scholarly journals Orthodox Christianity and identity: Studies of monastery St. Prohor Pcinjski

Author(s):  
Vesna Djukic

The paper investigates the relationship between the state, society and Serbian Orthodox Church in 19th and 20th century, considered from the standpoint of national identity, as a basic principle of contemporary cultural policies. The aim of the paper is to identify similarities and differences in three intersecting points in time in the relationship between state and church, as well as look at possibilities and obstacles for their cooperation in the context of democratic transition and consolidation of society in Serbia, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia. The theoretical exploration starts from the position that Orthodox Christianity, as it is ?dependent on the state and concept of national church?, is a source of nationalism and obstacle to democracy, based on which a number of intellectuals and civil organizations in Serbia are against acceptance of Orthodox Christianity as an identifier of national identity of post-totalitarian society in Serbia. Qualitative empirical research that investigated the starting theoretical assumptions is based on the case study of Pcinja county in the South East of Serbia, which is a religious, cultural and political centre of this part of Serbia, with monastery Saint Prohor Pcinjski located in its centre. The results of research demonstrated that repressive political factors supressed Orthodox Christianity from the public life, thus there is no empirical evidence of ?Orthodox nationalism?, and instead we can observe that throughout 20th century the church was a victim of ideologies of Yugoslavia, Communist atheism and ethnical nationalisms of the newly established countries in the region. In Serbia, this type of relationship towards Orthodox Christianity moved from former party state that dominated the society into a section of civil society, whose political activities tend to overtake the role of former Communist party. This part of civil society, as it is burdened with totalitarian heritage itself, bases its political attitudes on the empirically unfounded theoretical speculations, which is why, despite its efforts, it represents a challenge to the democratization of inherited post-totalitari an cultural system and an obstacle for Serbian Orthodox Christian community to realize its democratic right to free expression of values and ideas in which it believes.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Mierzwa

Peace has to be thought of in a more complex way, which is mainly stimulated by women from civil society. Many questions can no longer be addressed in a thematically and politically isolated or delimited way; chains of action and challenges are too interwoven. So far, too little attention has been paid to the preferential option for the poor, the approach of religionless Christianity and a feminist-liberation-theological-pacifist approach. Topics that are more marginal, such as a peace-ethical approach to money and the relationship between peace and health, are also addressed. Finally, the difficult question of how far one may still cooperate with the state when one is on the trail of peace is explored.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 46-66
Author(s):  
Jaime Omar Salinas Zabalaga

This article discusses the film Vuelve Sebastiana (1953) by Jorge Ruiz, focusing on its ideological and aesthetic aspects. The analysis establishes connections between the idea of “nation” in the context of cultural transformation prompted by the economic and social policies of the National Revolution of 1952 and the way the Chipaya community is represented. The central argument is that "Vuelve Sebastiana" can be read not only in relation to the new national identity but as an expression of a new national imaginary regarding the indigenous communities of the Altiplano. The author proposes that "Vuelve Sebastiana" represents the nation through the temporal and spatial cartographies of a modern nation-building project, making visible some of its tensions and contradictions and allowing us to explore the imaginary that has redefined the relationship between the State and the indigenous communities of the Altiplano throughout the  second half of the 20th century.


2020 ◽  
pp. 264-268
Author(s):  
Николай Сапсай

В данном обзоре будет представлен труд, в котором анализируется развитие тенденции черногорских властей к сепаратизму совместно с формированием своей идентичности и церкви. В книге особенно прослеживается радикализация позиции черногорских властей по отношению к сербской идентичности и культуре, в том числе и канонической Сербской Православной Церкви. Также читатeли получат более полную картину о событиях, которые способствовали усложнению взаимоотношений между Церковью и государством в Черногории. Книга будет полезна всем тем, кто интересуется новейшей историей и положением дел в Черногории. This review will present a book that analyzes the development of the Montenegrin authorities’ tendency towards separatism together with the formation of their own identity and church. The book especially traces the radicalization of the position of the Montenegrin authorities in relation to Serbian identity and culture, including the canonical Serbian Orthodox Church. Also, the readers will receive a more complete picture of the events that contributed to the complication of the relationship between the Church and the state in Montenegro. The book will be useful to all those who are interested in the latest history and the state of affairs in Montenegro.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Zeveleva

This article addresses the relationship between the concepts of national identity and biopolitics by examining a border-transit camp for repatriates, refugees, and asylum seekers in Germany. Current studies of detention spaces for migrants have drawn heavily on Agamben's reflection on the “camp” and “homo sacer,” where the camp is analyzed as a space in a permanent state of exception, in which the government exercises sovereign power over the refugee as the ultimate biopolitical subject. But what groups of people can end up at a camp, and does the government treat all groups in the same way? This article examines the German camp for repatriates, refugees, and asylum seekers as a space where the state's borders are demarcated and controlled through practices of bureaucratic and narrative differentiation among various groups of people. The author uses the concept of detention space to draw a theoretical link between national identity and biopolitics, and demonstrates how the sovereign's practices of control and differentiation at the camp construct German national identity through defining “nonmembers” of the state. The study draws on ethnographic fieldwork at the Friedland border transit camp and on a discourse analysis of texts produced at the camp or for the camp.


Author(s):  
Geoffrey Lugano

This chapter provides an overview of the relationship between civil society and the Kenyan state. It unveils two contradictory trends: civil society’s opposition to, and co-optation by/cooperation with, the state. The chapter argues that these tendencies are contingent on organizational positionality within the prevailing political settlement, which constitutes state authority. The trends further affirm the centrality of civil society in Kenya’s political settlements, and associated reflections of key societal divisions along ethnic and political lines that in turn help to shape organizational relations with the state and broader society. Overall, the checkered relationship between state and civil society supports both popular perceptions of the latter’s contributions to democratization, as well as concerns regarding its transformative potential.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 309-335
Author(s):  
Klaudiusz Święcicki ◽  

The article discusses the process of increased interest in Zakopane and Podhale culture in the second half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century. Discusses the problem of highlanders acquiring national identity. Characterizes the environment of the intellectual and artistic elite of Zakopane. Attempts to analyse how fascination with the Tatra landscape and highlander culture influenced the formation of one of the myths that fund modern national identity. Tries to show how the artists influenced the development of Zakopane as a holiday spa. It also shows the impact of bohemia on the transformation of the culture of highlanders in the Podhale region. The second part of the article discusses the relationship of the poet Jan Kasprowicz with Podhale. His peregrinations to Zakopane and Poronin were presented. On the selected example from creativity, an attempt was made to analyse the poet’s fascination with the Tatra Mountains and highlander culture.


Author(s):  
Sol Calandria ◽  
Luis González Alvo

This article analyzes the administration of women’s prisons in Argentina during the process of state consolidation, using two prison cases: the Correctional Institution for Women (Santa Fe) and the Olmos Prison for Women (Buenos Aires). In both cases, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd’s administration faced resistance from several state and non-state agents. We revisit an old issue using a new gender approach to investigate the relationship between female punishment, civil society, the state, its agents. The aim is to contribute toward a historical, non-androcentric analysis of women’s prisons using archival research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-340
Author(s):  
Markian Dobczansky ◽  
Simone Attilio Bellezza

AbstractThis article introduces a special issue on Ukrainian statehood. Based on the conference “A Century of Ukrainian Statehoods: 1917 and Beyond” at the University of Toronto, the special issue examines the relationship between the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1920 and the Soviet Ukrainian state over the long term. The authors survey the history of the Ukrainian SSR and propose two points of emphasis: the need to study the promises of “national” and “social” liberation in tandem and the persistent presence of an “internal other” in Soviet Ukrainian history.


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