ABSTRACTS: AJP, Vol. V, Issue 2 (December 2009)
ARTICLES
Albanian Orientalism
Enis Sulstarova
Despite the fact that Albanians have frequently been the target of Orientalist stereotyping, both by Westerners and the Balkan neighbors, they have developed their own brand of Orientalism. Similar to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the processes of modernization in Albania have been culturally and strategically conceptualized the means to become part of European civilization and to escape from the consequences and “pollution” of their national identity by a series of “Eastern others”. This paper traces the trajectory of Albanian Orientalism through the analysis of the works of main intellectuals in four institutional periods of the country’s modern history, from the last decades of the 19th century until the present day. Emerging within the National Awakening movement’s discourse, Orientalism became an essential tool in the struggle against the Ottomans; in between the two world wars, it was used in the imagining of an organic against the degeneracy of the past and against the “Oriental” landlords; after the Second World War, Orientalism was crucial in justifying the lonely road of Albanian Communist regime in Europe. In post-Communist transition the Albanian national identity is articulated in opposition to “Eastern” legacies of underdevelopment, Communism and, especially since 9/11, Islam.
Religious Cleavages: An instrument of the Great Powers’ Foreign Policy towards Albania
Zacharoula Karagiannopoulou
This article is an effort to outline the geopolitical interests of the Great Powers in Albania (1912-1938), while taking into consideration the social situation of the country (especially its religious heterogeneity, which led to the formation of a religious cleavage). It searches the association of the Great Powers’ foreign policy towards Albania with the existing religious cleavage by observing the “place” which the religious cleavage occupies in Lipset and Rokkan’s theoretical model of the two dimensions of cleavages. The paper discusses how religious cleavages became an instrument of foreign policy- used by both the Great Powers and neighboring countries- in order to promote their geopolitical interests, protect their strategic objectives in the region and secure pathways of interference in the political life of the new-born state.
Enoch Powell, Immigration and English Nationalism
Gëzim Alpion
Focusing on the nature of the intra-national relations among ‘indigenous’ British peoples and their attitudes towards the ‘alien’ population that had started arriving in Britain in the late 1940s, Alpion proposes that Enoch Powell’s 1968 speeches reflected a ‘traditional’ stance towards the colonial ‘other’ as well as a concern about the demographic changes taking place in parts of Britain, especially in England, in the late 1960s. Alpion then approaches the British political elite’s treatment of Powell in the context of the prevailing institutionalised dislike for so-called populist politicians and populist politics in Britain, arguing that this was a ‘timely’ intervention to curb the rise of ‘ethnic’ English nationalism when Britain was moving from an Empire to a nation-state. The essay concludes with an assessment of the impact of Powell’s outright castigation by the officialdom on British politics and the immigration debate in Britain.
Does Globalization Contribute to “Peace”? Cross-National Analyses
Satoshi Machida
This study explores the relationship between globalization and “peace,” relying on the “Global Peace Index” (GPI) and the “GlobalIndex.” The statistical analyses using these measures demonstrate positive impacts of globalization on peace. Specifically, the findings indicate that economic and “socio-technical” dimensions of globalization significantly enhance peace in the world by reducing conflict and improving stability in society. By dissecting the process through which globalization affects peace, this study advances our understanding of globalization forces in the world.
BOOK REVIEWS
Gershman. Norman H. 2008. “Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews in World War II.” Albanian Journal of Politics, V (2) (December 2009).
Reviewed by Elton Skendaj
Diamond, Larry and Marc F. Platter (eds). 2008. "How People View Democracy." Albanian Journal of Politics, V (1) (December 2009)
Reviewed by Fatmir Haskaj