Suchergebnisse

There are many reasons why it is important to study local politics -- political culture, government, political process -- in Communist party states. As in all politics, local politics in Communist party states are the political articulation of the local community. This is the political arena where policies concerning local issues are formulated by the officials. This is where the officials are approached by citizens with their particular demands. This is where citizens articulate their preferences, aspirations, and values through political participation. And this is where officials, both elect

How are language, identity and war related? This exploratory essay probes the conceptual and logical connections among these three elemental factors of human existence, offers thoughts about an alternative discourse, and takes a look at suggestive data regarding the tie between violence and identity. I posit that who we are, what we say and when we fight are inseparable from one another. In this argumentative essay, language is seen as forming a nucleus of identity, identity as being forged in conflict, and discourse marking our path to, through and out of war and peace. Abating identity threats through identity-affirming discourse may, I conclude, be the best and most lasting tool towards peace.

Armed forces, defense ministries, and broader national security structures sometimes resist political accountability and guidance. In other cases, they are penetrated and manipulated by political forces. What explains these variations of "politicization"? Using the case studies of postcommunist Romania and Bulgaria, this article offers the preliminary notion that previous political or economic prominence (in a prior authoritarian system) is a critical variable in answering such questions. Further, without protection or insulation from such politicizing influences that might be offered by a stratum of highly competent experts, national security organizations (including the uniformed military) are much more likely to be politicized either penetrated by political interests or aggressively interjecting military and national interests into the political realm.