The Creation and Dissolution of the Multinational State: The Case of Yugoslavia

Abstract. The article draws on Randall Collins' interpretation of a Weberian sociology of legitimacy and the importance of geostrategy in explaining the contrasts between the creation and dissolution of Yugoslavia. The creation of Yugoslavia is interpreted as the outcome of the expansionist policy of the Serbian elite which was justified by the inclusion of all the ethnic Serbs into one state and made possible by the geostrategically weak positions of the Croatian and Slovenian elites. Different starting positions and motivations for unification led to a struggle among elites over the definition of the newly united state, particularly over the centralization–federalisation issue. The situation of communist Yugoslavia was a different one – the country was balancing between the ‘East’ and the ‘West’. This balance – which, along with the memories of the ‘liberation struggle’, was the main source of the legitimacy of the regime – was destroyed with the cessation of the cold war. The newly created situation had two important results. First, the potential threat from the communist east had disappeared. Second, Slovenia and Croatia were attracted to the idea of integration into western Europe. This situation was substantially different than in the period of the creation of the Yugoslav state, in which western Europe was perceived as a potential threat to the existence of Croatia and Slovenia. Now, the perception of threat came from the east – from the ‘unreformed’ Serbia. The attraction to the west was much weaker in Serbia, where the old communist power structure stayed intact. The new situation, and the political elites' perception of it, created the tension which finally destroyed the basis of the multinational state.     

Sovereignty: The Algerian Case

Books reviewed:
Matthew Connelly. A Diplomatic Revolution: Algeria's Fight for Independence and the Origins of the Post-Cold War Era. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. 400 pp. Bibliography, Index. $55.00 (cloth), $26.00 (paper).     

Ex-Justice Campbell: The Case of the Creative Advocate

It can be argued that so‐called appellate judicial distinction sometimes results from a Justice basking in the positive reaction to a decision that may be based in part—or even in totality—on arguments raised by counsel. If this is true, who, then, is the distinguished figure? The successful advocate is one who can persuade an appellate court as to the soundness of the position he or she takes. The Justice gets the credit, while the attorney gets the fee. But is there more to being a great advocate besides winning cases? This article examines aspects of John Campbell's career, in what may be called “the case of the creative advocate.” It will focus in particular on the greatest case he ever argued, the Slaughterhouse Cases, ¹ and will draw on the recent book I coauthored with Ronald Labbé. ²     

The ABC and Anti-Americanism: The Case of the 2003 Iraq War and Minister Alston

With noted protagonists on either side, the debate about anti-American bias within the Australian national broadcaster was one of the more obvious examples in the so-called ‘culture wars’ of the Howard era. This article aims to transcend the claims and counter claims of this ongoing debate by analysing a case study that not only documents both sides of the argument but also provides evidence to judge the veracity of claims of anti-Americanism. The case study used is Minister Richard Alston's claims of anti-American bias by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in their coverage of the 2003 Iraq War. Examining Alston's allegations and the three subsequent inquiries they initiated offers an opportunity to distinguish between anti-Americanism and criticism.     

Postmaterial Values and Age: The Case of Australia

Inglehart's thesis of value change is one of the most widely discussed accounts of social and political change in advanced Western nations. This article offers a critique of Inglehart's thesis and a clarification of the Australian case. While critics of Inglehart have attacked the validity of his values measures, or sought to improve them, we use Inglehart's own values index to show that even if--as Inglehart claims--his measures are valid, the age/values predictions do not hold as the theory suggests in Australia. In a recent article, Inglehart and Abramson (1999, 673) cite Australia among a group of '28 high-income' countries that exhibit 'stronger relationships between values and age' than found in the United States. We dispute Inglehart and Abramson's findings in relation to Australia. We show that the relationship between age and values in Australia, like the United States, is very weak, highlight the problematic nature of assuming a linear relationship between age and values without evidence, and discover a new non-linear relationship between values and birth cohorts in Australia that has implications for the study of values research internationally.     

Politics and the Cultural Landscape: The Case of Aboriginal Land Rights

In this paper Aboriginal land rights are analysed from the perspective of a disadvantaged group seeking access to a scarce resource controlled by external agents. The Aboriginal participants in land rights politics are found to be actively seeking ways in which their interest in the land can most effectively be communicated to external groups which have constructed well-formed, but often distorted images of what constitutes a genuine Aboriginal interest in the land These externally constructed notions of Aboriginality and what constitutes a valid land claim are influencing the concepts used by Aboriginal groups in the public political arena to demonstrate their unique interest in the land In this paper three examples of this process are explored- the emphasis of a specific gender model, the emphasis on spatially discrete sacred sites and the emphasis on the bounded tribal territory.     

Terrorism and Imperial Decline: The Ottoman-Armenian Case

This article places Armenian nationalist terrorism into the broader sociopolitical context of the final decades of the Ottoman Empire. It considers the agendas and methods of the nationalists and the relationship between their actions, great power intervention and state violence.