Italy, Britain, Russia, and Georgia being in focus, the recent ECMI Working Papers discuss issues such as radicalization, right-wing populism, and importance of topographical landscape.

We are proud to share that three former Ecmi Interns have finalized and published their work as ECMI Working Papers. Under the supervision of the ECMI Senior Research Associates, the interns dedicated three months of their work in Flensburg and in Tbilisi to conduct research on selected topics within minority issues.

We wish our former interns success in their future endeavors and hope to collaborate on further research initiatives!

The ECMI Working Paper #101  with a title “Radicalization Among Muslim Minorities and State Response to Terrorism: Comparative Analysis of Britain and Russia” is authored by  Utkur Yakhshiboev. Utkur is a former ECMI intern. He conducted his his research and internship within the ECMI research Cluster Conflict&Security.

Abstract

This working paper is a comparative analysis of Muslim communities in the UK and Russia. Radicalization as a process and the factors for radicalization among Muslim communities in both countries are analyzed to detect the similarities and differences. Both states’ engagement in hard-line policies to tackle Islamic terrorism increases the use of undemocratic measures enhanced by the legal system of each state. Those measures are counter-productive; the social movement theory and the rational choice theory are used to emphasize that the radicalization leading to violence is a political movement intertwined with Islam.

Download the ECMI Working Paper #101

The ECMI Working Paper #102 with a title “Italian Right-Wing Populism” is authored by Marco Torresin. Marco is a former ECMI student, summer school alumnus and an intern in Flensburg. He conducted his research and internship within the ECMI research Cluster Conflict&Security.

Abstract

Right wing populism and Euroscepticism have experienced an important growth in the last decades all around Europe. Italy has also been highly affected by this phenomenon and, since the early 1990s, various populist parties appeared on its political scene.
Since the early 1990s Silvio Berlusconi`s Forza Italia, Umberto Bossi`s Lega Nord and Gianfranco Fini`s Alleanza Nazionale became the hegemonic forces of the conservative political area. However, since 2012, Beppe Grillo transformed Italian politics introducing a new form of populism: his Movimento 5 Stelle, not following the traditional left-right paradigm, represented a shock in the static world of the Italian politics.
The working paper is going to focus on the phenomenon of right-wing populism and Euroscepticism at the national level, exploring the reasons for the success of Forza Italia, Lega Nord and Alleanza Nazionale- Fratelli d`Italia.

Download the ECMI Working Paper #102

The ECMI Working Paper #103 with a title “Nomen Est Omen? Naming and Renaming of Places in Minority Inhabited Areas in Georgia” is authored by  María Diego Gordón. Maria was an intern at the ECMI Regional Office in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Abstract

Georgia is home for almost 490,000 members of different ethnic minority groups, people that are mostly inhabiting the Kvemo Kartli and Samkhtse-Javakheti regions. Since the beginning of the 1990’s claims have been made by local activists and some NGOs regarding the renaming of their villages in these areas. It has long been discussed the pivotal role played by place-names in the formation of the collective memory of a country. Hence, even though these names are perceived as an unquestionable part of an everyday landscape, they are a really valuable reflection of the different political tendencies that the governments and regimes are following, for example, regarding ethnic and national minorities. Firstly, the aim of this working paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the changes that the topographical landscape in the minority-inhabited areas in Georgia has experienced since 1921. Secondly, to explain and contextualize the reasons behind the very different regimes and governments to execute these changes.

Download the ECMI Working Paper #103

Also interesting:

Access the ECMI Working Papers

Access and Search the ECMI Publications Database

See current ECMI Interns

Read about internship and other opportunities at the ECMI

Source: ECMI InfoChannel @ European Centre for Minority Issues.