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The Ideological Hypocrisy of Hindu Nationalism in Present-Day India

By Guest Writer Hamir Thapar It is difficult to contest the claim that the 2024 Lok Sabha election was not the vote of confidence many expected. Narendra Modi may be just the second Indian Prime Minister ever to secure three consecutive terms, but with the National Democratic Alliance securing just 240 out of 545 seats, […]

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“Infernal Affairs” and Hong Kong’s identity crisis

By Hannah Jung “The worst of the eight hells is continuous hell – it has the meaning of Continuous Suffering.” The 2002 action thriller Infernal Affairs opens with this unsettling verse from the Nirvana Sutra. It turns to the drug lord Hon Sam recruiting Lau Kin-ming as his mole in the police, while Superintendent Wong […]

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The Yuanming Yuan: A Symbol of National Humiliation and Resurgence

By Qishen Peng The Yuanming Yuan, also known as the Old Summer Palace, was a vast imperial garden complex in Beijing, renowned for its exquisite architecture and cultural treasures. In October 1860, during the Second Opium War, French and British troops destroyed the Yuanming Yuan to punish China for its delay in settling the conflict. […]

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Clarkson, Lloyd-Webber: millionaires, entertainers…Farmers?

By Angelika Etherington-Smith In November 2024 thousands of farmers descended upon Westminster protesting the new the Labour government’s reform to Inheritance tax – making farmers pay 20% over 10 years and from which they have been except since 1984. Leaders of the protest included composer Andrew Lloyd-Webber and presenter Jeremy Clarkson, with the latter running […]

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The Jura Question

By Idunn Engstad On September 22nd this year, the Swiss Cantons of Bern and Jura voted on the destiny of a town called Moutier. With a remarkable 83.2% approval rate from Canton Bern and 72.9 % (Keystone SDA, 2024) from Canton Jura, Moutier will officially ‘move’ Cantons in 2026. This comes 44 years after Canton […]

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Derry City’s Irish identity in Northern Irish Football

By Anonymous On 13th July 2023, in the Faroese capital of Tórshavn, a UEFA Champions League match between HB Tórshavn and Derry City became a brief sensationalised political spectacle. As hosts, HB had accidentally flown the Ulster Banner instead of the Irish tricolour. Highlighting a status of affairs unaware by many in the football sphere. […]

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Ancestor Worship Culture

By Qishen Peng China has historically been a long-standing agricultural patriarchal society, where the strong concept of bloodline ethics has led the Chinese to place great importance on their roots. Ancestor worship has become a key symbol of identity recognition, and there are two main perspectives on this. The first perspective stems from Confucian teachings […]

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Basque Nationalism in Football: Athletic Club

By Benjamin Ruz Vega Basque national identity was subjected to an important struggle for survival during the 20th Century. The dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and Francisco Franco diminished the political autonomy of the Basque country and oppressed them constantly through laws and edicts that targeted their political individuality and desire for independence (Macko, 2011, […]

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Moana Pasifika: rugby and the Pasifika identity

By Julien McCallin ‘We should not be defined by the smallness of our islands but in the greatness of our oceans. We are the sea; we are the ocean. Pasifika is us.’ (5) Professor ‘Epeli Hau’ofa In 2022, a new team joined the Super Rugby Pacific competition, the Oceanic rugby league: Moana Pasifika. The team […]