Approval even at the price of neo-fascism

The neo-Fascist Kotleba – Ľudová Strana Naše Slovensko (Kotleba – People’s Party Our Slovakia or K-ĽSNS) recently put forward a bill severely restricting legal abortions in Slovakia. Although unsuccessful, the move has received a shy support from Slovak Catholic intellectuals and the Church.

Turkish Soap Opera Prepares the Masses for Cross-Border Military Operation

On the eve of Turkey’s military operation in Afrin, Syria, a new state-sponsored TV show made its debut. Mehmetçik: Kut’ül Amare is about the WWI Battle of Kut in modern-day Iraq, in which the Ottoman armies were victorious against the British Empire. Among other state-sponsored TV shows, such as The Last Sultan and Revival: Ertugrul, this latest series also serves as an ostensible instrument for the government agenda.

Architecture and the Reconstruction of National Identity: A glance at Norway

Where are you from? In a globalized world where people continuously renew their ties with their environment, this simple, yet complex question has for many become more and more difficult to answer.  

Négritude, its Longevity, and the Resistance of Cultural Manichaeism

When Aimé Césaire (1913-2008) wrote ‘Cahier d’un Retour au pays Natal’[1], (Notebook of a Return to my Native Land), coining the term “Négritude” he started a movement, founding the journal ‘L’Étudiant Noir’ along with Lépold Sédar Senghor (1906-2001), and Léon Damas in 1934. Négritude was the movement of black consciousness, in a political and cultural statement. Négritude was the reclaiming of black culture and history; wherever in the world the black diaspora was situated, these individuals had a unifying identity under the particular notion of African ancestry.

Hated by the nation: making sense of the Rohingya crisis

With hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing towards Bangladesh from Rakhine in Myanmar, the Rohingya situation is said to be the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis. What is the cause of this ongoing crisis? Persecutions led by the Myanmar government, with the United Nations describing such an atrocious offense as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

The politics of ‘them’ versus ‘us’. A story of competing nationalisms in Northern Ireland during the troubles (1968-1998)

In a meeting with an IRA gun smuggler the historian Richard English noted how easily the Republican could explain Irish history: “the Brits – they’re the problem, and will be. They have been since 1169, and will be until such time as they leave”

Reflecting Upon the Olympics: Korean Minjok Nationalism and its Struggle for Survival

Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter states, “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” Despite a clear attempt by the International Olympic Committee to create an a-political sporting event, the very exercise of holding the Olympics in South Korea is politically charged.

Why are Russian nationalists dying in Syria?

The recent death of over 200 Russian mercenaries in Syria has exposed the use of private military contractors in Russia’s wars, an affair that lay dormant after the Ukrainian conflict. Crucially, it has highlighted the use of nationalism as a rallying point for recruits and the creation of a discourse of duty to fight for the country.

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