Subversive Archaism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Herzfeld
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Equation Of State ◽  
Urban Slum ◽  
The Political ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Slum Dwellers ◽  
State Authority ◽  
Modern Nation State

In Subversive Archaism, Michael Herzfeld explores how individuals and communities living at the margins of the modern nation-state use nationalist discourses of tradition to challenge state authority under both democratic and authoritarian governments. Through close attention to the claims and experiences of mountain shepherds in Greece and urban slum dwellers in Thailand, Herzfeld shows how these subversive archaists draw on national histories and past polities to claim legitimacy for their defiance of bureaucratic authority. Although vilified by government authorities as remote, primitive, or dangerous—often as preemptive justification for violent repression—these groups are not revolutionaries and do not reject national identity, but they do question the equation of state and nation. Herzfeld explores the political strengths and vulnerabilities of their deployment of heritage and the weaknesses they expose in the bureaucratic and ethnonational state in an era of accelerated globalization.

From outside the Imperium: Gandhi's Cultural Critique of the ‘West’

1981 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashis Nandy
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Cultural Relativism ◽  
The Political ◽  
Cultural Critique ◽  
Nation State ◽  
The West ◽  
Equitable Distribution ◽  
Modern Culture ◽  
Shifting Baseline ◽  
Modern Nation State

Gandhi considered the cultural gap between the modern and the non-modern cultures deeper than that between the West and the East. It is the modern culture he rejected, not only as a social ideal, but also as a framework within which one could struggle for an equitable distribution of the products of modernity. Thus, to him, the demonic aspects of the modern Western culture did not centre around only the political economy of modernity, but also around modern West's scientific secularism, technologism, overorganization, ideologies of adulthood and masculinity, giganticism, stress on normality and oversocialization, and cultural evolutionism. Such a critique allowed Gandhi to see the West as a differentiated structure and the Western man as a co-victim of the oppression of the modern nation-state system, centralized economy, mass media and technocracy, and an ethic which was openly ethnocidal. Traditional cultures also were not undifferentiated to him. He was a critical traditionalist, not an uncritical defender of faiths, and he believed in ‘negative’ relativism, not in the anthropologist's version of cultural relativism. No culture could be perfect in his model, not even a traditional one; it could only be useful as a shifting baseline for cultural criticism.

Switzerland

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Campbell ◽  
John A. Hall
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
Nation State ◽  
2008 Financial Crisis ◽  
The 2008 Financial Crisis ◽  
Modern Nation State

This chapter examines how Switzerland managed the 2008 financial crisis. It first provides an overview of Switzerland's transition into a modern nation-state before discussing the institutional factors that crystallize Swiss national identity despite cultural differences, including the country's exposure and vulnerability to outside threats. It then considers Switzerland's thick institutions in relation to federalism and direct democracy as well as the structure of the economy. It also describes the oigins of the 2008 financial crisis and Switzerland's response to it in the form of bailouts for banks, including UBS and Credit Suisse. It shows that despite the closed and insulated nature of crisis management, Swiss technocrats managing the crisis were not averse to consulting with outside experts.

A Short History of the Cross-Class Coalition

2020 ◽  
pp. 85-90
Author(s):  
Yael Tamir
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
The Political ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Social Cooperation ◽  
Short History ◽  
Collective Effort ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Distribution Of Power ◽  
Modern Nation State

This chapter begins with narrating the creation of a cross-class coalition to offer all citizens a set of valuable goods and opportunities. It notes that nationalism started as a project of the elites, and in order to materialize it, they had to gather the support of the people. The chapter emphasizes that for social cooperation to prevail, participants need not attain identical goods and benefits; it is sufficient that they secure for themselves significant benefits they could not have otherwise acquired. It argues that membership in the nation became the relevant criteria for inclusion (and exclusion). Wealth, education, skills, and social status were still relevant for the distribution of power but could not be used as benchmarks for participation in the political game. The chapter also examines how the nation-state gave members of all classes a reason to participate in a collective effort to form a national political unit that would benefit (albeit in different ways and to a different extent) all its members. Ultimately, the chapter investigates why the emergence of the modern nation-state paved the way for inclusive social policies.

scholarly journals From Fretilin to freedom: The evolution of the symbolism of Timor-Leste's national flag

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-249
Author(s):  
Catherine Arthur
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
The Political ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Crucial Aspect ◽  
Timor Leste ◽  
National Flag

Since regaining its independence in 2002, nation-building has been the focus of much scholarly research on Timor-Leste. National identity construction is a crucial aspect of this process, yet the ways in which this identity is officially represented has been largely overlooked. This article takes the national flag of Timor-Leste as a case study to explore the ways in which a historic East Timorese national identity has been symbolically constructed and visually embodied. By considering the potency of flags in an East Timorese cultural context, and by analysing the origins of Timor-Leste's flag alongside that of the political party Fretilin (Frente Revolucionária do Timor-Leste Independente), it becomes clear that post-independence re-imaginings of its symbolism have rendered it a powerful national symbol in the contemporary nation-state.

The Challenge of Religious Governance in the Modern Nation-State

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-41
Author(s):  
Omer Awass
Keyword(s):  
Islamic Law ◽  
The Political ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Legal Tradition ◽  
Islamic Republic ◽  
Ethnographic Interviews ◽  
Governmental Body ◽  
Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽  
Current Member ◽  
Modern Nation State

Abstract This article explores the tensions of Islamic governance in contemporary Iran by examining the convergence of Islamic law with modern practices of governance. One key contention with contemporary statehood this political project is trying to reconcile is how to re-embed religious norms in the secularized political sphere. I assert that the political and legal practices for re-embedding these norms indicate an epistemic shift in the modes of legitimation within Muslim political and legal tradition possibly leading to the formation of a new Islamic political orthodoxy. This exploration is based on information from ethnographic interviews conducted with the former President of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1989–1997), the late Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and former Minister of Radio and Television (1981–1994) and the current member of the Expediency Council, Muhammad Rafsanjani. The article bases its argument by analyzing two variant forms of political practice. First, scrutinizing the fatwas of Ayatollah Khomeini that played a crucial role in influencing policy in the first decade of the Islamic Republic. Second, examining the adjudications of a conciliar governmental body (Majma-e Tashkhis-e Maslahat) formed a decade after the revolution to resolve the tensions associated with the implementation of Islamic law in this modern nation-state.

Die Konstruktion einer nationalen Identität in Namibia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cosima Crawford
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
The Political ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Political Interests

What is the essence of national identity? Why is this collective sentiment such an important feature for governments? How is it that the idea that the nation-state is a natural habitat for a culturally-defined, politically non-descript collective is still so very much alive, even though intellectual concepts that show quite the opposite, namely how national culture is constructed according to the political interests of an established regime, have become popular already back in the 80s? The author addresses these and related questions and examines the various initiatives that sought to create a national identity in Namibia during the first decade following its independence.

THE FORMATION OF A JAPANOCENTRIC WORLD ORDER

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arano Yasunori
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
World Order ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Modern Nation State

Two major phenomena helped define Japan's foreign relations in the early modern period: the ban on international maritime travel and trading, and the Japanese adaptation of a Sinocentric rhetoric governing foreign relations with tributary states. In this article I will describe and analyze how these phenomena emerged and evolved, with special emphasis on the role they played in shaping Japan as an early modern nation state and forming for it a sense of “national identity.” My examination will focus on them especially in the context of Japan's relationship with its East Asian neighbours, and I place particular emphasis on four points.

scholarly journals THE POLITICAL THOUGHT OF MIRZA NAINI

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (03) ◽  
pp. 263-270
Author(s):  
Syed Zeeshan Haider Zaidi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legitimate Authority ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Common People ◽  
Modern Nation State

In Islam this is Gods right to rule over man and he gave this right according to Sunni Islam to everyone who possesses some abilities mentioned in books written by jurists but Shia Muslims believe that not only God is legitimate authority, He also appointed specific persons for political leadership after prophet Mohammad (peace upon him), they are twelve Imam the last Imam Mahdi(peace upon him) went to major occultation in 941 and till sixteenth century Shia Muslims could not establish government like Safivids dynasty in Iran.The rise of the modern nation-state in the Middle East in the early 20 century led to debates around the role of the clergy in the state and the nature of an Islamic state There was a controversial debate about constitution, is it legitimated according to Islam or not? In the responseTanbih al ummah va Tanzih al Millahwas written by Mirza Naini. He supported the idea of making constitution and legitimacy of assembly where representatives of people can do legislation because these two can control kings selfishness and make him away from tyranny. He also accepted concept of nation-state and proved that these concepts are not bidah.(condemnable innovation in religion)He believed in equality of common people with rulers along with their right of freedom.

War and Religion: The Iran−Iraq War

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peyman Asadzade
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Iraq War ◽  
Public Support ◽  
State System ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Arab Nationalism ◽  
Centered Form ◽  
The People ◽  
Modern Nation State

Religion has historically played a central role in motivating rulers to start and individuals to participate in war. However, the decline of religion in international politics following the Peace of Westphalia and the inception of the modern nation-state system, which built and highlighted a sense of national identity, undermined the contribution of religion to politics and consequently, conflict. The case of the Iran−Iraq War, however, shows a different pattern in which religion did play a crucial role in motivating individuals to participate in war. Although the evidence suggests that religious motivations by no means contributed to Saddam’s decision to launch the war, an overview of the Iranian leaders’ speeches and martyrs’ statements reveals that religion significantly motivated people to take part in the war. While Iraqi leaders tried to mobilize the population by highlighting the allegedly Persian-Arab historical antagonism and propagating an Iraqi-centered form of Arab nationalism, Iranian leaders exploited religious symbols and emotions to encourage war participation, garner public support, alleviate the suffering of the people, and build military morale. The Iranian leadership painted the war as a battle between believers and unbelievers, Muslims and infidels, and the true and the false. This strategy turned out to be an effective tool of mobilization during wartime.

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