National Identity in the Era of Globalization: Crisis and Reconstruction

The era of globalization is posing a variety of challenges to national identity. In order to meet these challenges, it is important to offer theoretical scientific interpretations of them. A scrutiny of national identity as a concept reveals that national identity is actually a “four in one” combination of institutional identity, interest identity, cultural identity and non-national community identity, with formative mechanisms characterized the unity of the primordial state and the constructive, expressive forms characterized by the unity of consciousness and action, content characterized by the unity of politics and culture, and maintenance mechanisms characterized by the unity of emotion and self-interest. In the global age, national identity crisis usually arises in political, economic and cultural levels. The root cause for national identity crisis lies in the ineffectiveness of nation states’ self-governance. In order to promote the construction of national identity in the global age, we need to: (1) promote reform of the political system, explore democratic models of governance, and create the institutional preconditions for national identity; (2) promote economic development, ensure fairness and justice, and guarantee interests in national identity; (3) develop national culture, strengthen value integration and enrich the cultural significance of national identity; and (4) recognize different levels of community development and promote community integration in national identity.     

SPECIAL ISSUE： NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE COURSE OF GLOBALIZATION National Identity in the Era of Globalization： Crisis and Reconstruction

全球化时代的到来,对国家认同产生了诸多的挑战。要应对这一挑战,需要我们从理论的层面加以科学阐释。考察国家认同的概念可以看到,国家认同实质上是包含制度、利益、文化、非国家共同体认同的“四位一体”,其基本特征包含生成机制的原生性和构建性、表现形式的意识性和行动性、内容体系的政治性和行动性、维持机制的情感性和利益性,以及发展状态的稳定性和发展性。全球化时代国家认同危机包含着政治、经济、文化三个层面,民族国家认同危机产生的根源是国家治理的失效。要在全球化背景下推动国家认同的构建,着力点在于：推动政治体制改革,探索治理民主模式,构建国家认同的制度性前提;促进经济发展,维护公平正义,构建国家认同的利益性保障;发展民族文化,加强价值整合,丰富国家认同的文化内涵;正视不同层次共同体的发展,促进国家认同的共同体整合。     

纽埃的社会变迁及其民族、文化的迷失

纽埃从前殖民时期封闭、独立的民族主体,正一步一步向以新西兰为代表的西方国家文化价值延伸。随着文化价值取向的演变,大量的纽埃人移居海外,留守本土的纽埃居民数量急剧减少,但无论留守居民还是海外移民,都经历着前所未有的文化失落与身份困惑,从而产生了深刻的自卑感。本文认为,纽埃的自然资源严重匮乏、地理位置孤立、自然灾害频发,它的生存与发展亟需国际社会各方面的援助,而这些援助又不可避免地加重了纽埃民族的失落与困惑。     

Australian Muslim Responses to the Discourse on Terrorism in the Australian Popular Media

The media is often referred to as a social institution in that it is a major element of contemporary Western society. Through the media, social processes create narratives or stories within interpretative frameworks that are embedded in the cultural and political assumptions of the wider society. Since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in September 2001, the media has played a crucial role in the developing discourse on contemporary terrorism. In the Australian context, this discourse has emerged as one which implicates Australian Muslims, constructing them as a homogenous monolith with an underlying implication that Islam, and by association Australian Muslims, is secular resistant and at odds with the values of the liberal democratic state. Several textual analyses attest to the bias against Muslims in the popular Australian media discourse. However, there have been no studies into how Australian Muslims are interpreting and responding to this discourse. Based on research into the attitudes and perceptions of the media among Australian Muslims, this paper argues that the interpretation of the media discourse as defiantly anti‐Muslim and the perception of the media as a powerful purveyor of public opinion has impacted on the construction of Australian Muslim identity. In responding to this discourse, Australian Muslims are creating new narratives of belonging which either reinforce or reject the underlying messages that situate them outside mainstream Australia.     

由爱乡而爱国——从王毓英看晚清民初的地方自治

晚清民初的地方自治热潮,不完全是政治变革和社会变动影响下的新事物,而实与明清以来士绅的“化乡”观念和实践有关.以晚清温州士绅王毓英的学与行为例,通过考察其时代意识和世界知识、乡绅意识与化乡实践以及地方自治与国家认同三者之间的交织互动,可以看到晚清民初地方自治背后的传统因素.王毓英通过修水利、移风俗、兴教育和办实业等四个方面的自治理念与实践,展现了这种地方自治背后“由爱乡而爱国”的文化逻辑.这种“由爱乡而爱国”的文化逻辑,与明清以来主张化乡的乡绅意识一脉相承.以王毓英为个案,或可将之视为晚清士绅处理地方与国家关系的普遍公式.     

新世纪弘扬和培育民族精神的有效途径

民族精神是一个民族赖以生存和发展的精神动力和精神支撑 ,是民族文化最本质、最深刻的体现。进入新世纪 ,面对世界范围各种思想文化的相互激荡 ,必须把弘扬和培育民族精神作为文化建设的重要任务 ,纳入国民教育的全过程。通过国家主权意识教育、国家安全意识教育、国民素质教育以及国情教育等途径 ,使全体人民始终保持昂扬向上的精神状态 ,为实现中华民族的伟大复兴贡献力量。     

Religiosity,citizenship and attitudes to social policy issues

Many social policy objectives align with religious beliefs – poverty alleviation, compassion for the poor and addressing more generally the needs of the vulnerable and disadvantaged in society. Yet there are also conflicting views about means, including the role of the state in redistributing resources from the rich and powerful to the poor and powerless. Redistribution and poverty alleviation are central goals of the welfare state, although ideological and other differences mean that views about the need for, as well as the design, delivery and impact of social programs vary. Against this background, this paper reviews existing national and international studies that have examined how religious belief and practice are associated with the attitudes that underpin the welfare state: compassion, altruism, redistribution and egalitarianism, and the activities that are assumed to align with modern conceptions of ‘a good civic citizen‘: participation and engagement. The analysis draws on recent Australian survey data to examine whether the attitudes of those who actively practice their religious beliefs differ from other groups in society and, if so, whether those differences are consistent with the underlying goals of social policy.     

从民族之镜到现代之境——20世纪中国哲学思想逻辑的基本演变

20世纪中国哲学的历史就是一个从确立现代民族意识(无论是反传统的,还是拥护传统的,其实在这一点上都是民族主义的)到形成现代化的社会意识形态的过程首先是一面民族之镜,一种民族精神的折射;其次也是一面现代之镜,是对现代文明的接受与批判。这是一个现代的形式(现代西方的哲学、科学、文化范畴、政治经济制度)与民族的灵魂(传统文化心理)的冲突与融合的过程;是一个用民族之镜反映与接受现代世界文明的、艰难痛苦的观念转变过程,一个逐步走进现代社会现实之境的、批判性反思性的曲折实践过程。     

Multiculturalism and social cohesion: A Japanese community’s perceptions of “being Australian”

Based on a large‐scale survey conducted with parents from Japanese language schools in Sydney in 2015, this paper aims to review multiple dimensions of social cohesion in the Japanese ethnic community in Australia. Looking at several indices such as economic, political, and cultural integration, the paper describes the social profile of the Japanese ethnic community, questioning the generic perception of the community as a coherent body of middle‐class migrants in Australia. This was achieved through a comparative analysis with outcomes of a national survey of the Australian population on social cohesion and draws attention to the ways in which a particular sense of social cohesion with Australian society is constructed by Japanese migrants. The study found a differentiated sense of belonging to the local community, country of residence (Australia), and nation of origin (Japan). It found communal diversity in the Japanese community resulting from there being a majority of women migrants who were part of cross‐border marriages and their children living in multicultural family circumstances. It was concluded that this configuration within the community leads to advocacy related to a re‐identification as a possible ethnic group of migrants that should be recognized in an inclusive migration settlement policy in Australia.     

CONTESTING FAIRNESS AND FRAGMENTING GROUPS: CULTURAL NARRATIVES OF TAXATION AND CITIZENSHIP IN GLOBALISING AUSTRALIA

This paper explores the relationship between culturally mediated narratives of fairness, conceptions of the state, group and individual identities, citizenship and debates about globalisation in Australian perspectives on tax administration. It is based on a qualitative analysis of 2374 responses to a survey of attitudes to the Australian tax system. This paper emphasises that taxpayer's statements can be read as cultural acts that enrich our understanding of how people give meaning and significance to their lives. The majority of respondents reported that taxation should be levied fairly across social groups. However, this sense of fairness is being eroded by the widespread perception that the wealthy are avoiding their “fair share” of taxes. However, although citizens view tax administration as increasingly unfair, there is no evidence of wholesale disengagement from the system. The majority of people believe that the tax system has legitimacy and that it can be reformed. There is still scope for policy innovation that reinstates a sense of fairness, equity and balance to the tax system.     

National Identity Crisis in Developing Countries in the Global Age and Its Causes

After the 1990s, with the end of the Cold War, great changes have occurred in the world scenario, with ethnic clashes and national conflicts becoming all the more salient, making national identity a hot topic in reality and the academia. To address the issue of national identity in the age of globalization, a deep-going theoretical discussion of the logic behind it is necessary, a discussion that covers the nature of both ethno-cultural identity and national identity, the superiority of national identity to ethno-cultural identity and the logic behind national identity crisis. In terms of the need for social identity, globalization, while changing the power structure of the world, weakens the autonomy of developing countries, especially that of those which are still in the process of modernization and are confronted with risks inherent in social transformation and where a resultant structural imbalance undermines the state’s integrity and control, making national identity less appealing to ethnic groups. As a result, regional ethnic identity comes to the fore, leading to national identity crises in developing countries.     

地缘政治视角下的孙中山海权思想探析

孙中山顺应了20世纪初世界海洋战略竞争的大前潮,从思想和实践展示了他对海权的高度认知,成为近代中国海权观形成的重要标志。以地缘政治为视角,可以看到孙中山对海权与国家政治、海权与国家经济、海权与国家安全、海权与社会进步的真知灼见,是引导中华民族走向海洋强国之路的思想宝库。中国要想在未来不再重蹈近代的覆辙,就必须加强国民的海洋意识和海权观的教育,逐步把我国建设成为海洋强国。     

SPECIAL ISSUE： NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE COURSE OF GLOBALIZATION National Identity Crisis in Developing Countries in the Global Age and Its Causes

20世纪90年代以后,随着冷战的结束,世界图景发生了巨大变化,全球性族裔冲突和民族矛盾更加凸显,这使得国家认同成为现实和学术关注的重点M题。在全球化时代,要较好地处理国家认同问题,需要在基础理论层面对国家认同发生的逻辑,即民族认同的性质、国家认同的性质、陶家认同对地方民族认同以及国家认同危机发生的逻辑等进行彻底的分析。从社会认同需求的角度分析,全球化对现代世界权力结构的改变削弱了发展中国家的自主性,特别是发展中国家的现代化尚未完成,面临着社会转型的风险,呈现出结构性失衡,从而降低了国家整合治理能力,使得国家认问对民族成员的意义进一步被削弱,并引起了地方民族认同的兴起,进而导致了发展中因家的国家认同危机的发生。     

Third Way Social Governance: Where is the State?

The ‘Third Way’ politics of Blair's New Labour government of the United Kingdom has popularised a number of policy reforms centred on a supposedly new discourse of ‘devolution’, ‘inclusion’, ‘partnerships’ and ‘community’. These notions reflect a re‐emergence of the ideas and values of civil society, participation and localism. Key drivers of this discourse are: new conceptions of citizenship; a retreat from the social state to a politics of community; and a questioning of both ‘big‐state’ interventionist and competitive market approaches to public policy. These trends have resonance in the Australian context. The welfare reform agenda of the Australian Commonwealth government together with community building and engagement initiatives of State governments have been sites for these policy directions. Much of the debate surrounding these policies excludes or minimises the fundamental role of an active state by focusing on an uncritical conception of community. Drawing on the notion of network governance, an alternative framework for re‐conceptualising state‐community relations and delivering improved community outcomes is posited. The paper concludes by suggesting possible social governance methodologies for actioning this framework.     

论国家形象传播主体间的关系

国家、社会组织和个人是国家形象传播的主体,研究它们之间的关系具有现实意义。在国家形象传播活动中它们的地位不同,国家处于主导地位,社会组织处于辅助地位,而个人因数量庞大、活动灵活、分布广泛的特征使其在国家形象传播中起着不容忽视的作用。就三者的关系而言,国家与社会组织在国家形象传播活动中存在着既矛盾又统一的关系;以国家为主体的国家形象传播活动必须以构建普通国民在国家生活中的主体地位为依归,个人(国民)则以真实、具体、多触点、形象化的传播特点全方位地传递着国家形象。     

Labour Market Policy in the United States, Canada and Sweden: Addressing the Issue of Convergence

'Convergence theorists' suggest that domestic and/or global challenges and pressures are rendering welfare states broadly similar across national boundaries. 'Resilience theorists', in contrast, argue that a range of socio-political factors have allowed states to respond differentially to these pressures and maintain their distinct national social policy approaches. However, both research streams have addressed the 'welfare state' writ large in a multitude of nations and typically relied upon narrow, quantitative budgetary indicators. This study examines qualitative changes to key income security and social service programmes in one central social policy domain – labour market policy – in three nations, the United States, Canada and Sweden. It suggests that there is evidence of some degree of 'convergence' in the broadest sense of the term across these three nations. However, while both the USA and Canada have readily embraced genuinely neo-liberal restructuring, and become increasingly similar over the past two decades in this policy area, Sweden has managed to retain its distinctive social policy approach so far, despite notable changes, developments and trends. It also suggests that the character and direction of change may vary across and within policy domains in a single nation. The conclusion provides a discussion of universality, equality and solidarity, concepts that are commonly employed in accounts of welfare state change.     

From New Labour to Rudd/Gillard – transferring social policy

ABSTRACT

From 2007 to 2010, there were national Labour governments in Britain and Australia, the longest and only third time this had occurred since the second World War. The period of New Labour was closing in the UK, and in Australia the Rudd government came to power after 11 years in opposition, directly influenced by the, at times, trailblazing UK Labour government. In the domain of social policy, New Labour was a source of policy inspiration and transfer. Specifically, the Rudd/Gillard governments borrowed heavily its ‘social exclusion’ agenda, and also the use of ‘compacts’ with the third sector. This article examines the policy diffusion and transfer between the UK and Australia, and in doing so offers critical insights into the policy transfer literature. The article examines the reasons for the Australian Labor Party's adoption of these policies, and links this to wider dilemmas and identity crisis that are afflicting centre-left governments across the globe.     

CIVIC IDENTITY IN AUSTRALIA

A typology of macro‐social identities is suggested based on the strength of social attachments (strong vs. weak) and the nature of the objects‐referents of such attachments (society vs. nation), It yields three types of identity: civic, ethno‐national, and denizen. This typology is then operationalized using national survey data (1995 ISSP). The analysis reveals two modal forms of identity in Australia (the denizen identity appears to be very rare). The largest proportion (38%) of Australians embrace civic identity, and this identity is most widespread among ‘baby boomers’, tertiary educated, and the secular. Ethno‐nationalists form a sizable minority (30%), and they are predominantly older, less educated and religious people. The key issue dividing the adherents to civic and ethno‐national identity is immigration and its socioeconomic consequences. The proportion of ethno‐nationalists is likely to shrink in the process of generational replacement, educational revolution and progressive secularization.     

Children and safety in Australian policy: Implications for organisations and practitioners

Child safety is now a national policy priority in Australia. Extensive enquiries and reviews have escalated legislative and policy responses focused on developing, maintaining and monitoring “child safe” organisations. The recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse point to the importance of cultural conditions within organisations in supporting child safety and the need for responsive change in some organisations. Drawing on a recent policy analysis, undertaken as part of a larger Australian Research Council Discovery Project, this article examines how children and safety are constructed, within and across relevant state and federal government policies in Australia, and the implications of this. Distinctions are drawn between conceptualisations of children within the broader education policy context and two specific policy contexts in which children are considered particularly vulnerable to abuse – out‐of‐home care and disability. The findings indicate that policy discourses of “child safe” potentially foster different emphases and approaches in organisations. These have implications for the way children are positioned in relation to their safety, how their rights are recognised and implemented, and what is required to foster cultural conditions within organisations to best support children’s safety and wellbeing.     

Constructing Racism in Australia

There is a dearth of empirical evidence on the extent of racist attitudes, broadly defined, in Australia. A telephone survey of 5056 residents in Queensland and NSW examined attitudes to cultural difference, perceptions of the extent of racism, tolerance of specific groups, ideology of nation, perceptions of Anglo‐Celtic cultural privilege, and belief in racialism, racial separatism and racial hierarchy. The research was conducted within a social constructivist understanding of racisms. Racist attitudes are positively associated with age, non‐tertiary education, and to a slightly lesser extent with those who do not speak a language other than English, the Australia‐born, and with males. Anti‐Muslim sentiment is very strong, but there is also a persistence of some intolerance against Asian, Indigenous and Jewish Australians. Those who believe in racial hierarchy and separatism (old racisms) are a minority and are largely the same people who self‐identify as being prejudiced. The ‘new racisms’ of cultural intolerance, denial of Anglo‐privilege and narrow constructions of nation have a much stronger hold. Nonetheless, sociobiologically related understandings of race and nation remain linked to these new racisms. Narrow understandings of what constitutes a nation (and a community) are in tension with equally widely held liberal dispositions towards cultural diversity and dynamism. Encouragingly, most respondents recognise racism as a problem in Australian society and this is a solid basis for anti‐racism initiatives.