholars Anustup Basu, Amit Rai and Ravi Vasudevan together, this essay discusses contemporary film and media scholarship in India. It highlights the central differences between these works as pivoting on their research methodologies as well as the way each conceptualizes significant terms, namely, identity, ideology, hegemony, and assemblage. The essay shows that this scholarship proceeds along two routes: one eschews the primacy of the narrative and the concept of identity, focusing instead on the “assembling impulse” of the Hindi film, and the second is attentive to the axes that give form and consistency to the loose assemblages that define the Hindi film in India. As such, film scholarship also makes an argument about the shape of the social formation in contemporary India. While one mode assumes the newness of the contemporary period and argues for a looseness to its political assemblages, the other is invested in delineating what is new about the period and in tracing the hegemonic thrust that gives it shape.