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Walter Benjamin, a Methodological Contribution
Full text linkThis article examines the work and philosophy of Walter Benjamin as
an important source of information for international relations (IR) and
International Political Sociology (IPS) scholars, particularly in light of
his methodological contributions, which could provide important
ground for movements such as the aesthetic turn in IR and everyday
life ⁄ popular culture studies within IR and IPS. Benjamin’s contributions
are examined in light of his most controversial, albeit unfinished, project—
The Arcades Project, a recently published volume that focuses on a
selection of documents from the Benjamin archive; and a study by Howard
Caygill on Benjamin’s attempt to create a ‘‘new philosophy,’’ and
along with it, a new methodology for studying ‘‘experience.’’ The article
focuses on three main elements that stand at the basis of Benjamin’s
unique methodology: (1) his process of selecting the object of study;
(2) his treatment of temporality and processes of change ⁄ history; and
(3) his focus on the visual as key to escaping the limitations of
traditional ‘‘philosophical’’ text
‘Born to Shop’: Malls, Dream-Worlds and Capitalism
Full text linkIt has been twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and a new generation, untouched by the previous communist regimes, has come to adulthood throughout the post-communist world. The Iulius Group’s logo – ‘Born to shop!’ – suggests that these are born shoppers: the capitalist babies of Central and Eastern Europe who are sustaining the largest growth in retail and shopping malls in Europe. With no living memory of shortages, queuing, or government restrictions, they know only the limit of their own – or their parents’ – pocket/credit. Their world could not be more different from the one that their parents and grandparents experienced: both the abundance of goods and services, as well as the opulent settings under which they are now sold, offer striking visual contrasts to the not-so-distant past. In addition, the very experience of consumption is directly connected to the way in which the current social fabric – and new social divisions within it – is interwoven with the physical and architectural changes taking place in the urban setting
Revolution, Democratic Transition and Disillusionment: The Case of Romania
No full textThis book develops a fresh and challenging perspective on the transition from communism to capitalism. Drawing on a wide and diverse range of material and texts, it argues that transition and democratisation studies should turn their attention towards processes of illusion formation and disillusionment as key to understanding the shift from one ideological framework to another. The author provides alternative approaches to otherwise classical sites of examination of social change – such as revolutions and the emergence of civil society – and proposes a number of new possible sites by analysing the politics of self-reflection, the element of shock inherent in any transition and the role of visual narratives in negotiating change.
The chapters are inspired by unique interviews and discussions with the leaders of the Timisoara Revolution, the Group of Social Dialogue – the first civil society organisation in post-communist Romania, the leading author of the 'Presidential Report Analysing the Communist Dictatorship in Romania' and an innovative group of photographers tracing the Romanian transition through images
Democratic transition and disillusionment: The case of Romania
No full textThe post-communist transition in Romania has been a period rife with high hopes and expectations as well as strong disappointments and disillusions. These disillusions have too often been confused with either political apathy or direct reactions to corruption, insecurity and poverty, thus resisting an in-depth examination of the phenomena of disillusionment as an altogether separate concern. This project tries to rectify that by providing a redefinition of the concept of disillusionment in light of the loss of certain strong illusions. Equating the ideology of both communism and capitalism with a particular set of social, political and economic illusions, propagated through different sets of both state and market mechanisms, this project focuses on how some of those illusions were built, maintained and later lost and grieved. The points of entrance for this examination are the 1989 Romanian Revolution along with its contested ideals and illusions, the period immediately following the Revolution marked by the emergence of so-called civil society institutions and the illusions surrounding their role in the democratization process, and finally, an examination of present Romania, fifteen years into the transition, reflecting back on the shock of the transition and its effects on the Romanian landscape---city and ruralscape---and the Romanian people. The birth, development and later loss of each of these illusions marked the beginning of a redefinition of the relationship between state and society, and more importantly, the relationship between present, past and future.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-09, Section: A, page: 3572.Adviser: Mustapha Kamal Pasha.Thesis (Ph.D.)--American University, 2006
Restaging the 1989 Revolution: The Romanian New Wave
Full text linkAlmost 20 years after the 1989 Romanian revolution, the subject is experiencing
a powerful comeback in a number of cinematic reflections that are at the forefront of the so-
called Romanian New Wave, including Corneliu Porumboiu’s 12:08 East of Bucharest,
Radu Muntean’s The paper will be blue and Catalin Mitulescu’s How I spent the end of
the world. This article seeks to establish some of the contributions that the New Wave is
making to the reconstruction of the 1989 revolutionary moment, but also, and more
importantly, to the renegotiation of Romania’s present role in the local and global imaginary.
The article offers a particular reading of these films as inspired by Walter Benjamin’s
writings on history and film, a reading that seeks to understand the careful temporal and
spatial renegotiation of the revolutionary moment of December 1989, the key role that the
technology of film has played throughout the course of the Romanian revolution and its
aftermath, as well as the critical importance that the revolutionary moment continues to have
for the way in which Romania imagines itself and is seen from abroad
The 'Roma Problem' in the EU: Nomadism, (in)visible architectures and violence
No full textThis article argues that the ‘Roma problem’ in the EU is often translated into a ‘space problem’. The targeting of Roma spaces—camps, right to movement, Roma homes and palaces—ultimately challenges the Roma’s right to settlement and insures their invisibility. By turning its attention to the recent politics of Roma expulsions in France, this article seeks to better understand their implications by looking at: a) the relationship between the Roma’s sedentary vs. nomadic lifestyle; b) the Roma’s use of space to secure both visibility and invisibility; and c) the state’s problematic use of legal violence in order to control and police the Roma. The article strongly suggests that the Roma ‘space problem’ cannot be solved by attempts to either construct (settlement) or constrict (expulsion) Roma spaces by an outside authority, but rather through an acceptance of Roma’s temporary presence—even if it involves a long-term temporality—in camps ‘abroad’ and continued support for Roma communities ‘at home’
Roma in Europe: Migration, Education, Representation
No full textthis volume focuses on the issues of: Migration in the EU, particularly in France, Italy, and the UK Discrimination in education (focusing on D.H. and others vs. Czech Republic, but also education discrimination in Slovakia and the Baltics Representation, both political as well as media representations, focusing on the Czech Republic and Lithuania
European Union: Promises and Challenges of a New Enlargement
No full textA sourcebook on contemporary controversies, this book brings together articles discussing controversial questions raised by European Enlargement towards Eastern Europe, Cyprus and Turkey. The first section of the book presents points of view from each of the applicant countries with regard to specific problems of European Enlargement, grouped under sections dealing with issues of democratic representation and citizenship rights, social, political and economic impacts of the acquis communautaire requirements, as well as convergence of the current European Union policies—such as the Common Agricultural Policy—to meet the needs of the applicant countries. The second part of the book offers documents including relevant European Union treaties and speeches that represent the European Union stance on these issues
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