----------------------------------------------------------- EUROZINE NEWSLETTER 01.2007 ----------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article of the month: Fanaticism. A brief history of the concept 2. New partner: Fronesis 3. New articles
----------------------------------------------------------- 1. ARTICLE OF THE MONTH: FANATICISM. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT ----------------------------------------------------------- "Fanaticism often appears as an invariable that transcends historical events, or even as a characteristic of fantastical entities such as 'the Arab mind'", writes sociologist Alberto Toscano in "Reset". "Fanaticism, as we cannot help but notice with painful frequency, is often projected onto an enemy with whom, by definition, one cannot negotiate."
Toscano traces the origins of the term to Martin Luther's description of the peasant rebels, where "the mechanism that turns the condemnation of 'fanaticism' into the justification for cruel (and fanatical) political and military repression" first appears. It is here, writes Toscano, at the dawn of the discourse on fanaticism, that the oppositional and biased character of the term shows itself most clearly.
In German Enlightenment thought, which can be characterized as a philosophical response to the historical trauma and prospect of emancipation represented by the French Revolution, fanaticism was seen first as a transgression of the limits of human reason, a desire to "see something beyond all bounds of sensibility" (Kant), and later as a necessary stage in the universalization of Spirit (Hegel).
Since the twentieth century, fanaticism has been branded as a pathology to be eradicated. Labelling every enemy -- from the communist to the terrorist -- a fanatic has led to a purely ideological dichotomy between liberalism and fanaticism, writes Toscano. "Such a vision of fanaticism forgets that liberals are perfectly capable of causing enormous harm, or indeed evil (especially when legitimated by a 'just war', which wars against 'fanatics' are, by definition), and that not all reactionaries can be classified as 'fanatics'."
Alberto Toscano Fanaticism: A brief history of the concept
This article is available in English and Italian: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-07-toscano-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-07-toscano-it.html
----------------------------------------------------------- 2. NEW PARTNER: FRONESIS ----------------------------------------------------------- Swedish "Fronesis" is the newest journal to join the Eurozine network. With a radical conception of politics, theory, and critique, it aims to help the reader to navigate through a changing social and intellectual terrain. In Sweden, "Fronesis's" membership has made headlines:
"'Fronesis' has passed through the needle's eye", writes Swedish daily "Sydsvenskan", reporting on the journal's new partner status. "We have been lobbying for this for several years", explains Henrik Gundenäs, one of "Fronesis's", editors, as he celebrates Eurozine membership together with his colleagues in the small office in Malmö.
"In a very short time, 'Fronesis' has established itself as an extremely important journal in Sweden", says Eurozine's editor-in-chief Carl Henrik Fredriksson to "Sydsvenskan".
Read more about "Fronesis", including its current issue: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-11-newsitem-en.html
----------------------------------------------------------- 3. NEW ARTICLES ----------------------------------------------------------- Hermann Rudolph THE SUPPRESSED DIVISION In the reunified Germany, the public memory of the division has been suppressed. But these four decades were crippling: more visibly in the East, less so in the West. 03.01.2007
This article is available in German: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-01-03-rudolph-de.html
Geert Lovink BLOGGING, THE NIHILIST IMPULSE Media theorist and Internet activist Geert Lovink formulates a theory of weblogs that goes beyond the usual rhetoric of citizens' journalism. 02.01.2007
This article is available in English and Danish: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-01-02-lovink-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-01-02-lovink-da.html
Rainer Bauböck WHO ARE THE CITIZENS OF EUROPE? The tension between freedom of movement and national self-determination of citizenship within the EU has the potential to create serious conflicts in the future. 23.12.2006
This article is available in English and Spanish: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-23-baubock-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-23-baubock-es.html
Ulf Kadritzke NO PLACES LEFT ON THE LAST FLIGHT. THE MIDDLE CLASS IN THE VULNERABILITY ZONE The job market is becoming ever more unstable for the middle class, who are finding that there's no place for them on the "last flight" out of the rising economic crisis. 21.12.2006
This article is available in German: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-21-ukadritzke-de.html
Mojammed El Oifi THE LONDON MOUTHPIECE OF THE SAUDIS In crisis situations the opinion of a few lead articles from newspapers under Saudi-American control is again and again marketed as the opinion of the majority of the Arab world. In this way an "imaginary Arab world" emerges, writes political scientist Mojammed El Oifi. 21.12.2006
This article is available in German: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-21-eloifi-de.html
Claus Leggewie EQUALLY CRIMINAL? TOTALITARIAN EXPERIENCE AND EUROPEAN MEMORY Anyone who wishes to give a European society a political identity will rate the discussion and recognition of disputed memories as highly as treaties, a common currency, and open borders, writes Claus Leggewie. The question is not whether to commemorate, but how. 20.12.2006
This article is now available in German, Polish, and English: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-20-leggewie-de.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-06-01-leggewie-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-20-leggewie-pl.html
Olivier Bailly, Jean-Marc Caudron, Denis Lambert IKEA FOR THE WORLD Things are going well for IKEA. Sales are better than ever and the furniture giant has found a booming market in China and Russia. But are its workers in places like India and Bulgaria benefiting from this success? 19.12.2006
This article is available in German: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-19-bailly-de.html
Les Back PHOBOCITY. LONDON AND THE WAR ON TERROR In London post-7/7, the wail of police sirens has become the soundtrack of the "phobocity". But the phobocity is not created by the suicide bombers alone -- politicians and journalists also trade on fear. 18.12.2006
This article is now available in Turkish and English: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-18-back-tr.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-11-15-back-en.html
Irena Maryniak THE POLISH PLUMBER AND THE IMAGE GAME The Polish plumber is a cliché throughout Europe, which even the Polish tourist board has made use of. However, in the UK, the joke veils a growing resentment towards workers from the new EU states. 18.12.2006
This article is now available in Turkish and English: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-18-maryniak-tr.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-11-15-maryniak-en.html
Robert Misik SIMULATED CITIES, SEDATED LIVING The shopping mall as paradigmatic site of lifestyle capitalism If the imperative of consumer capitalism is "lead us into temptation", then the shopping mall is its cathedral. Increasingly, city centres -- or "brand zones" -- are adopting the mall aesthetic. 15.12.2006
This article is available in German and English: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-15-misik-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-15-misik-de.html
Zygmunt Bauman, Lukasz Galecki THE UNWINNABLE WAR. AN INTERVIEW WITH ZYGMUNT BAUMAN In the East, impoverished masses are lured into anti-Westernism; in the West, the State seeks to regain its legitimacy via the War on Terror. A vicious cycle of global insecurity is underway. 13.12.2006
This article is available in English: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-13-bauman-en.html
Alexander Kiossev GAZE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT A social theory of recognition must include an analysis of social stigmatization at a pre-discursive level -- that of the gaze and perception. 12.12.2006
This article is available in English and Bulgarian: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-12-kiossev-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-12-kiossev-bg.html
Cynthia Ghorra-Gobin POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AS RESPONSE TO URBAN RIOTING. A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Urban rioting in France has highlighted that assimilation policy is outdated. A "French multiculturalism" needs to be introduced along with a rethinking of the system of political representation. 11.12.2006
This article is available in English: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-11-ghorragobin-en.html
Axel Honneth, Krassimir Stojanov RECOGNITION IS A BASIC MECHANISM OF SOCIAL EXISTENCE. AN INTERVIEW WITH AXEL HONNETH Axel Honneth on the heritage of the Frankfurt School, the conflict between neo-Marxism and recognition theory, and the ambivalence of the European Left towards democratization in the post-Soviet space. 08.12.2006
This article is available in German and Bulgarian: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-08-honneth-de.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-08-honneth-bg.html
Jirí Pehe THE VIRTUAL FRONTIERS OF EUROPE Are countries that adhere to Enlightenment values and institutional norms, but that are not geographically part of Europe, also to be considered European? 04.12.2006
This article is available in English: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-04-pehe-en.html
Jan Philipp Reemtsma MUST WE RESPECT RELIGIOSITY? ON QUESTIONS OF FAITH AND THE PRIDE OF THE SECULAR SOCIETY Secular society's "supermarket of faiths" principle appears from religion's standpoint to be indifferent and mistaken. Jan Philipp Reemtsma searches for the basis for the respect between believer and non-believer that can prevent this tension from becoming intolerance. 01.12.2006
This article is now available in Danish, German, English, Norwegian, and Slovenian: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-01-reemtsma-da.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2005-08-22-reemtsma-de.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2005-12-02-reemtsma-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-02-20-reemtsma-no.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2005-12-02-reemtsma-sl.html
Orhan Pamuk NEIGHBOURHOODS. OPENING ADDRESS AT THE 18TH EUROPEAN MEETING OF CULTURAL JOURNALS For Orhan Pamuk, "neighbourhood" implies openness to neighbouring cultures but also provincial mistrust. Cultural journals' role, he says, should be to encourage non-conformity. 01.12.2006
This article is now available in Danish and English: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-12-01-pamuk-da.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-10-13-pamuk-en.html