bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Immunocytochemical localization of the α1A subunit of the P/Q‐type calcium channel in the rat cerebellum
Authors: Kulik Ákos , Nakadate Kazuhiko , Hagiwara Akari , Fukazawa Yugo , Luján Rafael , Saito Hiromitsu , Suzuki Noboru , Futatsugi Akira , Mikoshiba Katsuhiko , Frotscher Michael , Shigemoto Ryuichi
Published: April 2004

Among various types of low‐ and high‐threshold calcium channels, the high voltage‐activated P/Q‐type channel is the most abundant in the cerebellum. These P/Q‐type channels are involved in the regulation of neurotransmitter release and in the integration of dendritic inputs. We used an antibody specific for the α1A subunit of the P/Q‐type channel in quantitative pre‐embedding immunogold labelling combined with three‐dimensional reconstruction to reveal the subcellular distribution of pre‐ and postsynaptic P/Q‐type channels in the rat cerebellum. At the light microscopic level, immunoreactivity for the α1A protein was prevalent in the molecular layer, whereas immunostaining was moderate in the somata of Purkinje cells and weak in the granule cell layer. At the electron microscopic level, the most intense immunoreactivity for the α1A subunit was found in the presynaptic active zone of parallel fibre varicosities. The dendritic spines of Purkinje cells were also strongly labelled with the highest density of immunoparticles detected within 180 nm from the edge of the asymmetrical parallel fibre–Purkinje cell synapses. By contrast, the immunolabelling was sparse in climbing fibre varicosities and axon terminals of GABAergic cells, and weak and diffuse in dendritic shafts of Purkinje cells. The association of the α1A subunit with the glutamatergic parallel fibre–Purkinje cell synapses suggests that presynaptic channels have a major role in the mediation of excitatory neurotransmission, whereas postsynaptic channels are likely to be involved in depolarization‐induced generation of local calcium transients in Purkinje cells.
Accelerated accumulation of N‐ and C‐terminal βAPP fragments and delayed recovery of microtubule‐associated protein 1B expression following stroke in aged rats
Authors: Badan I. , Dinca I. , Buchhold B. , Suofu Y. , Walker L. , Gratz M. , Platt D. , Kessler CH. , Popa‐Wagner A.
Published: April 2004

The age‐related decline in plasticity of the brain may be one factor underlying poor functional recovery after stroke. In the present work we tested the hypothesis that the attenuation of neural plasticity in old age could be the result of an altered temporal relationship between factors promoting brain plasticity [microtubule‐associated protein 1B (MAP1B)] and neurotoxic factors such as C‐terminal βAPP. Focal cerebral ischemia was produced by reversible occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery in 3‐ and 20‐month‐old male Sprague‐Dawley rats. The functional outcome was assessed in neurobehavioral tests at 3, 7, 14 and 28 days after surgery. At the indicated timepoints, brains were removed and immunostained for C‐ and N‐terminal βAPP and MAP1B. At 2 weeks poststroke, we found an age‐related increase in the amount of the C‐terminal fragment of βAPP in the peri‐infarcted area and the infarct core as well as an early, vigorous incorporation of N‐terminal βAPP into the developing astroglial scar. The recovery of the plasticity‐associated protein MAP1B following stroke was delayed in both age groups and became prominent between days 14 and 28. As aged rats showed diminished functional recovery compared with young rats, these results suggest that the accumulation of C‐terminal βAPP, together with the early incorporation of N‐terminal βAPP into the glial scar, may over‐ride the beneficial role of plasticity factors such as MAP1B.
Age‐dependent expression of collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs) in cat visual cortex
Authors: Cnops Lieselotte , Van de Plas Babs , Arckens Lutgarde
Published: April 2004

The functional properties and anatomical organization of the mammalian visual cortex are immature at birth and develop gradually during the first postnatal weeks. There is a ‘critical period’ where the cortex is plastic and susceptible to changes in visual input. Knowledge of proteins with a high expression during this period has great importance for the understanding of activity‐driven maturation of the brain. The collapsin response mediator protein family consists of five cytosolic phosphoproteins (CRMP1–5) that are involved in neuronal differentiation during the development of the nervous system. They have been implicated in axon guidance and growth cone collapse through their action in the signalling pathway of collapsin/semaphorin. We examined the distribution of the CRMPs throughout the visual cortex of kitten and adult cat by in situ hybridization. While CRMP3 could not be detected in cat forebrain, the other CRMPs showed a higher expression in the immature brain compared to the adult state. Western blotting allowed the quantification of the observed age‐dependent differences in the expression of CRMP2, 4 and 5. Moreover, for CRMP2 and 5 we observed a number of development‐dependent post‐translational modifications. We thus conclude that CRMPs might be important during the normal postnatal development of the visual cortex possibly for the fine‐tuning of the specific connections in the brain.
Differential neuroplastic changes in neocortical movement representations and dendritic morphology in epilepsy‐prone and epilepsy‐resistant rat strains following high‐frequency stimulation
Authors: Flynn Corey , Monfils Marie‐H. , Kleim Jeffery A. , Kolb Bryan , McIntyre Dan C. , Campbell Teskey G.
Published: April 2004

The epileptogenic‐prone (FAST) and epileptogenic‐resistant (SLOW) rat strains have become a valuable tool for investigating the neurochemical and neurophysiological basis of epilepsy. This study examined the two strains with respect to their neocortical movement representations and cortical layer III pyramidal cell dendritic morphology in both control and potentiated conditions. FAST and SLOW rats received high‐frequency stimulation of the corpus callosum in order to induce long‐term polysynaptic potentiation of the transcallosal pathway to the sensorimotor neocortex. Baseline‐evoked potentials of this pathway were recorded in the left hemisphere before stimulation, and following 5, 10, 15 and 20 days of high‐frequency stimulation. All rats then underwent high‐resolution intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) in order to assess functional movement representations of the left caudal forelimb area of the sensorimotor cortex. Immediately following ICMS, the brains were stained with the Golgi–Cox method, and the length, branching and spine density of frontal and occipital neocortical layer III pyramidal neurons were measured. We observed that high‐frequency stimulation induced similar increases in polysynaptic potentiation in both rat strains; however, only the FAST strain showed an increase (doubling) in the size of their motor maps. We also observed decreases in dendritic length and branching in the FAST rats, and the opposite profile in the SLOW rats. The potentiated FAST rats also showed an increase in spine density. Our results suggest that differences in susceptibility to epileptogenesis may result in a differential response to stimulation‐induced plasticity.
Long‐term synaptic morphometry changes after induction of long‐term potentiation and long‐term depression in the dentate gyrus of awake rats are not simply mirror phenomena
Authors: Mezey Szilvia , Doyère Valérie , De Souza Ian , Harrison Elaine , Cambon Karine , Kendal Claire E. , Davies Heather , Laroche Serge , Stewart Michael G.
Published: April 2004

Mechanisms of expression of long‐term synaptic plasticity are believed to involve morphological changes of the activated synapses and remodelling of connectivity. Here, we investigated changes in synaptic and neuronal parameters in the dentate gyrus 24 h after induction of long‐term potentiation (LTP) and long‐term depression (LTD) in awake rats. In dentate granule cells, tetanization of the medial or lateral perforant paths induces LTP in specific synaptic bands along the dendrites in the middle and outer molecular layers, respectively, and tetanization of the lateral path induces robust LTD heterosynaptically in the middle molecular layer. This functional segregation allowed us to assess morphological changes associated with LTP and LTD in each pathway in the same population of neurons. Electron microscopy and unbiased counting methods were used to estimate neuronal density, axospinous, axodendritic and perforated synapse density, multiple synapse bouton density and postsynaptic density (PSD) area. Whereas there was no change in neuronal density, PSD area and multiple synapse boutons 24 h after either LTP or LTD, there was a noninput‐specific increase in unperforated axospinous synapses after both LTP and LTD. However, we found that LTP of the medial, but not lateral, perforant path is associated with a specific increase in perforated axospinous synapses in the potentiated area. We also show that heterosynaptic LTD is associated with an input‐specific increase in axodendritic synapse density. These results suggest that each perforant pathway may differ with respect to the nature of LTP‐induced long‐term changes and show that morphologically LTD is not simply the converse of LTP.
The delta agonists DPDPE and deltorphin II recruit predominantly mu receptors to produce thermal analgesia: a parallel study of mu, delta and combinatorial opioid receptor knockout mice
Authors: Scherrer Grégory , Befort Katia , Contet Candice , Becker Jérôme , Matifas Audrey , Kieffer Brigitte L.
Published: April 2004

Delta‐selective agonists have been developed to produce potent analgesic compounds with limited side‐effects. DPDPE and deltorphin II are considered prototypes, but their delta‐selectivity in vivo and the true ability of delta receptors to produce analgesia remain to be demonstrated. Here we have performed a parallel analysis of mu, delta and combinatorial opioid receptor knockout mice, in which we found no obvious alteration of G‐protein coupling for remaining opioid receptors. We compared behavioural responses in two models of acute thermal pain following DPDPE and deltorphin II administration by intracerebroventricular route. In the tail‐immersion test, both compounds were fully analgesic in delta knockout mice and totally inactive in mu knockout mice. In the hotplate test, the two compounds again produced full analgesia in delta knockout mice. In mu knockout mice, there was significant, although much lower, analgesia. Furthermore, DPDPE analgesia in the delta knockout mice was fully reversed by the mu selective antagonist CTOP in both tests. Together, this suggests that mu rather than delta receptors are recruited by the two agonists for the tail withdrawal and the hotplate responses. Finally, deltorphin II slightly prolonged jump latencies in double mu/kappa knockout mice (delta receptors only) and this response was abolished in the triple knockout mice, demonstrating that the activation of delta receptors alone can produce weak but significant mu‐independent thermal antinociception.
Anxiety and Stress Responses in Female Oxytocin Deficient Mice
Authors: Amico J. A. , Mantella R. C. , Vollmer R. R. , Li X.
Published: April 2004

Oxytocin is believed to attenuate the response of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis to stress and to be anxiolytic. Stressors with a psychological component evoke both central and peripheral secretion of oxytocin in laboratory rodents. Oxytocin gene deletion mice provide a novel way to understand the role of oxytocin in stress and anxiety‐related behaviours. We present our experience with female oxytocin deficient mice that were tested in an elevated plus maze (EPM), a behavioural test of anxiety, or exposed to psychogenic stressors (platform shaker or novel environment). Oxytocin‐deficient mice not only displayed more anxiety‐related behaviour, but also released more corticosterone after a psychogenic stressor and manifested greater stress‐induced hyperthermia compared to wild‐type mice. The diurnal variation of corticosterone and the response of corticosterone to corticotropin‐releasing factor were not significantly different between genotypes. We also measured Fos‐immunoreactive protein, an index of neuronal activation, in the medial amygdala of female mice after EPM testing. The medial amygdala is important for processing of psychogenic stress and anxiety and also contains oxytocin pathways and oxytocin receptors. The expression of Fos in the medial amygdala of mice not exposed to the EPM was not different between genotypes. Following EPM exposure, Fos expression was greater in oxytocin null compared to wild‐type mice. Our findings support the hypothesis that central oxytocin is anxiolytic, and attenuates the stress response to psychogenic provocation in female mice.
Oxytocin and Oxytocin Receptors in Cancer Cells and Proliferation
Authors: Cassoni P. , Sapino A. , Marrocco T. , Chini B. , Bussolati G.
Published: April 2004

The hypothalamic nonapeptide oxytocin plays a crucial role in many reproductive and behavioural functions. However, in recent years, an additional new role for oxytocin has been identified in neoplastic pathology. In tumours, oxytocin acts as a growth regulator, through the activation of a specific G‐coupled transmembrane receptor, the oxytocin receptor. In vitro, oxytocin inhibits proliferation of neoplastic cells of either epithelial (mammary and endometrial), nervous or bone origin, all expressing oxytocin receptor. Furthermore, an oxytocin growth‐inhibiting effect was also tested and confirmed in vivo in mouse and rat mammary carcinomas. In neoplastic cells derived from two additional oxytocin target tissues, trophoblast and endothelium, oxytocin was found to promote cell proliferation, an effect opposite to that previously described in all other neoplastic oxytocin‐responsive cells. The signal transduction pathways coupled to the biological effects of oxytocin are different in oxytocin growth‐inhibited or growth‐stimulated cells, and may depend on the membrane localization of the oxytocin receptor itself. The inhibitory effect of oxytocin is apparently mediated by activation of the cAMP‐protein kinase A pathway, a nonconventional oxytocin signalling pathway, whereas the mitogenic effect is coupled to the increase of intracellular [Ca2+] and tyrosine phosphorylation, ‘classical’ oxytocin transducers. Moreover, the oxytocin receptor localization in lipid rafts enriched in caveolin‐1 turns the inhibition of cell growth into a proliferative response, eliciting different epidermal growth factor receptor/mitogen‐activated protein kinase activation patterns. This unexpected role of oxytocin (and oxytocin analogues) in regulating cell proliferation, as well as the widespread expression of oxytocin receptors in neoplastic tissues of different origin, opens up new perspectives on the biological role of the oxytocin–oxytocin receptor system in cancer.
Regulatory Mechanisms of Corticotropin‐Releasing Hormone and Vasopressin Gene Expression in the Hypothalamus
Authors: Itoi K. , Jiang Y.‐Q. , Iwasaki Y. , . Watson S. J
Published: April 2004

Tuberoinfundibular corticotropin‐releasing hormone (CRH) neurones are the principal regulators of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA)‐axis. Vasopressin is primarily a neurohypophysial hormone, produced in magnocellular neurones of the hypothalamic paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei, but parvocellular CRH neurones also coexpress vasopressin, which acts as a second ‘releasing factor’ for adrenocorticotropic hormone along with CRH. All stress inputs converge on these hypothalamic neuroendocrine neurones, and the input signals are integrated to determine the output secretion of CRH and vasopressin. Aminergic, cholinergic, GABAergic, glutamatergic and a number of peptidergic inputs have all been implicated in the regulation of CRH/vasopressin neurones. Glucocorticoids inhibit the HPA‐axis activity by negative feedback. Interleukin‐1 stimulates CRH and vasopressin gene expression, and is implicated in immune‐neuroendocrine regulation. cAMP‐response element‐binding protein phosphorylation may mediate transcriptional activation of both CRH and vasopressin genes, but the roles of AP‐1 and other transcription factors remain controversial. Expression profiles of the CRH and vasopressin genes are not uniform after stress exposure, and the vasopressin gene appears to be more sensitive to glucocorticoid suppression.
Vasopressin Secretion: Osmotic and Hormonal Regulation by the Lamina Terminalis
Authors: McKinley M. J. , Mathai M. L. , McAllen R. M. , McClear R. C. , Miselis R. R. , Pennington G. L. , Vivas L. , Wade J. D. , Oldfield B. J.
Published: April 2004

The lamina terminalis, located in the anterior wall of the third ventricle, is comprised of the subfornical organ, median preoptic nucleus (MnPO) and organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT). The subfornical organ and OVLT are two of the brain's circumventricular organs that lack the blood–brain barrier, and are therefore exposed to the ionic and hormonal environment of the systemic circulation. Previous investigations in sheep and rats show that this region of the brain has a crucial role in osmoregulatory vasopressin secretion and thirst. The effects of lesions of the lamina terminalis, studies of immediate–early gene expression and electrophysiological data show that all three regions of the lamina terminalis are involved in osmoregulation. There is considerable evidence that physiological osmoreceptors subserving vasopressin release are located in the dorsal cap region of the OVLT and possibly also around the periphery of the subfornical organ and in the MnPO. The circulating peptide hormones angiotensin II and relaxin also have access to peptide specific receptors (AT1 and LGR7 receptors, respectively) in the subfornical organ and OVLT, and both angiotensin II and relaxin act on the subfornical organ to stimulate water drinking in the rat. Studies that combined neuroanatomical tracing and detection of c‐fos expression in response to angiotensin II or relaxin suggest that both of these circulating peptides act on neurones within the dorsal cap of the OVLT and the periphery of the subfornical organ to stimulate vasopressin release.
Gastronomy or Geology? The Role of Nationalism in the Reconstruction of Nations
Authors: Smith Anthony D.
Published: April 2004

Abstract. This article considers the debate that has recently developed in studies of nationalism between those scholars who see the nation as a modern and constantly changing construction ex nihilo and those who see it as an immemorial, unchanging communal essence. It outlines the so‐called ‘gastronomical’ and ‘geological’ metaphors of nation formation and suggests a synthetic model which balances the influence of the ethnic past and the impact of nationalist activity. It shows that the central question which has divided theorists of nationalism is the place of the past in the life of modern nations. The author recognises the role of nationalists in national mobilisation but stresses that nationalists are not social engineers or mere image makers as modernist and post‐modernist accounts would have it, but rather social and political archaeologists whose activities consist in the rediscovery and reinterpretation of the ethnic past and through it the regeneration of their national community.
Racism and Nationalism
Authors: Mosse George L.
Published: April 2004

Abstract.The article seeks to define the relationship between nationalism and racism in modem times. First, it defines racism as one of the principal nineteenth‐century ideologies, sharply focused and centred upon the human body itself as its most potent symbol. Then it discusses nationalism as a much more loosely constructed faith which made alliances with most nineteenth‐century ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism and socialism. When nationalism allied itself with racism it made racism operative ‐for example, within the integral nationalist movements from the end of the nineteenth century onwards. The article discusses how this alliance came about, and its consequences. It concludes that racism was never an indispensable element of nationalism. Moreover, it was not merely a form of discrimination, but a determinate way of looking at men and women which presented a total picture of the world. If nationalism made racism a reality, racism came to dominate nationalism once an alliance between the two movements had been consummated.
Germany in Transition: Immigration, Racism and the Extreme Right
Authors: Kurthen Hermann , Minkenberg Michael
Published: April 2004

Abstract. German society is on its way to changing from a relatively homogenous population as a result of the Second World War and prior events to a more culturally, ethnically and religiously diverse society, based on its huge post‐war immigration. The emergence of racism, political extremism and violence in post‐unification German society points to deficits of political legitimacy, political culture and social cohesion. The strains of unification and waves of immigration from East Germany, ethnic German resettlers (Aussiedler), and asylum seekers have exacerbated and made visible unsolved questions of national identity, diversity, immigration and integration of foreigners. These events have affected German political culture and polarised the traditional party system along a ‘New’ and ‘Old Politics’ axis. These new realities have led to a growth of far right parties, racist violence, and an increase of neo‐nationalist, anti‐immigrant and welfare‐chauvinist rhetoric.
Multiculturalism in Europe and America
Authors: Rex John
Published: April 2004

Abstract. Although there is a popular discourse about multiculturalism in Europe and North America which suggests that there is a single set of problems, the political problems which multiculturalism addresses are different in these two contexts. As outlined here the problem in Western Europe is that in liberal democracies and social democratic welfare states two questions have to be addressed. One is that of equality, the other the recognition of cultural diversity. As is shown here a number of important European social scientists have feared that the acceptance of cultural diversity will actually undermine important and valued political structures without improving the condition of minorities. In the United States a different set of problems has arisen. While the Civil Rights movement appeared to be helping Blacks to achieve equality in the sixties, by the late eighties there was a sense of disillusion about this process and the emergence of ideologies based upon separatism which appeared to point to the ‘disuniting’ of America. Some of these ideologies were what was being discussed under the heading of multiculturalism. A further contrast has to be made with Canada which is often thought of as an arch‐exponent of multiculturalism, but in which all problems of ethnic equality are tied up with the specific problems generated by Quebecois nationalism.
Notions in Nationalism
Authors: Pearton Maurice
Published: April 2004

Abstract. The French Revolution and the Romantic Movement subscribed to a common objective, the reintegration of a fractured society. That required establishing the peculiar identity of each nation, its origins and extent – all defined in cultural and psychological rather than, as hitherto, in juridical terms. This shift turned nationalism into a system and in doing so conferred new meanings on the vocabulary of politics. Derived from philosophers and philologists, the changes were conveyed to the people at large by historians through the educational system. They thus fixed the meanings in the public consciousness and underwrote the legitimacy of the national mission.
Folklore and Basque Nationalism: Language, Myth, Reality
Authors: Watson Cameron
Published: April 2004

Abstract. This article establishes a precise relationship between folklore and ethno‐nationalism. In particular, it argues that the discursive elements of folklore have been used, as political narrative, within the history of Basque nationalism.

The Basque nationalist movement, throughout its history, has been especially adept at harnessing the rhetorical power of language, history, myth and memory in its articulation of a Basque, as opposed to a Spanish, identity. The article concentrates on the specific information selected for transmission by the ideology of Basque nationalism.

It is this articulation which establishes links between past and present, myth and ideology, and the relationship between culture and identity in the human experience. These are the bonds which are perhaps most pertinent to the general cause of ethno‐nationalism, and the Basque case in particular.
The French Ideology? Louis Dumont and the German Conception of the Nation
Authors: Llobera Josep R.
Published: April 2004

Abstract. This article examines the contribution of Louis Dumont to the study of German national ideology. In a series of essays over a ten‐year period in the 1980s Dumont aimed at providing a selective intellectual history of modern Germany, which in the final resort would account for the emergence of Nazi Germany. By focusing on factors such as the predominance of holism, the idea of universal sovereignty and the introverted individualism of the Reformation, Dumont believes that it is possible to uncover the dynamics of modernity in Germany. This development he contrasted with that of France, in which a non‐cultural definition of the nation prevailed and where holism was non‐dominant. The article concludes with a critique of Dumont's narrow version of intellectual history and with the suggestion that only a proper historical sociology of modern Germany can explain Nazism.
Scottish Rights and ‘Centralisation’ in the Mid‐Nineteenth Century
Authors: Morton Graeme
Published: April 2004

Abstract. This article will address the assumption that the essential definition of nationalism is parliamentary political. By highlighting the solitary Scottish nationalist movement in the mid‐nineteenth century, the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, this article asks whether a ‘centralised’ state for the Scottish nation should be the model against which nationalism is interpreted. By developing the concept of ‘civil society’ as both ‘container’ and ‘director’ of nationalism, this article will show the influence of a ‘decentralised’ state to conceptions of ‘best‐governing’. By stressing the contradictions in the legitimacy of the British state mid‐century, it will be argued that Scottish nationalism can not be regarded as merely romantic, nor, as its outcome, can Scottish culture be presented as somehow weak. This article will argue that intellectual thought regarding the state meant that the only form of nationalism at this time was ‘Unionist‐nationalism’, more union with England, not less.
Images of Catalonia
Authors: Guibernau Montserrat
Published: April 2004

Abstract. The aim of this article is to offer an account of the Catalan nationalist discourse contained in the works of Jordi Pujol, leader of the Convergence and Unity Party (Convergéncia i Unió or CiU) which has been in power since the first democratic election to the Catalan parliament in 1980 having renewed its mandate for the fifth time in 1995.

The article is divided into three parts. First, it explores the political scenario set up by the 1978 Constitution which recognised the existence of ‘nationalities and regions’ within Spain and allowed the country to be divided into seventeen autonomous communities. Second, it analyses the image of Catalonia contained in the 1979 Statute of Autonomy. Third, it offers an account of the nationalist discourses put forward by the four major Catalan nationalist parties emphasising their different content depending upon the political ideology with which they are associated. This section provides a detailed examination of the Convergence and Unity Party's nationalist discourse which is based upon the defence of a non‐violent nationalism aiming at the development of Catalan identity without seeking independence from Spain and stressing the potential role of nations without a state in the constitution of a united Europe.
Perceptions of Britishness
Authors: Jacobson Jessica
Published: April 2004

Abstract. The aim of this paper is to contribute to scholarly debate about the nature of national identity by exploring a set of empirical data relating to the complex case of Britishness. The paper considers, with reference to the findings of field‐work conducted within a Pakistani community in London, what can be learnt about Britishness from the attitudes of young British Pakistanis. It is apparent that for such young people British national identity does not have a fixed content: their remarks draw attention to several different ‘boundaries of Britishness’ which operate in the popular imagination of people in Britain. These include the civic boundary, according to which citizenship is the primary criterion of nationality; the ‘racial’ boundary which defines as British those individuals believed to have British ancestry or ‘blood’; and the cultural boundary, according to which Britishness is a matter of the culture, values or lifestyle to which one adheres.
Democratisation and Ethnic Conflict: The Kin Connection
Authors: Simons Anna
Published: April 2004

Abstract.This article posits that individuation is a determining factor in making democratisation efforts workable or, where it is absent, ethnic conflict likely. Somalia serves as a case study. Since the Somali state has not been able to secure individuals' social welfare or their futures, citizens use genealogies, which chart trustworthiness, to construct social welfare safety‐nets. There is also a moral dimension to genealogy. This is quite different from what occurs in the democratic West, where the state has guaranteed individuals a significant measure of social welfare security over time, and where identity can be considered situational. I argue that under conditions of uncertainty, such as have existed in Somalia, identity is not at all situational, but is fixed and fixes individuals in ethnic groups. The push to democratise can then lead to armed ethnic conflict.
Ethnic Distance, Power and War: The Case of Croatian Students
Authors: Malešević Siniša , Uzelac Gordana
Published: April 2004

Abstract. This article examines dimensions of ethnic distance in two wartime surveys of university students in Croatia. The data from the surveys is interpreted together with the content analysis of the Croatian daily newspaper vjesnik. The article draws its central conclusion from the striking similarities between the media's depiction of various ethnic groups and the dimensions of ethnic distance towards these groups. In 1992 the prime targets of ethnic distance were Serbs and Montenegrins, while in 1993 Bosnian Moslems received similar attention. Since the majority of respondents had no war experience the authors conclude that the media's influence on popular attitudes was a crucial determinant of ethnic distance. Considering that most of the media is government‐controlled, it is argued that changes observed within these two years can be primarily attributed to the concrete political goals of power possessors.
National Minority Rights vs. State Sovereignty in Europe: Changing Norms in International Relations?
Authors: Preece Jennifer Jackson
Published: April 2004

Abstract.The 1990s debate on minority rights clearly indicates that minority issues are among the most controversial subjects of international relations. Questions concerning national minorities gained new prominence in international relations, especially in East Central Europe, following the end of the Cold War. Between 1990 and 1995 the formulation of international standards regulating state conduct towards national minorities was a priority for European organisations. This standard setting episode raises several important questions. Why did national minorities reappear on the international agenda after 1989? How were they responded to? Why did state sovereignty continue to take precedence over minority rights?
Archaeology and Nationalism: Excavating the Foundations of Identity
Authors: Parkins Helen
Published: April 2004

Margarita Diaz‐Andreu and Timothy C. Champion Nationalism and Archeology in Europe.

P. Graves‐Brown, S. Jones, C. Gamble (eds.) Cultural Identity and Archaeology: the Construction of European Communities.

P. Kohl, C. Fawcett (eds.) Nationalism, Politics and the Practice of Archaeology.
Ethnicity, Secessionist Conflict and the International Society: Towards Normative Paradigm Shift
Authors: Heraclides Alexis
Published: April 2004

Abstract.This article addresses the challenge of ethnicity and particularly of secessionist conflict by trying to outline an international normative framework more conducive to conflict settlement. The working hypothesis is that accommodation through dialogue, in spite of its risks, offers the only way forward in situations of politicised ethnicity. The existing international nonnative regime (with its ban on secession and no opening for autonomy) is insufficient for managing and resolving such conflicts, while its revolutionary antipode, ‘national’ self‐determination, is a frightening prospect. Three alternatives are explored: partial recasting with emphasis on devolution; a secessionist option for some federations; and secessionist self‐ determination for tormented minorities within well‐defined criteria. The advantages as well as the drawbacks of unilateral (secessionist) self‐detennination are explored in detail.
What is Nationalism Really? Understanding the Limitations of Rigid Theories in Dealing with the Problems of Nationalism and Ethnonationalism
Authors: Haymes Thomas
Published: April 2004

Abstract. This article examines major approaches to nationalism and ethnonationalism and posits a more flexible definition than that which is prevalent in these theories. It then goes on to look at how a more flexible approach to the study of nationalism can be used as a lens to both define and address the sources of nationalist and ethno‐nationalist conflicts. The flexible approach leads to the conclusion that the character of a particular nationalism is highly context‐sensitive and that the best way to understand the problems it creates is through an understanding of how the different levels of society interact with one another as well as with the outside world.
Class, Status and Party in the Analysis of Nationalism: Lessons from Max Weber
Authors: Fevre Ralph , Denney David , Borland John
Published: April 2004

Abstract. Little attention has been paid by those seeking to understand nationalism to Weber's writing on class, status and party. These concepts can be used to analyse the groups which carry the nationalist idea outside the narrow circle of intellectuals and we use the example of Welsh nationalism to illustrate how this can be done. In our example the group in question is a status group which has a basis in class. The character of Welsh nationalism reflects the character of this status group – the ‘Welsh class’– and the changes (for instance in public policy and in the law) produced by nationalist agitation have been of most benefit to members of this status group. In terms of Weberian theory this nationalist activity can be understood as the activity of a status group which is monopolising resources through social closure.
Religious Nationalism and Collective Violence
Authors: Armstrong John A.
Published: April 2004

Abstract. The objective of this essay is to trace relations between religion and nationalism leading to collective violence. One type of interaction involves nationalist movements seeking political dominance for movements lacking legal authority. They often resort to clandestine violence, i.e. terrorism. Although traditional religions have been reluctant to endorse such violence, when ensorsement is given it may lead to especially intense outbreaks. Much more extensive violence arises from ‘patriotism’ inculcated by established states. Religious establishments aligned with the status quo have usually found it easier to condone such use of force. Regardless of the relations between religion and nationalism in initiating violence, a major question is whether moral tenets of traditional religious bodies ultimately act as curbs on escalating violence.
Territoriality and Nation‐State Formation: The Yishuv and the Making of the State of Israel
Authors: Sandler Shmuel
Published: April 2004

Abstract. Students of the State are to this day bewildered by the subject matter of their discipline, and disagree over the formation of the modem state. In their search for clarity they have dedicated a relatively large part of their attention to redefining the boundaries between the state and society, and questions regarding the independent role of each in the modem nation‐state. This probe left the two settings separate from each other. The renewed interest in the origins of the modem manifestation of the polity, the nation‐state, assumed that a better understanding of the beginning would shed some light on the question of its future. The study of nation‐state‐making may produce a common denominator between the two constructs ‐society and the state. It is the purpose of this article to look at the role of the territoriality factor in the Jewish case of nation‐state‐building and to develop it as a concept that combines societal and statist elements. The link between territoriality and legitimacy, institution‐building and leadership formation, was a major factor in the transformation of a diaspora‐based society into a modem polity that eventually became a nation‐state.
Stateless Nation‐Building: Quebec, Catalonia and Scotland in the Changing State System
Authors: Keating Michael
Published: April 2004

Abstract.The reconfiguration of political space is bringing about new forms of territorial politics. The meanings of nationalism and the state are being transformed and new types of autonomist movement are emerging. These are often seen as a resurgence of ethnicity, or as attempts to recreate mini nation‐states fragmented from the existing ones. Mainstream political science tends to regard them negatively. It is argued that the resurgence of minority nationalism is also a response to the needs for collective action in a world of weakened nation‐states. New forms of collective identity and action are emerging which recognise the limitations of traditional sovereignty and the necessary interdependence of the contemporary world. There is much that is new here, but also much that has always been present but has been lost in the state‐centred perspective of political science. The argument is illustrated by an examination of three of the most electorally successful nationalist movements in the Western world, in Quebec, Catalonia and Scotland. These are seen not as classic nationalist movements but as nation‐building projects which recognise the limitations of the nation‐state formula and are engaged in ‘stateless nation‐building’. This project is difficult to translate into constitutional terms or to reconcile with the model of the state prevailing in the respective majority communities.
‘The Charter of its Birthright’: The Civil War and American Nationalism
Authors: Grant S.‐M.
Published: April 2004

Abstract. This article examines the role of warfare in the development of American nationalism, focusing in particular on the American Civil War (1861–5). The American response to warfare, and especially to the two major conflicts that created and consolidated the American nation ‐the Revolution and the Civil War ‐ is revealing in terms of how Americans went about the process of defining themselves as a nation. Evidence is offered here of how nineteenthcentury Americans used the American Revolution for both national and sectional definition; and how it in turn came to be supplanted by the Civil War as the positive act of American national construction. This article argues that the American response to the Civil War provides an opportunity for scholars to trace the development of the myths that are central to the construction of nationalism but that have, to date, only been examined in any depth in a European context. Specifically, it addresses the question of how and why a destructive, internecine Civil War is still regarded today as the ‘salvation drama’ of the American nation.
Early Twentieth‐Century Catalan Regionalist Theory: Lluís Duran I Ventosa, His Times, and the Influence of the Austrian Empire
Authors: Ehrlich Charles E.
Published: April 2004

Abstract. The constitutional question of how to treat ethnic minorities within the context of a greater state has presented problems since the age of nationalism up to the present day. Several Catalan political theorists from the beginning of the twentieth century produced a large quantity of generally overlooked and untranslated work on the subject, which defined a terminology and discussed solutions in a manner coherent enough to be applicable to most times and places, and to withstand the test of scrutiny alongside better‐known theorists. The thoughts of Lluis Duran i Ventosa, the theorist behind the Catalan regionalist movement in the first quarter of this century, deserve special exposure. He and his contemporaries demonstrated great understanding not only of their context within Spain, but also of generally applicable concepts, as well as an understanding of other societies, notably the Austrian Empire.
The Search for National Identity and Japanese Industrial Policy, 1950–1969
Authors: Gao Bai
Published: April 2004

Abstract. Economic nationalism reflected in Japanese industrial policy experienced two distinctive stages during 1950–69. It was fragmented in the 1950s as political actors held competing perceptions of national interest and consequently asserted contesting strategies for industrial policy. The tensions between the conservative and the progressive eventually led to a clash in 1960 on the issue of the renewal of the Japan–US security treaty. Economic nationalism began to unify the country in the 1960s as political actors were able to build a consensus on national interest based on economic growth and united around a grand strategy of high growth and liberalisation of trade. During this transition, the perceived external threat to the nation was a major force in generating the momentum for economic nationalism in policy‐making, while a fair distribution of economic welfare among social classes through industrial policy was indispensable for economic nationalism to obtain public support.
The Macedonian Question in Bulgaria
Authors: Mahon Milena
Published: April 2004

Abstract. The Macedonian question has been at the core of Balkan politics since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Since the end of the nineteenth century, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece have all put forward competing claims to geographic Macedonia in whole or in part. Each of these states legitimised their policies by arguing that the territorial, ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural boundaries of Macedonia are congruent with their respective nation‐states. All of these claims stirred vigorous debate among the people living in the geographical region of Macedonia, attracting support or opposition, depending on the political circumstances of the time. In Bulgaria, the Macedonian question has been understood largely as a result of the violation of national integrity, beginning with the revision of the San‐Stefano Treaty of March 1878. Bulgaria to this day denies the existence of a separate Macedonian identity and argues that the establishment of the Macedonian nation undermines its national unity. The Bulgarian denouncement is based on the strong sense of loss of the territory, history and language which it shared with Macedonia in the past. After the collapse of the Federative Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia and the consequent independence of the Macedonian state in 1991, Bulgaria renewed the question of the legitimacy of Macedonian nationhood, yet at the same time recognised the Republic of Macedonia. The Bulgarian government of 1991‐2 promoted this political compromise as a constructive way of living with the national questions rather than suppressing them. Yet none of the fundamental tensions over the Macedonian question have been fully resolved, and the issue remains an important and possibly explosive undercurrent in Sofia politics.
From Yugoslavism to Serbism: The Serb National Idea 1986–1996
Authors: Pavković Aleksandar
Published: April 2004

Abstract. During the 1986–96 period, the intellectual debate on Serb national goals was characterised by a previously unparalleled diversity of views. The draft of the Serbian Academy's Memorandum, which sparked this debate in 1986, advocated an ‘integrative’ Yugoslav federation whose primary aim would be to foster Serbism, that is, to facilitate Serb political and cultural unification. After 1988, the differences between Yugoslavism and Serbism became obvious as advocates of Serb unification rejected Yugoslavia as a costly mistake. In rejecting Yugoslavism, some Serb intellectuals insisted on the regeneration of Serbia and its population, while others argued for the primacy of the unification of all Serb‐populated lands into one state. The resulting diversity of views may be perhaps explicable by a persistent disagreement among the intellectuals concerning the basis of Serb national identity, as well as by their focus on an exclusivist and collectivist view of national goals; the latter, it is suggested, is a result of the continuing use of the idea of Serb unification as a part of the programme of Serb national liberation from foreign domination.
Modernityandits Discontents: On the Durability of Nationalism in the Arab Middle East
Authors: Gelvin James
Published: April 2004

Abstract.Because many area experts studying the Arab Middle East commonly credit assumptions about nationalism that have, for the most part, been abandoned by their colleagues working in other parts of the globe, they assert that nationalist sentiment in the region has declined, either as a result of a series of political shocks or as the result of competition from other ideologies (such as Islamism). However, popular forms of nationalism not only have strong roots in the region, they have been continually reinforced over time. As a result, the current popular support for Islamism cannot be taken as a sign that nationalist sentiments are on the decline, particularly in light of the fact that Islamic movements share with nationalism a number of significant attributes.
The Natsyas of the Grodno region of Belarus: A Field Study
Authors: Engelking Anna
Published: April 2004

Abstract. This research was conducted in 1993–4 in several peripheral kolkhoz villages in the north‐west Belarus Grodno province, a religious (Catholic/Orthodox) and linguistic (Belarussian/RussiadPolish/Lithuanian)borderland. The members of the folk communities of this region conceive and categorise social reality differently than it is done by the members of a nationalised and urbanised society, according to religious, and not nation‐state, criteria. People are divided by these criteria into natsyas, i.e. religious groups. There are two main natsyas: the Catholics (also called Poles) and the Orthodox (called Rus' or Belarussians). The distinctive criterion for several natsyus is the language of a prayer: the Catholics pray in Polish and/or Lithuanian, the Orthodox in Old Church Slavonic and Russian. The terms Catholic natsya and Polish natsya (and similarly Orthodox natsya or Rus' natsya) are synonymous. The language of everyday speech does not differentiate the natsyas; all the villagers speak Belarussian dialect or so called ‘plain language’.

The natsya, a concept specific of traditional folk societies, should not be confused with a ‘nation’, a political term of the modem world. None the less, the kolkhoz peasants of the region under study are confronted with a concept of ‘nation’. It results in a turmoil in their worldview and in confusion about their identity; what we see in the Belarussian villages is a process of change. The borderland where the material was collected seems an excellent field for the study of the process of the emergence of nations.