Racial and Ethnic Politics

Ethnicity and machine politics

by Jerome Krase

This is a book I co-wrote with Charles La Cerra: Ethnicity and Machine Politics: The Madison Club of Brooklyn. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1992.

In pursuit of the pagans: Muslim law in the English context

by Prakash Shah

Western and Muslim law. Muslim law is itself a complex, pluralistic amalgam of different legal ‘bricks’, and in the... more Western and Muslim law. Muslim law is itself a complex, pluralistic amalgam of different legal ‘bricks’, and in the context of the struggle for Islam to be acknowledged as a legitimate source of value pluralism in the Western context, the religious aspects of Muslim law, with their doctrinal justifications, are being foregrounded. With the English case as the main focus, I further argue that customs among Muslims are suppressed in this process of ‘shariatisation’. Beyond that, even Muslim doctrines are being placed under the spotlight in various ways. These changes are taking place as a result of Muslims living as nondominant communities in Europe, where they are under the gaze of the dominant culture and are judged to be potential or actual violators of human rights and the rule of law. Relying on Balagangadhara’s (2005) explanation of the ‘dynamic of religion’, I present these processes as an outcome of the collision of two religious cultures, the Islamic and the Western.

Reasons to Ban? The Anti-Burqa Movement in Western Europe

by Prakash Shah

This MMG Working Paper 12-09 (Göttingen: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity) is Co-authored with Ralph Grillo, Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Sussex. Publications include: Pluralism and the Politics of Difference: State, Culture, and Ethnicity in Comparative Perspective, Clarendon Press (1998); editor of The Family in Question: Immigrant and Ethnic Minorities in Multicultural Europe, Amsterdam University Press (2008); co-editor of Legal Practice and Cultural Diversity, Ashgate (2009). Ralph Grillo is a member of the Advisory Group of the Department of Socio-Cultural Diversity of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity at Göttingen.

During the 2000s, the dress of Muslim women in Muslim-minority countries in Europe and elsewhere became increasingly a... more During the 2000s, the dress of Muslim women in Muslim-minority countries in Europe and elsewhere became increasingly a matter for debate and, in several instances, the subject of legislation. In France, a ban on the wearing of the headscarf
in places of education (2004) was followed in 2010 by the law criminalizing the wearing of the face-veil (usually but inaccurately referred to as the ‘burqa’) in public space. Other countries have enacted similar legislation. Muslim women’s dress has historically been a controversial matter in Muslim-majority countries, too, most recently in North Africa following the Arab Spring, but the present paper concentrates on the movement against face-veiling in Western Europe, documenting what has been happening and analysing the arguments proposed to justify criminalizing this type of garment. In doing so, the paper explores the implications for our understanding of contemporary (ethnically and religiously) diverse societies and their governance.
Is anti-veiling legislation a protest against what is interpreted as an Islamic practice unacceptable in liberal democracies, a sign of a wider discomfort with non-European otherness, or an expression of an underlying racism articulated in cultural terms?
Whatever the reason, is criminalization an appropriate response? An Appendix notes some topics for further research.

[2003] Jah People: The Cultural Hybridity of White Rastafarians

by Michael Loadenthal

[This was completed as my first undergraduate independent research in 2003. I am uploading it not because I think it is amazing scholarship, but rather to fit within the other two Rastafarian-themed papers already added.]

Cultural hybridity, the idea that all cultures are composed of elements and influences of other cultures, can be... more Cultural hybridity, the idea that all cultures are composed of elements and influences of other cultures, can be clearly seen in white Rastas’ defiance towards traditional racial roles. While we hold Rastafarian culture in one hand, and white culture in the other, we can clearly see two distinct cultures. But what happens when a white person interacts with a culture that is not their norm? How has Rastafarian thought evolved as to allow whites a role in their movement? What does a culture of white Rastafarians look and feel like? Throughout this study these questions will be explored, and it will be argued that the creation of a white, Rastafarian, hybrid culture was made possible through globalization, the deterritorialization of Rastafari and an inherent fluidity found in Rastafari. Gradually changing views on race, aided by the turbulent political atmosphere of the 1960s and 1970s allowed for whites to become active members in this historically black movement.

Quando nem todos os cidadãos são pardos

by Ricardo Cavalcanti-Schiel

2007. In: Peter Fry et alii. Divisões Perigosas: Políticas Raciais no Brasil Contemporâneo: 263-270. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira.

The Dissolution of the Buryat Autonomous Okrugs in Siberia: Notes from the Field

by Kathryn Graber

2009. Co-authored with Joseph Long. Inner Asia 11:147–155.

This field report comprises observations on the political processes through which the two Buryat autonomous okrugs in... more This field report comprises observations on the political processes through which the two Buryat autonomous okrugs in Siberia were dissolved into (or, in local political rhetoric, ‘unified’with) the larger territories surrounding them in 2008. The two sections discuss the dissolution decisions as observed by the authors in the course of fieldwork, in Pribaikal’e (Cisbaikal) by Joseph Long and in Zabaikal’e (Transbaikal) by Kathryn Graber. Some joint reflections on these events are given at the end.

Ethiopian Dilemma, The Genesis of Ethnic politics, the aftermath and the Road to modernity

by Haimanot Wudufanta

17 September 1969 a second year student by the name Walleligne Mekonen wrote a very provocative and short article... more 17 September 1969 a second year student by the name Walleligne Mekonen wrote a very provocative and short article entitled 'On the Question of Nationalities in Ethiopia' on the then organ of USUAA which was called Struggle, This article though was limited in its depth, ignited a heated debate on which comes first in Marxian paradox of the 'primary contradiction' the national question or Class struggle. Even though it is was some 42 years ago that this article was written, throughout and until now this idea laid the ideological basis for political mobilisation in Ethiopia. According Sara Vaughan, the author of 'Ethnicity and Power in Ethiopia', 'The National Question' and the body politics which emerged there after including many of those which continue to do so could be traced back to the Wlalleligne's idea and his generation. According Teshale Tibebu, the Ethiopian student generation of the 1970's were the most radical student movement in Africa, and one of the most radical in the world. Its radicalism was par with that of the Iranian students. Above all, it was also influenced by Marxist ideology in which the various spectrums such as the 'National Question' and shades stemmed from a sympathetic encounter with Marxist theory. In order to analyze the ideals of that generation one needs to investigate two very important issues mainly 1. the intellectual roots of Marxism 2. the intellectual roots of Ethiopian modern education. On both issues one thing stands out common, both Marxism and the modern education system grew out of the 19th century Eurocentric intellectual culture and the Eurocentric construction/structure of knowledge. To use Teshale's words , it was not Walleligne's fault that his four-page call for the 'deconstruction of the power structure' until now remained unelaborated, unexamined, unexplored, and unresearched. Tilahun Takele (pen name of two later EPRP leaders) enlarged Walleligne's pages, but more does not mean better. The blank spaces of knowledge of Ethiopian society were filled with long quotations form Comrade Stalin and Comrade Lenin. In this conference I will attempt to identify the Genesis of Ethnic politics and its aftermath vis-à-vis Ethiopian quest for Modernity.

Understanding Somalia through the Prism of Bantu Jareer Literature

by Mohamed Eno

In Ali J. Ahmed and Taddesse Adera, eds., The Road Less Traveled:
Reflections on the Literatures of the Horn of Africa.

This essay intends to touch briefly on the comparative cultures between Somalia and some of the communities in the... more This essay intends to touch briefly on the comparative cultures between Somalia and some of the communities in the neighboring countries. Second, the essay discusses the culture and literature of the Bantu Jareer, and their "thought and knowledge," which Sorokin calls "the very essence of civilization." To embark on this journey, we must unlearn much of what has been said of the Jareer, in particular, and of Somali culture in general. This is important if we are to discover what constitutes the aesthetics of Jareer history, literary art, social culture and thought. This act of unlearning what is committed to the official collective memory of the Somali demythologizes what I call "monoculturality of the camel complex" so pervasive in discussions of Somali culture. It is an act also that will help us uncover the Jarrer's "...tool of self-definition in relation to others."-Wa Thiong'o.

Thomas Kuehne, Review of: Phillip T. Rutherford, Prelude to the Final Solution. The Nazi Program for Deporting Ethnic Poles, 1939-1941 (Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2007), H-German, February 2008.

by Thomas Kühne

A Tale of Two Minorities: The State of the Gaboye and Bantu Communities of Somalia

by Mohamed Eno

Co-authored with Omar A. Eno; In Michael Mbanaso and Chima Korieh (Eds.) Minorities and the State in Africa, Cambria Press Inc., (2010)

Dynamics of the Political Alliances of Black Elected Officials in Three Local Governance Bodies in Austin, Texas

by Texas State PA Applied Research Projects

Henderson, Don D., "Dynamics of the Political Alliances of Black Elected Officials in Three Local Governance Bodies in Austin, Texas" (1997). Applied Research Projects, Texas State University-San Marcos. Paper 228.
http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/228

Reparations and Racial Inequality

by Derrick Darby

The Race for the Healthy Body in Thinking the Olympics: the Classical Tradition and the Modern Games (Bristol Classical Press, 2011)

by Debbie Challis

This is the first book to address the convergences and divergences between the ancient and modern Games from the perspective of the classical tradition, examining the ways in which connections between ancient Greece and the revived Olympics may be constructed, interrogated, lauded, or deplored. The Athens Games in 2004 were a climax of convergence, as the Games effectively returned to their ancient origins. Yet the Beijing Games in 2008 celebrated another, even more ancient civilisation. Thinking the Olympics brings together contributions from various disciplines, ranging around two opposing themes. On the one hand, the Games are presented as an ideal enactment of pure, intrinsic Olympic values, such as peace through sport; on the other, the Games appear as a messy performance of extrinsic investments by diverse groups with their own interests, commercial as well as political.

This chapter explores the first national 'Olympic Games' in Britain, held in Crystal Palace in 1866 as a backdrop for... more This chapter explores the first national 'Olympic Games' in Britain, held in Crystal Palace in 1866 as a backdrop for a consideration of connections between physical ideals of of Greek sculpture and fitness and the health of the nation and 'race' in the mid nineteenth century.

Hubungan Etnik di Malaysia: Mencari dan mengekal kejernihan dalam kekeruhan

by Shamsul AB

Ethnic statistics and data protection

by Patrick Simon

report for ECRI, European Council, Strasbourg, June 2007

The Changing Role of Ethnicity in Ethnic Conflicts: The Cases of Cyprus and Sri Lanka

by Zenonas Tziarras

Dissertation, marked with distinction, for the attainment of an MA in International Relations and Strategic Studies, University of Birmingham. Part of it will hopefully get published in a peer reviewed journal. For more info contact zenonas.tziarras@hotmail.com

Ethnic conflicts are the conflicts in which the clashing interests of the conflicting parties are expressed in ethnic... more Ethnic conflicts are the conflicts in which the clashing interests of the conflicting parties are expressed in ethnic terms; but to what extent is ethnicity the underlying cause of such conflicts? In an effort to answer this fundamental question this dissertation addresses the changing role of ethnicity in ethnic conflicts, and how this complicates conflict resolution strategies with regard to the cases of Cyprus and Sri Lanka. Through the comparison of these two cases there can be identified a pattern that shows how ethnicity’s prominence changes overtime and how common historical experiences play an important part. Further, this comparative analysis examines which, and how different factors and policies, intensify ethnic identities and exacerbate ethnic conflict in each case individually. It is argued that although the role of ethnicity could change or evolve during the course of an ethnic conflict, it essentially characterises the nature of the conflict and not its root causes. Other root causes are explored as opposed to ethnicity such as political and economic factors, horizontal inequalities, the role of education, the exploitation of ethnic identity by elites, the colonial history, nationalism, etc. The conflicts in question are seen as historical processes, during which not only their character, but also their nature has been affected. Given that the role of ethnicity in ethnic conflicts does not remain unchanged, the most prominent characteristic of the conflict should be identified in order for more effective resolution strategies to be formulated.

Jean-Philippe Dedieu (avec Odette-Luce Bouvier). “« Personnel domestique » pour employeurs choisis.” Plein Droit, 86, 2010, pp. 33-36.

by Jean-Philippe DEDIEU

A single philosophy and policy of public culture for a cosmopolitan and multicultural city?

by Fatima ZIBOUH

Paper by Fatima ZIBOUH
Co-authored with Joe COSTANZO, University of Maryland (USA)


Forthcoming (2012/13) in the new Taylor & Francis Journal, "Identities."

Though sharing a geographical space, the cultural policies of the Brussels-Capital Region are divided across various... more Though sharing a geographical space, the cultural policies of the Brussels-Capital Region are divided across various levels of authority (federal, communitarian, regional and local). In Brussels, culture is also tied to urban policies, namely education, social cohesion, equal opportunity and youth-specific programming. Owing to its status as a bilingual region, Francophone and Flemish public institutions support different philosophies leading to separate policies, further complicating the management of culture in Brussels. But recently, we have witnessed an emergence of initiatives, headed by local socio-cultural actors, to promote interactions between the Francophone and Flemish cultural institutions, and their respective policies, towards a shared cultural vision for the Brussels Region (ex. Plan culturel pour Bruxelles).

In a post-migration urban setting where foreign and foreign-origin populations make up more than half of the capital’s residents, Brussels’ Francophone and Flemish cultural institutions continue developing different strategies to public arts funding, cultural policy and programming.

Additionally, artistic and cultural actors themselves develop strategies by mobilizing political opportunity structures to acquire funding, participate in cultural programming and to gain recognition (even symbolically) of their talent.

In general, our aim is to explore the philosophies behind Brussels’ political and cultural institutions in their conception of culture and the recognition of cultural uniqueness in the shared space of the Brussels-Capital Region. Concurrently, we study the artists’ own strategies for gaining access to cultural venues, particularly in the case of foreign and foreign-origin artists whose engagement and recognition in Brussels’ cultural scenes have been little studied.

The State of Cypriot Minorities: Cultural Diversity, Internal-Exclusion and the Cyprus ‘Problem’

by Andrekos Varnava

The Cyprus Review (Special Issue on the 50th Anniversary of the Founding of the Republic of Cyprus), XXII, 2, Autumn 2010, 205-18.

Seeking the Tribe: Ethno-politics in Darjeeling and Sikkim

by Sara Shneiderman