Daily Plebiscite http://www.dailyplebiscite.com A journalist blogging on nations and nationalism, with a focus on Europe and Africa / Un periodista bloguejant sobre nacions i nacionalisme, especialment sobre Europa i Àfrica Sun, 26 May 2013 16:24:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Russians, Ukrainians and Tatars: a 2011 survey on the identity of Crimeans http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/04/03/russians-ukrainians-and-tatars-a-2011-survey-on-the-identity-of-crimeans/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=russians-ukrainians-and-tatars-a-2011-survey-on-the-identity-of-crimeans http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/04/03/russians-ukrainians-and-tatars-a-2011-survey-on-the-identity-of-crimeans/#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:39:28 +0000 David Forniès http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/?p=705 I am starting to discover a set of very interesting video lectures from the University of Kansas Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies (CREES). For all those of you who would like to learn a little bit more about such places as Kosovo, Central Asia, Poland, the Baltic Republics and so on, I [...]

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]]> http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/04/03/russians-ukrainians-and-tatars-a-2011-survey-on-the-identity-of-crimeans/feed/ 2 Federalism, islamism and unitarism: Libyan identity and nation building at the crossroads http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/03/07/federalism-islamism-and-unitarism-libyan-identity-and-nation-building-at-the-crossroads/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=federalism-islamism-and-unitarism-libyan-identity-and-nation-building-at-the-crossroads http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/03/07/federalism-islamism-and-unitarism-libyan-identity-and-nation-building-at-the-crossroads/#comments Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:28:05 +0000 David Forniès http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/?p=679 Pessimism. Maybe of moderate intensity, but still pessimism. This is the feeling that I got a couple of weeks ago after attending a speech on Libya by political scientist Moncef Djaziri (Institute for Political and International Studies, University of Lausanne) at Barcelona’s European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed). My pessimism was not drawn from what [...]

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]]> http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/03/07/federalism-islamism-and-unitarism-libyan-identity-and-nation-building-at-the-crossroads/feed/ 0 Beyond land and race? Defining a decentralised and multi-ethnic Zimbabwe in a new Constitution http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/02/12/beyond-land-and-race-defining-a-decentralised-and-multi-ethnic-zimbabwe-in-a-new-constitution/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beyond-land-and-race-defining-a-decentralised-and-multi-ethnic-zimbabwe-in-a-new-constitution http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/02/12/beyond-land-and-race-defining-a-decentralised-and-multi-ethnic-zimbabwe-in-a-new-constitution/#comments Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:43:00 +0000 David Forniès http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/?p=637 Is it possible to make a shift from a centralised to a truly multi-ethnic and decentralised understanding of the Zimbabwean nation? The African country seems ready to explore a new national path after a new Constitution has been drafted by the Constitution Parliamentary Committee (COPAC). The final version of the text was adopted in January [...]

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]]> http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/02/12/beyond-land-and-race-defining-a-decentralised-and-multi-ethnic-zimbabwe-in-a-new-constitution/feed/ 0 Sovereignty equals independence? Recent declarations show a variety of outcomes http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/01/22/sovereignty-equals-independence-recent-declarations-show-a-variety-of-outcomes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sovereignty-equals-independence-recent-declarations-show-a-variety-of-outcomes http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/01/22/sovereignty-equals-independence-recent-declarations-show-a-variety-of-outcomes/#comments Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:31:00 +0000 David Forniès http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/?p=611 The Parliament of Catalonia (right image) is likely to pass tomorrow a declaration on the sovereignty of the Catalan people. This will be a milestone text in the history of the country, given that for the first time since autonomy was restored, Catalonia could be defined as a “sovereign political and legal subject”, if the [...]

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]]> http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/01/22/sovereignty-equals-independence-recent-declarations-show-a-variety-of-outcomes/feed/ 0 Regional identities: Istrians, Vojvodinians and Northern Irish growing in censuses http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/01/07/regional-identities-istrians-vojvodinians-and-northern-irish-growing-in-censuses/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=regional-identities-istrians-vojvodinians-and-northern-irish-growing-in-censuses http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/01/07/regional-identities-istrians-vojvodinians-and-northern-irish-growing-in-censuses/#comments Mon, 07 Jan 2013 18:32:42 +0000 David Forniès http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/?p=582 Are certain regional identities (for a terminological clarification on this, please refer to what I explain at the bottom of this post*) posed to become the dominant ones within their regions in Europe, pushing national identities into the background? Maybe it is too soon to definitely answer this question, but census results released by the [...]

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]]> http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2013/01/07/regional-identities-istrians-vojvodinians-and-northern-irish-growing-in-censuses/feed/ 1 The Constitution of Egypt: never forgetting Arab nationalism, always forgetting other peoples http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/12/13/the-constitution-of-egypt-never-forgetting-arab-nationalism-always-forgetting-other-peoples/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-constitution-of-egypt-never-forgetting-arab-nationalism-always-forgetting-other-peoples http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/12/13/the-constitution-of-egypt-never-forgetting-arab-nationalism-always-forgetting-other-peoples/#comments Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:54:03 +0000 David Forniès http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/?p=551 Egypt is a state that is part of the Arab nation. No traces of other non-Arab peoples are worth to be mentioned. These are two principles contained in the draft Constitution that is about to be voted in Egypt, and that is being contested by laicist and leftist sectors of the Egyptian society. In fact, [...]

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]]> http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/12/13/the-constitution-of-egypt-never-forgetting-arab-nationalism-always-forgetting-other-peoples/feed/ 0 The great winding border: curious land swap proposals between Israel and Palestine http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/12/04/curious-land-swap-proposals-between-israel-and-palestine/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=curious-land-swap-proposals-between-israel-and-palestine http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/12/04/curious-land-swap-proposals-between-israel-and-palestine/#comments Tue, 04 Dec 2012 19:15:48 +0000 David Forniès http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/?p=514 I read today that many Middle East analysts are very scared because of Israeli plans to build a new settlement in the area known as E-1. They argue that such a new colony would once and for all bury the prospect of any geographically viable Palestinian state since it would break the connection between the [...]

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]]> http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/12/04/curious-land-swap-proposals-between-israel-and-palestine/feed/ 0 Catalan political party system: heading towards fullness? http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/12/03/catalan-political-party-system-heading-towards-fullness/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=catalan-political-party-system-heading-towards-fullness http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/12/03/catalan-political-party-system-heading-towards-fullness/#comments Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:02:09 +0000 David Forniès http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/?p=495 The Catalan election of November 25th has triggered a cascade of reactions and analysis. I believe, however, that not enough attention has been put on the fact that the Catalan political party system has become more diverse and comprehensive than ever since the end of the Francoist dictatorship. If it is true that “the political [...]

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]]> http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/12/03/catalan-political-party-system-heading-towards-fullness/feed/ 0 Split independence: a trendy option among stateless nations? http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/11/21/split-independence-a-trendy-option-among-stateless-nations/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=split-independence-a-trendy-option-among-stateless-nations http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/11/21/split-independence-a-trendy-option-among-stateless-nations/#comments Wed, 21 Nov 2012 20:17:11 +0000 David Forniès http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/?p=450 As regards to the territorial scope of their nation, Catalan nationalists are usually divided into two main streams: one (I would say the majority one) advocates for the self-government and, eventually, independence for the current autonomous community of Catalonia only (red in the map); the other one wants an independent state made up of the [...]

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]]> http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/11/21/split-independence-a-trendy-option-among-stateless-nations/feed/ 0 The old Albanian dream is much alive in Tirana and Pristina one century later http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/11/18/the-old-albanian-dream-is-much-alive-in-tirana-and-pristina-one-century-later/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-old-albanian-dream-is-much-alive-in-tirana-and-pristina-one-century-later http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/2012/11/18/the-old-albanian-dream-is-much-alive-in-tirana-and-pristina-one-century-later/#comments Sun, 18 Nov 2012 12:45:30 +0000 David Forniès http://www.dailyplebiscite.com/?p=404 “Patriotic frenzy has gripped Pristina”, writes Nerimane Kamberi on Le Courrier des Balkans. However, it is not a frenzy for the Kosovar state, whose flag “has been put aside”, but a frenzy for the Albanian nation: “In the streets of Pristina, the red [flag] is increasingly imposing itself” as the date of Albanian Independence Day [...]

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