Alexander Clarkson

Home and away: immigration and political violence in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1945–90

This article compares and contrasts the impact of the Cold War upon three immigrant groups in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Spanish, Iranian and Croatian communities. In particular, it focuses on the manner in which relations between political movements within these communities and West German political milieux evolved during this period. Since ideological tension between the American and Soviet blocs had an impact on the homeland states of each of these immigrant communities, the global nature of Cold War conflict helped foster a set of, at times paradoxical, strategic alliances between immigrant political movements and West German state and party-political institutions. The attitude of an immigrant political movement towards Soviet Communism in general, and East Germany in particular, could therefore have a considerable impact on relations between its own ethnic community and the rest of West German society.

Russian dreams and Prussian ghosts: Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University and debates over historical memory and identity in Kaliningrad

Abstract This article examines how the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University and the Kaliningrad State Technical University have come to exert considerable influence over debates surrounding historical memory and identity in the Kaliningrad region. Under the direct control of the Russian Federation, the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad is surrounded by member states of the European Union. While the region’s universities have helped to strengthen links between Kaliningrad and institutions across the European Union, the way the students and staff interact with the Russian state reflects cultural tensions in Kaliningrad society. A detailed examination of the history and identity of Kaliningrad’s universities can therefore provide deeper insights into the region’s balancing act between Europe and Russia as well as the ways in which universities can influence local debates over history and identity.

Conclusion: Assessing the Dark Side of Globalization

In the final two decades of the 20th century, the erosion of barriers to the movement of people and capital reshaped urban life across the globe. While there were undoubtedly differences in how various cities have adapted to an increasingly interconnected world, the socially disruptive consequences of globalization have also led to the blurring of the boundaries between the legal and illicit in many large cities. The intensification of trade and transport links made it more difficult for governments to control the movement of people and capital, resulting in a significant expansion of immigrant communities in many major cities. As part of wider transnational diasporas, political and economic networks within these communities have often reshaped established power structures in ways that have helped shadow economies to flourish. The free movement of capital has had a similar transformative effect, creating new opportunities for legal as well as illicit entrepreneurs in some cases as well as speeding the decline of established business networks in others.