Nation/non-nation: political identities in contemporary Europe

André Sonnichsen and Ulrik Pram Gad, PhD candidates, Institut for Statskundskab, Københavns Universitet

Is nationality the only way of organizing political community? Given the ubiquity of the national principle, one might think so. But, in practice, the national principle is constantly challenged by what can be termed non-national identities. This article looks at manners in which such deviating identities can be conceptualized, how contemporary European states have attempted to deal with them when they arise and to what extent non-national modes of organizing political community can point towards a challenge to the national principle itself. In its capacity as an introduction to the special issue, this article seeks to frame the subsequent articles within the overarching theme of the tension between national and non-national communities in contemporary Europe.

European Integration and Minority Nationalism in France: The Case of the UPC

Emelyne Cheney, PhD candidate, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science

This paper investigates the relationship between European integration and minority nationalist parties in France, with a special focus on Corsican nationalism. While minority matters are still left to the discretion of each member state, European integration provides a new context for the political mobilisation of Corsican nationalist parties. At the same time, European integration has less accommodating economic and social implications for peripheral regions such as Corsica. The current literature nevertheless suggests that minority nationalists have sought to take advantage of the new institutional and representational opportunities emerging from Europe. However, these are what opportunism these parties can derive from Europe when they lack institutional recognition and political representation in their member states. Looking at the discourse of the UPC in Corsica, this paper will argue that minority nationalists’ support for European integration is mainly pragmatic, not as an alternative to the French state but rather as an opportunity to redefine centre-periphery relations in France.

Differences and the Danes: Notes on Work-in-Progress

John L. Campbell, Department of Sociology, Dartmouth College, International Center for Business and Politics, Copenhagen Business School

John A. Hall, Department of Sociology

McGill University

We have developed an argument suggesting that Danish success is best understood in terms of the economic consequence of the size of its nation. We begin by presenting this argument, before turning to our attempt to move beyond idiography – for we wish, as social scientists, to see if the factors at work in the Danish case are present elsewhere. It is sometimes useful to exhibit a research design in process of development, and that is what will then be attempted here. We conclude by directly addressing the question of multiculturalism, perhaps seen somewhat idiosyncratically given the nature of our understanding of the Danish model.

The Post-Accession Migrant Wave from Poland: Success, Challenge or Danger?

Krzysztof Stala, Lektor, Institut for Tværkulturelle og Regionale Studier, Københavns Universitet

Polish membership of the EU resulted directly in increased migration, mainly to the countries that from the beginning abolished all legal restrictions, that is to Great Britain, Ireland and Sweden. The media and scholars talked of a migration boom; the scale of the process and its manifold consequences: social, political, economical, have been given great attention both in Poland and abroad. The questions posed in that paper sound as follows: How the reality of migration praxis from Poland looks like anno 2007, three years after the enlargement? Who are those new Polish migrants, what is new in their strategies, attitudes and mentality on the background of the earlier waves of migration?

Local Policy Makers Discovering Islam: Managing Religious and Ethnic Pluralism in Brussels

Corinne Torrekens, Researcher in political science (GERME), Université libre de Bruxelles

The issue of religious regulation is usually approached on a national level. But currently many important issues concerning religious regulation often occur at the local level. Moreover, as in the Belgian case, deficiencies in the institutionalization of the Muslim religion at the national and regional levels leave unresolved ‘non regulated’ matters to the local level. Recently, with the extension of access to Belgian nationality, an increase in Muslim ‘immigrants’ becoming Muslim ‘citizens’ has been seen over the last couple of years. Local political elites are increasingly obliged to take into account this new electoral factor. Consequently, the management of local issues related to Islamic faith has gained prominence on the local agenda. Thus this paper aims to present why and how some Brussels localities have learned to deal with the management of ‘local islam’.

An Evaluation of the Norwegian and Danish Power Studies

Karolin E. Lovén, Politisk Magister

In 2003, the Danish power study concluded that democracy was thriving, while the corresponding Norwegian study described democracy as in a crisis. This article summarises a study examining why the Danish and Norwegian power studies come to such radically different conclusions.

An ideological text analysis reveals that both studies are explicitly based on the same power theories, nevertheless arriving at disparate conclusions. The differences are attributable to their implicit theories on power and democracy, which differ significantly between the two studies and in relation to their respective explicit theories.

The article discusses the use of studies as political steering instruments and how research is often regarded as objective truth, legitimising the use of studies in major policy-formation. The article appeals for research criteria and guidelines on how studies could and should be conducted. Evaluation criteria should be transparent, enabling readers to determine the reliability of the research results.

Freedom of Expression, Respect, and Responsibility

Christian F. Rostbøll, ph.d., Adjunkt, Institut for Statskundskab, Københavns Universitet

The issue of freedom of expression was placed at the center of public debate by the publication of twelve cartoons of the prophet Muhammad by a Danish newspaper in 2005. It was agreed that the cartoon crisis had some connection to the issue of free speech but it was less clear exactly what the connection was. This article discusses three aspects of freedom of expression: its normative justification, its limits, and which responsibilities citizens have when exercising it. It is argued that these three aspects are intimately related, and that the relationship was ignored by Jyllands-Posten and those who supported the newspaper.

Informationssamfundets globale styring – Et bud på en analysestrategi

Mikkel Flyverbom, Adjunkt, Institut for Sprog og Kommunikation, Syddansk Universitet

This article sets out to demonstrate the value of a governmentality perspective for studies of global governance. This approach focuses on the concrete interactions, relations and contexts in which governance is constructed and consolidated, and sheds light on aspects of governance that often go unexplored in mainstream analyses. Applying this analytical framework, the analyses explore recent UN activities in the area of the global governance of the information society. The article shows how this object of governance has been reconfigured, explains how multi-stakeholder participation has emerged as the preferred governance mechanism, fleshes out the subject positions on offer and points out the political rationalities involved. Finally, the article outlines the overall shape of this emergent issue area in global politics.