Dear Paul
First: The way the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is handled
disqualifies both sides in many ways. We really do not have to top it with
slogans which are neither true nor false but just offensive!
Second: Your homepage is certainly a piece of hard work. Unfortunately I am
not paid for such things, and do not have the time to really enter details.
You should rework it to a paper and submit it to a journal in critical
political geography or geopolitics. This will probably provide you reviews
in more detail. Anyway, I have at least four short comments in respect to
your homepage:
1. There are two quite different notions of "nation". The one, and older
one, which is used by most aggressive forms of nationalism defines nations
on ethnic grounds. As longs as this is not combined with claims for an
ethnically purified territory, one cannot speak of racism. The other form
(usually related to Renan) treats nations as groups which are constituted
by a state, not the other way round. Again, this concept is not racist per
se. Yet, many policies within and between territorial states may reveal
racist elements. Unless you take this differentiation carefully into
account, most of your arguments based on nation / nationalism loose their
power of persuasion.
2. If one equals regulations that are based on biological decent with
racism, one might also call families racist. Again, I think a more
differentiated, a more thoughtful treatment would strengthen the
argumentation, since some rights based on biological decent are clearly
racist. But when precisely, according to what concept of racism?
3. Citizenship is a concept to build a long term community, based on formal
characteristics. Its purpose is to handle inclusion/exclusion. In this
respect it is first and above all a quality that show all organisations (no
organisation without membership). Since the system of territorial states is
a world-system, its territoriality is linked with the concept of
self-governance or autonomy. The exclusion side of a state is thus at the
same time its non-interference side (at least in "theory"). On what grounds
could a citizen of country A claim the rights that a state B provides its
own citizens? There are certainly such conditions, but again, I think the
situation is a little bit too intricate to equal citizenship almost
directly with racism.
(Sorry for my imperfect English.)
Best wishes
Wolfgang Zierhofer, Nijmegen
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