Globalization & Self-Determination Movements: International Conference to Be Held at Pomona College in January

CLAREMONT, Calif., Jan 13, 2003 (ASCRIBE NEWS via COMTEX) -- Since the 1990s, there has been a huge global increase in local violent conflicts and civil wars, for reasons from issues of ethnic and religion identity to groups trying to escape state domination. Among current conflicts are the civil war in Algeria, the recent succession of Somaliland from rest of Somalia, the war in Congo, and the conflict in Sri Lanka.

At the Jan. 21-22 international conference on "Globalization & Self-Determination Movements," being held at Pomona College in Claremont, California, scholars from the United States and Europe will examine these conflicts to try to understand why this increase is happening.

According to Pierre Englebert, assistant professor of politics at Pomona College and one of the conference organizers, "Factors in the international system may be triggering these local conflicts. The end of cold war brought an increase in the flows of financial transactions, population migration, and cultural globalization through the media...The international provision of economic resources through trade, aid, investment, remittances and crime is often crucial in determining the strength of self-determination movements and the nature and outcome of the struggle."

The conference will explore the cultural and economic linkages between external factors and movements of self-determination, by reviewing existing sources and by three case studies, in Central Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Mahgreb. Some of the presentations will also examine the blurred lines between liberation movements and terrorist movements.

"A major hypothesis," explains Englebert, "is that these identities, constructed or accentuated by local leaders, are often heavily influenced by global cultural forces. A second hypothesis is that these global cultural links frame and help determine the source, nature and quantity of political and economic resources received by groups supporting or opposing the struggles."

The Conference is sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation and events will be held in the Pomona College Smith Campus Center, Room 208, 170 East Sixth St., Claremont, California (in east Los Angeles County). The conference is free to attend, and no reservations are necessary. The conference begins at 8:30 a.m. on January 21 and at 9 a.m. on January 22.

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