ethnic politics (v.): bickering over symbols
9 September, 2007 | 4 comments | Category: ethnicity, I.dentity, peace & conflict
flags, stamps, currency, licence plates, holidays, festivals, calendars, monuments, pictures, images, Maps etc. etc…
the physical identifiers of ethnic conflict are symbols:
Parilaments spend weeks arguing over these seeming trivialities. Very much like this discussion amongst Ethiopian Students about the Ethiopian Millenium Celebration. The danger lies in that these metaphores, physical and visual stand in for our pride, egos, innermost self-identification & validation; intertwining fabric and paper, drawings, colors and lines with our deepest emotions. For instance, my reaction upon learning about the origin of the Ethiopian flag came from my gut and heart. By the rule of communtation: ‘the nation’ validates our existence- giving us purpose and immortality as members of the national comunity. and then… the symbol stands in for ‘the nation’. Making the nation a validity to our existence, as members of a nation. Such is the true nature of ethnic politics which makes it the potent fuel of raging war fires in the past 2 decades. Its motivations stream from our emotions, some of our very reasons for being!
… what we have seen since 1991 is not a decrease but an increase in the number and intensity of conflicts. The post-cold war period is characterized by an explosion of nationalism, the accentuation of national identity, and the eruption of violent conflicts in places as diverse as Angola, Burma, Sudan, Iraq, Russia, Turkey, Ethiopia, Bosnia, and many others. These conflicts, largely generated within state boundaries, have become known as ethnic conflicts or ethnonational conflicts (a superfluous term, as it happens). By one account, only 7 of 111 militarized conflicts in the twelve years after 1989 were of the traditional interstate kind, and even these may have had a strong internal or communal dimension (read more….)
…Happy New Millenium …
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4 comments to “ethnic politics (v.): bickering over symbols”
Origin of Ethiopian Flag: Saxony-Anhalt, Germany « |y?hasab s?nduQ|, September 20th, 2007 at 11:21 pm:
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[...] consciousness” that served the rulers’ purposes. And because of patriotism, things like colors printed on pieces of cloth irk me out of my stable state. I now ask myself why I had never thought to go looking for the [...]
Reading our Past through Genes « |s?nduQ|, March 12th, 2008 at 5:54 am:
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[...] of ethnicity balance on feeling entitled; entitled to opportunities and resources and to a full unabashed and proud representation [...]
senduQ » Why I write about Ethnicity…, March 14th, 2009 at 1:18 am:
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[...] ethnic politics (v.): bickering over symbols [...]
senduQ » Opposite Sides of the Border: Eritrea, October 28th, 2009 at 3:16 am:
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[...] ardent tone of nationalism with which they spoke made me cringe a few times! Funny how issues of nationalism and patriotism make us react emotionally – edgy nerves, cringing and all. And ironically, the way they spoke about Eritrea is the way many Ethiopians speak about [...]