Comparative Politics Commons^™

"Prison Of Nations?" An Examination Of The Ideological Roots Of Contemporary Ethiopia's Nationality Policy, Sarah Moody

Global Honors Theses

Modern Ethiopia has a long history of ethnic/nationalist ideology incorporated into its political structure. Being a post-Soviet state, Ethiopia has been influenced by Marxist-Leninist ideas concerning nationalism and national identity as well as the unique history and political conditions of Ethiopia itself. This paper seeks to examine the ideological roots of modern Ethiopia following the 1991 revolution by the EPRDF and the subsequent institution of Ethnic Federalism through the lens of comparative politics.

The Fall Of The Pakatan Harapan (Ph): Contesting Nationalism In Malaysia, Cheng Kidd Sun

Honors Theses

The collapse of the 22 months-old Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition-government in 2020 was the ultimate manifestation of contestations over nationalism that have continued in Malaysia since the nation’s inception more than six decades ago. The “middle ground” platform — a political moderation strategy to win across ethnic lines to obtain multiethnic support — that helped the PH coalition to win the 14th Malaysian General Election was shattered due to identity tensions. The current political discourse has persistently insisted that the betrayal of politicians and political parties, along with economic insecurity and media fragmentation, had contributed to the downfall of this …

Who Sent The Devil Down To Georgia? An Analysis Of The Causes Of The Russo-Georgian War Of 2008 And Its Effects On Georgian Democracy, Kris Bohnenstiehl

The Commons: Puget Sound Journal of Politics

No abstract provided.

The Commons: Volume 3, Issue 1, Kris Bohnenstiehl, Leona Derango, Ethan Stern-Ellis

The Commons: Puget Sound Journal of Politics

Table of Contents

• Letter From the Editors
  LILA BERNARDIN AND HANNAH WILLIAMS
• Who Sent the Devil Down to Georgia?
  KRIS BOHNENSTIEHL
• The Dehumanizing Gaze: Race in the Context of Academic Tourism
  LEONA DERANGO
• Balancing Populations of Electoral Districts
  ETHAN STERN-ELLIS

Horizontal Cultural Inequalities, Grievances, And Civil Conflict: Ethnonationalist Mobilization In Reaction To Assimilationist Educational Language Policies, Burak Demir

Doctoral Dissertations

Studies in the literature on intrastate conflict onset have focused on opportunities and material grievances whereas non-material issues have not been given sufficient attention. The increasing importance of the ethnic dimension of intrastate conflicts since the mid-1970s suggests a growing prominence of ethnonationalist ideologies as a cause. Following constructivist and institutionalist theories on nationalism, this study argues that assimilationist policies, mainly centered around educational languages, induce the spread of minority ethnonationalism to the masses. This spread results from assimilationist policies being perceived as attacks on their dignity by the members of a discriminated minority group who, as a result, feel …

Sub-State Nationalism And Intergovernmental Fiscal Policy: An Examination Of The Netherlands And Spain, Eric Bryan Hubberstey

Major Papers

Nations without the distinct legal status of statehood have become increasingly important in the domestic politics of some European countries. Recent secession referenda in various countries (most notably Spain and the United Kingdom) have highlighted this trend. This study examines the impact that sub-state national identities have on the disbursement of intergovernmental transfer payments in two unitary states: the Netherlands and Spain. These cases were selected to conduct a “most different systems” analysis and examined transfers from the central governments to their respective highest levels of regional governance in the period between 2010 and 2018. Established theory on the interaction …

Nation-Building And Cultural Heritage: A Study Of Turkey And Its Greek Orthodox Community, Sophia E. Kyrou

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis is an exploration of the intersection between nationalist ideology and cultural heritage policy. This thesis answers how and why states utilize cultural heritage policy to build exclusivist forms of nationalism and, more specifically, models of nationalism that exclude ethno-religious minorities. In my work, I employ a case study of Turkey and its treatment of the Greek Orthodox minority population, and examine two specific periods in Turkish history: the Atatürk period (1920 to 1938) and the Erdoğan period (2001 to present). I answer the case-specific question: How and why has the Turkish state utilized policy dealing with tangible and …

Unpacking Cosmopolitan Memory, Hiro Saito

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Cosmopolitanism is here to stay despite rising nationalist sentiments and movements against the forces of globalization. To be sure, some groups are suspicious of, and even hostile to, the increasing numbers of foreigners and foreign products coming into their countries, but other groups accept and embrace more opportunities to interact with foreign others and cultures. Similarly, while policies and laws continue to take the nation-state as a primary frame of reference, they have also incorporated the idea of humanity to expand rights for both citizens and foreign residents. A globalizing world is full of these contradictory forces of cosmopolitanism and …

Thoughts Of Becoming: Negotiating Modernity And Identity In Bangladesh, Humayun Kabir

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation constructs a history and conducts an analysis of Bangladeshi political thought with the aim to better understand the thought-world and political subjectivities in Bangladesh. The dissertation argues that political thought in Bangladesh has been profoundly structured by colonial and other encounters with modernity and by concerns about constructing a national identity. Negotiations between the incomplete and continuous projects of modernization and identity formation have produced certain anxieties about becoming that permeates political consciousness and ideas in the country. Though such anxieties of becoming are also shared by other postcolonial countries, the specific, though not necessarily exclusive, character of …

"Is It Viable To Have A Fully-Functional Multiethnic State In Modern Society? A Dual Regional Inquiry", Anike Tella-Martins

Senior Theses

Throughout the world, regardless of economic status, there have been multiple complications with the lives and experiences of minorities in multiethnic state populations. Research regarding multiethnic state populations either have a Western focus or contrast non-Western multiethnic cultural formations from Western ones. Neither of these trends fully delve into the heart of this global issue. The inquiry examines whether or not a fully functional multiethnic state can exist in today’s world. By studying two emerging middle powers, Nigeria and Pakistan, it would be an indicator as to whether or not a nation state of this construction is plausible for not …

Conclusion: Law As Scapegoat, Cary Coglianese

All Faculty Scholarship

Populist nationalist movements have been on the rise around the world in recent years. These movements have tapped into, and fueled, a deep anger among many members of the public. Especially in the face of stagnant or declining economic prospects—as well as expanding inequality—much anger has been directed at minorities and migrants. Politicians with authoritarian tendencies have sought to leverage such public anger by reinforcing tendencies to scapegoat others for their society’s problems. In this paper, I show that laws and regulations—like migrants—can be framed as “the other” too and made into scapegoats. With reference to developments in Brazil, the …

The Origins Of Socialism In Cuba: A Question Uncontested, Liam G. Oberholzer

Senior Projects Spring 2020

This paper seeks to trace the origin of the shift towards Socialism in Cuba in 1961. It does so by providing three hypothetical answers to the question, the Cold War Answer, the Castro Answer, and Cuba's national identity as the Answer. These three narratives are put into conversation with each other, the first two ultimately holding some truth and value, but being ultimately defined as both subject to Cuba's historical national identity as the key identifying factor in the ultimate shift to Socialism in 1961.

Trickle Down Nationalism: Interactions Between Liberal Nationalism And Colonialism In The Raj And Nigeria, Aaryaman Sheoran

CMC Senior Theses

The combination of nationalism and colonialism has remained understudied in academia, despite the important interaction between the two phenomena. European ideas bled over into their colonial empires and began to fill the power vacuum created by colonial enterprises. This study analyzes the impact of British colonialism on the development of national identity in British India and Nigeria.

British influences included large scale economic disruption, cultural reform through ‘westernizing’ the population and abolishing local customs, and creating a new set of institutions to replace traditional power centers. Inevitably, these factors created a nationalist surge across both the Raj and Nigeria, as …

Claiming The Remains Of The Past: The Return Of Cultural Heritage Objects To Colombia, Mexico, And Peru, Pierre Losson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

My research explores the reasons why three Latin American states (Colombia, Mexico, and Peru) claim the return of cultural heritage objects from holding institutions in the Western World, such as museums and universities. The literature on returns and restitutions, which focuses on questions of ownership and possession of objects, opposes two conceptions of cultural heritage: on the one hand, the internationalists argue that the location of a cultural object must be decided according to the interests of science and education, for the benefit and in the name of humankind; on the other hand, the nationalists consider that cultural heritage is …

Europe Rising (Again): A Comparative Study Of The Dynamics And Types Of Modern European Nationalisms, 1989-2018, Timea Varga

Dissertations

Nationalism is nothing new to Europe. While theoretical explanations of the catalysts of post-1989 European nationalist phenomena remain contested along material and non-material lines, this dissertation posits that it is the interaction of economic insecurities, societal fears, and populism over time that have shaped the rise and types of post-1989 European nationalisms. Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) is combined with a collective case study design to examine: 1) how forces – political, economic, societal, or other – have dominated the formation and latest surge of European nationalisms since the end of European Communism in 1989; and 2) whether different, context-dependent …

Elections, Rhetoric, And Policy: Comparing The Rise Of Far-Right Nationalism In Western Europe And The United States, Ruby Debellis

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Western Europe and the United States have both seen an increase in the number of elected officials who represent the far-right ideologically. In this paper, I investigate the reasons behind the rise of far-right nationalist parties, as well as the impacts it has on policy and implications for international relations. To do this, I compared recent election results from Western Europe and the US, the populist rhetoric used by these parties and their candidates, and the subsequent changes in immigration and trade policy due to far-right politicians enacting their agenda. Through this comparison, I concluded first that the elections in …

Resource Nationalism And Energy Integration In Latin America: The Paradox Of Populism, Brian Hollingsworth

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the relationship between resource nationalism and energy integration, and uses Bolivia and Brazil as a test case. Essentially, does resource nationalism affect energy integration? The findings nest within more expansive questions on international political economy and export-driven models of development. Why do populist regimes, historically operating under an economic nationalist cum protectionist paradigm, simultaneously pursue policies of economic integration? What is the relationship between resource nationalists and open markets, especially in the hydrocarbons sector? What is the relationship between populists, who are typically resource nationalists, and their decision to choose policies of energy integration?

The most common …

Maga, Memes And Magnificent Hair: How White Nationalism Become Rooted In American History, Gabriel A. Tucker

Celebration of Learning

This work seeks to analyze the history of white nationalist ideologies in American political history and compare them to the current political environment today. The primary analysis rests on the rhetoric used, clothing chosen and cultural artifacts that have been appropriated by white nationalists in attempts to further their cause.

Building Brand Kurdistan: Helly Luv, The Gender Of Nationhood, And The War On Terror, Nicholas S. Glastonbury

Publications and Research

In the early 2000s, the Kurdistan Regional Government hired a US-based firm to begin a public relations campaign called “The Other Iraq.” Since that time, it has worked with a number of PR and lobbying firms to build a cultural, political, and financial apparatus that I refer to as Brand Kurdistan. This apparatus aims to prove to Western audiencesthat the Kurds are a liberal exception in an illiberal Middle East, and to build prospects of KRG’s eventual national independence. This article explores the connections between Brand Kurdistan and the gendering of Kurdish nationalism, focusing particularly on Kurdish pop diva Helly …

Maga, Memes, And Magnificent Hair: How Have Alt-Right, White Supremacy, And White Nationalism Become Rooted In American History?, Gabriel A. Tucker

Op-Ed Pieces

The purpose of this inquiry is to ascertain the level of prevalence of white nationalist rhetoric and sociocultural artifacts in contemporary political discourse as well as the level of normalcy is has achieved. Additionally, I will generate a timeline that will chronicle the growth and progression of this movement to our current political era, highlighting major schisms, shifts, and events with alterations in fashion and physical presentation. I believe that my research will show not only a long-standing tradition of white nationalism within the United States but also that such rhetoric has slowly been creeping into mainstream political rhetoric and …

A Contemporary Analysis And Comparison Of Kurdish National Movements: Syria, Iraq, And Turkey, Grayson Lanza

Honors Undergraduate Theses

As commonly understood, and particularly espoused by Kurdish nationalists, the Kurds are by far the largest ethnic group in the world without their own nation-state. An estimated 2 to 2.5 million ethnically Kurdish people inhabit portions of Syria. There are approximately 6.5 million ethnically Kurdish people in Iraq, 7.6 million in Iran, and 16 million in Turkey. Overall, there are about 30 million Kurds in the world. In the broader context of the Kurdish nationalist struggle, this paper suggests that there is a growing bipolar hegemony for power over the control of Kurdish land and politics. Research was predicated around …

Nationalism As A Process For Making The Desired Identity Salient: Bosnian Muslims Become Bosniaks, Mirsad Krijestorac

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is concerned with the particular relationship between the process of nationalism and a group’s salient identity. It proposes that nationalism as the independent variable serves as a principal factor and facilitator for a change of identity, which is seen as the dependent variable. The Bosnian Muslim emergence as an independent nation with the new salient Bosniak identity was used as a case study to test the main proposition.

The inquiry was completed through a mixed research method, using grounded theory and the historic process tracing technique, a large survey analysis collected specifically for this study, and a logistic …

The Western Sahara And The Search For The Roots Of Sahrawi National Identity, David Suarez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work is a socio-historical study of the roots of Sahrawi national identity. The Sahrawi are a community of people who live in the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. Most of its territory has been occupied since 1975 by Morocco, which denies the existence of a distinctive population inhabiting the Western Sahara. In contrast, the POLISARIO Front, vanguard of the Sahrawi nationalist movement, argues that the Western Sahara belongs to the Sahrawi and seeks its full independence. It bases its claims on the notion of a distinctive history, language, and culture for the Sahrawi, separate from that of Moroccans. …

State Of Memory: National History And Exclusive Identity In Contemporary Denmark, John Terrell Foor

Masters Theses

Increased rates of immigration to Western European states over the past three decades have yielded a wealth of literature in the social sciences, much of which has focused on cases of individuals from so-called ―non-Western‖ countries of origin. Immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia often bring with them cultural and religious traditions that are unfamiliar to the citizens of states which receive them. Tensions between majority populations and growing minorities in Western Europe have resulted in skepticism—and, increasingly, hostility—toward immigrants, particularly those regarded as ―"Islamic."

But is this type of tension inevitable? Are difference and …

Constructing A Shared Identity In Deeply Divided Societies, John M. Nagle

John M Nagle

In order to bolster sustainable peacebuilding in violently divided societies, a normative suggestion is that efforts should be made to construct a shared public identity that overarches ethnic divisions. A number of different centripetal/transformationist processes are identified as engendering a shared identity in comparison to consociational arrangements, which are accused of institutionalizing ethnic differences and perpetuating conflict. These transformationist approaches essentially rest on the premise that since ethnicity is constructed it can be reconstructed into new shared forms. Looking at Northern Ireland, we argue there are limits to the extent that ethnicity can be reconstructed into shared identities. By analysing …

National Identity Without Intellectual Bases: Israel’S Practical Zionism In Developing A State For The Jews, Syahrul Hidayat

Jurnal Politik

Israel as a state has been existing for almost 70 years. Despite of decades of its pres¬ence, the foundation and its struggle for survival and acknowledgement have been constantly challenged including from its own supposedly the backbone of its Israel national identity: intellectuals. This paper argues that the critics from some of Jew¬ish intellectuals represent the fundamental problem of the effort to build a national identity. If nationalism, especially in European context as its birthplace, was usually supported by the intellectuals as the source of imagination of bounded group, the case of Israel shows different direction, at least problematic. Two …

Specters Of Kurdish Nationalism: Governmentality And Counterinsurgent Translation In Turkey, Nicholas S. Glastonbury

Publications and Research

This essay examines translations of the Kurdish epic poem Mem û Zîn into Turkish, tracing the logics behind these state-sponsored translations and examining how acts of translation are also efforts to regulate, translate, and erase Kurdish subjectivities. I argue that the state instrumentalizes Mem û Zîn’s potent nationalist currency in order to disarm present and future claims of Kurdish national autonomy. Using translation as a counterinsurgent governmental tool, the state attempts to domesticate Kurdish nationalist discourses even as it reproduces them, thereby transforming Kurdish nationalism into a specter of itself. Attending to this specter, however, allows us to see how …

Angry Youth: Patriotic Education And The New Chinese Nationalism, Rachel Gary

Honors Program Theses

No abstract provided.

Summary: Israeli- Palestinian Ethnic Conflict, Allen Gnanam

Allen Gnanam

The Israeli- Palestinian ethnic conflict will continue to escalate throughout both the short term and long term world future. The current and future animosity between both ethnic groups can be attributed to (a) history based accounts and religious tensions, (b) polarizing ideologies held by both sides, and (c) middle eastern resentment toward the Jewish state of Israel. History based accounts will refer to both biased historical accounts and factual historical events that have contributed to the Israeli- Palestinian ethnic conflict. Concepts such as ethnicity, nationalism, ideology, Palestinians, Israeli’s, Arabs, and religion will be conceptualized in the research paper.

Refugee Camps In The Palestinian And Sahrawi National Liberation Movements: A Comparative Perspective, Randa Farah

Randa R Farah Dr.

Drawing on ethnographic field research, this analysis compares the evolution of refugee camps as incubators of political organization and repositories of collective memory for Palestinian refugees in Jordan and Sahrawi refugees of the Western Sahara. While recognizing the significant differences between the historical and geopolitical contexts of the two groups and their national movements (the PLO and Polisario, respectively), the author examines the Palestinian and Sahrawi projects of national consciousness formation and institution-building, concluding that Palestinian camps are “mapped” in relation to the past, while political organization in Sahrawi camps evidences a forward-looking vision.