The politics and aesthetics of commemoration: national days in southern Africa

The contributions to the special section in this issue study recent independence celebrations and other national days in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They explore the role of national days in state-making and nation-building, and examine the performativity of nationalism and the role of performances in national festivities. Placing the case studies in a broader, comparative perspective, the introduction first discusses the role of the state in national celebrations, highlighting three themes: firstly, the political power-play and contested politics of memory involved in the creation of a country’s festive calendar; secondly, the relationship between state control of national days and civic or popular participation or contestation; and thirdly, the complex relationship between regional and ethnic loyalties and national identifications. It then turns to the role of performance and aesthetics in the making of nations in general, and in national celebrations in particular. Finally, we look at the different formats and meanings of national days in the region and address the question whether there is anything specific about national days in southern Africa as compared to other parts of the continent or national celebrations world-wide.Web of Scienc

A Forecast Strategy for Anticipating Cold Season Mesoscale Band Formation within Eastern U.S. Cyclones

An ingredients-based, time- and scale-dependent forecast strategy for anticipating cold season mesoscale band formation within eastern U.S. cyclones is presented. This strategy draws on emerging conceptual models of mesoscale band development, advances in numerical weather prediction, and modern observational tools. As previous research has shown, mesoscale band development is associated with frontogenesis in the presence of weak moist symmetric stability and sufficient moisture. These three parameters—frontogenesis, weak moist symmetric stability, and moisture—are used as the ingredients for identifying mesoscale band development in this strategy. At forecast projections beyond 2 days, the strategy assesses whether cyclogenesis is expected. Within 2 days of the event, the strategy places the band ingredients in the context of the broader synoptic flow, with attention to where deformation zones are present, to assess whether banding is possible. Within 1 day of the event, the strategy focuses on assessment of the ingredients to outline when and where band formation is favored. Plan-view and cross-sectional analyses of gridded model fields in conjunction with high-resolution model guidance are used to assess the likelihood of banding and to outline the threat area. Within 12 h, short-range forecasts of the band ingredients are evaluated in concert with observations to make specific band predictions. Particular emphasis is placed on the evolution of the frontogenetic forcing and moist symmetric stability. During the event, trends in observations and short-range model forecasts are used to anticipate the movement, intensity, and dissipation of the band. The benefits and practical challenges associated with the proposed strategy are illustrated through its operational application to the 25 December 2002 northeast U.S. snowstorm, during which intense mesoscale snowband formation occurred. Forecast products from this event demonstrate how the forecast strategy can lead to heightened situational awareness, in this case resulting in accurate band forecasts. This application shows that accurate operational forecasts of mesoscale bands can be made based on our current conceptual understanding, observational tools, and modeling capabilities