The Case for Russian and East European Studies
Major processes such as globalisation remain – despite their international appearance – locally embedded. Area specialists can contribute to a more refined interpretation of these developments.
The Role of Violence During Indonesia’s Political Transition
The beginning of the 1990’s marked the start of a transition in the realm of Indonesian politics, as the population began to show their frustration towards Suharto’s authoritarian regime.
The Case for Nationalism in the Demise of the Soviet Union
While economic and ideological failure played as important role in delegitimising Soviet control, nationalism was the defining feature of the collapse of the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe.
Gacaca: A Successful Experiment in Restorative Justice?
Gacaca was not a successful experiment in restorative justice. It did not contain a strong enough reparative element and was hampered by factors of capacity such as a lack of legal expertise and sufficient compensation for victims.
The Impact of ‘Identity Politics’ on Iranian-American Relations
1979 was a watershed for US-Iranian relations. Thereafter, a politics of identity has shaped relations, obstructing normalisation efforts.
Partition: Everyday Lives and Loyalties in West Bengal
After partition, many local and familial loyalties remained but for most, and particularly for the East Bengali refugees, lives and loyalties were changed irrevocably
An Explanatory Account of Stalin’s “Great Terror” and the Rwandan Genocide
A strategic explanatory account of mass killing is of extensive relevance, but evidently this human tragedy cannot be exclusively understood as a strategic consequence.
Building an Independent State in Kurdistan
The Kurdistan region has to earn its complete part in secession from being a de facto substate entity within the Iraqi state and transferring itself to a fully independent de jure state.
Riots in India: A Consequence of Democracy?
Political motivations offer only a partial explanation for Indian riots. They do not take into account religious mobilization, extremist ideologies, or perceptions of ‘the other’ that lead to participation in, or approval of, violence.
Gacaca Courts and Restorative Justice in Rwanda
While Gacaca courts have served human needs by exercising retributive and restorative justice, the trials can also invoke retraumatisation and insecurity.
