The Journal of Transcultural Studies

Ambivalent Enmity: Making the Case for a Transcultural Turn in Enmity Studies

Johannes Becke — 2024-05-06

The introduction to this theme issue makes the case for a transcultural turn in enmity
studies. In view of the increase in conflict and polarization in both international and
domestic politics, the phenomenon of enmity needs to be studied from a fresh
perspective that fully recognizes its transcultural, processual, and deeply ambivalent
features. To sketch such an approach, we introduce and defend five hypotheses: (i)
enmity is a driver of transculturation, not an obstacle; (ii) enmity describes a process,
not an outcome; (iii) enmity is an expression of ambivalence, not of conclusiveness;
(iv) the study of enmity requires a transdisciplinary approach; and (v) the study of
enmity needs historical depth. Case studies based on this perspective must integrate
concepts and methodological insights from the humanities and social sciences, and
highlight the persistent links between enmity, understood as enduring forms of
potentially violent antagonism, and ambivalence, defined as contradictory patterns of
emotions, values, and cultural habits. Without a deeper understanding of the
ambivalences of enmity, this theme issue argues, it is impossible to capture the
dynamics of antagonism, past and present.

Ambivalence, Amity, and Enmity in Israel/Palestine

Derek Jonathan Penslar — 2024-05-06

Israel/Palestine is often read through the lens of protracted and violent conflict. In contrast, this contribution takes a closer look at the emotional history of Jewish-Arab relations in the twentieth century, which was shaped by both resentment and mutual fascination. Based on a combination of primary sources (books, speeches, diaries), the article argues that both Jewish-Israeli and Arab-Palestinian perspectives on the respective other (or the respective “enemy”) are profoundly shaped by ambivalence. Arab enmity towards Zionism and Israel often has the appearance of open hostility, but bears a degree of subterranean admiration, not least in the context of “learning from the enemy.” By contrast, the Zionist movement and state of Israel have often displayed public sympathy and regard for what are officially known as “Israeli Arabs” (who will sometimes identify as Palestinian Arabs with Israeli citizenship). However, these positive emotions have been undergirded by negative feelings such as fear and scorn. Israeli discursive ambivalence towards Palestinians is particularly interesting for the circumstances under which the patina of amity thickens, thins, or is shattered altogether. This article argues that our understanding of ambivalence and enmity needs to be linked to relations of power and privilege: While the more powerful side can allow itself to portray its antagonist with greater complexity, the weaker side will invariably tend towards zero-sum depictions of itself and the political conflict.

Ambivalent Enmity and Adolescence in a Wartime Diary (1941–1944): Historical and Psychological Perspectives

Tanja Penter — 2024-05-06

This article evaluates the diary of Olga Kravtsova, a young Ukrainian woman who documented her experiences, thoughts, and feelings almost daily from 1941 to 1944. The diary reveals a young person shaped by Stalinism who, amid the crises and conflicts of adolescence, experienced the horror of the German war of extermination and occupation in Ukraine and the purges in the first months after the return of Soviet rule. Olga describes her ambivalent feelings towards the German occupiers, which gradually transformed from hostility, to friendship, and even to romantic attachment. Our interdisciplinary approach to this material, which combines the perspectives of history and psychology, allows for a greater and more sympathetic awareness of historical and cultural conditions and expands the disciplinary boundaries of both scholarly fields. In addition, our reading of Olga’s diary additionally reveals the inherent ambivalence of enmity. It sharpens our view of the phenomenon of collaboration, cooperation with the enemy, and invites the reader to become more aware of the contingency, relationality, and processuality of enmity relations.

Ambivalent Appropriations: Narrating Enmity through the Monumental Remains of South Asia

Monica Juneja — 2024-05-06

How can art objects and architectural remains contribute to an understanding of the dynamics of enmity? And how, in turn, can the study of enmity contribute to sharpening the profile of art history? The paper examines the nexus between enemization and identity construction as it continues to be formed around discussions of monumental remains of past empires in South Asia. The partition of the Indian subcontinent, itself a profoundly ambivalent event, effected a division of the national body along a friend/enemy axis. Narratives of enmity that have proliferated within post-colonial India are replete with accounts of a “Muslim invasion” of the subcontinent whose constructions of militant alterity can be read off the material surfaces of monumental remains of pre-modern times. The article examines the practices of usurpation and iconoclasm that accompanied warfare between Turkic armies and North Indian kingdoms to uncover the dynamic of appropriation and emulation that unfolded as buildings were captured, taken apart, and rebuilt by conquerors, who showed an unexpected predilection for the symbolic language and aesthetics of the enemy infidel. Reading a moment of iconoclasm through a transcultural lens reveals it as a crucible of transformation, which infuses its object with a life that oscillates between continuity and novelty.

Cultural Revivalism in Israel and China: Imagining Lives Against the Present

Johannes Becke — 2024-05-06

Cultural revivalists, ranging from adherents of political Islam and contemporary Chinese New Confucians to Hindu nationalists and Israel’s messianic right, raise a broad spectrum of nativist claims to resurrect premodern and precolonial authenticity. All revivalist movements portray their cause as an existential revolt against assimilation. At the same time, their fascination for their perceived enemy cultures—imaginary versions of the global “West” or local adversaries—reveals deep-seated ambivalences. In their struggle for ethno-cultural survival, the search for best practices of self-assertion focuses almost obsessively on immediate and imagined antagonists. To capture the ambivalences of these contradictory impulses and theorize the transcultural nature of this specific kind of enmity, this article connects and compares two different movements of contemporary cultural revivalism: Temple activism in Israel and Political Confucianism in mainland China. The two case studies show that cultural revivalists not only mimic the organizational templates of other radical movements that imagine lifestyles and forms of society embodying the pristine and enchanted ways of a world before the advent of a depraved “Western” modernity. To reach their goals, they also engage in systematic learning from the enemy. As a result, cultural revivalists are deeply entangled with their declared enemies in terms of behavioral patterns, ideological tropes, or religious practices. The article argues that this insight could be applied more broadly to the fields of enmity and transcultural studies: If enmity provokes mutual learning, to the point of producing what we may call “mimetic isomorphism,” it must be considered as a central driver of transculturation.

When Defiance Turns into Violence: Status, Roles, and Killing thy Enemy

Sebastian Harnisch — 2024-05-06

How, when, and why do governments use lethal violence against dissenting citizens residing outside of their jurisdiction? Beyond state-led forms of forceful repression of citizens, an increasing number of autocratic governments have targeted and killed a growing number of individuals outside their territories, using highly symbolic means, such as nerve agent poisonings, public hangings, and airplane high-jackings. Despite a growing interest in targeted killings in general and (trans-)national repression in particular, the field of International Relations still lacks a theoretical explanation for these state ordered politically directed murders beyond borders. Bringing together recent advances in state and role theory as well as studies of norm transformation on targeted killing, I propose a comparative approach that interprets state-ordered public killings as acts of defiance to restore dominant status roles of autocratic governments vis-à-vis critical citizens and a liberal international society. I illustrate my argument through two cases, Russia and North Korea, identifying two variants of defiant political murder, preemptive (Russian) and emancipatory (North Korea).

Editorial Note

Michael Radich — 2024-05-06

Cover and Front Matter

Sophie Florence — 2024-05-06