Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism

Therefore, the seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and de‹ciency. Thus the duty of the man who investigates the writings of scientists, if learning the truth is his goal, is to make himself the enemy of all that he reads, and, applying his mind to the core and margins of its content, attack it from every side. He should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it, so that he may avoid falling into either prejudice or leniency. (Ibn al-Haytham)1

국제정치이론 = Theory of international politics

Nationalism and Social Communication: An Inquiry into the Foundations of Nationality

Starting in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and continuing up to the present, Imagining the Balkans covers the Balkan's most formative years. From the down fall of the Ottoman Empire, through the turbulent nationalist years of the nineteenth century, up to World War I, the idea of the Balkans was fiercely, often violently, contested. In the wake of WWI, the beginnings of a tradition, largely enforced by academics, emerged stigmatizing the Balkans. Since then, the region has suffered from the neglect, abuse, and scant regard of both western Europe and the world. The result has been in many direct ways to compound the Balkan's poverty, internal violence, and lack of national self-image. A startling history of ideas, Imagining the Balkans provides a much needed exploration into a region too long neglected.

Imagining the Balkans: Послепис

Global Political Economy Understanding The International Economic Order

The research studies regionalism in two sub-national border regions, Istria in Croatia and Pirin Macedonia in Bulgaria, by testing empirically existing theories on regions and regionalism. Identifying two regions where regionalism is likely to be strong, the research seeks to answer the question why comparable initial conditions have led to different levels of regionalism. While Istria has developed strong and stable regionalism with self-governance on political, cultural and economic matters, Pirin Macedonia’s regionalism has been largely limited to expressions of its cultural specificity. Theories on regionalism have been predominantly based on quantitative research of a large number of regions, which has often spanned across continents and time. Few contextual case studies have been carried out, in particular in “new” EU Member States where regionalism is altogether not widespread or at least not well articulated politically. This research provides such a contextual study and empirical backing of theories focusing on the factors leading to regionalism. Its findings indicate that economic and political uncertainly is more conducive for the emergence of regionalism than economic prosperity and political routine, but also that regionalism is more likely to be stable in the long run if it is built on such premises as affluence, cooperation and peaceful tackling of regional issues. Furthermore, at least in the case of “new” EU Member States, regionalism appears to be more about the vested-in interests of regional players than about processes of democratization and improved efficiency. An increased independence on the regional level appears to lead to stronger regionalism only if there is an overlap between political and administrative functions, i.e. if regionalist political actors are successful in establishing control over public institutions.

Andreana Kirilova Baeva-Motusic

Papers

Regions and regionalism in "new" European Union member states: the cases of Istria and Pirin Macedonia