Call for Papers for a special issue of New Diversities, a journal of the
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity
New Solidarities: Migration, Mobility, Diaspora, and Ethnic Tolerance in Southeast Europe
Guest Editor: Tamara P. Trošt, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
The social landscape in Southeast Europe has changed dramatically over the past twenty years: increased globalization, new migration and mobility patterns, the refugee crises, economic uncertainty, and the emergence of other salient identities (LGBT, urban-rural, class, etc), have all influenced the region dramatically, yet the research on the effects of these social changes on ethnic solidarities remains scarce. Most empirical research on identities and tolerance remains focused on ethnic identities – as understood through the lens of previous generations. Yet, these recent processes – Euroskepticism, right-wing populism, and disillusionment with globalization in Europe – have pointed to the need for examining new solidarities (Hoskins, Saisana and Villalba 2015). Migration, mobility, diaspora, and above- and below-ethnic identifications, moulded by novel lifestyles, technologies, educational experiences, consumer/labour markets, gender norms, leisure opportunities, fashions, etc (Mandić and Trošt 2017), have modified and transformed “old” identities and solidarities and produced new ones. Southeast Europe presents a particularly interesting case, where the above-mentioned processes combine with remnants of post-war politics infused in daily life, brain drain, an ageing population, marked youth exclusion from the labour market (Goldstein and Arias 2013), and combined extensive adoption combined with distancing from Western cultural products (Roberts 2008).
In this special issue, we examine the new cleavages and new solidarities created by these changes: effects of global phenomena such as international youth exchange programs, music/film festivals, language, diaspora and dual citizenship, and refugees, and the ways in which they are assuaging or amplifying ethnic tolerance in the region. We are interested in the determinants of these societal changes, as well as the effects of the changes: emerging political issues and cleavages, new intersections of identities, and new forms of ethnic (in)tolerance.
Papers on the following themes, in the fields of sociology, political science, anthropology, geography, urban studies, and related areas, are particularly encouraged:
- Youth international exchange programs (e.g. Erasmus) and their effects on ethnic identity formation and ethnic attitudes in young adults;
- Being ethnic in diaspora vs. in national contexts: ways in which ethnic identity adapts or remains constant when moving between contexts; relationships between diaspora and local population;
- Diaspora voting; examination of trends in diaspora political participation (differences in support for ethnically intolerant political parties);
- Regional and cross-national grassroots and civic society movements promoting beyond-ethnic attachments (Yugonostalgia, revival of Serbo-Croatian as “our” language as means of transcending ethnic linguistic boundaries, anti-fascism movements, etc.);
- Popular culture and ethnic tolerance: national/regional sports, film, and music manifestations (e.g. celebrities from minority groups in popular shows, celebrity advocates of movements such as LGBT rights, international film festivals, regional manifestations such as Eurovision, local manifestations attracting regional attendance such as Exit, etc);
- Dual citizenship and local effects of dual nationals;
- Emergence of other salient social identities – LGBT, gender, urban-rural, religious identities, and the backlash against these;
- Effects of the refugee crisis on ethnic identities/new solidarities: refugee solidarities vs. right-wing mobilization and nativist identities.
500-word abstracts and short CVs (up to 300 words) are due to the special editor (tamara.trost@ef.uni-lj.si) no later than August 1, 2017. Authors will be notified of the decision by August 15, 2017. For the articles accepted to the special issue, full papers, of 8000 words, will be due by December 15, 2017, with a planned publication date of fall 2018.
New Diversities (previously the International Journal on Multicultural Societies) is an international, peer-reviewed scholarly journal of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, committed to publishing interdisciplinary and policy-related social science research in the fields of diversity, migration, multicultural policies, and human rights.