Identity Politics

The Rwandan Genocide: The Guilty Bystanders

Bernard-Alexandre Merkel • Jan 14 2010 • Essays

Each time genocide occurs, the world cries out ‘never again’. So why does no one stop these atrocities once they begin? Why are they simply ignored until they “resolve” themselves? This essay will be seeking to answer why the humanitarian intervention failed to prevent the genocide in Rwanda. It will focus on three main possible reasons why the intervention failed.

The Chinese Communist Party’s Treatment of Ethnic Minorities

Jocelyn Leung • Jan 10 2010 • Essays

To consider the CCP’s treatment of its ethnic minorities, one must recognise that the relationships between those in central authority and those isolated in the peripheries are constantly in flux, with each side’s actions incessantly influencing and constraining the others’ future moves. This paper considers arguments that posit successes and mistakes in the CCP’s treatment towards its ethnic minorities.

Anti-Americanism in Turkey since 9/11

Özgür Taşkaya • Aug 30 2009 • Essays

There is certainly Anti-Americanism in Turkey and it has increased substantially after 9/11. Many polls conducted on Anti-Americanism show this fact clearly. But why has it increased, and what does the future hold now that Obama has been elected US President?

The Status of Middle-Eastern Palestinian Refugees Outside of Israel-Palestine

Paul Knight • Aug 9 2009 • Essays

The issue of Palestinian refugees is both an important and highly emotional matter in Middle-Eastern politics, representing one of the most divisive and enduring problems of 20th and 21st century Middle-Eastern affairs.

Explaining the Color Revolutions

Poh Phaik Thien • Jul 31 2009 • Essays

Scholars witnessed a ‘bulldozer revolution’ in Serbia in 2000, a ‘rose revolution’ in Georgia in 2003, an ‘orange revolution’ in Ukraine in December 2004 and then a ‘tulip’ revolution in Kyrgyzstan in early 2005. Although only the Orange color revolutions actually had a color as it symbolize this term, ‘color revolution’ has become a popular term for referring to the four revolutions that occurred among regional specialist and local politicians. Why?

How Does Racism Provide a Metric for Biopolitics of Security?

Scott Mason • Jul 7 2009 • Essays

In this essay I will investigate how racism functions as a metric for the biopolitics of security. I will begin by analysing the development of the counter-historical discourse, from its opposition to traditional sovereignty, through to the development of the ‘warring nations’ thesis, and it’s eventual reformulation as a discourse of the state.

Argentinia’s 2001 Economic Crisis and the Success of New Social Movements

Justa Hopma • Jul 1 2009 • Essays

Several new social movements found their expression in the Argentinian political and economic crisis of 2001, termed the ‘Argentinazo’. The event consisted of a popular revolt in which people took to the streets armed with pots and pans to express their dismay of the establishment. However, just a few years later their legacy was being questioned.

Territory, Knowledge and Power: Understanding Israeli Sovereignty

anon • Jun 9 2009 • Essays

Eyal Weizman’s comprehensive account of the techniques of expansion and oppression deployed by the Israeli forces in the Occupied Territories provides a thorough and graphic exposé of a whole range of colonizing methods. In this essay I attempt to highlight a selection of Weizman’s observations and relate them to the arguments of Yiftachel and an updated understanding of Foucauldian population geography by Legg.

How the West and the Rest Are Permanently Intertwined: A Critique of Samuel P. Huntington’s “The Clash of Civilizations”

James Michael Wilson • May 25 2009 • Essays

Due to the time that has elapsed since Huntington wrote his article it is easy to criticise any lack of foresight in terms of technological development. However, it is important to highlight the fundamentally erroneous assumptions of modern day diplomacy made in his article.

What is the Relation Between Nationalism and the ‘colonial difference’?

Adam Groves • Jun 26 2008 • Essays

This essay draws on the work of Partha Chatterjee to argue that a distinction might be drawn between political and cultural nationalism. Whilst political nationalism sought to challenge the notion of ‘colonial difference’ in the outer realm, cultural nationalism sought to maintain it (albeit reformed and reshaped) in the inner realm. This contradictory process continues to have important consequences for Africa today.

Please Consider Donating

Before you download your free e-book, please consider donating to support open access publishing.

E-IR is an independent non-profit publisher run by an all volunteer team. Your donations allow us to invest in new open access titles and pay our bandwidth bills to ensure we keep our existing titles free to view. Any amount, in any currency, is appreciated. Many thanks!

Donations are voluntary and not required to download the e-book - your link to download is below.

Subscribe

Get our weekly email