case study linguistic conflict

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Language conflict and language rights: Ethnolinguistic perspectives on human conflict by William D. Davies and Stanley Dubinsky (review)

• Linguistic Society of America
• Volume 96, Number 4, December 2020
• pp. 940-946
• 10.1353/lan.2020.0068
• View Citation

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• Psychol Belg
• v.57(3); 2017

Insights into the Belgian Linguistic Conflict from a (Social) Psychological Perspective: Introduction to the Special Issue

Nicolas van der linden.

1 Université Libre de Bruxelles, BE

2 Ghent University, BE

“If you think you understand the Belgian linguistic conflict, then obviously no one explained it properly to you” (Unknown).

In some way, Belgium is a contradiction. On the one hand, the country has greatly contributed to the political construction of Europe. On the other hand, it remains mired in the ongoing conflict between the two main linguistic groups: Flemings, 1 who inhabit the northern part of the country and speak Dutch, and French-speakers or Francophones, who mainly live in Wallonia (the south of Belgium) and Brussels (which is geographically located in Flanders but is predominantly French speaking). This seemingly intractable conflict has culminated in two major recent political crises (in 2007–2008 and 2010–2011), which have fueled fears in some people that Belgium would eventually split ( De Winter & Baudewyns, 2009 ; Rimé, Bouchat, Klein, & Licata, 2015 ).

Confronted with the dual movement of supranational integration and subnational regionalism, Belgian political institutions have been profoundly transformed since World War II. In response to requests stemming from both sides of the conflict, the Kingdom of Belgium has moved from a unitary to a federal state ( Covell, 1986 ; Swenden & Jans, 2006 ). With 11 million inhabitants, it is now composed of three regions, which are defined on a territorial basis and deal with economic policy: Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels representing, respectively, 58, 32, and 10% of the population. It also comprises three communities, which are defined on a linguistic basis and deal with cultural and educational policies: the Dutch-speaking community, the French-speaking community, and a small German-speaking community representing, respectively, approximately 56, 43.5, and .5% of the population. The Dutch- and French-speaking communities are both active in Brussels in a ratio of 1:9 ( Hooghe, 2004 ). 2 In other words, two layers of federal entities coexist within the same national territory. This reality is sometimes puzzling to the outside observer. Under the heading “Belgian is a small country with a complicated political structure”, The Washington Post ( Titeca, 2017 ) even proposed to draw lessons from African politics in order to shed light on the apparent disorder prevailing in the land of surrealism.

Because of its intricate political and linguistic makeup, Belgium provides researchers interested in intergroup relations and intergroup conflict with a particularly rich field of investigation. However, Olivier Klein and Bernard Rimé, who convened a symposium titled “What has psychology to say about the Belgian linguistic conflict?” during the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Belgian Association for Psychological Sciences, noted that psychology in general, and social psychology in particular, still had to make a major contribution to the understanding of the Belgian linguistic conflict. This Special Issue aims to make a start in filling this void.

Belgium: Historical and political contexts

The current dynamics of the Belgian linguistic conflict cannot be fully grasped without knowledge of the historical processes that created Belgium’s institutions and political culture. The history of the conflict can be divided into four episodes ( Mnookin & Verbeke, 2009 ): Domination by the French-speaking elites, breakthrough of the Flemish movement, role-reversal in economic prosperity, and a changing institutional structure.

Belgium gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1830. Back then, the linguistic distribution of the population was very similar to the current one: a majority of Dutch-speakers, a minority of French-speakers, and a much smaller minority of German-speakers ( Hooghe, 2004 ). However, the state was unitary and unilingual. Throughout the territory, the language of power and administration was French. Language use was also a marker of social status: In general, people speaking Dutch or German were from modest backgrounds, whereas people speaking French were from the upper classes or the nobility ( Dassargues, Perrez, & Reuchamps, 2014 ).

In reaction to the domination of the French-speaking elites, which persisted until the 1960s, a Flemish movement was established ( Vos, 2002 ). After years of struggle, it obtained the recognition of Dutch as an official language in 1898. Whereas its initial claim was a better recognition of Flemish culture and language within a unified Belgium, the Flemish movement evolved towards a sub-nationalism defined in ethnic terms ( Martiniello, 1998 ).

The rise of Walloon nationalism came only after World War II ( Hooghe, 2004 ). Until then, the steel and mining industries of Wallonia had been the engines of Belgium’s prosperity. However, after World War II, Wallonia’s economy started to decline, whereas the Flemish economy experienced a boom. The balance between the two regions’ gross domestic product per capita occurred in 1965. By the end of the 1980s, Flanders’ economy had established a considerable lead, and this gap was further widened in the 1990s. In reaction to this new situation, Walloon elites requested more autonomy in order to develop policies more adapted to the region’s struggling economy ( Dassargues et al., 2014 ).

Requests for more linguistic and cultural autonomy from Flemish political parties and requests for more economic autonomy from French-speaking political parties provided the backdrop for the radical institutional transformations that have occurred in Belgium since the 1960s. In 1962 and 1963, legislation was approved which created a permanent language border and resulted in the division of the territory in three monolingual (i.e., Dutch, French, and German) areas ( Vos, 2002 ). Within this legislation, Brussels received a special status as a bilingual area. The linguistic border was subsequently used to define the limits of the constituent parts (i.e., the communities and regions) of the Belgian federation. With time, more and more powers were transferred from the federal level to the communities and regions. Currently, French-speaking political parties consider these evolutions sufficient, whereas some Dutch-speaking political parties want more constitutional reforms. The latter request the abrogation of language facilities, which were granted to municipalities adjacent to the language border as part of the language legislation. Six of those currently crystallize the linguistic tensions ( Hooghe, 2004 ). In these Flemish municipalities surrounding Brussels, French-speakers, who often form a considerable part of the population, have the right to deal with the authorities in their mother tongue. However, a more contentious issue is related to the control and allocation of governmental resources ( Mnookin & Verbeke, 2009 ). Specifically, some Flemish representatives take issue with the fact that Wallonia receives more in terms of public expenditures than it contributes to the state revenues. In other words, they perceive that the “lazy” Walloons are unjustly benefiting from the hard earned wealth of their northern neighbors and call for the regionalization of national entitlement programs. The largest political party in both Flanders and Belgium, the Flemish nationalist N-VA, is at the forefront of these requests. Its president, Bart De Wever, has come to embody French-speakers’ fears that Belgium would eventually split (for an overview of the Belgian political landscape, see Meeusen, Boonen & Dassonneville, this issue).

The presentation of two other, overlapping, episodes allows drawing a more complete picture of the language divide in Belgium. Diverging representations associated with the two great wars have weighted heavily on relations between the two main linguistic groups ( Vos, 2002 ). Although reality is much more nuanced, French-speakers usually believe that their ancestors were more often resistance fighters and Flemings more often collaborators during both wars, whereas Flemings usually believe that the repression of collaborators was more severe in Flanders than in Wallonia. 3 Despite requests from Flemish representatives, no amnesty was granted to convicted collaborators up to now, a situation that continues to spur public debates ( De Meulemeester, 2014 ; see also De Guissmé, Lastrego, Mélotte, and Licata, this issue).

The great wars transformed Belgium in another way. After World War I, German-speaking territories, located to the east of the country, were ceded from Germany to Belgium in compensation for losses and damages caused by the war. They were regained by Germany during World War II only to be ceded back to Belgium after the war. Because of (mostly alleged) sympathies and collaboration with the Nazi occupier, German-speakers were discriminated against ( Dewulf, 2009 ). For instance, after the war, French became the only language in administration and education ( Markusse, 1999 ). Charged with treason by their fellow Belgians and in a social climate of suspicion, they responded by showcasing themselves as “good” Belgians. They also isolated themselves from the other federal entities ( Wagener, 2013 ). This has translated in two contrasting attitudes, the most prevalent being disinterest and distrust of politics, the other being aspiration for more autonomy. The latter attitude has led to requests that powers bestowed on the regions (e.g., economy) be transferred to the German-speaking community. Because of its small size and limited contribution to institutional reforms, the German-speaking community has usually been neglected in analyses of the Belgian linguistic conflict (see Luminet et al., 2012 ; Swenden, 2002 ). The article by Asbrock and Van Hiel (this issue) marks a sharp break with this trend.

Belgium as a case study for (social) psychology

A fruitful strategy for investigating the dynamics of intergroup conflict involves considering these dynamics in a specific national context and across multiple levels of analysis ( Pettigrew, 1998 ; Tajfel, 1982 ). Such requirements flow naturally from the recognition that the relevance, meaning, and intensity of constructs, as well as their embeddedness in a complex of influential factors, may vary in different (national) contexts ( Vollhardt, & Bilali, 2008 ).

There are good reasons to single out Belgium as a case study. First, although the linguistic conflict has been intense at times, it has been confined to electoral competition and non-violent street protest ( Hooghe, 2004 ). This opens up the possibility to study the dynamics of intergroup conflict in a setting where structural ‘violence’ (i.e., covert violence that harms individuals slowly through societal arrangements, such as the uneven distribution of resources and power) rather than direct violence (i.e., overt violence that involves immediate attacks on someone’s well-being and can quickly cause harm; Galtung, 1981 ) characterizes intergroup relations. Such approach has not been systematically adopted for some psychological concepts relevant to the study of intergroup conflict (e.g., collective victimhood; but see Jasini, Delvaux, Mesquita, this issue).

Secondly, Belgium is a multilingual society where members of the different linguistic communities not only live to a large extent in territorially distinct territories but also partake in different public spheres ( Sinardet, 2009 ). Many factors have contributed to this state of affairs, starting with limited linguistic knowledge within the population: whereas more than half of the Flemish population has a good to excellent command of French, people having a good to excellent command of Dutch represent only 31 and 16% of the population in Brussels and Wallonia, respectively. Knowledge of German is even less widespread as people having a good to excellent command of this language represent only 19, 12, and 2% of the population in Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia, respectively ( Van Parys & Wauters, 2006 ). 4 The institutional changes initiated in the 1960’s have also led to separations between Dutch-, French-, and German-speaking political and media systems. The once unitary political system broke into three linguistic segments between which there is no electoral competition. Except for Brussels and the facility municipalities, all Belgian geographical areas are under strictly monolingual regime. Hence, the political system provides no incentive to respond to the demands from the two other communities ( Swenden, 2002 ). The same can be said about the media system, with each community having its own public broadcasting organization, while the commercial radio and television stations are also monolingual. Moreover, media report only to a limited extent on news about the other communities, and political debates about nationally relevant topics are conducted almost exclusively with representatives of the ingroup ( Sinardet, De Swert, & Dandoy, 2007 ). The most tangible consequence of these breakdowns is that Belgian citizens know little or nothing about the other communities ( Billiet, Maddens, & Frognier, 2006 ). According to Sinardet ( 2009 ), in such a segregated context, the development of a national identity is hardly possible, whereas attempts at (mis)representing the different Belgian linguistic communities as homogeneous groups with opposed public opinions are made easier, which creates a breeding ground for ethno-nationalist discourse. This context also has direct implications in terms of the type of threat that Flemings or French-speakers elicit in the eyes of the other group (see Meuleman, Abts, & Meeusen, this issue).

A third reason Belgium is worthy of selection as a case study for testing, revising or developing models of intergroup conflict is that it provides an ideal setting to examine relative groups status in flux. Indeed, a few studies have suggested that the relative status of the two main linguistic groups is not self-evident. From an objective standpoint, whereas Flemings are a majority in Belgium, they are a minority in Brussels, the opposite being true for French-speakers ( Klein & Azzi, 2001 ). From a subjective standpoint, Klein et al. ( 2012 ) pointed out that some of the central traits of the Flemish stereotypes about French-speakers are typically associated with high-status groups. These traits, commonly found in surveys, are “arrogant”, “contemptuous”, “haughty”, or “feeling superior” (e.g., Nuttin, 1976 ). However, this high status association does not reflect a material reality: on most objective indices (numerical size, power, etc.), French-speakers constitute a lower-status group. One can only interpret these traits as a function of the frame of reference provided by a representation of Flanders’ history in which French-speakers “dominated” the region. Based on these and other observations, Klein et al. ( 2012 ) proposed that perceived relative status varies depending on which dimension of the conflict (linguistic vs. economic) is most salient at a given time (evidence substantiating this model is presented in Klein, Bouchat, Azzi, and Luminet, this issue). Such observations and analysis run counter to widely used psychological theorizing like social identity theory ( Tajfel, 1982 ) or the stereotype content model ( Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002 ), according to which the relative status is determined mainly, if not exclusively, by numerical size, status (or prestige), and power.

Individually, none of the previous characteristics is unique to the Belgian conflict. Canada and Switzerland, for instance, are also hosts to nonviolent conflicts between their linguistic communities, which, like Dutch-, French-, and German-speakers in Belgium, are living mainly in territorially distinct regions ( Bougie, Usborne, de la Sablonnière, & Taylor, 2011 ; Stojanovic, 2009 ). And in the case of Northern Ireland, double minority and double majority models have been developed to account for the fact that the perceived relative status of Catholics and Protestants is elusive: The members of each group can feel or act as either minority or majority members depending on the interpersonal or intergroup context ( Stevenson, Condor, & Abell, 2007 ). However, the combination of these characteristics probably makes for a unique conflict setting in Belgium.

Review of past research

Although still relatively rare, some attempts by psychologists have been made to understand the dynamics of the Belgian intergroup conflict. These included studies on stereotypes and intergroup attitudes ( Klein et al., 2012 ; Leyens & Yzerbyt, 1992 ; Mesquita, Delvaux, Klein, Licata, Mercy, & Rimé, 2010 ; Nuttin, 1976 ), (sub-)national identification ( Rimé et al., 2015 ) citizenship representations ( Duriez, Reijerse, Luyckx, Vanbeselaere, & Meeus, 2013 ; Meeus, Duriez, Vanbeselaere, & Boen, 2010 ; Sanchez-Mazas, Van Humskerken, & Casini, 2003 ), attributions ( Klein & Licata, 2001 ), justice perceptions ( Klein & Azzi, 2001 ; Klein et al., 2012 ), the impact of the media ( Euwema & Verbeke, 2009 ), as well as collective memory and intergroup emotions ( Alarcón-Henríquez, Licata, Leys, Van der Linden, Klein, & Mercy, 2010 ; Heenen-Wolff, Verougstraete, & Bazan, 2012 ; Klein et al., 2012 ; Mesquita et al., 2010 ; Rimé et al., 2015 ). Although the most frequent approach has been to use the Belgian linguistic conflict to answer questions and test predictions derived from psychological theories (e.g., Leyens & Yzerbyt, 1992 ), a few studies have taken the conflict as a starting point for their analysis (e.g., Klein et al., 2012 ).

In line with the results of studies in sociology and political sciences (e.g., Billiet, Maddens, & Frognier, 2006 ), analyses conducted by Rimé et al. ( 2015 ) revealed that Flemings identified less with Belgium and more with their region than French-speakers did. Besides variations in levels of identification, past research also documented differences in citizenship representations ( Duriez, Reijerse, Luyckx, Vanbeselaere, & Meeus, 2013 ; Sanchez-Mazas, Van Humskerken, & Casini, 2003 ): whereas Flemings tend to define citizenship in ethnic terms, French-speakers tend to define it in civic terms. Moreover, two studies by Meeus, Duriez, Vanbeselaere, and Boen ( 2010 ) sought an explanation for the positive association usually observed among Flemings between subnational identification and outgroup derogation, and found support for a mediation hypothesis whereby identification with Flanders was associated with a more ethnic representation of citizenship, and consequentially a greater inclination to display ethnic prejudice.

Most of the recent research has concentrated on collective memory and intergroup emotions. Results of a recent comparative survey ( Mesquita et al., 2010 ) found that Flemings and French-speakers punctuated the conflict differently: Flemings (particularly Flemish nationalists) tended to view the conflict as more ancient (median year of the onset of the conflict = 1830) than French-speakers (median = 1930), for whom the linguistic issue became a reality only when the Flemish movement radicalized. Both groups therefore view themselves as victims: Flemings as past victims of arrogant French-speakers; and French-speakers as present victims of dominant and nationalist Flemings. However, there was widespread consensus among respondents, irrespective of their mother tongue, that Flemings had suffered more from French-speakers than the other way around. Alarcón-Henríquez et al. ( 2010 ) further showed that recognition of shared past suffering can improve intergroup attitudes and lead to reconciliation between Flemings and French-speakers provided that intergroup trust is present. More recently, Rimé et al. ( 2015 ) tested the possibility that reconstructions of the past are shaped by current social conditions and interests. More specifically, they expected collective memories of victimization by French-speakers to fade among younger generations of Flemings because these collective memories would fail to provide an adequate account for the much-improved social conditions in which they are presently living compared to their ancestors. Surveying three generations of Dutch- and French-speakers, they observed generational differences consistent with their expectation: Younger generations demonstrated less consensus concerning the date of onset of the conflict, expressed a reduced perception of victimization of the in-group and an increased perception of victimization of the outgroup. Although present in the two language groups, this generational evolution was more pronounced among Flemish participants and was accompanied by corresponding changes in social identifications, intergroup attitudes, and political aspirations. Finally, closing the loop, Rimé et al. presented results suggesting that the decline in collective memories is the mechanism responsible for the lower levels of nationalist orientation observed among younger Flemings. These findings offer a possible fruitful perspective for understanding the recent decision of the N-VA not to put community issues high on its agenda during the next elections ( Rousseau, 2017 ), a decision which has puzzled many observers (B. Rimé, personal communication, September 14, 2017).

In sum, psychological studies on the Belgian linguistic conflict, although limited in number and scope, revealed some differences (in e.g., (sub-)national identification or collective memory) between Flemings and French-speakers. More importantly though, this line of research also highlighted that social psychological differences between the linguistic groups are not fixed, as they evolve partly because of changing economic and structural circumstances. Evidence from Belgium also stressed the importance of taking account of the multiplicity of identities, as the very definition of the subgroups composing the country is far from self-evident.

Summary of the contributions to the Special Issue

Building on this previous research, the different contributions to this Special Issue tackle three broad issues: 1) the differences and similarities in perspective of the different linguistic groups on specific, common issues, 2) attitudes and prejudices towards the other linguistic group(s), and 3) pathways to reconciliation between the members of the different communities.

With regard to the first theme, Klein, Bouchat, Azzi, and Luminet provide an inquiry into the differences between Flemish and Francophone citizens in the justice principles they endorse in the context of the linguistic conflict. In their two-wave longitudinal study, the authors demonstrate that such differences occur on two dimensions: language territoriality and distribution of resources. In particular, whereas among Flemish citizens (and a specific subgroup in particular), the principles of linguistic territoriality and an equity-based distribution of resources are dominant, principles of free choice in linguistic idiom and distribution based on need are most dominant among Francophone citizens. Of particular interest, these divergences are inflated in times of political conflict between the two communities, yet deflate in times of pacification.

In the second contribution within this theme, De Guissmé, Lastrego, Mélotte, and Licata reflect on the collective memories of the Flemish and Francophone communities. From this perspective, they direct their investigation to linguistic group differences with regard to attitudes towards World War II collaboration and amnesty. In two studies they demonstrate that although attitudes towards collaboration and amnesty are generally negative across groups, respondents in Flanders are less adamant in their condemnation, especially when they identified strongly with their linguistic group.

The third contribution investigates the differences and similarities between Flemish and Francophone citizens in the structure of their attitudes towards outgroups, including linguistic outgroups. As such, the study of Meeusen, Boonen and Dassonville also bridges to the second major theme in this Special Issue: intergroup stereotyping and prejudice between the different linguistic groups in Belgium. Their extensive investigation demonstrates that in citizens from both linguistic communities, negative attitudes towards the other linguistic group are part of an overarching generalized prejudice construct, which also incorporates prejudice towards other outgroups such as immigrants, homosexuals, and Jews. However, these specific prejudices have differential relationships with voting tendencies: whereas anti-immigrant feelings guide party preferences in both regions, negative attitudes towards the other linguistic group is only informative of party preference in Flanders, but has no informative value for citizens propensity to vote in Wallonia.

The similarities and differences between prejudices that specifically target the other linguistic group versus prejudice that targets immigrant groups are further dissected by Meuleman, Abts and Meeusen within a Flemish voter sample. In line with the previous contribution, the authors found a strong communality between anti-immigrant and anti-Francophone sentiment, with economic and cultural threat perceptions as a common basis. However, whereas regional ingroup identification was hardly relevant for anti-immigrant attitudes, it showed to be most relevant in explaining anti-Francophone attitudes.

Strong regional ingroup identification also proved to be an important mobilizing factor in the study of Jasini, Delvaux and Mesquita, who provide an extensive examination of the role of collective victimhood in explaining emotional responses and behavioral tendencies towards the perpetrating outgroup. In their study, the authors demonstrate that collective victimhood is negatively associated with intergroup affiliative emotions and positively with intergroup distancing emotions in Flemish as well as Francophone respondents. These emotional responses in turn predict behavioral tendencies of intergroup contact versus intergroup exclusion and revenge in both groups. As such, collective victimhood and its emotional correlates prove to be valuable to further our understanding of the dynamics of intergroup conflict, not only in violent confrontations, but also in in non-violent contexts such as the Belgian linguistic conflict.

Specifically focusing on the role of regional ingroup identification, Asbrock and Van Hiel investigate the unique and rarely studied German-speaking minority population of Belgium. Their research shows that minority members’ identification with their German-speaking community is associated with positive attitudes towards the community, without resulting in negative attitudes towards the two other communities. Disidentification with Belgium as a superordinate group, however, is associated with negative perceptions of all Belgian communities, the perception of severe inter-group conflict, and demands for dissolution of the Belgian federal state into independent regions. These results are particularly interesting because they show that a strong regional identity is not necessarily associated with negative attitudes towards other groups, but that especially disidentification with the superordinate (i.e., national) community may be problematic in this respect.

Finally, as a closing contribution to this Special Issue, Van Assche, Bostyn, De keersmaecker, Dardenne and Hansenne provide an investigation into the road to reconciliation between members of the linguistic communities, focusing on the role of cognitive style, ideology and intergroup emotions. In their work, the authors show that, in both Flemish and Francophone citizens, need for cognitive closure drives right-wing attitudes and essentialist thinking, which in turn is associated with less outgroup empathy and trust, and more outgroup anger. However, the presence of the positive emotions of outgroup trust and empathy, rather than the mere absence of outgroup anger proved to be critical as the affective basis for reconciliation.

Concluding remarks and acknowledgments

The source of inspiration of the special issue was the above mentioned symposium during which the conveners, Olivier Klein and Bernard Rimé, called on Belgian psychologists to contribute their expertise in areas like “social identity”, “collective memories”, “prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination”, and “emotions and communication” to the study of the intergroup issues raised by the Belgian linguistic conflict. To a certain extent, this call seems to have been heard (see Luminet et al., 2012 ). We hope this special issue will stand as another step in that direction.

Two experts in the respective field reviewed each article. When possible, we requested and received the contributions of one Belgian and one non-Belgian reviewer. We followed this procedure with the aim of striking a balance between contextual relevance and theoretical integration, between particularism and universalism. These reviewers were (in alphabetical order): Alejandra Alarcón, Boris Bizumic, Asteria Brylka, Ellen Delvaux, Stéphanie Demoulin, Kristof Dhont, Olivier Klein, Giovanna Leone, Christophe Leys, Olivier Luminet, Christina Matschke, Cecil Meeusen, Charles B. Stone, and Vincent Yzerbyt. We thank these reviewers for their invaluable contributions to this Special Issue.

The term ‘Flemings’ is used interchangeably with the term ‘Dutch speakers’, although a minority of Flemings define themselves as French-speaking, whereas French speakers include Walloons as well as inhabitants of Brussels and its surroundings who generally do not consider themselves as Walloons ( Deprez et al., 1996–97 ).

When reading these figures, one should bear in mind that it is very difficult to know the exact number of Dutch-, French-, and German-speakers because linguistic census is forbidden by law.

In this respect, recent research learned that collaboration within linguistic groups differed in kind rather than in degree. Whereas in Flanders, leaders of the Flemish movement collaborated with the promise they would be granted independence, in Wallonia, collaborators more often sought their self-interest. Evidence also suggests that repression was proportionally not more frequent in Flanders than in Wallonia (e.g., Beyen, 2002 ).

To the best of our knowledge, figures relating to linguistic knowledge of the members of the German-speaking community are not available.

Competing Interests

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

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Moving Boundaries in Interpreting in Conflict Zones

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• Lucía Ruiz Rosendo 5  

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Languages at War ((PASLW))

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This chapter gives an overview of current thought on interpreting in conflict-related scenarios, focusing on interpreting for the military and humanitarian interpreting as two separate aspects of interpreting in conflict zones. The innovative nature of this book comes from this comparative framework, juxtaposing the military and the humanitarian, and from the analysis of a range of case studies based on different settings, periods and actors through which the research questions will be addressed. The rationale is that the term “interpreting in conflict zones”, coined in the literature, is too broad and that more attention has to be given to the individual particularities of the military and the humanitarian contexts. It will also specify how each chapter connects to the general theme, trying to draw comparisons on the issues of agency, neutrality and self-perceived role.

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Ruiz Rosendo, L. (2021). Moving Boundaries in Interpreting in Conflict Zones. In: Todorova, M., Ruiz Rosendo, L. (eds) Interpreting Conflict. Palgrave Studies in Languages at War. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66909-6_1

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Communicating Conflict: Multilingual Case Studies of the News Media edited by Elizabeth Thomson and P. R. R. White

2011, Journal of Sociolinguistics

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Communicating conflict : multilingual case studies of the news media

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• 1. The news story as rhetoric: P R R White (University of Adelaide, Australia) and Elizabeth Thomson (University of Wollongong, Australia)
• I: Conflict between Nation States
• 2. Variation in 'reporter voice': Annabelle Lukin (Macquarie University, Australia)
• 3. Evaluating 'reporter voice': Elizabeth Thomson (University of Wollongong, Australia) and Nagisa Fukui (University of New South Wales, Australia)
• 4. America's War on Terror: a Vietnamese perspective: Tran Thi Hong Van
• 5. Symbolising ideology: Motoki Sano
• 6. Ideologically opposed news stories: Alice Caffarel (University of Sydney, Australia)
• 7. Debating Taiwanese authorities in the Chinese media: Edward McDonald
• 8. Australian and Indonesian reporting of military clashes in Indonesia: Ari Poespodihardjo and Philip Kitley
• II: Conflict within Nation States
• 9. Construing death in the Thai media: John Knox (Macquarie University, Australia) and Pattama Patpong (Macquarie University, Australia)
• 10. 'Reporter voice' in the reporting of conflict in Finland: Maj-Britt Hoglund
• 11. Evaluation in news images: comparative studies of the detention of refugees: Dorothy Economou
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

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Master of Advanced Studies in INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Case Studies in Intercultural Communication

Welcome to the MIC Case Studies page.

Here you will find more than fifty different case studies, developed by our former participants from the Master of Advanced Studies in Intercultural Communication. The richness of this material is that it contains real-life experiences in intercultural communication problems in various settings, such as war, family, negotiations, inter-religious conflicts, business, workplace, and others. 

Cases also include renowned organizations and global institutions, such as the United Nations, Multinationals companies, Non-Governmental Organisations, Worldwide Events, European, African, Asian and North and South America Governments and others.

Intercultural situations are characterized by encounters, mutual respect and the valorization of diversity by individuals or groups of individuals identifying with different cultures. By making the most of the cultural differences, we can improve intercultural communication in civil society, in public institutions and the business world.

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These case studies were made during the classes at the Master of Advanced Studies in Intercultural Communication. Therefore, they used the most updated skills, tools, theories and best practices available.   They were created by participants working in the field of public administration; international organizations; non-governmental organizations; development and cooperation organizations; the business world (production, trade, tourism, etc.); the media; educational institutions; and religious institutions. Through these case studies, you will be able to learn through real-life stories, how practitioners apply intercultural communication skills in multicultural situations.

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International Relations in India & Beyond

• Opinion / Bangladesh / Culture and History / India / Pakistan

Case Study of a Linguistic Conflict: East Pakistan (modern-day Bangladesh)

by Swarni Dohare · 9th April 2021

Language is the principal method of human communication and more often than not it’s also a source of conflict. The issue of language is quite sensitive as it is a source of primary identity, and it wouldn’t be hyperbole to say it is more so than religion. Not only has language antecedent to religion, but it also covers more domains of life than the latter. Regardless, conflicts involving both, or either can be extremely pernicious to the unity and integrity of a state. It is crucial to understand that while religion created Pakistan, language led to its disintegration.

In order to understand the Bangladesh Liberation war, one has to trace the historical background that aided in its culmination. Such as:

• Bengal Resistance: It was a social, cultural, intellectual and artistic movement in the 18th and 19th century under the British Raj. The movement was facilitated by the introduction of western culture, science and education which transformed the Bengali society and made Bengal the hub of modern culture, politics, education, intellectual and scientific activities.
• Partition of Bengal: In 1905, under the leadership of Lord Curzon, the British attempted to divide the Bengal region along communal lines. The partition led to rise of nationalism and ‘Amar Shonar Bangla’ became a popular anthem. This triggered the Swadeshi Movement and the Britishers were forced to concede to the demands of the masses, thereby unifying Bengal once again in 1911.
• United Bengal Movement: It was a proposal to transform Bengal into a united sovereign state undivided along communal lines. However, this was rejected and Bengal was divided according to the Mountbatten Plan and Radcliffe line. 

The Indian subcontinent is home to numerous cultures and ethnicities, therefore language became an exclusive mark of identity under the British Raj. Post partition, both India and Pakistan were faced with the issue of consolidation of various regional identities to create a unified national identity. Pakistan, however, was faced with the uphill task of uniting two culturally and linguistically diverse territories.

The idea of Pakistan was conceptualised via ‘the Two Nation theory’ proposed by Sir Muhammad Iqbal which essentially called for religious grounds of partition of the country. According to the theory, Hindus and Muslims are two nations as they share different language, customs, culture, social and moral perspectives etc, which is why it was prudent for them to reside in different political territories as one couldn’t hope to fulfill the demands of the other. Thus, led to the formation of Pakistan, a country formed on religious grounds with two parts, West Pakistan and East Pakistan some 1000miles apart.

Based on a demographic analysis alone, the only cultural commonality between the two sections of Pakistan was their overwhelming Muslim-majority population. West Pakistan attempted to capitalize on this fact and unify both halves under the banner of Islam. Unfortunately, West Pakistan’s rationale for rejecting East Pakistan’s language counterproposal only served to further drive a wedge between the two sections. Urdu-speakers claimed that since all of Pakistan was established as an “Islamic Republic”, it should represent Muslim culture as best as possible.

Urdu was linguistically related to and was written in the same script as the traditional Islamic languages of Arabic and Persian. As a potential compromise, West Pakistan suggested significantly “reforming” the Bengali language so it would have less of its Hindu influence. This proposition inflamed the vast majority of East Pakistanis, 83% of whom were Muslim, since West Pakistan had not only rejected their language on its own merits, but also claimed that Bengali Muslims were inferior simply because their language had a significant linguistic influence from Sanskrit rather than from a traditionally Islamic language. For these reasons, it became increasingly apparent that Pakistan’s national identity predicated on religious commonality was insufficient for unifying the country.

Due to the first language conflict in 1948, a new political party called the Awami Muslim League was founded to balance the Muslim League of West Pakistan and represent the interests of the Bengali Muslims. In 1952, Urdu was declared the national language by the ruling Muslim League based in West Pakistan. This understandably outraged the Bengalis and students held a protest at Dacca University. The police opened fire, killing 26 and injuring over 400 people and the students were glorified as martyrs who died for their language. This facilitated a new surge of nationalism which involved the revival of obscure Bengali traditions, like celebration of Bengali new year, as a way to rebel against the oppressive ML who regarded themselves as superior to the Bengali Muslims. 

The Bengali language was in a unique position compared to other languages of Pakistan commonly spoken in the West, such as Punjabi or Sindhi, because it was used by a majority of citizens and was the foundation of a cultural elite both geographically and historically separate from the Urdu-speaking aristocracy in the West .

There were several stereotypes harbored against the Bengali community such as their short stature, focus on intellectual pursuits and arts categorised them as ‘lazy’, ‘talkative’ and ‘weak’. In 1955, the AML dropped the religious aspect and emerged itself as a party for East Pakistan, regardless of their religion, which is the first instance of desire for regional autonomy. And this event is characterised as a precursor to the consolidation of the Bangladeshi nation-state.

Despite having attained independence in 1947, Pakistan held its first democratic elections in 1970 owing to a tumultuous political climate. These elections were meant to mark a transition from military rule to democracy but when the East Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won the elections, Pakistan People’s Party refused to hand over the power. The EAL won 160/162 seats allotted to East Pakistan thereby securing a majority of 160/300 seats which gave them a constitutional right to form a majority government. 

Fearing a political takeover by East Pakistan, President Yahya Khan of West Pakistan postponed the convening of the new Assembly in March 1971 to allow time for West Pakistani military forces to occupy East Pakistani territory. After hundreds of East Pakistani protesters were killed in army firing and Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested, Bengali nationalists declared their new nation-state of Bangladesh independent on March 26, 1971.

Although India did not legally enter the war until December 1971, between March and November India tacitly supported the Mukti Bahini (an ad-hoc guerrilla army who were militarily untrained and constituted of mostly students and youth volunteers) by providing them with safe havens across the India-Bangladesh border from which to attack West Pakistani forces.

There was systemic use of rape in the liberation war as a means to produce children fathered by West Pakistani army men in an attempt to wipe out Bengali nationhood. In March 1971 when the issue of cultural and linguistic identity in East Pakistan had come to a boil, president Yahya Khan gave out public orders for the Bengalis to be made into “true Muslims”. Though there is absence of any official documents, reports suggest that the orders given out by Yahya Khan and General Tikka Khan were to impregnate Muslim women in East Pakistan who were supporters of Bangladesh’s formation and Hindu women with the intention of building a “pure Pakistan.” Historians such as Niall Ferguson have assessed a key factor behind the high-level decision to use mass rape for ethnic cleansing as being misguided nationalism.  

Post the liberation of Bangladesh, the new PM Mujibur Rehman is reported to have announced that “none of the babies who carry the blood of the Pakistanis will be allowed to remain in Bangladesh.” He even said that he didn’t want to keep “those polluted blood” in his country.

In conclusion, a country created on religious grounds decayed into two simply on the basis of linguistic differences. The above case study shows us how important linguistic identity is for people, it wouldn’t be amiss to say people associate emotions with their mother tongue. The above case culminated into a full scale war because of ideas that have prevailed in the society since its inception but are as away from nature as can be, purity. 

References:

• https://indianexpress.com/article/research/birth-of-bangladesh-when-raped-women-and-war-babies-paid-the-price-of-a-new-nation-victory-day-4430420/
•   Ferguson 2009 , pp. 626–631
•  Adam Jones (2004). Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction. Routledge. p. 420. ISBN 978-0-415-35384-7.
• Adam Jones (2004). Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction. Routledge. p. 420. ISBN 978-0-415-35384-7.
• http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1203/bangladesh-a-case-study-in-the-rise-of-the-nation-state
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Pakistani_War_of_1971
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Pakistan#cite_ref-1
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Searchlight
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Bangladesh

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Kootneeti Team

Tags: Bengali Muslims Case Study cultural commonality Linguistic Conflict Two Nation theory

Swarni Dohare

Swarni Dohare is a graduate on BA Political Science (Hons) from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi. At present, she is pursuing Masters in Political science and International Relations from Gautam Buddha University

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11 months into Sudan war, ‘world’s worst hunger crisis’ looms

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Nearly 11 months since rival generals declared war in Sudan, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday that the conflict risks triggering “the world ’ s worst hunger crisis”.

The northeast African country is already in the grip of the world's largest displacement crisis, the UN World Food Programme, WFP, noted . 

Fighting between the Sudanese Army and a rival group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left thousands dead and eight million displaced.

A staggering 14 million children are in desperate need of lifesaving assistance, the UN Children’s Fund ( UNICEF ) also  said in a recent alert amid repeated concerns that the conflict may spillover Sudan’s borders, threatening lives and peace in the region, unless the fighting stops. 

“Twenty years ago, Darfur was the world’s largest hunger crisis, and the world rallied to respond. But today, the people of Sudan have been forgotten. Millions of lives and the peace and stability of an entire region are at stake,” Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the WFP said.

The UN agency chief was speaking from South Sudan, where she met families fleeing violence and the worsening famine situation across the country’s northern neighbour.

Meals out of reach

Today, fewer than one in 20 people in Sudan can afford a full meal, according to WFP. 

Across the war-torn country, 18 million people are acutely food insecure and five million now face starvation. Restricted in their movements by ongoing violence and interference from warring parties and severely underfunded, humanitarian aid workers can barely help those in need , WFP warned.

The UN agency noted that the food crisis isn’t limited to Sudan and affects more than 25 million people in Sudan, South Sudan and Chad. 

The UN agency is unable to provide sufficient emergency food aid to Sudan's desperate communities. Humanitarian assistance was further disrupted after the authorities revoked permits for cross-border truck convoys, WFP reported, forcing teams to halt operations from Chad to Darfur.

With nine in 10 people facing hunger in Sudan stranded in areas that are largely inaccessible to humanitarians, WFP issued a renewed and urgent appeal for the fighting to stop and for all aid agencies to be given access to those in need.

Inaction will affect region for years  

The war between General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo's RSF fighters and General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan's army has terrified and uprooted millions since 15 April last year.

In South Sudan, where 600,000 people have sought refuge , “one in five children in border transit centres suffers from malnutrition”, WFP reported.

And although the displaced represent a tiny fraction of the population, recent arrivals in South Sudan account for more than three in 10 of those facing catastrophic levels of hunger.

Chronic underfunding

WFP has struggled to meet the scale of need. The UN agency announced earlier this year that it faces a funding gap of $74 million for the Sudan crisis response, while it plans to reach 4.2 million people in 2024.

“I met mothers and children who have fled for their lives not once, but multiple times, and now hunger is closing in on them. The consequences of inaction go far beyond a mother unable to feed her child and will shape the region for years to come,” said WFP’s Executive Director.

In the tech world and beyond, new 5G applications are being discovered every day. From driverless cars to smarter cities, farms, and even shopping experiences, the latest standard in wireless networks is poised to transform the way we interact with information, devices and each other. What better time to take a closer look at how humans are putting 5G to use to transform their world.

What is 5G?

5G (fifth-generation mobile technology  is the newest standard for cellular networks. Like its predecessors, 3G, 4G and 4G LTE, 5G technology uses radio waves for data transmission. However, due to significant improvements in latency, throughput and bandwidth, 5G is capable of faster download and upload speeds than previous networks.

Since its release in 2019, 5G broadband technology has been hailed as a breakthrough technology with significant implications for both consumers and businesses. Primarily, this is due to its ability to handle large volumes of data that is generated by complex devices that use its networks.

As mobile technology has expanded over the years, the number of data users generate every day has increased exponentially. Currently, other transformational technologies like  artificial intelligence (AI),  the  Internet of Things (IoT ) and  machine learning (ML)  require faster speeds to function than 3G and 4G networks offer. Enter 5G, with its lightning-fast data transfer capabilities that allow newer technologies to function in the way they were designed to.

Here are some of the biggest differences between 5G and previous wireless networks.

• Physical footprint : The transmitters that are used in 5G technology are smaller than in predecessors’ networks, allowing for discrete placement in out-of-the-way places. Furthermore, “cells”—geographical areas that all wireless networks require for connectivity—in 5G networks are smaller and require less power to run than in previous generations.
• Error rates : 5G’s adaptive Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), a schematic that wifi devices use to transmit data, is more powerful than ones in 3G and 4G networks. This makes 5G’s Block Error Rate (BER)—a metric of error frequency—much lower. 
• Bandwidth : By using a broader spectrum of radio frequencies than previous wireless networks, 5G networks can transmit on a wider range of bandwidths. This increases the number of devices that they can support at any given time.
• Lower latency : 5G’s low  latency , a measurement of the time it takes data to travel from one location to another, is a significant upgrade over previous generations. This means that routine activities like downloading a file or working in the cloud is going to be faster with a 5G connection than a connection on a different network.

Like all wireless networks, 5G networks are separated into geographical areas that are known as cells. Within each cell, wireless devices—such as smartphones, PCs, and IoT devices—connect to the internet via radio waves that are transmitted between an antenna and a base station. The technology that underpins 5G is essentially the same as in 3G and 4G networks. But due to its lower latency, 5G networks are capable of delivering faster download speeds—in some cases as high as 10 gigabits per second (Gbps).

As more and more devices are built for 5G speeds, demand for 5G connectivity is growing. Today, many popular Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such as Verizon, Google and AT&T, offer 5G networks to homes and businesses. According to Statista,  more than 200 million homes  and businesses have already purchased it with that number expected to at least double by 2028 (link resides outside ibm.com).

Let’s take a look at three areas of technological improvement that have made 5G so unique.

New telecom specifications

The 5G NR (New Radio) standard for cellular networks defines a new radio access technology (RAT) specification for all 5G mobile networks. The 5G rollout began in 2018 with a global initiative known as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3FPP). The initiative defined a new set of standards to steer the design of devices and applications for use on 5G networks.

The initiative was a success, and 5G networks grew swiftly in the ensuing years. Today, 45% of networks worldwide are 5G compatible, with that number forecasted to rise to 85% by the end of the decade according to  a recent report by Ericsson  (link resides outside ibm.com).

Independent virtual networks (network slicing)

On 5G networks, network operators can offer multiple independent virtual networks (in addition to public ones) on the same infrastructure. Unlike previous wireless networks, this new capability allows users to do more things remotely with greater security than ever before. For example, on a 5G network, enterprises can create use cases or business models and assign them their own independent virtual network. This dramatically improves the user experience for their employees by adding greater customizability and security.

Private networks

In addition to network slicing, creating a 5G private network can also enhance personalization and security features over those available on previous generations of wireless networks. Global businesses seeking more control and mobility for their employees increasingly turn to private 5G network architectures rather than public networks they’ve used in the past.

Now that we better understand how 5G technology works, let’s take a closer look at some of the exciting applications it’s enabling.

Autonomous vehicles

From taxi cabs to drones and beyond, 5G technology underpins most of the next-generation capabilities in autonomous vehicles. Until the 5G cellular standard came along, fully autonomous vehicles were a bit of a pipe dream due to the data transmission limitations of 3G and 4G technology. Now, 5G’s lightning-fast connection speeds have made transport systems for cars, trains and more, faster than previous generations, transforming the way systems and devices connect, communicate and collaborate.

Smart factories

5G, along with AI and ML, is poised to help factories become not only smarter but more automated, efficient, and resilient. Today, many mundane but necessary tasks that are associated with equipment repair and optimization are being turned over to machines thanks to 5G connectivity paired with AI and ML capabilities. This is one area where 5G is expected to be highly disruptive, impacting everything from fuel economy to the design of equipment lifecycles and how goods arrive at our homes.

For example, on a busy factory floor, drones and cameras that are connected to smart devices that use the IoT can help locate and transport something more efficiently than in the past and prevent theft. Not only is this better for the environment and consumers, but it also frees up employees to dedicate their time and energy to tasks that are more suited to their skill sets.

Smart cities

The idea of a hyper-connected urban environment that uses 5G network speeds to spur innovation in areas like law enforcement, waste disposal and disaster mitigation is fast becoming a reality. Some cities already use 5G-enabled sensors to track traffic patterns in real time and adjust signals, helping guide the flow of traffic, minimize congestion, and improve air quality.

In another example, 5G power grids monitor supply and demand across heavily populated areas and deploy AI and ML applications to “learn” what times energy is in high or low demand. This process has been shown to significantly impact energy conservation and waste, potentially reducing carbon emissions and helping cities reach sustainability goals.

Smart healthcare

Hospitals, doctors, and the healthcare industry as a whole already benefit from the speed and reliability of 5G networks every day. One example is the area of remote surgery that uses robotics and a high-definition live stream that is connected to the internet via a 5G network. Another is the field of mobile health, where 5G gives medical workers in the field quick access to patient data and medical history. This enables them to make smarter decisions, faster, and potentially save lives.

Lastly, as we saw during the pandemic, contact tracing and the mapping of outbreaks are critical to keeping populations safe. 5G’s ability to deliver of volumes of data swiftly and securely allows experts to make more informed decisions that have ramifications for everyone.

5G paired with new technological capabilities won’t just result in the automation of employee tasks, it will dramatically improve them and the overall  employee experience . Take virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), for example. VR (digital environments that shut out the real world) and AR (digital content that augments the real world) are already used by stockroom employees, transportation drivers and many others. These employees rely on wearables that are connected to a 5G network capable of high-speed data transfer rates that improve several key capabilities, including the following:

• Live views : 5G connectivity provides live, real-time views of equipment, events, and even people. One way in which this feature is being used in professional sports is to allow broadcasters to remotely call a sporting event from outside the stadium where the event is taking place.
• Digital overlays : IoT applications in a warehouse or industrial setting allow workers that are equipped with smart glasses (or even just a smartphone) to obtain real-time insights from an application. This includes repair instructions or the name and location of a spare part.
• Drone inspections : Right now, one of the leading causes of employee injury is inspection of equipment or project sites in remote and potentially dangerous areas. Drones, which are connected via 5G networks, can safely monitor equipment and project sites and even take readings from hard-to-reach gauges.

Edge computing , a computing framework that allows computations to be done closer to data sources, is fast becoming the standard for enterprises. According to  this Gartner white paper  (link resides outside ibm.com), by 2025, 75% of enterprise data will be processed at the edge (compared to only 10% today). This shift saves businesses time and money and enables better control over large volumes of data. It would be impossible without the new speed standards that are generated by 5G technology. 

Ultra-reliable edge computing and 5G enable the enterprise to achieve faster transmission speeds, increased control and greater security over massive volumes of data. Together, these twin technologies will help reduce latency while increasing speed, reliability and bandwidth, resulting in faster, more comprehensive data analysis and insights for businesses everywhere.

5G solutions with IBM Cloud Satellite  

5G presents significant opportunities for the enterprise, but first, you need a platform that can handle its speed. IBM Cloud Satellite® lets you deploy and run apps consistently across on-premises, edge computing and public cloud environments on a 5G network. And it’s all enabled by secure and auditable communications within the IBM Cloud®.

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