Hazel Smith and Paul Stares (Eds) 2007 Diasporas in Conflict: Peace Makers or Peace Wreckers? United Nations University Press. Tokyo. ISBN 978-92-808-1140-7This is a fascinating collection of essays examining the political and financial roles, and thence, the international impact of diasporas (emigrants who have settled far from their original homelands, forming new localised ethnic communities). It is highly recommended for those who continue to focus on war as the exclusive concern of sovereign states.The research project on which the book is based was jointly sponsored by the United Nations University and the United States Institute of Peace. Each of the contributors, already known as experts in their field, was asked to answer the question "Was the particular diaspora you studied a peace-wrecker or a peace-maker?" Clearly, the sponsors hoped to find the balance tipping towards peace rather than conflict, but the detailed findings belie their hopes. It repeatedly emerges that it is easier to mobilise emigrants to support the armed fight for the cause, especially where independence and the creation of a new state is the goal, than to work towards a more nebulous plan for peace within existing borders.The book is arranged as a collection of thirteen chapters by different authors: three dealing with general issues relating to diasporas and conflict and ten detailing the conflict-related roles of the diasporas of Israel, Palestine, Armenia, Colombia, Cuba, Sri Lanka, Kurdish Iraq, Croatia, Eritrea and Cambodia. They have in common a tapestry of intriguing stories of how real life politics are played out on a cross-continental stage. In almost all cases it emerges that the role of the diasporas has been to verge more strongly towards war than peace.The Croatian chapter, by Zlatko Skrbis of the University of Queensland, tries to present a nuanced case to the effect that overseas Croatians are all for peace- provided that this peace was with an independent state of Croatia. However, the neutral reader would probably score the exiled Croats as 9 out of 10 on a bellicosity scale (including the Australian Croats) on the basis of the well-researched evidence presented by Skrbis himself. Indeed, one issue that emerges is the understandable difficulty of finding a member of a given diaspora who can be balanced and neutral in writing about the actions of their fellow diaspora members. Conversely, outsiders are frequently regarded with suspicion by the diaspora members. Such outsiders tend to lack the passion to follow up in obscure ethnic newspapers and media on the endless minutiae which makes up 'the bigger picture'. Often there is also a paucity of clear evidence about the roles which less high profile diasporas play. In many cases, such as the Kurds and the Eritreans, it is not known how many members of the diaspora there are. Even less has been documented of how much they have contributed in financial support to their fellow countrymen at home, or what
{"title":"Diasporas in Conflict: Peace Makers or Peace Wreckers?","authors":"H. Ware","doi":"10.5860/choice.45-3450","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.45-3450","url":null,"abstract":"Hazel Smith and Paul Stares (Eds) 2007 Diasporas in Conflict: Peace Makers or Peace Wreckers? United Nations University Press. Tokyo. ISBN 978-92-808-1140-7This is a fascinating collection of essays examining the political and financial roles, and thence, the international impact of diasporas (emigrants who have settled far from their original homelands, forming new localised ethnic communities). It is highly recommended for those who continue to focus on war as the exclusive concern of sovereign states.The research project on which the book is based was jointly sponsored by the United Nations University and the United States Institute of Peace. Each of the contributors, already known as experts in their field, was asked to answer the question \"Was the particular diaspora you studied a peace-wrecker or a peace-maker?\" Clearly, the sponsors hoped to find the balance tipping towards peace rather than conflict, but the detailed findings belie their hopes. It repeatedly emerges that it is easier to mobilise emigrants to support the armed fight for the cause, especially where independence and the creation of a new state is the goal, than to work towards a more nebulous plan for peace within existing borders.The book is arranged as a collection of thirteen chapters by different authors: three dealing with general issues relating to diasporas and conflict and ten detailing the conflict-related roles of the diasporas of Israel, Palestine, Armenia, Colombia, Cuba, Sri Lanka, Kurdish Iraq, Croatia, Eritrea and Cambodia. They have in common a tapestry of intriguing stories of how real life politics are played out on a cross-continental stage. In almost all cases it emerges that the role of the diasporas has been to verge more strongly towards war than peace.The Croatian chapter, by Zlatko Skrbis of the University of Queensland, tries to present a nuanced case to the effect that overseas Croatians are all for peace- provided that this peace was with an independent state of Croatia. However, the neutral reader would probably score the exiled Croats as 9 out of 10 on a bellicosity scale (including the Australian Croats) on the basis of the well-researched evidence presented by Skrbis himself. Indeed, one issue that emerges is the understandable difficulty of finding a member of a given diaspora who can be balanced and neutral in writing about the actions of their fellow diaspora members. Conversely, outsiders are frequently regarded with suspicion by the diaspora members. Such outsiders tend to lack the passion to follow up in obscure ethnic newspapers and media on the endless minutiae which makes up 'the bigger picture'. Often there is also a paucity of clear evidence about the roles which less high profile diasporas play. In many cases, such as the Kurds and the Eritreans, it is not known how many members of the diaspora there are. Even less has been documented of how much they have contributed in financial support to their fellow countrymen at home, or what","PeriodicalId":51898,"journal":{"name":"SOCIAL ALTERNATIVES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2008-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71119465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism by Sheldon S. Wolin. (2008). Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford, ISBN 13579108642, US$29.95. Sheldon Wolin is the author of perhaps the best work on the history of political thought in the last half century. His magisterial work, Politics and Vision, published more than forty years ago, showed the influence of political imagination on political organisations and ideals. In this very recent work on the problems of modern politics, particularly in the USA, his liberal and democratic voice is still offering us unique insights. Wolin is likely to be scorned by those who merely skim the book title, and on this basis think that he is merely saying that America today, with its aggressive and illiberal internal and external policies, has some resemblance to the totalitarian states of the last century. The mainstream media, if it does not ignore the book entirely, is likely to see it as an attack on George Bush the Second from a supporter of the Democratic Party. Such reflexes miss the point: they are not what Wolin is saying at all. His much more profound message is set in the context of political thought about the struggle between elites and the demos since the time of ancient Athens, with references to the emergence of republicanism and capitalism in the last half millennium, and the emergence of elitist anti-democratic tendencies in the American Constitution. For Wolin, the democratic success of American politics reached a high water mark at the time of the New Deal following the Great Depression. Since then, and particularly under the presidency of George Bush the Second, the power of elites have grown, and inequalities have endangered the realm of the public, the activity of the political, and the space for a democratic way of life. Wolin's language needs to be unpacked carefully. Superpower describes the mythical, almost comic book-like, American assault on the international obstacles to its perceived realisation of power. An empire of domination requires bases, markets, and consumers, but not necessarily direct rule. Superpower has used extraordinary methods, mostly unknown to US citizens, in confrontations that are simplified for media bites as struggles between good and evil, or as pre-emptive bids to save our freedom against those who hate us for having our freedom. Internally America has become a base for global corporate interests, winding back social benefits to the demos and favouring the private interests of the few. …
{"title":"Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism","authors":"J. Archer","doi":"10.5860/choice.46-1743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.46-1743","url":null,"abstract":"Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism by Sheldon S. Wolin. (2008). Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford, ISBN 13579108642, US$29.95. Sheldon Wolin is the author of perhaps the best work on the history of political thought in the last half century. His magisterial work, Politics and Vision, published more than forty years ago, showed the influence of political imagination on political organisations and ideals. In this very recent work on the problems of modern politics, particularly in the USA, his liberal and democratic voice is still offering us unique insights. Wolin is likely to be scorned by those who merely skim the book title, and on this basis think that he is merely saying that America today, with its aggressive and illiberal internal and external policies, has some resemblance to the totalitarian states of the last century. The mainstream media, if it does not ignore the book entirely, is likely to see it as an attack on George Bush the Second from a supporter of the Democratic Party. Such reflexes miss the point: they are not what Wolin is saying at all. His much more profound message is set in the context of political thought about the struggle between elites and the demos since the time of ancient Athens, with references to the emergence of republicanism and capitalism in the last half millennium, and the emergence of elitist anti-democratic tendencies in the American Constitution. For Wolin, the democratic success of American politics reached a high water mark at the time of the New Deal following the Great Depression. Since then, and particularly under the presidency of George Bush the Second, the power of elites have grown, and inequalities have endangered the realm of the public, the activity of the political, and the space for a democratic way of life. Wolin's language needs to be unpacked carefully. Superpower describes the mythical, almost comic book-like, American assault on the international obstacles to its perceived realisation of power. An empire of domination requires bases, markets, and consumers, but not necessarily direct rule. Superpower has used extraordinary methods, mostly unknown to US citizens, in confrontations that are simplified for media bites as struggles between good and evil, or as pre-emptive bids to save our freedom against those who hate us for having our freedom. Internally America has become a base for global corporate interests, winding back social benefits to the demos and favouring the private interests of the few. …","PeriodicalId":51898,"journal":{"name":"SOCIAL ALTERNATIVES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2008-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71122549","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Anxious nation: Australia and the rise of Asia 1850-1939","authors":"M. Otter","doi":"10.5860/choice.37-4047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.37-4047","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51898,"journal":{"name":"SOCIAL ALTERNATIVES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"1999-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71081252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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