Jews as pagans? Polemical definitions of identity in Visigothic Spain

A conciliar canon from Visigothic Spain relates that Jewish parents, who had been baptized by force, were trying to save their children from baptism, relying on the help of Christian neighbours, who lent them their own children for a second baptism. According to the wording of the canon, Jewish parents thereby illicitly retained their children as 'pagans'. This very peculiar, 'extremist' terminology served as a rhetorical tool to denigrate Judaism, putting it on a par with idolatry, superstition, supposedly primitive religion and backward, rural culture. This rhetorical strategy was used to construct a negative Jewish identity, which in turn served to strengthen a new concept of Gothic identity propagated ever since the conversion of the Visigoths to catholicism. Catholic Goths are presented both as the heirs of christianized Roman culture (which included the acceptance and transformation of catholic anti-Judaism), and as the champions of historical progress, allegedly overcoming different kinds of pre-Christian, 'barbarian' religion.     

Service or Benefice? Officeholders in Poland and Sweden of the seventeenth century

Exploring the differential structures of social and political power in early modern Europe, this paper examines the contrasting experiences of Poland and Sweden by focusing on the growth of civil office in each country. Central to the study is an understanding of the books of disciplinary regulation imposed on office holders, and how and why these measures were enforced. As the author illustrates, the two case studies give very different conclusions. In Sweden, as exemplified in the trial of leading members of the Swedish Council in 1680, the holder of civic office was constrained by a ‘corset of bureaucratic routine’. Strict, and widely enforced, rules governed activities such as office hours, dress and rates of remuneration. In contrast, Polish office holders pursued appointments not in the name of civic efficiency but to grasp social and political privilege. At the end of the article Kopczyński discusses some of the factors involved in these differences, laying emphasis on the structures of political and military power in each state.     

Did the minority Gillard government keep its promises? A study of promissory representation in Australia

When the Gillard government formed a minority government in 2010 many commentators argued that the government would be unable to fulfil its mandate. Despite this, the Gillard government was able to pass a record amount of legislation – comparable to previous majority-led governments – suggesting the government was effective at negotiating legislative passage. Less understood is whether the Gillard government was able to keep its election promises given the constraints of minority government. This is an important empirical and normative question. In their most basic form elections are designed to allow the public to hold politicians and political parties to account for their past performance. Central to this is whether parties have fulfilled the promises they made at the previous election. But how do parties express election promises to citizens and are they likely to fulfil these promises? Does minority government status make a difference? We examine these questions in the first contemporary Australian study of promise fulfilment, examining promises made and promise fulfilment of the Gillard minority government (2010–2013). We adopt the methods of the Comparative Party Pledges Project (CPPP). Consistent with the international literature, we find that the Gillard government fulfilled most of its election promises suggesting minority government status did not have a large effect on promise fulfilment.     

Enforced Pacific Settlement or Guaranteed Mutual Defence? British and US Approaches to Collective Security in the Eclectic Covenant of the League of Nations

It is rarely pointed out that in pioneering collective security the Covenant of the League of Nations contained two approaches to that policy: enforced pacific settlement favoured in moderate-minimum form by the British (and in particular Lord Robert Cecil); and guaranteed mutual defence, promoted by President Wilson. Though not incompatible, they had very different political resonances. Enforced pacific settlement could be introduced gently, by limiting the pacific-settlement procedures that states were required to follow. By contrast, guaranteed mutual defence looked like a commitment to fight, not for international law, but for every detail of a controversial political and territorial status quo. Thus the Covenant's central element was a British scheme for enforced delay and inquiry, and its Achilles’ heel was Article 10, insisted upon by Wilson but rejected by the Senate. In consequence, the most effective provisions of an incoherent Covenant proved to lie outside the area of collective security, particularly in preventive diplomacy and world services.     

Transmission or recurrence? A historical dilemma of iatrogenic infections due to cytomegalovirus

This article traces the changes in thought regarding the etiology of iatrogenic infections due to cytomegalovirus from the 1960s to the 1990s. Initial investigations using serologic and culture methods focused on how the virus was acquired. Following the application of molecular tools, theories on disease causality expanded beyond concerns of the microorganism itself to include aspects of the virus-host interaction and the host response. Eventually, the insights gained from the investigations into the etiology of iatrogenic cytomegalovirus disease were applied to other intracellular viruses. In addition, recognition of the factors responsible for reactivation of latent viruses had not only theoretical value, but also practical consequences.     

Freedom to divorce or protection of marriage? The divorce laws in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in the early twentieth century

In the period 1909-1927, new laws concerning divorce and marriage were enacted by the Scandinavian countries. Both at the time and more recently, these laws were considered as "liberal" as they promoted greater freedom to divorce based on individuality and gender equality. In this article, the authors first analyze the changes in these Family laws in the early twentieth century. Then, the authors study the effect of these laws on divorce and marriage patterns. As these laws did not modify the trend in divorce rates, the authors ask why this was the case. The authors' conclusions are that the laws were more concerned with preserving the sanctity of marriage and maintaining social order than with promoting individual freedom and gender equality.     

A question of national identity or minority rights? The changing status of the Irish language in Ireland since 1922

When the Irish Free State was founded in 1922, the Irish language was a substantial feature of the politics that led up to this event. Subsequently the language was recognised as the national and first official language of the Irish Free State. Since then, the de jure position of Irish appears to have evolved. Most recently, legislation was introduced in the Republic of Ireland, and statutory duties were placed upon certain public bodies with regard to the Irish language in Northern Ireland. This article examines this historical shift in the status of Irish in the two political jurisdictions in Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland [as a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK)], and explains its significance.     

Minorities or citizens in the Middle East? Locating the ‘minority question’ in the intersecting histories of collective national belonging and state-building

This article contributes to the growing scholarship on minority politics in the Middle East by arguing that if minorities are socially or politically constructed then the meaning and implications of minority terminology requires greater historical contextualisation. Focusing on the experience of minority-ness rather than the deployment of the terminology, which only became prevalent after World War I, this article offers additional insights into the historical roots of contemporary minority politics, as well as the (un)making of national minorities. It explores how debates and reforms pertaining to inclusion/exclusion in the period preceding and during the shift from empire to nation-state directly contributed to the reception and understanding of who is a minority in the modern Middle East. This is particularly examined through the cases of Chaldean Christians in Iraq and Coptic Christians in Egypt. Many of the leaders of these communities publicly reject minority identification and instead favour locating their communities in the nation-state through the notion of inclusive citizenship (al-Mowāṭana). According to this narrative, belonging as citizens erases the meaning of minority. The article suggests that the framing of citizen and minority as mutually exclusive notions is one contemporary expression of an enduring tension around constructing belonging in political communities.     

Mirage in the Desert? Access to Educational Opportunities in an Area of Social Exclusion

While for British policymakers the route out of social exclusion is paid work through the acquisition of educational qualifications, research shows that academic achievement in areas of social exclusion is often poor. Based on a study undertaken on an inner London council estate, this paper explores the experiences of a group of carers and their children's access to secondary school education. It demonstrates the importance of a geographical focus on inequality, and the need for a nuanced approach in explaining educational opportunities in socially excluded areas. It also counters the notion of working class people as an undifferentiated group, devoid of cultural capital, whilst at the same time acknowledging the structural constraints of place which limit the full exercise of agency, so that for many, the opportunities apparently open to them turn out to be illusory.     

The Greeks as an alien minority at the outset of Ethiopia's economic development, 1880–1910

Abstract

Between 1880 and 1910, Greeks constituted one of the largest foreign ethnic communities, in Ethiopia and as such they played an important role in the modernization efforts of Emperor Menilik II (1889–1913). During his reign, Ethiopia's modern economic development had its rudimentary beginnings when, with the participation of resident foreigners, he embarked on an ambitious, although haphazard program to raise his country's material standards. The Italian defeat at Adua in 1896 not only secured Ethiopian independence, but the absence of a single colonial ruler enabled Menilik to seek among various foreign groups the skills and resources necessary for economic development which were then lacking among the indigenous population. Greek participation in construction, internal and external commerce, and in petty retailing contributed to the foundation of Ethiopia's economic growth in the twentieth century.     

Review article: The dangers of polemic: Is ritual still an interesting topic of historical study?

Philippe Buc, The Dangers of Ritual: Between Early Medieval Texts and Social Scientific Theory.
Gerd Althoff, Spielregeln der Politik im Mittelalter: Kommunikation in Frieden und Fehde.
Frans Theuws and Janet L. Nelson (eds). Rituals of Power from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages.
Joëlle Rollo-Koster (ed), Medieval and Early Modern Rituals: Formalized Behavior in Europe, China and Japan.     

Outsiders? A sociological study of Norwegian artists with minority background

Why are there relatively few successful artists from a migrant background in Norway? Based on a study of artists of known migrant backgrounds, we explore this question from the artists’ points of view. We analyze both their social and cultural background, and the mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion at work in Norway’s art world, and especially the interaction between the two. We have concentrated on the dramatic arts: theater and dance. The article presents a theoretically informed analysis of the qualitative material using the sociology of art on the one hand and the sociology of migration and ethnic relations on the other. Further, the empirical analyses are in constant dialog with other Norwegian studies of the art field and the artists themselves. The article presents original findings on the relationship between barriers in young migrants’ backgrounds and impediments to entering and navigating at the field of dramatic arts.     

Strict solar alignment of Bronze Age rock carvings in SE Sweden? – Critical remarks on an archaeoastronomical case study

A recently published paper proposing a “strict solar alignment” of figurative rock carvings in southern Sweden requires some critical and cautionary remarks. Using the paper “Strict solar alignment of Bronze Age rock carvings in SE Sweden” by N.-A. Mörner as a case study, various pitfalls and challenges in archaeoastronomical investigations are highlighted. Substantiating the idea of a relationship between the orientation of archaeological features such as rock carvings and astronomical events such as sunrise at winter solstice requires accurate and precise determination of (i) the orientation of the archaeological features and (ii) the azimuth of the astronomical event at the time of creation of the rock carvings, taking into account all influencing factors such as changes in Earth orbit parameters, surrounding topography and vegetation. Furthermore, possible motivations or intentions of Bronze Age rock carvers have to be considered. When trying to support a causal link between the orientation of archaeological features and astronomical events, it is indispensable to discuss and exclude possible alternative explanations, related to, for example, rock carving practice and visibility. Taking into account the above issues, there is no evidence for a solar alignment of the Järrestad rock carvings. The issues discussed using the Järrestad rock carvings as a case study are relevant to archaeoastronomical investigations in general.     

What can the concept of friendship contribute to the study of national identity?

ABSTRACT. This article argues that understanding national identity requires a reappraisal of friendship as a political sentiment. Although studies of nationalism underscored the transformation of face‐to‐face interactions into ties between ‘distant others,’ they failed to acknowledge how sentiments of friendship may be involved. First, following theorising in political philosophy, the Aristotelian paradigm of civic friendship is conceptually applicable to modern civil society based on characteristics such as volition, commitment and sentiment. Second, feminist scholarship has delineated how an implicit discourse of male fraternity underlies the historical realisations of the modern social contract and mediates the notions of both patriotism and nationalism. Finally, networks of male associations and transformations in collective affection from small settings to large‐scale societies contributed to the magnification of a politics of friendship. Consequently, rather than viewing fraternal friendship as a relic of traditional societies, it should be studied as a unique aspect of modern nationalism.     

Changing Approaches to Urban Planning in an ‘Entrepreneurial City’: The Case of Dublin

The paper reviews the manner in which urban planning in Dublin has changed in response to central government urban renewal initiatives and an increasing ethos of entrepreneurialism within the local authority of Dublin Corporation. The paper outlines the marginalization of local planning functions and the undermining of planning powers through the establishment of special purpose renewal agencies. Dublin Corporation planners have consequently sought refuge in integrated micro-area planning, marking a shift in philosophy regarding the appropriate role for planning in the context of entrepreneurial governance. The paper provides an empirical account of the relationship between changing approaches to urban renewal and the evolution of local planning practice, noting the challenges and opportunities for urban planning created by altered governance structures and approaches.     

Adjustment or renewal in regional clusters? A study of diversification amongst SMEs in the Aberdeen oil complex

A renewed interest in the spatial clustering or agglomeration of economic activity is evident within economic geography and related fields. This paper considers processes of change within 'mature' regional clusters, developing a conceptual framework which links firm-level strategies to development scenarios at the cluster level through a set of intervening mechanisms. Whange, enabling the cluster to sustain its prosperity, and adjustment which is associated with stagnation and gradual decline. This conceptual framework is applied to an analysis of one key mechanism of change, diversification, as pursued by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Aberdeen oil cluster. Our analysis indicates that some diversification is occurring, with the implications for the cluster lying midway between adjustment and renewal. In conclusion, we emphasize the need to assess and 'unpack' the clusters concept and suggest that research should focus on the relationships between proximity, learning and evolution.