Interview with Professor Pierre L. van den Be

Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 30 – Abstracts
Veronika Bajt, Damjan Mandelc
Can Sociobiology Explain Xenophobia and Nationalism?
Interview with Professor Pierre L. van den Berghe
Pierre L. van den Berghe was born in 1933 in Congo, Africa. He was awarded
United States of America citizenship in 1955 and lives in Seattle with his German
wife. Fluent in French, English, Spanish and German, Prof. van den Berghe is a child
of a mixed marriage, who also speaks Swahili, Dutch, Afrikaans and Portugues. He
studied at prestigious universities of Stanford, Sorbonne and Harvard. He had lectured across the U.S., in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Israel, Australia, Germany,
etc. He is Professor Emeritus of the University of Washington.
Professor van den Berghe is a sociologist, but considered controversial because
of his insistence on the necessity to expand the social scientist’s knowledge of natural
sciences, especially biology. For many years he has been involved with the so-called
sociobiology, a discipline that does not strictly separate the study of humans from
the wider context of the evolutionary theory.
Within the field of nationalism studies, van den Berghe is often labelled a “primordialist.” This term is used for those who seek for causes of nationalism not only
in relation to the past two centuries of human existence (the so-called “modernists”)
but dig for answers deeper into the human history.
The still very vibrant and exuberant professor visited the University of Ljubljana
in May 2005, where he gave a few lectures on sociobiology.
Keywords: P.L. van den Berghe, sociobiology, xenophobia, nationalism, primordialists
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 30 – Abstracts
Czy socjobiologia może wytłumaczyć ksenofobię i nacjonalizm?
Wywiad z Profesorem Pierre L. van den Berghe
Pierre L. van den Berghe urodził się w 1933 r. w Kongo w Afryce. W 1955 r.
uzyskał obywatelstwo amerykańskie i obecnie mieszka w Seattle wraz z żoną
Niemką. Biegle mówi po francusku, angielsku, hiszpańsku i niemiecku. Urodzony
w mieszanym narodowo małżeństwie, zna także języki: swahili, niderlandzki, afrikaans, portugalski. Studiował na prestiżowych uniwersytetach Stanforda, Sorbona i
Harvarda. Wykładał między innymi w całych Stanach Zjednoczonych, w Republice
Południowej Afryki, Kenii, Nigerii, Izraelu, Australii, Niemczech. Obecnie jest Professor Emeritus University of Washington (Seattle).
Profesor van den Berghe jest socjologiem, uznawanym za kontrowersyjnego z
racji nacisku, jaki kładzie na konieczność poszerzenia wiedzy badaczy zajmujących
się naukami społecznymi o zakres nauk ścisłych, a zwłaszcza biologii. Od wielu
lat zajmuje się tak zwaną socjobiologią – dyscypliną, która badań naukowych nad
człowiekiem nie oddziela ściśle od szerszego kontekstu teorii ewolucji.
Jako badacz nacjonalizmu van den Berghe bywa nazywany “prymordialistą”
(inaczej: “esencjonalistą“). Tym terminem określani są badacze, którzy genezy procesów narodowościowych dopatrują się nie tylko w minionych dwóch stuleciach
dziejów człowieka (tzw. “moderniści”), lecz poszukując odpowiedzi, wnikają głębiej
w przeszłość ludzkości.
Profesor van den Berghe, wciąż bardzo aktywny i tryskający energią, był gościem
Uniwersytetu w Lublianie w maju 2005 r. Wygłosił wówczas kilka wykładów z socjobiologii i udzielił publikowanego tu wywiadu.
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 30 – Abstracts
Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni
Forging and Imagining the Nation in Zimbabwe:
Trials and Tribulations of Joshua Nkomo as a Nationalist Leader
This article deploys the postmodernist theoretical constructs of de-construction and re-construction as well as representation in the analysis of how the legacy of
Joshua Nkomo has been repeatedly used by the Zimbabwe African National UnionPatriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party to re-imagine the Zimbabwean nation in the 21st
century. It argues that Joshua Nkomo’s political life has suffered three levels of representation shot through with instrumental deconstruction and re-construction in
the period 1980 to the present. These levels include Joshua Nkomo as the opposition leader of Patriotic Front-Zimbabwe African People’s Union (PF-ZAPU) that involved his exclusion and reduction to a ‘Father of Dissidents’ that was bent on destabilization of Zimbabwe for selfish personal political ambition; selfless nation-builder
and the author and signatory of the Unity Accord of 22 December 1987 that brought
peace and unity in the country; and finally, as the acknowledged founder of the nationalist liberation struggle, symbol of national unity and posthumously accorded
the status of ‘Father Zimbabwe’ and a hero of heroes with no question in terms of his
qualification to be buried at the National Heroes’ Acre. The article is therefore about
history, exclusionary nationalism, media, biography, representation, hegemony and
commemoration, all predicated on the use of Joshua Nkomo in the re-imagination
of the Zimbabwean nation against a bed rock of economic crisis and waning legitimacy of nationalist elites under Robert Mugabe. It is about how nationalist heroes
are used by ruling elite for political renewal, forging national unity and forging the
nation as well as power consolidation.
Keywords: Zimbabwe, Joshua Nkomo, national liberation and unity
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 30 – Abstracts
Kształtowanie się narodu i jego nowej wizji w Zimbabwe:
metamorfozy obrazu Joshua Nkomo jako przywódcy narodowego
Posługując się postmodernistycznymi konstruktami teoretycznymi dekonstrukcji i rekonstrukcji, oraz reprezentacji, autor analizuje sposób, w jaki dziedzictwo Joshua Nkomo jest wykorzystywane przez Afrykański Narodowy Związek
Zimbabwe – Front Patriotyczny (National Union – Patriotic Front, ZANU-PF)
do stwarzania nowej wizji narodu zimbabweńskiego w XXI w. Autor przekonuje,
że polityczne życie Joshua Nkomo w okresie od 1980 r. do chwili obecnej można
postrzegać na trzech poziomach reprezentacji, w których na przemian występują
traktowane instrumentalnie dekonstrukcja i rekonstrukcja. Te poziomy to: Nkomo
jako lider opozycji, stojący na czele partii Front Patriotyczny – Afrykański Ludowy
Związek Zimbabwe (African People’s Union, PF-ZAPU); łączy się to z jego wykluczeniem i zredukowaniem do “Ojca Dysydentów”, gotowego destabilizować Zimbabwe dla egoistycznych ambicji osobistych; Nkomo jako bezinteresowny budowniczy
narodu, twórca i sygnatariusz Unity Accord z 22 grudnia 1987 r., która przyniosła
jego krajowi pokój i jedność; i, wreszcie, Nkomo jako doceniony inicjator walki
wyzwoleńczej, symbol jedności narodowej, pośmiertnie obdarzony mianem “Ojca
Zimbabwe”, niekwestionowany i największy z bohaterów, zasługujący na pochowanie na cmentarzu bohaterów narodowych (National Heroes’ Acre). Artykuł mówi
zatem o historii, wykluczającym nacjonalizmie, mediach, biografistyce, reprezentacji, hegemonii i upamiętnianiu – a wszystko to na podstawie sposobów wykorzystywania osoby Joshua Nkomo dla stworzenia nowej wizji narodu zimbabweńskiego,
w obliczu kryzysu gospodarczego i niknącej legitymizacji elit narodowych za Roberta Mugabe. Mówi też o tym, w jaki sposób elity rządzące posługują się postaciami
bohaterów narodowych dla idei odnowy politycznej, kształtowania jedności narodowej i ukształtowania narodu oraz konsolidacji władzy.
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 30 – Abstracts
Eric Beckett Weaver
National Identity – Plural? Shattered? Lost? Hungarians abroad and the
failures of the centre-right in Hungarian elections
While national identity and nationalism have long been recognized as being
comprised of numerous components, they are often assumed to be singular and unified phenomena, covering the whole of any given nation. Typologies of the varieties
of nationalisms (eastern–western, civic, ethnic, etc.) are generally based upon such
assumptions. Another assumption often made is that ethnic nationalisms are more
exclusive than civic forms of national identity. Through the example of just one aspect, that of the place held by co-ethnics who are not citizens of the national state,
Weaver demonstrates that the assumption made by some Hungarian politicians and
social scientists of the homogeneity of national identity, and attempts to mobilize it,
has repeatedly led to failure in elections. The differences Weaver demonstrate in perceptions of this single aspect of national identity in Hungary pose a challenge to assumptions made about the unified nature of nationalism, and have implications for
other nations with large populations of co-ethnics living outside their state borders.
Keywords: Hungary, national identity, national minority, elections
Tożsamość narodowa – pluralistyczna? rozdarta? utracona?
Mniejszość węgierska poza granicami kraju a porażki centroprawicy
w wyborach na Węgrzech
Choć tożsamość narodowa i nacjonalizm są od dawna postrzegane jako złożone
z wielu różnych komponentów, to jednak często zakłada się, że stanowią zjawiska
jednolite i zunifikowane i odnoszą się do danego narodu jako całości. Typologie
nacjonalizmów (wschodni–zachodni, obywatelski, etniczny itd.) na ogół opierają
się na takich właśnie założeniach. Częste jest też inne założenie, według którego
nacjonalizmy etniczne są bardziej wykluczające niż obywatelskie formy tożsamości
narodowej. Na przykładzie tylko jednej kwestii, a mianowicie stanowiska zajmowanego przez rodaków, którzy nie są obywatelami państwa narodowego, autor przekonuje, że zakładana przez niektórych węgierskich polityków i badaczy społecznych
jednorodność tożsamości narodowej, jak też próby jej mobilizowania niezmiennie
prowadzą do porażki wyborczej. Ukazane przez autora różnice w postrzeganiu tego
jednego aspektu tożsamości narodowej na Węgrzech podważają założenia mówiące
o jednolitym charakterze nacjonalizmu. Mają też one implikacje dla innych państw z
licznymi grupami ludności żyjącej poza granicami własnego państwa, stanowiącymi
tam mniejszości narodowe.
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 30 – Abstracts
Bogumił Grott
The Ukrainian Problems in Paris’ Kultura, 1989-2000
The article discusses the coverage of Polish-Ukrainian relations in the Polish
language periodical Kultura (Culture), edited by Jerzy Giedroyc and his associates,
and published in Paris. The opinions expressed in Kultura are important because
of the periodical’s great impact on the political opinions of Poles after 1989 when,
as an effect of the fall of Communism, Kultura became readily available in Poland.
The author points out that Jerzy Giedroyc, the editor, can be seen as an adherent of a
rapprochement between Poland and Ukraine and accepts as fully justified the view
of sociologist Zbigniew Kurcz of Wroclaw that an “eastern myth of Jerzy Giedroyc”
has evolved. This myth brings with it a tendency to keep silent about the genocide of
Poles by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II, and is harmful for Poles who
still live in the former eastern Kresy. The article points to bias and prejudice of many
texts published in Kultura, selectivity in the choice of its contributors, and one-sidedness of interpretations in terms of the Russian threat, which leads to a deformed
image of the situation at the turn of the 21st century, as well as chronic blindness to
the potential dangers that could arise should Ukraine be overcome by a nationalist
ideology based on the ideologies of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and
their main ideologue, Dmytro Doncov.
Keywords: Poland, Ukraine, Kultura, Jerzy Giedroyc
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 30 – Abstracts
Joanna Nowak
Unity In diversity, or the Romantic Roots
of Feliks Koneczny’s Idea of the Nation
The article investigates the Romantic origins of the views on the idea of the nation expressed by Feliks Koneczny, a Polish historian and specialist in the philosophy of history at the turn of the 20th century. It compares the thought of Koneczny
with that of the Romantics in reference to such ideas as the nation, culture, state, and
civilization. The analysis confirms that the two attitudes are united, first of all, in
assuming that the nation and the general understanding of the world have a pluralistic basis, while their uniformity is absolutely artificial, and is thus against nature,
and—for the Romantics—even opposes the plan of Providence. These assumptions
have had a great impact on the definition of the nation—perceived as a union which
is homogeneous in terms of ethnicity—as a historical community of thought and
feelings. In turn, monism was perceived as binding in the ethical kingdom, due to
the Romantic principle of ‘unity in diversity.’ Both attitudes also emphasize personalism, oppose coercive power in relations between communities and acknowledge
the value of free will. The nation is seen by both bodies of thought as an organism,
entirely different from the artificial communities which Koneczny terms ‘mechanisms.’ He also believed in moral principles in politics but opposed, as very harmful,
the so-called ‘policy of feelings,’ vastly postulated in the Romantic period.
Keywords: the history of thought, the philosophy of history in the 20th century, the
idea of the nation, Feliks Koneczny
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 30 – Abstracts
Krystyna Jendrzej-Gawlicz
The Notion of Multiculturalism in the Analysis of Ethnic Issues
in Central and Eastern Europe
Multiethnic issues in Central and Eastern Europe are very often perceived from
the point of view of interethnic conflict and the renaissance of nationalism. Not
many European social scientists would describe this part of the world using the terminology of multicultural theory. These terms seem to be reserved for immigrant
countries such as Canada or Australia and are gaining popularity in the academia
of Western Europe as the number of immigrants grows and the need for a coherent
multicultural policy becomes obvious. However the basis of ethnic conflicts are still
present in Eastern Europe, as well as the tradition of peaceful cooperation between
the ethnic groups; hence there is a solid basis on which to discuss the history and the
future of cultural pluralism in Central and Eastern Europe. The article presents the
theory of multiculturalism and its theoretical potential for explaining ethnic problems in Central and Eastern Europe. The text starts with a review of conceptions
defined by the common names of cultural pluralism and multiculturalism. Next,
the author considers some historical and present examples of the unique mosaic of
nations and ethnicities on the Eastern European borderlands where “everyday practices of multiculturalism” are created without support from the state. In conclusion,
the author emphasises that these phenomena provide a research area that can present ethnicity in Eastern Europe from different perspectives as well as enrich our
knowledge of the nature of multiculturalism.
Keywords: multiculturalism, ethnicity, Central and Eastern Europe
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 30 – Abstracts
Tomasz Kamusella
Nationalism and School Atlases of History
The genre of the school atlas of history originated during the first half of the 19th
century in the German Confederation, but it began to flourish only in the other half
of this century in the German Empire and Austria-Hungary. Although such atlases
made a fleeting appearance in France, the United Kingdom, or Spain, they never
gained a permanent place in school curricula. Nowadays in Italy, Germany or Austria atlases of this kind are of auxiliary nature in schools. Quite on the contrary, the
school atlas of history remains an obligatory textbook in Central Europe, from Poland through Turkey, and in the European post-Soviet states, whereas schools in the
Asian post-Soviet states utilize Soviet school atlases or single-page maps of history.
I propose that an explanation of this phenomenon lies in the fact that the ethnolinguistic kind of nationalism constitutes the legitimizing base of statehood in
this region. This nationalism entails the isomorphism (or tight spatial overlapping)
of national language, nation, and nation-state. Not only is the ideal notoriously hard
to achieve, but the simultaneous juggling of linguistic and demographic arguments
alongside changes in political borders is equally hard for a schoolchild to grasp without a graphic prop.
Keywords: Central and Eastern Europe, education, ethnolinguistic nationalism,
school atlas of history
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 30 – Abstracts
Anna Łuczak
The Place of Immigrants in Multicultural Switzerland
The article discusses the question of immigration in Switzerland. With more
than 20 per cent, Switzerland is one of the countries with the largest foreign population. It used to be a destination country for employment-seeking French, Germans
and Italians. In the latter half of the 20th century however, it has hosted large numbers of Eastern European dissidents, Yugoslavian refugees and asylum seekers from
the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The inflow of foreigners from different parts of the
world increases Swiss cultural pluralism and demands to pursue the proper migration and asylum policy from the Swiss state.
The starting point for the philosophy of Swiss immigration policy is the search
for a balance between the economy’s foreign labour requirements and the demographic stabilisation of the foreign population in Switzerland, which relates to the
fear of a “over-foreignisation” (so-called Überfremdung). This fear has played an
important role in Swiss discourse on migration since the early 1920s. An evolving
process of “over-foreignisation” has represented migrants as permanently different
“aliens” and as a potential threat requiring control and supervision by the state. This
article reveals the foreignisation process and explores some of the reasons for its persistence. It presents also the situation of the immigrants in Switzerland from their
own perspective.
Keywords: Switzerland, immigration, migration and asylum policy, Überfremdung
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 30 – Abstracts
Nicole Dołowy
Brittany: decline, cultural revival and language policy
Brittany was included in France in the 16th century. It was the time when the
process of denationalization and cultural assimilation of its inhabitants started.
Main method applied in the battle against the Bretons derived from the language
policy with the main aim to eliminate the Breton language from being widely used
in the region. That tendency considerably strengthened during the French Revolution. Speaking Breton was banned in schools and in public life as damaging the
unity of the state. The Bretons became the object of jeering being often humiliated
by the official authorities. As a result they developed negative identity which led to
driving their language out and interrupting its intergenerational transmission and
causing almost total death of it.
Cultural revival of Brittany started in the 1970s and has been slowly changing people’s attitude to tradition and culture. Many organizations and activists have
been concentrating on saving the Breton language, not only as a symbol of cultural
dissimilarity of inhabitants of this region, but also as immense cultural value. However, the attitude of France, that has always negated the existence of minorities on
its own territory and regards French as the sole language of the Republic, makes the
situation of an endangered language very difficult. Without recognition of people’s
right to use their mother language and enforcing its status as co-official language,
all the operations led by non-government organizations within the region have little
chance to succeed. Thus the situation of the Breton language, that has become one of
the most endangered languages, is alarming.
Keywords: Brittany, language policy, the Breton language
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 30 – Abstracts
Piotr Majewski
East of Eden
The essay attempts to reconstruct the Western European optics as a necessary
precondition for demystifying and removing the delusion and stereotypes about
Central-Eastern Europe. Starting from the genesis of dominant stereotypes which
represent other than West European cultures as “barbaric,” “anti-democratic” and
“artificial,” the author deals with some theories of nationalism which claim that the
opposition between “civil” and “cultural” nationalisms is a proper instrument to define the modern construct of ethnicity in Europe.
Keywords: civilization, nation, illusion, stereotype