Microsoft Word - Introduction_v3.doc


	
   	
  
Luc	
  Boeva	
  &	
  Andreas	
  Stynen,	
  ‘Introduction.	
  Not	
  yet	
  another	
  journal	
  on	
  

nationalism?’,	
  in:	
  Studies	
  on	
  National	
  Movements,	
  1	
  (2013)	
  pp.	
  1-­‐6.	
  

http://snm.nise.eu	
  

Luc	
  Boeva	
  &	
  Andreas	
  Stynen	
  

INTRODUCTION	
  

NOT	
  YET	
  ANOTHER	
  JOURNAL	
  ON	
  NATIONALISM?	
  

Over	
   the	
   last	
   thirty	
   years	
   studies	
   into	
   nationalism	
   have	
   considerably	
  
grown	
   in	
   number.	
   The	
   works	
   of	
   eminent	
   scholars	
   as	
   Ernest	
   Gellner,	
  
Miroslav	
  Hroch,	
  Anthony	
  D.	
  Smith	
  and	
  several	
  others	
  have	
  sparkled	
  an	
  
interest	
   among	
   social	
   scientists	
   and	
   historians,	
   resulting	
   in	
   dozens	
   of	
  
volumes	
   and	
   many	
   hundreds	
   of	
   articles	
   on	
   the	
   origins,	
   forms	
   and	
  
meanings	
  of	
  national	
  movements,	
  their	
  successes	
  and	
  failures,	
  their	
  merits	
  
and	
  dangers.	
  The	
  reality	
  of	
  the	
  early	
  twenty-­‐first	
  century,	
  with	
  the	
  often	
  
joined	
  themes	
  of	
  nationalism	
  and	
  ethnicity	
  high	
  on	
  the	
  political	
  agenda,	
  
forces	
   those	
  studying	
  nationalism	
   to	
   firmly	
  support	
   their	
   research	
  with	
  
critical	
   reflection	
   and	
   analysis	
   in	
   order	
   to	
   prevent	
   or	
   refute	
   suspicions	
  
concerning	
   their	
   true	
   objectives.	
   Notwithstanding	
   this	
   caution	
   among	
   a	
  
great	
   deal	
   of	
   scholars,	
   many	
   methodological	
   and	
   subsequent	
   research	
  
problems	
  still	
  remain	
  to	
  be	
  solved.	
  

This	
   is	
   certainly	
   the	
   case	
   with	
   the	
   comparative	
   study	
   of	
   national	
  
movements.	
   Though	
   these	
   movements	
   are	
   pre-­‐eminently	
   transnational,	
  
both	
   in	
   inspiration	
   and	
   development,	
   researchers	
   commonly	
   remain	
  
unaware	
  of	
  results	
  from	
  studies	
  of	
  other	
  nations.	
  Indeed,	
  time	
  and	
  again	
  
case	
   studies	
   are	
   carried	
   out	
   without	
   a	
   contextual	
   or	
   comparative	
  
dimension.	
  Moreover,	
  even	
  theory	
  formation	
  is	
  often	
  insufficiently	
  based	
  
on	
   the	
   results	
   of	
   comparative	
   empirical	
   research.	
   Comparative	
   studies	
  
tend	
  to	
  be	
  complicated,	
  particularly	
  when	
  dealing	
  with	
  European	
  national	
  
movements:	
   the	
   language	
   barrier	
   is	
   often	
   insurmountable,	
   most	
  



Studies	
  on	
  National	
  Movements,	
  1	
  (2013)	
  	
  	
  |	
  	
  	
  INTRODUCTION	
  

	
  

Luc	
  Boeva	
  &	
  Andreas	
  Stynen	
  2	
  

(historical)	
   information	
  resides	
   in	
  often	
  undisclosed	
  archives,	
   too	
  much	
  
documentation	
   remains	
   unpublished	
   and	
   controlled,	
   systematically	
  
presented	
   data	
   are	
   rarely	
   available.	
   Until	
   recently	
   there	
   was	
   no	
  
coordinated	
  effort	
  to	
  collect	
  records,	
  documentation	
  and	
  information	
  on	
  
this	
  subject,	
   to	
  conserve	
  and	
  disclose	
   them	
  for	
  research	
  on	
  a	
  European	
  
level.	
  At	
  the	
  same	
  time	
  a	
  need	
  for	
  advice	
  and	
  support	
  for	
  the	
  conservation	
  
and	
  disclosure	
  of	
  those	
  sources	
  was	
  felt.	
  

That	
   is	
   why	
   in	
   2008	
   an	
   international	
   research,	
   heuristic	
   and	
   archival	
  
platform	
   of	
   scholars	
   and	
   institutes	
   was	
   established:	
   NISE,	
   acronym	
   for	
  
National	
   movements	
   and	
   Intermediary	
   Structures	
   in	
   Europe.	
   Its	
   main	
  
objective	
  is	
  to	
  enable	
  comparative	
  and	
  transnational	
  studies	
  on	
  national	
  
movements	
   in	
   general	
   and	
   their	
   intermediary	
   structures	
   in	
   particular:	
  
political	
  parties,	
  cultural	
  associations	
  and	
  social	
  organisations,	
  the	
  people	
  
associated	
   with	
   these	
   structures	
   (persons	
   in	
   charge,	
   activists,	
  
representatives,	
   ideologists…),	
   and	
   the	
   programmes	
   and	
   goals	
   as	
  
articulated	
  in	
  their	
  publications	
  and	
  archives.	
  Mapping	
  out	
  personal	
  and	
  
institutional	
   relations	
   between	
   national	
   movements	
   also	
   enables	
  
researchers	
  to	
  study	
  political	
  and	
  cultural	
  transfers.	
  And	
  theoreticians	
  of	
  
nationalism	
  are	
  given	
  the	
  opportunity	
  to	
  make	
  use	
  of	
  more	
  controlled	
  and	
  
structured	
  empirical	
  data	
  than	
  ever	
  before.1	
  

In	
   only	
   a	
   couple	
   of	
   years	
   NISE	
   has	
   assembled	
   leading	
   academics	
   and	
  
specialised	
   research	
   and	
   heritage	
   institutes.	
   Geographically	
   its	
   network	
  
ranges	
  from	
  Sami	
  Kautokeino	
  to	
  Catalan	
  Barcelona,	
  from	
  Irish	
  Maynooth	
  
to	
  Ukrainian	
  Lviv.	
  By	
  means	
  of	
  services	
  and	
  advice,	
  data	
  sharing,	
  collective	
  
projects	
  and	
  a	
  series	
  of	
  workshops,	
  conferences	
  and	
  other	
  meetings,	
  the	
  
platform	
   has	
   already	
   proved	
   to	
   be	
   a	
   valuable	
   tool	
   for	
   its	
   members.	
   By	
  
reaching	
   out	
   to	
   people	
   not	
   (yet)	
   involved,	
   publications	
   are	
   equally	
  
important	
   in	
   NISE’s	
   mission	
   of	
   stimulating	
   comparative	
   nationalism	
  
research.	
   After	
   a	
   series	
   of	
   Proceedings	
   and	
   Monographies,	
   a	
   scientific	
  
journal	
  devoted	
  to	
  nationalism	
  is	
  the	
  logical	
  next	
  step.	
  

Though	
  renowned	
  titles	
  like	
  Nations	
  and	
  Nationalism	
  or	
  National	
  Identities	
  
comprehensively	
  cover	
  the	
  subject	
  area,	
  NISE	
  discerned	
  the	
  need	
  for	
  yet	
  
another	
  English	
  language	
  journal	
  related	
  to	
  nationalism	
  studies,	
  so	
  as	
  to	
  
have	
   a	
   dissemination	
   channel	
   in	
   accordance	
   with	
   its	
   remit.	
   This	
  



Studies	
  on	
  National	
  Movements,	
  1	
  (2013)	
  	
  	
  |	
  	
  	
  INTRODUCTION	
  

	
  

Luc	
  Boeva	
  &	
  Andreas	
  Stynen	
   3	
  

contributes	
  to	
  the	
  comparative	
  historiography	
  of	
  national	
  movements	
  and	
  
subsequent	
   theory	
   formation	
   of	
   nationalism,	
   encouraging	
   transnational	
  
and	
   transfer	
   studies	
   in	
   the	
   process.	
   The	
   scope	
   of	
   the	
   journal	
   includes	
  
(European)	
   history,	
   political	
   sciences,	
   sociology,	
   geography,	
   nationalism	
  
studies	
  and	
  cultural	
  studies.	
  

The	
   new	
   journal,	
   Studies	
   on	
   National	
   Movements	
   (SNM),	
   however	
   also	
  
provides	
  space	
  for	
  aspects	
  of	
  nationalism	
  studies	
  that	
  hitherto	
  are	
  dealt	
  
with	
   in	
   a	
   haphazard	
   way	
   or	
   are	
   even	
   being	
   neglected.	
   This	
   goes	
   in	
  
particular	
   for	
   heuristic	
   and	
   archival	
   matters:	
   bibliographies,	
   catalogues,	
  
archival	
  inventories	
  are	
  accompanied	
  by	
  contextual	
  studies,	
  providing	
  the	
  
empirical	
  basis	
  for	
  research	
  and,	
  ultimately,	
  theory	
  formation.	
  Moreover,	
  
as	
  studies	
  on	
  nationalism	
  only	
  tend	
  to	
  be	
  noticed	
  when	
  written	
  in	
  English,	
  
the	
  spotlight	
  will	
  be	
  directed	
  specifically	
  to	
  non-­‐English	
  theoretical	
  works	
  
and	
   case	
   studies.	
   In	
   sum,	
   each	
   volume	
   of	
   SNM	
   will	
   have	
   three	
   distinct	
  
sections:	
  articles,	
  sources	
  and	
  reviews,	
  as	
  such	
  offering	
  both	
  a	
  state	
  of	
  play	
  
of	
  recent	
  research	
  and	
  building	
  stones	
  for	
  future	
  studies.	
  

Finally,	
   another	
   operational	
   option	
   also	
   distinguishes	
   SNM	
   from	
   other	
  
subject-­‐related	
  journals.	
  In	
  an	
  era	
  where	
  the	
  taxpayer	
  finances	
  scientific	
  
research	
  with	
  the	
  results	
  subsequently	
  all	
  too	
  often	
  published	
  in	
  journals	
  
sustained	
  by	
  private	
  enterprise,	
   leading	
   to	
  university	
   libraries	
  spending	
  
half	
  their	
  budget	
  on	
  journal	
  subscriptions,	
  NISE,	
  subscribing	
  to	
  the	
  Cost	
  of	
  
Knowledge	
   petition,	
   has	
   deliberately	
   made	
   SNM	
   freely	
   available	
   on	
   the	
  
Internet.2	
  This	
  is	
  achieved	
  by	
  means	
  of	
  the	
  Open	
  Journals	
  Systems	
  (OJS),	
  a	
  
journal	
  management	
  and	
  publishing	
  system	
  that	
  allows	
  for	
  a	
  reliable	
  and	
  
comprehensive	
   online	
   environment,	
   and	
   this	
   for	
   authors,	
   readers	
   and	
  
editors	
  alike.	
  Combining	
  the	
  benefits	
  of	
  traditional	
  durability	
  and	
  digital	
  
possibilities,	
  OJS	
  was	
  developed	
  as	
  part	
  of	
  the	
  Public	
  Knowledge	
  Project,	
  
an	
  academic	
  partnership	
  aimed	
  at	
  the	
  promotion	
  of	
  online	
  infrastructure	
  
in	
  the	
  dissemination	
  of	
  scientific	
  knowledge,	
  and	
  grants	
  an	
  unseen	
  level	
  of	
  
accessibility	
  and	
  editorial	
  independence.3	
  

The	
  free	
  availability	
  of	
  SNM,	
  to	
  be	
  published	
  once	
  a	
  year	
  rather	
  than	
  as	
  an	
  
ongoing	
   series	
   of	
   separate	
   articles,	
   does	
   not	
   detract	
   from	
   its	
   scientific	
  
quality	
  by	
  any	
  means.	
  All	
   contributions	
  are	
  peer	
  reviewed,	
  a	
  refereeing	
  
procedure	
  in	
  which	
  NISE’s	
  International	
  Advisory	
  Board	
  plays	
  a	
  key	
  role.	
  



Studies	
  on	
  National	
  Movements,	
  1	
  (2013)	
  	
  	
  |	
  	
  	
  INTRODUCTION	
  

	
  

Luc	
  Boeva	
  &	
  Andreas	
  Stynen	
  4	
  

After	
   publication,	
   moreover,	
   the	
   scientific	
   debate	
   does	
   not	
   finish.	
   Apart	
  
from	
   common	
   citations	
   in	
   other	
   publications,	
   the	
   online	
   nature	
   of	
   the	
  
journal	
  allows	
  for	
  rapid	
  feedback	
  and	
  even	
  debates	
  with	
  the	
  authors:	
  each	
  
article	
  has	
  its	
  own	
  space	
  for	
  comments.	
  We	
  look	
  forward	
  to	
  the	
  ensuing	
  
discussions	
  and	
  invite	
  all	
  of	
  our	
  readers	
  to	
  take	
  part	
  in	
  them.	
  

Considering	
  SNM’s	
  objective	
  of	
  widening	
  the	
  perspective	
  of	
  historians	
  of	
  
nationalism,	
  it	
  is	
  only	
  logical	
  that	
  this	
  first	
  issue	
  pays	
  ample	
  attention	
  to	
  
historiographical	
  matters.	
  The	
  kickoff	
  is	
  duly	
  given	
  by	
  Miroslav	
  Hroch,	
  one	
  
of	
   the	
   figureheads	
   in	
   the	
  historical	
  analysis	
  of	
  national	
  movements	
  and	
  
whose	
  theories	
  were	
  among	
  the	
  first	
  to	
  be	
  adopted	
  by	
  scholars	
  on	
  both	
  
sides	
   of	
   a,	
   luckily,	
   outdated	
   line	
   of	
   political	
   demarcation.	
   In	
   his	
   essay,	
  
Hroch	
  sharply	
  formulates	
  one	
  of	
  the	
  key	
  problems	
  of	
  our	
  discipline:	
  the	
  
important,	
  and	
  yet	
  often	
  neglected	
  difference	
  between	
  officially	
  authorised	
  
state	
   nationalism	
   and	
   the	
   awakening	
   of	
   national	
   feelings	
   in	
   minority	
  
groups.	
  In	
  a	
  similar	
  vein,	
  Philipp	
  Ther	
  investigates	
  the	
  special	
  situation	
  of	
  
border	
   regions,	
   with	
   the	
   inhabitants	
   as	
   the	
   puppet	
   of	
   two	
   (or	
   more)	
  
competing	
  nationalisms.	
  The	
  case	
  of	
  Upper	
  Silesia	
  sheds	
  light	
  on	
  the	
  often	
  
tragic	
  conditions	
  in	
  which	
  peoples	
  and	
  regions	
  were	
  torn	
  apart,	
  and	
  the	
  
impact	
  on	
  their	
  identity.	
  

Four	
   articles	
   focus	
   on	
   the	
   historiographical	
   output	
   in/on	
   a	
   number	
   of	
  
European	
  national	
  movements,	
  each	
  with	
  its	
  own	
  peculiarities.	
  Bruno	
  De	
  
Wever	
  not	
  only	
  traces	
  the	
  development	
  of	
  a	
  critical	
  historiography	
  of	
  the	
  
Flemish	
  movement	
  and	
  the	
  main	
  debates	
  among	
  historians,	
  his	
  article	
  is	
  
also	
  a	
  manual	
  for	
  researchers,	
  even	
  the	
  most	
  precise	
  currently	
  available	
  
for	
  scholars	
  not	
  reading	
  Dutch.	
  Tudi	
  Kernalegenn	
  and	
  Yann	
  Fournis	
  show	
  
the	
  dynamics	
  between	
  the	
  nationalist	
  movement,	
  the	
  historical	
  profession	
  
and	
   broad	
   society	
   in	
   Brittany,	
   a	
   close	
   interplay	
   in	
   which	
   the	
   historical	
  
debate	
  about	
   the	
  movement’s	
   involvement	
   in	
  World	
  War	
   II	
  plays	
  a	
  key	
  
role.	
  The	
  moral	
  implications	
  of	
  history	
  writing	
  are	
  also	
  elucidated	
  by	
  Enric	
  
Ucelay-­‐Da	
  Cal,	
  who	
  dissects	
  the	
  close	
  and	
  ambiguous	
  relationship,	
  up	
  to	
  
this	
   day,	
   of	
   historians	
   and	
   the	
   Catalan	
   movement.	
   Inevitable	
   as	
   this	
  
blending	
   is,	
   his	
   article	
   reads	
   at	
   the	
   same	
   time	
   as	
   a	
   plea	
   for	
   a	
   higher	
  
consciousness	
  among	
  scholars:	
  considering	
  the	
  (im)possibilities	
  of	
  taking	
  
a	
  neutral	
  position,	
  he	
  explores	
  the	
  confusion	
  that	
  arises	
  when	
  historians	
  



Studies	
  on	
  National	
  Movements,	
  1	
  (2013)	
  	
  	
  |	
  	
  	
  INTRODUCTION	
  

	
  

Luc	
  Boeva	
  &	
  Andreas	
  Stynen	
   5	
  

are	
   fully	
   engaged	
   in	
   their	
   object	
   of	
   study.	
   That	
   historians	
   have	
   several	
  
options	
  to	
  choose	
  from,	
  is	
  also	
  the	
  leitmotif	
  in	
  Darius	
  Staliūnas’s	
  article	
  on	
  
Lithuanian	
   national	
   historiography.	
   He	
   analyses	
   the	
   strategies	
   used	
   by	
  
several	
  generations	
  of	
  historians,	
   first	
  when	
  confronted	
  with	
  nationalist	
  
pressure	
   from	
   dominant	
   neighbours,	
   later	
   when	
   dealing	
   with	
   official	
  
paradigms	
  determining	
  the	
  playing	
  field.	
  

The	
  section	
  on	
   ‘sources’	
   in	
  this	
   first	
   issue	
  shows	
  the	
  variety	
  of	
  possible	
  
approaches.	
  As	
  an	
  appendix	
  to	
  his	
  article	
  on	
  Upper	
  Silesia,	
  but	
  at	
  the	
  same	
  
time	
  surpassing	
  it,	
  Philipp	
  Ther	
  presents	
  a	
  bibliography	
  of	
  recent	
  works	
  on	
  
the	
  region’s	
  history,	
  including	
  some	
  with	
  an	
  outspoken	
  comparative	
  intent.	
  
A	
  second	
  contribution,	
  by	
  Sophie	
  Bossaert	
  and	
  Tom	
  Cobbaert,	
  deals	
  with	
  
the	
  archives	
  of	
  the	
  Bayernpartei:	
  an	
  inventory	
  of	
  the	
  files	
  and	
  documents	
  
belonging	
  to	
  the	
  international	
  collections	
  of	
  the	
  ADVN	
  in	
  Antwerp	
  is	
  a	
  first	
  
step	
   to	
  enable	
  research	
   into	
   this	
  especially	
  during	
   the	
  1950s	
  successful	
  
Bavarian	
   nationalist	
   party.	
   Finally,	
   Xabier	
   Macías	
   and	
   Manoel	
   Santos	
  
discuss	
   the	
   goals	
   and	
   development	
   of	
   DILINAME,	
   an	
   online	
   database	
  
offering	
   access	
   to	
   documents	
   relevant	
   for	
   a	
   series	
   of	
   movements	
  
advocating	
  the	
  rights	
  of	
  European	
  stateless	
  nations.	
  This	
  first	
  volume	
  of	
  
SNM	
   does	
   not	
   contain	
   an	
   (annotated)	
   source	
   publication,	
   but	
   that	
   is	
  
something	
  the	
  journal	
  will	
  definitely	
  offer	
  in	
  future	
  issues.	
  

The	
   editorial	
   staff	
   is	
   confident	
   that	
   Studies	
   on	
   National	
   Movements	
   will	
  
receive	
  a	
  warm	
  welcome.	
  Desiring	
  to	
  ensure	
  an	
  ongoing	
  dialogue	
  in	
  the	
  
scholarly	
  historical	
  field,	
  we	
  invite	
  readers	
  to	
  share	
  their	
  comments	
  and	
  
authors	
  to	
  submit	
  their	
  contributions	
  on	
  instances	
  of	
  national	
  thought	
  and	
  
practices	
  anywhere	
   in	
  Europe.	
  Curious	
  of	
   the	
  direction	
  our	
   journal	
  will	
  
venture	
   into,	
   we	
   are	
   confident	
   it	
   will	
   become	
   a	
   meeting	
   ground	
   for	
  
everyone	
   involved	
   in	
   realising	
   an	
   innovative	
   history	
   of	
   national	
  
movements.	
  



Studies	
  on	
  National	
  Movements,	
  1	
  (2013)	
  	
  	
  |	
  	
  	
  INTRODUCTION	
  

	
  

Luc	
  Boeva	
  &	
  Andreas	
  Stynen	
  6	
  

	
  

Endnotes	
  

1	
  More	
  on	
  NISE	
  at	
  its	
  website,	
  http://www.nise.eu.	
  
2	
  R.	
  Monvoisin,	
   ‘Recherche	
  publique,	
  revues	
  privées’,	
  in:	
  Le	
  monde	
  diplomatique,	
  
59	
  (December	
  2012)	
  27;	
  http://thecostofknowledge.com	
  [accessed	
  23/4/2013].	
  
3	
   ‘Public	
   Knowledge	
   Project.	
   About’	
   at	
   http://www.pkp.sfu.ca/about	
   [accessed	
  
25/4/2013].