Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Understanding party unity is important. Knowing the degree of party unity in a parliament is a key to understanding the legislature itself. The aim of this paper is to facilitate comparative research by discussing the name, definition and measurement of party unity, and to exemplify with various up to date measurements from the Danish parliament. Party unity is a suitable term for the degree to which party group members act as one (externally). An analysis of Danish party unity illustrates questions one can ask about the measurement of party unity. Party unity figures in Denmark are very high and this general picture appears to be robust.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: When killing takes place along ethnic lines, dealing with identity in the aftermath of violence is a complex challenge. Some states, such as Rwanda, choose a reconciliation strategy that seeks unity in homogeneity. Others, such as Bosnia, aim to find unity in diversity. This paper focuses on children - a crucially important constituency in terms of building sustainable peace - and examines the identity-based unity and reconciliation strategies adopted in schools. Rwanda is following a unity in homogeneity course, discouraging classification as Hutu and Tutsi and promoting a "Rwandan" recategorization. In schools, Hutu and Tutsi are taught together and follow the same curriculum. Ethnicity is not talked about and students are not ethnically identified. A moratorium has been placed on history teaching since 1994 in recognition that the history taught prior to the genocide was divisive. While including all in a single homogeneous group may bring unity, it may do so at the cost of reconciliation since unity is legislated rather than organic. Furthermore, in denying the reality of ethnic groups, the Rwandan approach does not eradicate them, but dangerously represses their existence below the surface. Rwanda’s strategy also silences criticism by labeling it divisive. Some are beginning to wonder if a unity in diversity strategy, that takes the importance of groups and their experiences more seriously, might better contribute to genuine unity, reconciliation and peacebuilding in Rwanda. In contrast, since its 1992-5 war, Bosnia is pursuing a unity in diversity strategy. There are three parallel school systems for Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs and the children of different groups are not taught together. While there are some common lessons, the three groups follow separate curriculum and learn about different histories, languages and cultures. While in contrast to Rwanda, the Bosnian strategy takes the importance of groups seriously and does not presume they are erasable, the Bosnian strategy prioritizes diversity at the cost of unity, fostering separation and alienation of groups. This paper comparatively examines the Bosnian and Rwandan reconciliation strategies and argues that these states have much to learn from each other.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Integration is a key element of the West European Model that most of Europe has now adopted. The European Union (EU) has helped guarantee peace and prosperity on the European continent, but it is now threatened by cultural tensions. A failure to understand the role of culture in the integration process has led many to continue to advocate an unworkable federal structure for Europe. Federation is unlikely because Europe is missing a democratic people, a demos. Traditional integration theory does not account for this missing demos, but the “constructivism” of Karl Deutsch holds promise. He argued that common values, a shared way of life, a spirit of community, and a “we-feeling” were essential to the creation of an amalgamated community. He did not identify from where such a felt community might emerge; I believe the answer lies in culture defined as “the overall way of life of a people.” Religion is a very important element of culture, maybe its most important component, and its central role in the shaping of new social communities is attested to by Tocqueville, Weber and Walzer. If religion is important to the shaping of new communities, it should be important to the shaping of the EU.
I argue that the “religious culture” of Europe has shaped integration.
By religious culture (which can be subdivided into confessional cultures such as Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy, etc.) I mean the ideas, ecclesiastical organizations and political institutions that characterize a religious tradition. Religious (confessional) culture provides the sense of community necessary to create a true demos. It also provides the ideas and institutional structures needed to encourage or discourage integration. The European Union contains two major confessional cultures, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, that continue to divide Europe over the nature of integration and make it impossible for a demos to develop. Federation in Europe is thus improbable at this point in history.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This session explores how young people in the Bay Area are experiencing its racial and cultural diversity and what new identities, networks and political movements they are developing. Panelists will speak from a range of perspectives--academic research, grassroots activism and advocacy, and divergent life experiences.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This research study assesses the impact of an information technology initiative on students at Grove City College. A random sample of alumni from the classes of 1997, 1998, and 2000 were surveyed to gauge their attitudes about a technology program instituted in 1994, which provided laptop computers to all incoming freshman. The authors adopt a strategy of framing their research questions in terms of the laptop program being an attempt to create digital unity on campus as an antidote to the threat of a digital divide. In addition to demonstrating a positive change in attitudes after the program was initiated, the study considers how this experience affected the alumni’s computing in the workplace after graduation and reveals relationships between the frequency of use of various computer applications and the alumni’s field of study at the college.