Suchergebnisse

THIS IS A CONTROVERSIAL AND PROVOCATIVE ESSAY IN WHICH THE AUTHOR ARGUES THAT MARXISM HAS NEVER DEVELOPED ANY ADEQUATE SCIENTIFIC THEORY TO EXPLAIN THE POTENCY OF NATIONALISM AS AN HISTORICAL PHENOMENON IN THIS CENTURY. HE POINTS OUT THE EXTENT TO WHICH MARY AND ENGELS AGREED THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF BOURGEOIS CIVILIZATION WAS A UNIVERSALIST PROCESS. HE THEN PRESENTS HIS OWN VIEWS ON THE SUBJECT.

This article suggests that Great Britain's identity, & hence its notion of its own sovereignty, is in a state of crisis created by a combination of British decline, the European Union, & the advance of non-elite (or anti-elite) democracy. The results of 1997's general elections are seen as another symptom of this crisis, & one of its victims, it is argued here, now seems certain to be the style of multinational sovereignty unique to Great Britain, whose origins are examined herein. More specifically, this article suggests Scottish membership in the union with England, which has for a long time been seen differently by the two countries, is in peril in the context of heightened expectations following the Labour landslide of the general election. The situation is seen as particularly perilous in view of the judgment that such expectations, in this period of euphoric expectations, are unrealistic. It is concluded that the "new Britain" spoken of since the election requires a new Treaty of Union, one in which all of the partners are fully equal. 13 References. T. K. Brown

The popular concern that ethnic nationalist movements will emerge across the globe is challenged. Eric Hobsbawm's (nd) barbarization thesis & (1994) analysis of major political & social developments in the 20th century are reviewed & subsequently used to demonstrate that the post-1989 global economic transformation has not been accompanied by a proper political transformation; in addition, Hobsbawm's problematization of the emergence of mini-nations, eg, Andorra & Hong Kong, that are economically viable yet politically underdeveloped is covered & subsequently challenged. Although it is asserted that metropolitanism gradually disappeared following the USSR's dissolution, it is stressed that not all forms of nationalism accompanied it; in fact, it is stressed that nationalism remains within the international community but that the notion of civic nationalism must replace ethnic nationalism to reduce tensions within multi-cultural societies. Even though it is stressed that ethnic nationalism has not completely disappeared from the international scene, as evidenced by the atrocities committed in Rwanda, it is concluded that internecine strife is the product of historical conflicts & colonialism & should not be interpreted as the likely course for future international political development. J. W. Parker

Considers the period of one party rule in Britain since 1979, and the receding possibility of an effective challenge to the Westminster system which has rejuvenated itself through Margaret Thatcher, North Sea oil and accommodation to Europe. Opposition is weak, and the Labour Party has recently backed away from a fundamental questioning of the electoral system.

THE AUTHOR SHOWS THAT BY 1990 POST-TITOIST YUGOSLAVIA HAD BECOME A HOBBESIAN WORLD, A STATE OF NATURE IN WHICH THE MEANS OF VIOLENCE WERE TOO WIDELY DISTRIBUTED TO AFFORD ANYONE SAFETY, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO FOUND THEMSELVES A MINORITY IN THE SUCCESSOR REPUBLICS. THE AUTHOR THEN SUGGESTS AN ALTERNATIVE THEORY OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN PART OF THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA. IN THIS OTHER PERSPECTIVE, HUMAN NATURE HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH IT, AND ATAVISM NOTHING AT ALL. NATIONALISM IS OFTEN DEPICTED AS THE IMPOSITION OF ABSTRACTIONS ON ORDINARY LIFE BY IDEALOGUES, THE AUTHOR ATTEMPTS TO DISSPELL THAT DEPICTION IN THIS ARTICLE.

THE BRITISH MONARCHS DO NOT STAND ALONE IN THE SOCIAL SKY. THEY ARE SURROUNDED BY A NECROPHILIAC STATE-ORDER GROANING WITH BEAUTIFIED RELICS, RUSTY TALISMANS AND MYSTIC PRECEDENTS. THE AUTHOR TAKES A HIGHLY CRITICAL LOOK AT THE BRITISH MONARCHY.