Gerard Delanty
Social Exclusion and the New Nationalism: European Trends
and their Implications for Ireland
Abstract
The
current wave of nationalism in Europe can be described as a
fundamentally new kind of nationalism and therefore warrants
the term 'the new nationalism.' The new nationalism is
essentially based on strategies of social exclusion in
contrast to the old nationalism which was state-centred,
integrative and rested on totalizing ideologies. The new
nationalism has emerged in the context of the end of the Cold
War and is a product of the crisis of the nation-state itself
as a medium of social integration. Unlike the old nationalism
the new nationalism is not monolithic and political but is
primarily social. Applied to Ireland, certain trends which
depart in some respects from the wider European tendency can
be observed, particularly in the context of the present
movement towards peace in Northern Ireland, which point
towards a reflexive postnationalism. This, however, is
ambivalent as there is also evidence of a nascent
neo-communitarian ideology of the nation which is essentially
cultural and a contrast to postnational reflexivity.
Postnationalism is therefore faced with the challenges posed
by contemporary nationalism which can be seen as a struggle
between political, social and cultural codes.
Aleksandra Alund
Book, Bread and Monument. Continuity and Change Through
Ethnic Memory and Beyond
Abstract
The
paper examines the meaning of ethnic memory as it finds
expression in the life stories and identity formation of three
Swedish young women of immigrant background. Their identity is
formed within a field of tension between what is and what has
been. Using the examples of different metaphors attached to
the symbolic space of tradition, they seek to link time and
space and thus fragments of migrants' splintered life. In
relating the past to the present and its antagonisms to those
of the present, all three girls demonstrate an ability to
re-interpret and to translate tradition into present
experience. This, the author maintains, can be understood as a
creative capacity out of which a new kind of self-orientation
is born, and a new sense of home and belonging, come into
being. In this way ‘modern ethnic consciousness’ takes
form as a reflexive linkages across space and time. A new
order is created out of the disorder of dissolved continuity.
Jozsef Böröcz
Social Change with Sticky Features and the Failuers of
Modernizationism
Abstract
The
paper discusses four ‘western’ models of history and
social change, namely progress, rupture, time-series, and
palette. It is argued that none of the four models provides
conceptual tools for analysing the historical process as both
continuity and change. Increasing the number of analytical
components does likewise not provide better results. Instead
what is needed is an analytical instrument that captures the
complexity of novel constellations of ‘old’ and ‘new’
components, beyond simple admixtures.
Peter Futo, Paul Hoggett
and Laszlo Kallay
Small Firms and Economic Transformation in Hungary
Abstract
Since
1989 processes of economic reform and restructuring in Eastern
Europe have been a focus for considerable analysis. Less
attention has been given to what might be called the
‘bottom-up' processes of economic transformation, that is
the development of the small and medium sized business sector
in Eastern European economies. This paper tries to re-address
this balance by reporting on an analysis of small firm
development in Hungary. The authors argue that in the earliest
phase of transition, the development of the small firm sector
was the outcome of mainly two processes: first the breakdown
of large state firms into smaller private firms; and second,
the removal of stifling regulations which earlier inhibited
small firm birth and growth. The authors also discuss the
growth of the small firm sector in Hungary in relation to the
culture of informality and compare the Hungarian enterpreneur
to the Bulgarian and Slovenian.
Felix Büchel and Greg
J. Duncan
Parents' Social Activities and Childrens' School
Attainments. First Results
Abstract
Using
longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we
investigate whether parental social activities such as
attending cultural events, doing volunteer work, and
socializing with friends promote the educational attainments
of children.
We
find highly significant linkages between parents' activities
and the attainments of children. Generally, the more intense
the social activities of the parents, the better the
educational attainments of the children. Differentiating
between various social activities, we found positive effects
for both parents' attending cultural events and engaging in
active sports. In addition to that, we found positive effects
for mother´s political activities. But beyond those expected
positive returns on investment in social capital, we also
observed negative effects for father´s socializing with
friends.
Savvas A.
Katsikides
Sociology and the Functions of Technological Autonomy
Abstract
This
paper provides an overview of the sociology of technology. It
reviews different arguments about the sociology of technology
and examines the path to social change. After reviewing those
classical and contemporary theories which define the impact of
technological processes, this paper explores the effects of
society on technology and suggests that technological change
derives from different societal traditions and as such
accumulates and reflects social processes and cultures. It is
argued that these views could build the basis for the analysis
of social conflicts in industrialised countries.
