Articles in Nationalism
Where’s Chechnya?—And a Brief Look at Its Bloody History
As the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings—Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, killed by police, and his brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19—have been identified as immigrants of Chechen origin, it’s worth taking a look at their homeland, Chechnya, and its bloody history.
A Surprising Map of The Countries That Are Most and Least Welcoming to Foreigners
A map has recently been published depicting how welcoming different countries are to foreigners. It is based on data for 140 countries, compiled in a new World Economic Forum report on global travel and tourism competitiveness, to estimate the attitude of each country toward foreign visitors.
Ukrainians Vote for Stronger Ties with Russia—But What About Social Issues?
Recent elections in Ukraine largely revolve around relations with Russia. While the parliamentary elections were generally characterized by geopolitical stasis, two details are significant: a continuous growth of the ruling Party of the Regions and a troubling expansion of the vote for the ultra-nationalist Svoboda (“Freedom”) Party.
Aramaic Language Revival in the Holy Land
Efforts are being made worldwide to stop the tide of language endangerment and extinction. One group that has recently made efforts to return to its linguistic roots is Christian Arabs of the Middle East. A campaign is now underway to revive the Aramaic language by teaching it at elementary schools, in Jish (Israel) and Beit Jala (PA).
Bavarian Separatism and the Franconian Issue
Bavarian separatism, a long-standing if still rather minor political movement, is finally getting some attention in the global media, thanks to the recent publication of Bayern kann es auch allein (or Bavaria Can Also Go It Alone), a book described by Canada’s Maclean’s as a “191-page polemic covering a range of standard Bavarian complaints about the present German (and European) political order and a paean to the benefits and glories that await an unfettered Free State of Bavaria.”
Corsican nationalists blow up Parisian banker’s villa
Corsica, a beautiful Mediterranean island, continues to be bedeviled by a bombing campaign, as a villa belonging to a Parisian banker was attacked on June 2, 2012, causing significant damage but no injuries. Nationalist feelings in Corsica have deep historical and linguistic roots going back at least to the 18th century.
Hungary’s Rising Hyper-Nationalist Jobbik Party and the Legacy of Anti-Semitism and Anti-Gypsyism
Concerns have been mounting across Europe over the recent rise of extremist nationalism in Hungary, where in 2010 the Jobbik Party, variably characterized as “fascist”, “neo-fascist”, “anti-Semitic”, “anti-Roma”, and “homophobic”, received 17% of the votes in the general election and gained 47 seats in Hungarian parliament.
Euro 2012 Soccer Championship Stirs Up the Ghost of Anti-Semitism
Like the upcoming London Olympics this year and the planned Sochi Olympics in 2014, the Euro 2012 has attracted worldwide attention to a political topic seemingly unrelated to soccer: anti-Semitism and the Holocaust.
More on “Divided Russia” Maps and Xenophobic Nationalist Views
As noted in an earlier GeoNote, many Russian nationalists see the their country in the future breaking into its constituent parts rather than enlarging at the expense of neighboring states. In some instances, such as the ones discussed in the earlier GeoNote, the xenophobic worries of such nationalists focus on religious minorities, especially Muslims, as being too “foreign” for a …
Mapping German Anti-Semitism
Since 1945, anti-Semitism in Germany went from official policy to taboo, but nonetheless a striking proportion of the German population to this day holds—and confesses to—anti-Jewish views. In a series of “cultural economy” studies, German scholars Nico Voigtländer and Hans-Joachim Voth set out to map and explain spatial patterns in the distribution of anti-Semitic attitudes in Germany.
Divided Russia: Nationalistic Maps
Most hyper-nationalistic fantasy maps greatly enlarge the group’s home country at the expense of the neighbors. However, most fantasy maps from Russia are quite different in nature, as they subdivide the country rather than extend it.
Birobidzhan: Frustrated Dreams of a Jewish Homeland
An interesting anomaly on the map of the federal subjects of the Russian Federation (see the map on the left) is the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the Russian Far East, the only member of its category. Numerous Russian autonomous oblasts marked the map of the early Soviet Union. As recently as June 1991, five remained: Adyghe, Gorno-Altai, Karachay–Cherkess, Khakas, and …
Dreams of a Circassian Homeland and the Sochi Olympics of 2014
The resurgence of Circassian identity in recent years faces daunting obstacles. Many Circassians believe that the long-term sustainability of their community requires a return to the northwestern Caucasus, but both the Russian state and the other peoples of the region resist such designs. Circassians are thus focusing much of their efforts on global public opinion, building a protest movement in …
Historical Clues and Modern Controversies in the Northeastern Caucasus: Udi and Ancient Albania
The Caucasus is rightly called a “mountain of languages.” Linguistic diversity reaches its extreme in the Russian republic of Dagestan and adjacent districts in northern Azerbaijan. The nearly three million inhabitants of Dagestan speak more than thirty languages, most of them limited to the republic. Such languages may seem inconsequential to outsiders, mere relict tongues of minor peoples. Yet a …
Mega-Nationalist Fantasy Maps of the Balkans
YouTube videos of “greater countries,” which imagine the glorious expansion of existing states, have a distinct geographical distribution. The vast majority of these hyper-nationalistic fantasies come from the region stretching from Pakistan to Hungary. Although a number of “greater” countries outside of this area have been proposed, few are supported at the popular level by YouTube productions. Greater Morocco, for …
Terranova: The Black Petaltail - A Novel
Diversity Amid Globalization: World Regions, Environment, Development (5th Edition)
Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World (3rd Edition)
