Śląsk to przestrzeń, w której splatały się dzieje Polski, Niemiec, Czechosłowacji i Czech. Tu także swe piętno odcisnęły takie wielkie ideologie jak komunizm i socjalizm. O Śląsku decyduje również polityka ekonomiczna. Śląskość to zatem przykład kultury, która kształtowała się w skomplikowanych warunkach społecznych i politycznych, decydujących o świadomości kulturowej samych Ślązaków, a także o ich tożsamości. Celem artykułu jest próba rozpoznania, jak w obrębie polskiej narracji konstruuje się polskość Śląska i jak sprzyja (lub nie sprzyja) ona emancypacji tożsamości etnicznie śląskiej. Na potrzeby tego zadania autorka dokonała analizy książki Zofii Kossak „Nieznany kraj” (pierwsze wydanie 1931), korzystając z koncepcji metanarracji Jeana-Françoisa Lyotarda. Drugim zadaniem artykułu jest refleksja wokół jednej z konsekwencji uwikłania śląskości w polskość i niemieckość, co powoduje, że Ślązacy są dla Polaków nie dość polscy i jednocześnie dla Niemców są nie dość niemieccy? Kontekstem tej refleksji są koncepcje: „kultury” jako przestrzeni wytwarzania znaczeń (Clifforda Geertza) i „świata” jako egzystencji człowieka (Václava Havla).

Autorka punktem wyjścia swojej refleksji uczyniła cytaty z powieści Evy Tvardy i Horsta Bienka, które egzemplifikują trudne doświadczenia Ślązaków wynikające z politycznych decyzji wobec Śląska, które podejmowane były przez władze polskie, niemieckie i czechosłowackie. Przywołane z literatury cytaty konstruują kontekst, który pozwala zobiektywizować zasadnicze dla artykułu pytania: „Czyj jest Śląsk” i jak polityczna walka o Śląsk, którą w swojej historii toczyły Polska, Niemcy i Czechosłowacja, rekonstruuje tożsamość etniczną Ślązaków? Autorka korzysta z myśli Ivana Čolovicia, z której wyprowadza koncepcję pogranicza jako ziemi podatnej na amputację, a także koncepcję tożsamości posttraumatycznej jako tożsamości bolesnej. Na podstawie literacko opisanych doświadczeń śląskości Horsta Bienka autorka podejmuje próbę rekonstrukcji fenomenu śląskości, jako tego, co w efekcie konstruuje śląską tożsamość etniczną. Bezpośrednim przedmiotem analizy i interpretacji są teksty Horsta Bienka, „Brzozy i wielkie piece. Dzieciństwo na Górnym Śląsku” oraz „Podróż w krainę dzieciństwa”.

The article is aimed at drawing attention to the research motifs explored by the author in his studies and, first of all, at raising questions about the sense of research into the Romani identity. An attempt is made here both to suggest some theories and methods which can be useful in identity studies and to signal the difficulties in carrying such research out. The major subject matter of the suggested research projects should address the problems of the Romani identity and culture, this ethnic group’s participation in education, and their specific social and professional activity. What seems to be justified (after a reliable diagnosis of the needs, problems, prospects and possible solutions) is the unceasing need for designing programmes, projects and local policies which address the Roma and which come into being with their participation. However, the activities conducted so far should be subjected to an in-depth analysis and evaluation, also in regard to the specificity of Roma communities from various groups and countries. This might help to indicate the elements of their identity, as well as the level of joint participation in the context of the still incomplete integration with culturally dominating majorities.

Neither a Pole nor a German – a Silesian – about recognizing one’s own ethnicity

The inspiration for the article is Zbigniew Rokita’s book “Kajś. A Tale of Upper Silesia”. It allowed the author to reflect on the issue of ethnic recognition of a human being as the basis for constructing an ethnic identity. The theoretical context consists of two theses: the first one (following Hannah Arendt) says that human beings always come to this world as new, as strangers, and to make their humanity more real, they need to act and speak; the second thesis (following Martin Heidegger) refers to the “truth of being” and proves that human habitation in the world is complicated. Attempts to understand the relationship between ethnic recognition and identity allowed the author to formulate the thesis that ethnicity is nothing else but knowledge about one’s family, community and the land inhabited by generations. The recognition of ethnicity itself can have three stages: 1) anecdotal identity; 2) attractive identity; 3) patched identity.

It was a daunting task before the Nehru-led government to frame a suitable policy of governance for secluded North-Eastern states which were completely separated from the mainstream British India. Due to the historical background as well as the geographical location of the region the government of India has long been tried to integrate the North-Eastern states with mainland India keeping social and cultural institutions of that region unaltered. With the continuous pursuance of protective and proactive role by the government growth scenario of the North-Eastern states has turned out to be satisfactory. Per-capita income has also been growing at a moderate rate and poverty both in absolute and relative term and inequality are declining. However, the worrying factor is that growth is pronounced where government is acting as principal economic actor. In addition, most of the North-Eastern states have demonstrated very poor fiscal condition and solely relying on central assistance. Economic integration sought under a decentralised development model on the failed promise of bringing equitable development across the North-Eastern states has acted as an incentive to raise the demand for special constitutional arrangements, separate state or country based on ethnicity or identity. Finally, occasional use of coercive forces, doling out of funds, and providing autonomy without accountability are the adhoc measures often used by the state to settle the unsettled culturo-social and politicoeconomic issues rooted in the Indian soil based on the notion of the abortive post-colonial Indian nationhood. Resultantly, the grand Indian nation state would certainly suffer from hyper-paranoia and a dreamer for “welfare state” will continue to be interrogated amidst the quagmire of movements based on identity and ethnicity.

Economic and political changes in Europe, particularly in the last decade have led to an increase in the cultural diversity of its citizens. Latvia, which received a troubling legacy from the former Soviet Union – a diverse ethnic mix, also found itself EU. In 1989, after nearly fifty years of Soviet domination it regained its independence and stood on the way of reform and transition from a totalitarian to an independent style of governance. Among the many problems that appeared in front of this small country in 2004, there were also those that are lively debated in contemporary Europe. Some of them are laws for immigrants and minority rights. Analysis of past and present situation in Latvia seem to be particularly important to the events which have recently been seen in Ukraine which is an another country of the past Soviet Union – and after 1990 also the Russian – sphere of influence. Article deals with the integration process, with Latvian law regulating issues of citizenship, minority rights and the status of the state language as conforming to international standards. It also deals with the education of national minorities in Latvia. Bilingual education proposed to the minorities has goal to integrate the Latvian society as a whole, to build a multicultural state based on unity. Bilingual education also enables the acquisition of language skills allowing the free movement on the labor market. This ensures both the protection of ethnic and religious identity by providing the understanding of the language and culture of the country of residence. Problems of this young state are still waiting for a solution by the future government in Latvia. This small Baltic country, for ten years, is integrating multinational community of its own country into the tissue of Western Europe to which it was a stranger till the year 2004.

This article tries to examine the underpinning determinants of voting behavior in Sudan. It adopts a descriptive method and an inter-disciplinary approach with empirical explanation to verify the hypothesis that “voting behavior in Sudan is a function of religious sectarianism and ethnicity more than other determinants, such as ideology, class or socio-economic status.” It discusses the interrelationship between voting behavior and other relevant concepts, such as political behavior, electoral behavior, and political culture. It explains how several determinants/factors converge on influencing the voting behavior. The article notes that the vigorous influence of ethnicity and religious sectarianism over the political behavior in Sudan resulted in apparently irrational voting behavior. These two determinants have marked the political behavior in Sudan since it regained independence in 1956. However, the Uprising of 2018 ushered in an emergence of a new conscious generation that might lead to a paradigm shift for political and voting behavior. The article proposes the adoption of Consociational democracy with proportional representation and parliamentary system to guarantee the representation of minorities and sustain a fair share of power and wealth to put an end to instability and wars. In the case of Sudan, it is advisable that more attention should be paid to the development of political culture and efficacious civic engagement in politics should be boosted to increase conscious political participation to pave the way for sustainable democracy.

Since the 1960s, African states have passed through different conflicts with reasons such as politics, ethnic, religious, and resource-based conflicts such as border or land disputes, and several other causes. The Northern Senatorial zone of Plateau State, Nigeria has witnessed several violent conflicts between 2001 and 2023 with several scholars assessing the immediate causes and its impact without looking at the remote causes. This study examines the history of conflicts in the Northern Plateau Senatorial zone and its persistent nature with its root causes. The study adopted history research method, which comprised primary and secondary sources. Data was obtained by the researcher from oral interviews in the Jos metropolis and across Plateau North. Also, books and Journals from the University of Jos and the National Library Jos branch provided quality data. The conflict in the Northern Plateau comprising five out of the six local council areas evolved from instances of clashes and skirmishes as a result of spontaneous ethnic and religious provocations and reactions to planned attacks between Christians and Muslins in Jos North and South starting from 2001, guerilla-style reprisals, cattle rustling, herder/farmer clashes across Bassa, Riyom and Barkin Ladi LGAs. The study found out that the root cause of conflicts in the Northern Plateau was the British colonial policies of the 1900s, which led to the massive influx of immigrants that settled permanently in Jos North and South, Barkin Ladi, Riyom and Bassa LGAs. The study discovers that the conflict in Northern Plateau has led to pervasive insecurity of lives and property, as evidenced by the spate of cattle rustling, armed robbery attacks, assassinations, and ethnic and religious feuds coupled with the seeming helplessness of security agencies to handle criminal attacks on civilian populations in Riyom, Barkin Ladi and Bassa LGAs. The study recommends that security can be secure if freedom and justice are allowed to reign through arresting perpetrators and punishing them severely, allowing freedom of economic, political and social participation for all citizens of Plateau State without ethnic or religious discrimination.