Suchergebnisse

Philosophizes over the concept 'national interest'. 'Nation' is a problematic concept, because it assumes a united people acting together. The 'state' also possesses its conceptual problems, but can be characterized as an ideological object able to act. It is therefore important to realize that the concept 'national interest' is not exactly definable, but is instead dependent upon who, where and how it is used. L. Pitkaniemi

In this personal essay, Egil Fossum describes how his perspectives, along with the perspectives of many others like him, have developed over the course of many years into a situation of hopelessness & despair for the Palestinian people. Fossum begins with the generally positive impression he held of Israel from early childhood & tells how his exposure to various other Middle Eastern perspectives began to shift his attitude to challenge his original assumptions. Though extensive travel throughout the Middle East, Fossum develops a view that re-assesses the impact of Israeli political action on the Palestinian people. Perhaps more importantly, he comes to gain an understanding of how Western media has helped shape a somewhat distorted view of the Palestinian struggle. Fossum explores these issues from the standpoint of his personal experience & poses the question of how a defeated people might ever be able to navigate through the complex political terrain that presently stands before them. C Brunski

A roundtable discussion involving Dag Herbjornsrud, Jan Erik Snoen, and Halvard Leira that addresses general Norwegian media coverage of the USA. A mixed media picture is discussed; on one hand conservative politics are exaggerated and presented in a negative light while the underlying idea of freedom and opportunity is appealing to the media. The duality of media coverage is attributed to strong cultural and military ties with the USA contrasted by strong political differences. It is suggested that the USA is used to compare and contrast to Norwegian society in order to better understand Norwegian issues. The existence of an American attitude of exceptionalism is debated and it is suggested that this is an academic construct rather than popular opinion. It is argued that Norwegians are unable to fully appreciate the level of diversity in the United States and have a tendency to form opinions based on elitist East Coast sources and entertainment sources such as film and television. It is agreed that Norwegians have premeditated opinions about the US that are not based on political science and/or historical research or factual knowledge. E. Sundby