Nationalism, Territoriality and National Territorial Belonging

Most studies of nationalism are based on an understanding of the nation as a cultural collectivity that can be located in historical terms in the passage from the pre-modern to the modern era. Rather less attention is paid to spatial considerations. In this light, the paper argues that we cannot fully understand nationalism and its relationship to the nation unless we take into account territory. Firstly, nationalists must make claims over territory, since when they seek some form of self-government for the nation, such political power is premised on the possession of territory. At the same time, such claims and control over territory are justified by fusing nation and territory so that nation and territory come to be seen to belong to each other. The paper challenges the idea of national territorial control based on national territorial belonging from both a theoretical and an empirical perspective, before going on to explore some of the consequences of such a territorial understanding of nationalism, namely that the nation is a category based on spatial separation and thus all nationalist movements must conceive of the nation, at least partially, in exclusive, noncivic termsLa mayoría de los estudios sobre el nacionalismo entiende la nación como una colectividad cultural que se puede situar en términos históricos en la transición de la época premoderna a la moderna. Se ha prestado menos atención a consideraciones de espacio. En este contexto, este artículo propone que no podemos comprender totalmente tanto el nacionalismo como su relación con la nación, sin tener en cuenta la cuestión del territorio. En primer lugar, los nacionalistas deben hacer reivindicaciones sobre territorio ya que el tipo de poder político que reivindican en nombre de la nación -alguna forma de autogobierno- depende de la posesión de territorio. Al mismo tiempo, se justifica las reivindicaciones sobre el territorio al fusionar nación y territorio de tal manera que parece que uno pertenece al otro y vice versa. Este artículo cuestiona, desde un punto de vista tanto empírico como teórico, la idea de que el control territorial en nombre de la nación se pueda considerar como el corolario natural de la proposición de que nación y territorio pertenecen el uno al otro. Finalmente, el artículo analiza algunas de las consecuencias que puede tener esta manera de comprender el nacionalismo, y en concreto que la nación es una categoría de análisis basa-do en la separación espacial y, por tanto, todos los movimientos nacionalistas están obligados a concebir la nación, al menos en parte, en términos exclusivos y no-cívico

Nationalism, national identity and territory : the case of Catalonia /

Consultable des del TDXTítol obtingut de la portada digitalitzadaEl objetivo central de la tesis doctoral es investigar la importancia de las bases territoriales del nacionalismo catalán, y sobre todo el proceso a través del cual la nación viene a ser definida en términos territoriales. Se puede referir a este proceso como la producción y reproducción territorial de la nación, o la socialización nacional territorial. Así, la tesis propone un estudio cronológico de este proceso en el caso del nacionalismo catalán, desde su inicios en el siglo XIX hasta la actualidad, caracterizada por lo que podemos llamar la globalización. Dentro de este objetivo general, la tesis define el nacionalismo como movimiento e ideología que promueve reivindicaciones en nombre de la nación. Una de las reivindicaciones más importantes es que la nación debe tener o su propio estado o al menos un alto grado de autonomía política. Ya que el ejercicio de tal poder político es necesariamente territorial, el nacionalismo está obligado a controlar o reivindicar un territorio. Sin embargo, la hipótesis principal postula que el nacionalismo no solamente controla o reivindica un territorio concreto, sino que invierte en él un significado especial para convertirlo en territorio nacional. A partir de aquí, para el nacionalismo, la nación viene a ser definida en términos del propio territorio nacional, de modo que la identidad nacional se deriva del territorio. Cómo consecuencia de ello, el control por parte de los nacionalistas sobre territorio y los recursos y personas que contiene queda perfectamente justificado: sus reivindicaciones político-territoriales en nombre de la nación son justificados por el hecho de que la propia nación nace del territorio. En un segundo término, de la hipótesis general, se deriva una segunda hipótesis, construida sobre dos premisas básicas. En primer lugar, la construcción del territorio nacional inevitablemente implica la unificación de lugares distintos dentro de una jerarquía especial, en cuyo punto más alto normalmente se encuentra la capital. Al mismo tiempo, y en segundo lugar, la identidad nacional es una mezcla de identidades procedentes de lugares y zonas concretos que son ampliados para convertirse en componentes de una identidad nacional del territorio entero. La hipótesis es que la identidad nacional resultante de este proceso reflejarán las relaciones existentes en la sociedad. Para avanzar los argumentos con el fin de justificar las hipótesis planteadas, la tesis se divide en dos partes, cada una de cuatro capítulos, además de la introducción y las conclusiones. La primera trata cuestiones generales, sobre el nacionalismo, las bases territoriales de su relación con la nación a través de la identidad nacional, y los posibles cambios que la globalización pueda suponer para esta relación. La segunda parte, desarrolla estos debates en el contexto del nacionalismo catalán y analiza cómo éste ha producido y reproducido la nación catalana territorialmente a lo largo de los últimos dos siglos. En términos generales, se puede concluir que las hipótesis planteadas en la primera parte se confirman en el caso del nacionalismo catalán. Efectivamente, éste reivindica el control sobre un territorio en nombre de la nación. Al mismo tiempo, la nación es producida y reproducida en términos del mismo territorio. Este proceso es una constante en el nacionalismo catalán, desde sus inicios hasta el presente. Además, en el caso del nacionalismo conservador, se realiza un esfuerzo muy claro para situar geográficamente la esencia de la nación catalana en ciertos lugares y zonas rurales del país. En el contexto actual, caracterizado por la compresión del espacio y del tiempo, las bases territoriales del nacionalismo catalán no se han visto alteradas considerablemente, aunque ciertas tendencias podrían minar la primacía de la identidad nacional a largo plazo.The main objective of the thesis is to investigate the importance of the territorial bases of Catalan nationalism, and, above all, the process by which the nation comes to be defined in territorial terms. We might refer to this process as the territorial production and reproduction of the nation, or national territorial socialisation. Thus, the thesis offers a chronological study of this process in the case of Catalan nationalism, from its beginnings in the 19th century until present times, characterised by what we might call globalization. Within this overall objective, the thesis defines nationalism as a movement and ideology that makes claims in the name of the nation. One of the most important claims is that the nation must either have its own state or a high degree of political autonomy. Given that the exercise of such political power is necessarily territorial, nationalism is obliged to control o claim a territory. The main hypothesis makes the case that rather than merely controlling or seeking to control a given territory, nationalism attaches special meaning to it so that it becomes the national territory. From here, for nationalism, the nation itself comes to be defined in terms of the national territory, so that national identity is derived from that territory. Consequently, nationalist control over territory and the resources and persons contained therein is perfectly justified: the politico-territorial claims in the name of the nation are justified because the nation itself stems from the territory. On a second plain, from this overall hypothesis, we might derive a second that is based on two premises. Firstly, the construction of the national territory inevitably involves the unification of different places within the overall national spatial hierarchy, which is generally dominated by the capital. At the same time, the resulting national identity is a mixture of identities from different places and areas, that are subsequently amplified to become elements of the national identity of the whole territory. The hypothesis here is that the resulting national identity will reflect existing relations of power within the society in question. With the aim of putting forward arguments to validate the hypotheses, the thesis is divided into two parts, each one with four chapters, along with an introduction and conclusions. The first part is concerned with general-level questions regarding nationalism, the territorial bases of its relationship with the nation through national identity, and the possible changes that globalization might imply for this relationship. The second part develops theses questions in the context of Catalan nationalism and analyses how the latter has produced and reproduced the Catalan nation territorially throughout the last two centuries. By way of conclusions, the hypotheses developed in the first part are confirmed in the case of Catalan nationalism. In effect, it claims control over a territory in the name of the nation, while at the same time the nation is produced and reproduced in terms of the territory itself. This process is a constant in Catalan nationalism, from its beginnings until the present day. In addition, in the case of conservative nationalism, there is a clear attempt to situate geographically the essence of the Catalan nation in certain rural places and areas of the country. In the present context, characterised by time-space compression, the territorial bases of Catalan nationalism have not be substantially altered, although certain tendencies associated with globalization might undermine the primacy of national identity in the long run

Nationalism, nation and territory: Jacint Verdaguer and the Catalan Renaixença

This paper seeks to explain the historic importance to Catalan nationalism of the nineteenth-century poet and priest, Jacint Verdaguer. In order to do so, rather than focus on his contribution – and that of the wider cultural revival, the Renaixença - to the development of the Catalan language as the basis for national political mobilisation, this paper argues that we cannot fully understand Verdaguer’s importance without reference to his role in constructing a geographical narrative linking nation and territory. At the same time, given that national meanings are always contested, the paper proposes a dialectical approach to nationalism that situates the work of writers within the context of power struggles between social groups. Consequently, Veradguer’s centrality to Catalan nationalism is ultimately explained by his role in producing a geographical narrative capable of attracting important sectors of rural Catalonia to the hegemonic project of the industrial bourgeoisie

International educators’ attitudes, experiences, and recommendations after an abrupt transition to remote physiology laboratories

Peer reviewedPostprin

Efficiency of gene silencing in \u3ci\u3eArabidopsis\u3c/i\u3e: direct inverted repeats vs. transitive RNAi vectors

We investigated the efficiency of RNA interference (RNAi) in Arabidopsis using transitive and homologous inverted repeat (hIR) vectors. hIR constructs carry self-complementary intron-spliced fragments of the target gene whereas transitive vectors have the target sequence fragment adjacent to an intron-spliced, inverted repeat of heterologous origin. Both transitive and hIR constructs facilitated specific and heritable silencing in the three genes studied (AP1 , ETTIN and TTG1 ). Both types of vectors produced a phenotypic series that phenocopied reduction of function mutants for the respective target gene. The hIR yielded up to fourfold higher proportions of events with strongly manifested reduction of function phenotypes compared to transitive RNAi. We further investigated the efficiency and potential off-target effects of AP1 silencing by both types of vectors using genome-scale microarrays and quantitative RT-PCR. The depletion of AP1 transcripts coincided with reduction of function phenotypic changes among both hIR and transitive lines and also showed similar expression patterns among differentially regulated genes. We did not detect significant silencing directed against homologous potential off-target genes when constructs were designed with minimal sequence similarity. Both hIR and transitive methods are useful tools in plant biotechnology and genomics. The choice of vector will depend on specific objectives such as cloning throughput, number of events and degree of suppression required

Extensive genome introgression between domestic ferret and European polecat during population recovery in Great Britain.

peer reviewedThe European polecat (Mustela putorius) is a mammalian predator which occurs across much of Europe east to the Ural Mountains. In Great Britain, following years of persecution the European polecat has recently undergone a population increase due to legal protection and its range now overlaps that of feral domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). During this range expansion, European polecats hybridised with feral domestic ferrets producing viable offspring. Here we carry out population-level whole genome sequencing on domestic ferrets, British European polecats, and European polecats from the European mainland and find high degrees of genome introgression in British polecats outside their previous stronghold, even in those individuals phenotyped as pure polecats. We quantify this introgression and find introgressed genes under selection that may assist in cognitive function and sight

Collateral contamination concomitant to the polonium-210 poisoning of Mr Alexander Litvinenko

Mr Litvinenko died on 23rd November 2006, having been poisoned with polonium-210 on 1st November, with evidence of a previous poisoning attempt during October 2006. Measurements of 210Po in urine samples were made for a large number of people to determine whether they may have been contaminated. In the majority of cases, measured levels were attributable to the presence of 210Po from normal dietary sources. For a small number of cases, elevated levels provided evidence of direct contamination associated with the poisonings. For one individual, while estimated doses were below thresholds for irreversible organ damage, a notably increased risk of cancer can be inferred. The use of the chelating agent, Unithiol, to increase 210Po excretion in this case was only moderately effective in reducing doses received

Temporal spatial and metabolic measures of walking in highly functional individuals with lower limb amputations

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this descriptive exploratory study is to record the temporal spatial parameters and metabolic energy expenditure during walking of individuals with amputation, walking with advanced prostheses and following completion of comprehensive rehabilitation, to able-bodied controls. DESIGN: Cross-sectional SETTING: Multi-disciplinary comprehensive rehabilitation centre PARTICIPANTS: Thirty severely injured United Kingdom military personnel with amputation and subsequent completion of their rehabilitation programme (10 unilateral trans-tibial, 10 unilateral trans-femoral, and 10 bilateral trans-femoral) were compared to (and of similar age, height and mass (p < 0.537) as) 10 able-bodied controls. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable Main Outcomes and Measures: Temporal spatial and metabolic energy expenditure data were captured during walking on level ground at self-selected speed. RESULTS: The individuals with amputation were all male, with a mean age 29 years (SD = 4) and mean New Injury Severity Score of 31 (SD = 16). Walking speed, stride length, step length and cadence of individuals with a unilateral trans-tibial or trans-femoral amputation was comparable to controls, and only for individuals with a bilateral trans-femoral amputation was walking speed significantly slower (1·12m/s, p = 0.025) and cadence reduced (96 steps/min, p = 0.026). Oxygen cost for individuals with a unilateral trans-tibial amputation (0·15 ml/kg/m) was the same as for controls (0·15 ml/kg/m), and significantly increased by 20% (0·18ml/kg/m, p = 0.023) for unilateral trans-femoral and by 60% (0·24 ml/kg/m, p < 0.001) for bilateral trans-femoral individuals with amputation. CONCLUSION: The scientific literature reports a wide range of gait and metabolic energy expenditure across individuals with amputation. The results of this study indicate that the individuals with amputation have a gait pattern which is highly functional and efficient. This is comparable to a small number of studies reporting similar outcomes for individuals with a unilateral trans-tibial amputation, but the results from this study are better than those on individuals with trans-femoral amputations reported elsewhere, despite comparison with populations wearing similar prosthetic componentry. Those studies that do report similar outcomes have included individuals who have been provided with a comprehensive rehabilitation programme. This suggests that such a programme may be as important as, or even more important than, prosthetic component selection in improving metabolic energy expenditure. The data are made available as a benchmark for what is achievable in the rehabilitation of some individuals with amputations, but agreeably may not be possible for all amputees to achieve

Light propagation in statistically homogeneous and isotropic universes with general matter content

We derive the relationship of the redshift and the angular diameter distance to the average expansion rate for universes which are statistically homogeneous and isotropic and where the distribution evolves slowly, but which have otherwise arbitrary geometry and matter content. The relevant average expansion rate is selected by the observable redshift and the assumed symmetry properties of the spacetime. We show why light deflection and shear remain small. We write down the evolution equations for the average expansion rate and discuss the validity of the dust approximation.Comment: 42 pages, no figures. v2: Corrected one detail about the angular diameter distance and two typos. No change in result