Suchergebnisse

Why are forced displacement, ethnic cleansing and genocide an enduring feature of state systems? In this book, Heather Rae locates these practices of 'pathological homogenisation' in the processes of state building. Political elites have repeatedly used cultural resources to redefine bounded political communities as exclusive moral communities, from which outsiders must be expelled. Showing that these practices predate the age of nationalism, Rae examines cases from both pre-nationalist and nationalist eras: the expulsion of the Jews from fifteenth century Spain, the persecution of the Huguenots under Louis XIV, and in the twentieth century, the Armenian genocide, and ethnic cleansing in former Yugoslavia. She argues that those atrocities prompted the development of international norms of legitimate state behaviour that increasingly define sovereignty as conditional. Rae concludes by examining two 'threshold' cases - the Czech Republic and Macedonia - to identify the factors that may inhibit pathological homogenization as a method of state-building

The history of post-independent Burma is characterised by numerous conflicts in this extraordinarily heterogeneous country. Since military rule began in 1962 Burma has witnessed gross human rights abuses & massive displacement. Adapted from the source document.

La historia de Birmania tras la independencia se caracteriza por numerosos conflictos en este país extraordinariamente heterogéneo. Desde que comenzó el régimen militar en 1962, Birmania ha sufrido graves abusos de derechos humanos y un desplazamiento masivo.

Over the last five centuries, as the system of states has developed, so too have norms of legitimate state behaviour. These reflect the struggle of the international community to respond to practices, such as forced displacement, ethnic cleansing or genocide, that have come to be regarded as unacceptable. While there has not been any smooth evolution of norms that proscribe such practices, in different periods norms of legitimate state behaviour have been articulated in response to the most extreme practices of state-builders. This paper traces such responses across four cases, drawn from both the early modern and modern periods, and highlights the interaction between the domestic and international aspects of state sovereignty that give rise to the articulation of shared norms of legitimate state behaviour.

'The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations' edited by John Baylis and Steve Smith is reviewed.