Everyday Construction of Identity in the Estonian Refugee Community in Sweden

Social constructionist approaches underscore that identity is constantly negotiated. It emerges as values and attitudes are promoted and confronted in everyday actions, behavioral patterns and fleeting comments by participants in social events. This article analyzes membership categorization and pragmatic code-switching in the Swedish Estonian refugee community, demonstrating the fragile balance between ‘Estonian’ and ‘Swedish’. The speakers orient to Estonian Estonian as the target variety of language, while frequently using Swedish for sense-making. The analysis is based on audio and video recordings of Swedish Estonian club activities and research interviews.     

Australia and the Baltic States, 1919–1945

Praised by international organizations, Estonia and Slovenia have long been considered among the most successful post-communist states. Estonia quickly transformed itself into one of the most liberal economies in the world, whereas Slovenia opted for a social justice-oriented market economy. Still, the roots of their success coincide in that consensus played a crucial role. We argue that the public sphere was never as repressed in Estonia and Slovenia during the communist period as it was elsewhere. Distinct national identities continued to be formed and re-formed by intellectuals during the decades of communist rule, who assumed roles as political leaders when the transition started. Consensus based on these national identities legitimized reform policies for the entire decade of the 1990s.     

Exploring Russian-Speaking Identity from Below: The Case of Latvia

Recent research on the acculturation strategies of Russian speakers in Latvia has demonstrated that there is a high level of support for integration (identifying with both Latvian and Russian cultures) compared to marginalization, separation, or assimilation. However, a number of researchers have also highlighted the negative impact of top-down narratives and discourses produced by the country's politicians and journalists. These discourses, it is argued, hamper the integration process by creating incompatible identity positions between ‘Russian-speakers’ and ‘Latvians’. Accordingly, this research turns to focus group interviews with Russian speakers in Latvia in order to uncover the nuances of their identity-forming processes, their relations with the respective Russian and Latvian states, and their acculturation strategies, which are commonly overlooked in top-down accounts. Based on the analysis of the qualitative data it will be argued that there is great potential for an integrated, yet culturally distinct Latvian-Russian identity in Latvia.     

Regulating electronic identity in the European Union: An analysis of the Lisbon Treaty’s competences and legal basis for eID

This paper discusses the feasibility of EU legal action in the field of electronic identity (eID) within the new distribution of legal competences and the provision of novel legal basis engendered by the Treaty of Lisbon. The article attempts to find a ‘legal anchor’ to the idea of a pan-European electronic identity within EU law, looking at the issues of competences and legal basis. After examining various different areas of competence and the most feasible (and probable) candidates for a legal basis supporting an EU legal framework for eID, the paper argues that the latter should be found in the combination of Article 16 TFEU (concerning the right to the protection of personal data) with Article 3 TUE, and Articles 26 and 114 TFEU (concerning the establishment and functioning of the Internal Market), which also constitute the area of competence where an eID legal initiative can be pursued.     

Analysis about Identity and Diversity of the Legal Culture in View of ＂One Country Two Systems＂ and Its Embodiment in China： Writing with Formation of the Socialist Legal System of China＇s Characteristics

法律文化的概念外延包括了规范制度形态、意识观念形态、实践活动形态的法律文化。法律体系问题主要属于规范制度形态的法律文化,而法系的问题主要属于意识观念形态和实践活动形态的法律文化。由于实行“一国两制”,在“两岸三地”即中国大陆、香港、澳门和台湾存在着多种法律体系与法系,这是“中国特色”的体现。中国特色社会主义法律体系形成之后,我们还可以在“一国两制”的视野下,继续探讨法律文化的同一性与多样性问题,对中西方法律文化中蕴藏的优秀精神——对法治的崇尚和对统治的信念,通过实践不断地选择,融化成一种崭新的、先进的法律文化体系,将法治精神与民族精神融为一体,建成法治国家。     

台湾外省第二代家族书写研究

近年,台湾的认同问题越发引起关注。面对父辈的衰弱与消亡,外省第二代作家张大春、骆以军、陈玉慧等纷纷介入家族小说的创作,企图以文字为"我族"保存记忆与建构认同。他们有着相似的关怀与焦虑,但外省族群内部并非铁板一块。本文旨在厘清外省第二代作家近期小说中的家国想象与族群建构,同时论述空间地景与文化记忆所彰显的多音交叠的差异性认同取向。     

台湾地景书写与文化认同研究

不同时期的文人对台湾地理环境与人文环境的描写,呈现出不同的台湾形象。地景书写是文学作品书写的重要面向。本文主要选取那些与文化认同密切相关的地景书写,以不同历史时段的文学作品为基础,阐述地景的变迁对叙事者书写文字符码的影响,叙事者的文化认同所影响的台湾地景书写变化的复杂路径,近20年来地景书写与台湾人的集体记忆和认同变迁存在的关系等问题,并经由对地景书写的美学符号分析,展演出文化关怀与认同的复杂变貌。     

试析三岩社会的农牧二元经济

为克服土地资源的不足,三岩峡谷历史地形成了农业与牧业两种生产方式并存的经济结构。农牧并举的二元经济结构也在很大程度上影响了三岩峡谷内部的社会及文化。与土地相关的一系列技术与文化成为当地的文化核心,而其他的文化要素都根源于三岩人使用土地的技术。由此导致三岩的二元结构并没有与社会的阶序化相结合,也没有形成人群之外的二元划分,而是始终依附于特定生态与自然环境以及与此相适应的血缘群体。     

The Church,Ethnonationalism, and the State

Although the process of the acquisition of independence by countries and large ethnic groups in the post-Soviet region and the Eastern Bloc as a whole is complete, over the next few decades Churches are hardly likely to become propagandists of peace and tolerance.     

The 2013 CLSR-LSPI seminar on electronic identity: The global challenge – Presented at the 8th International Conference on Legal,Security and Privacy issues in IT Law (LSPI) November 11–15, 2013, Tilleke & Gibbins International Ltd., Bangkok,Thailand

We are the middle of a global identity crisis. New notions of identity are made possible in the online world where people eagerly share their personal data and leave ‘digital footprints’. Multiple, partial identities emerge distributed across cyberspace divorced from the physical person. The representation of personal characteristics in data sets, together with developing technologies and systems for identity management, in turn change how we are identified. Trustworthy means of electronic identification is now a key issue for business, governments and individuals in the fight against online identity crime. Yet, along with the increasing economic value of digital identity, there are also risks of identity misuse by organisations that mine large data sets for commercial purposes and in some cases by governments. Data proliferation and the non-transparency of processing practices make it impossible for the individual to track and police their use. Potential risks encompass not only threats to our privacy, but also knowledge-engineering that can falsify digital profiles attributed to us with harmful consequences. This panel session will address some of the big challenges around identity in the digital age and what they mean for policy and law (its regulation and protection). Questions for discussion include: What does identity mean today? What types of legal solutions are fit for purpose to protect modern identity interests? What rights, obligations and responsibilities should be associated with our digital identities? Should identity management be regulated and who should be held liable and for what? What should be the role of private and public sectors in identity assurance schemes? What are the global drivers of identity policies? How can due process be ensured where automated technologies affect the rights and concerns of citizens? How can individuals be more empowered to control their identity data and give informed consent to its use? How are biometrics and location-tracking devices used in body surveillance changing the identity landscape?