Recent international_cees items

The Difficult Role of Parliaments in the Reformed Governance of the European Economic and Monetary Union

Thu, 23 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Difficult Role of Parliaments in the Reformed Governance of the European Economic and Monetary Union

Moroccan Berbers in Europe, the US and Africa and the Concept of Diaspora

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In this paper we will discuss the following question: can the international movement of Berbers be considered a Diaspora? We will first look at the meaning of the concept Diaspora, then at the history, geographical dispersion of Berbers and the current political context in Morocco. After that we discuss some results of a study on new trends among Moroccan associations in the Netherlands and on the Berber associations (Kraal & van Heelsum, 2002). The outcomes show that the number of associations that publicly bare the designation Berber and that are engaged mainly in Berber issues is evidently on the increase in the Netherlands. But identity issues seem to be more important to the members than political ones. We will subsequently describe the activities of the Berber associations throughout Europe and their transnational ties. In conclusion we will examine weather the concept of Diaspora fits to the situation of the Berbers.

Facing the Test of Global Financial and Economic Crisis

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Facing the Test of Global Financial and Economic Crisis

Demonstrative modification of proper nouns: a corpus-based study

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000

This paper focuses on the use of demonstrative ten in modification of proper nouns, in examples such as ty Liblice or ta Praha. This is a topic that has eluded systematic study in the past, due to the difficulty of obtaining a sufficient sample size for a phenomenon that occurs sporadically and primarily in spoken speech. Occasional examples can be found in literary stylizations of dialogue, but generally at wide intervals that prevent efficient searches. In addition, literary stylizations do not necessarily reflect natural spoken language (Gammelgaard 1997, Bermel 2000, and others). The Czech National Corpus provides a remedy to these issues, with its three purely oral corpora (Oral2006, PMK and BMK) that represent both a variety of spoken situation types, and speakers with a variety of demographical features (age, level of education, region of residence). Oral2006 alone contains over 2000 examples of ten + proper noun (in various declensional and gendered forms), while PMK...

Closer Co-operation in Tomorrow’s European Union

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Closer co-operation is possible in two variants, the quasi official "enhanced co-operation" INSIDE the EU treaty and institutions, and the one OUTSIDE the EU and according to treaties established under international law. Their feasibility, utility, and compatibility with basic principles of European integration are examined, and both variants are found to need improvement as to feasibility and to modus operandi.

Such improvements are shown to conflict with compatibility, especially in the case of enhanced co-operation. The Constitutional treaty is a useful indicator for the manner in which this dilemma could be solved: Closer co-operation outside the treaty would be conceded a more legitimate role as an instrument of member states wanting to deepen integration among themselves.

OUT OF EGYPT: Globalisation, marginalisation and illegal Muslim migration to the EU

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0000

The main objective of this paper is to study the impact of globalisation on migratory flows, with a particular attention to the dynamics of migration from the MENA area, especially Egypt. The theoretical aim of the paper is, first, to understand the problem of migration, both legal and illegal, in the context of globalisation; and, second, to assess the relation between globalisation, regionalisation and the EU response to threats of mass immigration from less developed countries. The empirical analysis is based on the results of a survey (110 questionnaires) carried out by the author in Cairo on motivations for migration at the point of origin. The paper argues that the case of Egypt is one in which the lack of regionalisation and the progressive marginalisation of the region and, in particular, of the country under analysis, do explain the increase in permanent migration to more developed countries.

French Vote on EU Constitution

Tue, 8 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0000

French chanson is rightly renowned for finding fitting words and melodies to sing the essential feelings of human life.

„Non je ne regrette rien“, sang Edith Piaf: No, I regret nothing!, and this might be a leitmotif of Non-voters in France when they think of the 29th may 2005 when they succeeded in gaining a majority of 54% and blocking the ratification of the European Constitution, for France, and-–together with the Netherlands–-for the rest of the European Union. The days after, 54% of interviewed Frenchmen confirmed this non, je ne regrette rien, considering themselves satisfied with the NON decision, and ony 39% were dissatisfied. (Eurobarometer 6/2005, par 3.1)

But it is also true that many of them may now already have started to ask themselves, in the words of another icon of French chanson, Gilbert Becaud : „Et maintenant, que vais je faire ?“, And now, what shall I do?

This question is not only asked by them, the parties and other political movements...

Who Is a Nazi Victim? Constructing Victimhood Through Post-War Reparations in France, Germany, Switzerland

Thu, 18 Aug 2005 00:00:00 +0000

The author uses the term “constructing victimhood” to characterize this specific relation, an expression that might sound awkward in the context of Nazi victimization since terms like ‘construction’ or ‘production,’ when used to describe social, cultural and political phenomena, tend to convey the notion that something is invented or even fabricated, therefore not a given reality. It is of course not my intention to leave this impression since there is no doubt about the true nature of Nazi persecution. But instead, she uses the term in an attempt at capturing developments and phenomena of the immediate post-war era that testify to grappling with the extraordinary character of Nazi crimes.

Dionysian Politics and The Discourse of "Rausch"

Mon, 20 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0000

I propose to look back at the sources of ecstatic action, or trance. To understand Rausch we need to accept the inherent link between ecstatic action and transgression, the flouting of norms and boundaries. However, the link itself is a historical one; this paper would narrate a course conducted from three historical moments of Rausch and transgression: In early Romanticism, late Romanticism, and finally the 1920s conceptualization and politicization of both earlier moments.

Expression of Enthusiasm And Emotional Coding in Dictatorship - The Stalinist Soviet Union

Mon, 20 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0000

The propaganda pictures of joyous mass gatherings on Soviet celebrations and the enthusiastic rhetoric of the 1930s. What kind of emotional coding do these crowd choreographies represent? Which concepts of rulership are engraved in such public staging of enthusiasm? Did anything like Rausch exist in the Stalinist Soviet Union?

Nazi Disourses on "Rausch" Before And After 1945: Codes and Emotions

Mon, 20 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0000

How do we explain effects like enthusiasm, fanaticism, collective violence or fraternization, appearances often described during festivals or mass gatherings? Even if we consider the fact, that enthusiastic organizers or observers often invented or exaggerated such collective feelings and even, if we study sources critically and sceptically, we would still have to deal with the problem that the talking about collective emotions is indeed important for the study of public celebrations and other mass gatherings.

Ecstatic Crowds, Addicted Dictators, Intoxicating Politics: Reflections on Rausch and Fascist Italy

Mon, 20 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Can the concept of ecstasy explain some of the rationale of dictatorships, and more specifically of fascism? And can the concept of ecstasy be connected to manipulation? These are the two central questions I would like to raise and explore in this paper, although there are also other questions that will emerge in my discussion which I hope will help clarify the relationship between ecstasy and manipulation

Fascists

Wed, 24 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0000

A review of Michael Mann's, UCLA, Sociology, newly published book on FASCISM, see also Michael Mann's report.

The Rise and Fall of Fascism

Mon, 1 Nov 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Fascism was probably the most important political ideology created during the 20th century. In the inter-war period it dominated half of Europe and threatened to overwhelm the other half. It also influenced many countries across the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and South Africa. In Asia, for example, its influence was probably strongest on the Chinese Kuomintang, Japanese militarists and Hindu nationalists. My book Fascists (Cambridge University Press, 2004) is based on research on fascists where they were strongest, in six European countries -- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania and Spain. In the book I ask the question, why did fascism rise to such prominence? And I answer it looking at the men and women who became fascists: who were they, what did they believe in, and how did they act?

Jewish Social History in the Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries

Wed, 4 Feb 2004 00:00:00 +0000

In the last fifteen years to twenty years there has been an extraordinary upsurge of interest in Jewish history in Germany. For a long time attention was focused almost entirely on questions of persecution, anti-Semitism and the Holocaust; but since the 1980s there has been more wide-ranging and also more intensive preoccupation with Jewish history. However, this applies only to a very limited extent to the Jewish communities in Germany, which have now grown again. At least half the present members are Russian immigrants who have arrived in the past twenty years; only a few members are still connected through their family background to German-Jewish history of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The new interest in Jewish history stems very largely from educated non-Jews - in Germany they are the main audience for the public events and publications on this theme, and most of the scholars, writers, journalists and cultural managers working in this field are also recruited from...

Globalization and its Impact on Core-Periphery Relations

Wed, 4 Feb 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Globalization is probably the most often used term in social sciences nowadays. Several colleagues, however, maintain that there is nothing new in globalization. The entire early modern and modern history were periods of permanent development of globalization, especially after the discoveries, building colonial empires, later railroads, and establishing laissez-fair system an the international gold standard. The world, no doubt about it, became more international, if you want global all the time.

Michael Bazyler's Holocaust Justice

Fri, 5 Dec 2003 00:00:00 +0000

Regula Ludi examines whether the successful resolution of Holocaust restitution claims is a landmark in establishing accountability for past wrongdoing and extending universal jurisdiction to the corporate realm. Focusing on the unique historical circumstances surrounding the successful legal battles, she asks how they affected our understanding of moral and political obligations associated with the Nazi past, and what implications their successful resolution has for future human rights campaigns

Negotiating Globalization: The Challenges of International Intervention Through the Eyes of Albanian Muslims, 1850-2003.

Fri, 20 Jun 2003 00:00:00 +0000

Since the attacks on New York and Washington DC in 2001, the US public has become actively engaged in what the White House has coined a 'war on terrorism.' While the adversaries are becoming increasingly clear to the larger public, regional experts have known for years that significant threats have been cultivated from countries like Saudi Arabia which has used religious intolerance and endless supplies of petrol dollars to indoctrinate impoverished and vulnerable populations throughout the world. Indeed, the identification of the Taliban in late 2001 as a central threat to US security has been looked upon by specialists with a sense of irony. After all, it was Saudi Arabia that was the primary source of both financial and ideological support for the Taliban movement. This paper studies another case of aggressive Saudi indoctrination. The war-torn region of Kosova has, since the end of war in mid-1999, been flooded by organizations linked to the same educational and humanitarian...