Settling Accounts: Violence, Justice, and Accountability in Postsocialist Europe

Settling Accounts: Violence, Justice, and Accountability in Postsocialist Europe. John Borneman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997. 197 pp.     

Introduction to "Moral Economies, State Spaces, and Categorical Violence"

By studying and writing about social revolutions and popular protest, James Scott has provided anthropologists and social theorists with a wide-ranging analytical vocabulary for speaking about peace and its inseparable twin—violence. His particular area of expertise has been the arts of repressive peace, and the artfulness of those who elude or defy such silencing technologies. The publication of The Moral Economy of the Peasant in 1976 initiated the first interactions between Scott's unique brand of political theory and anthropology in the shared topical space of peasant studies and the shared geographic space of Asian studies. The authors of this "In Focus" have assembled this special collection to celebrate and evaluate those and subsequent interactions covering a quarter of a century and spanning the publication of at least three other books: Weapons of the Weak (1985), Domination and the Arts of Resistance (1990), and Seeing Like a State (1998).     

Afterword to "Moral Economies, State Spaces, and Categorical Violence"

This Afterword is a discussion of commentary and criticism of my books, The Moral Economy of the Peasant (1976), Weapons of the Weak (1985), Domination and the Arts of Resistance (1990), and Seeing Like a State (1998). I examine the relation of moral economies to globalization, and hegemony to power and resistance, in agrarian societies and in contemporary U.S. politics. I debate contemporary neoliberal projects of governance in extractive, enclave economies and in current development practices in Indonesia. I question the use and misuse of high modernism as a term in my work. I discuss neoliberal internationalism and the immanent project of "harmonizing" institutional orders throughout poor countries.     

Faith,culture and fear: comparing Islamophobia in early modern Spain and twenty-first-century Europe

Abstract

In 1609, King Philip III of Spain ordered the expulsion from his kingdom of circa 300,000 Moriscos (Muslims forced to officially convert to Christianity). This expulsion marked the end, and failure, of over a century of concerted efforts by both the Spanish government and Catholic Church to assimilate this minority by destroying its culture. This article explores how the fate of the Moriscos was not inevitable but rather the result of an explosive situation in which (1) faith and culture became conflated and (2) the minority came to be perceived as politically disloyal and a threat to the survival of the state and Church. It draws parallels with the current situation of Muslim communities in contemporary Europe to highlight the similarities between them and to sound a cautionary warning to all Europeans, whatever their creed.     

Between Europe and the Balkans: Mapping Slovenia and Croatia's “Return to Europe” in the 1990s

This essay traces the ongoing discursive processes through which two former Yugoslav states — Croatia and Slovenia — framed their so-called “exit from the Balkans” and “return to Europe” throughout the 1990s. Applying Maria Todorova's framework of “Balkanism” to these two cases, the essay examines how leaders sought recognition as belonging to Europe, or Central Europe, by defining their respective national identities in opposition to Balkan or Yugoslav ones. What distinguishes Balkanism from other critical traditions such as Orientalism is that the Balkans are located in a distinctively liminal position: at the same time part of Europe as well as its antithetical periphery, the “other” within. This in-between position can often lead to contradictory identity constructions, whereby an insistence on concretizing one's Europeanness coincides with a certain awareness that this European status is never ontologically secure. The essay concludes by considering ways in which the Balkans can be re-imagined, reassembling diverse fragments of Balkan identity into a site for positive engagement and critique.     

Hope, Arkansas to Hope, Albania: naivete and idealism to reality and tragedy

The wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo were perpretrated by a radical nationalist Serbian cultural political consciousness that the American cultural political consciousness and leadership had difficulty responding to and understanding. There is a great cultural divide between a 'pathology' in Serbian culture, Milosevi?'s radical nationalism, and a humane 'naivete' in American cultural consciousness. I discuss why, finally, American political leadership, Bill Clinton from Hope, Arkansas, responded to the tragedy of these wars. However, we are still left with the question of good vs evil: What is the course of human history; psychotic political leadership causing repetitive human tragedy or can there be a higher humane and moral order to human cultural events?     

Expert Opinions on Improving Femicide Data Collection across Europe: A Concept Mapping Study

Femicide, defined as the killings of females by males because they are females, is becoming recognized worldwide as an important ongoing manifestation of gender inequality. Despite its high prevalence or widespread prevalence, only a few countries have specific registries about this issue. This study aims to assemble expert opinion regarding the strategies which might feasibly be employed to promote, develop and implement an integrated and differentiated femicide data collection system in Europe at both the national and international levels. Concept mapping methodology was followed, involving 28 experts from 16 countries in generating strategies, sorting and rating them with respect to relevance and feasibility. The experts involved were all members of the EU-Cost-Action on femicide, which is a scientific network of experts on femicide and violence against women across Europe. As a result, a conceptual map emerged, consisting of 69 strategies organized in 10 clusters, which fit into two domains: “Political action” and “Technical steps”. There was consensus among participants regarding the high relevance of strategies to institutionalize national databases and raise public awareness through different stakeholders, while strategies to promote media involvement were identified as the most feasible. Differences in perceived priorities according to the level of human development index of the experts’ countries were also observed.     

Living on the Margins: Livelihood Strategies of Bedouin Herd-Owners in the Northern Negev, Israel

Information collected on herding practices and economic activities of nine Bedouin households is used to define livelihood strategies and examine their economic viability. Large variations found in herding practices and other means of subsistence are a response to external policies and constraints which limit herding space and sources of income. Differential access to resources and different sociocultural norms are important factors. The identification and analysis of different livelihood strategies is a useful point of departure for discussing the development of Bedouin herding in the Negev and for formulating policy that is more effective and empathetic.