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The rise of militant Bretonite
Abstract
The Breton movement in France grew increasingly militant in the late twentieth century, in part due to the French government. After its official and unofficial repression of Bretons ended in the mid-twentieth century, France never developed a consistent policy to deal with Breton culture. At the same time, the Bretons themselves changed their political outlook. The rise of militant Bretonite resulted from a new belief among the activists that their survival depended on government intervention. This change led to a shift in Breton politics from the right to the left, and an overall change in the movement itself.
... The historical paths of linguistic vitality and conflict intensity amongst four groups in two Western European countries help to illustrate this curvilinear relationship. Though Breton was widely spoken at the turn of the 20th century, the language had, by mid-century, greatly weakened; thereafter, its deterioration was even further accentuated (Boomgaard, 2008;Stephens, 1976). Coinciding with this period, in which arguably Breton went from being vulnerable to endangered, was a nationalist awakening. ...
... Despite limited and sporadic episodes of violence, the movement was generally peaceful in nature. It was also unsuccessful at garnering much interest as most Bretons did not buy into the rhetoric of French oppression (Boomgaard, 2008). Despite new institutional support policies implemented in the last few decades, the vitality of the language has continued to slide. ...
Intergroup conflicts represent a risk of social instability and even violence. Understanding the reasons that push group members to adopt a certain level of conflict intensity is of the utmost importance. In the hope of shedding new light into this phenomenon, this paper explores how ethnic conflict intensity may be influenced by linguistic vitality, the social health of a language. The paper presents a theoretical model in which low and high levels of linguistic vitality are presented as being linked to lower conflict intensity than moderate vitality levels. The results of multilevel modeling lend support to this hypothesis for language-based ethnic tensions in a general context and, more precisely, within countries.
... As a result, some former Soviet Union territories declared their independence and became a separate country from Russia. In a similar vein, (Boomgaard, 2008) argues that language policy that does not recognize even tend to oppress minority is the major cause of the separatist movement of Bretonite. This happens because many of French policies at that moment did not in line with the bretonite culture including language. ...
Indonesia is the house of multicultural ethnic groups with more than 700 individual vernacular languages. This diversity puts Indonesia into both strategic and a vulnerable condition. It is strategic because the culture-rich Indonesia can commodify the diversity for the benefits of the people, however, it is also vulnerable as it can pose serious threats to the existence of the nation. For several decades, Indonesia has given attention to the language policy. Yet, the implementation still needs appropriate modification for the improvement. Objective of the paper: This paper is written on the purpose of giving a new form of language policy to be implemented in Indonesia. Theoretical Framework: A scheme of language policy is proposed for educational setting in Indonesia. Justification: Some arguments are also provided to provide a strong justification for the necessity of implementation of the policy. Conclusion: 1. It is imperative to have a language policy that can promote unity and prevent any potential separatism, provide a sense of belonging to the nations and ethnic culture in terms of nationalism, and open access to knowledge enhancement and the global world. 2. It is also important to have qualified and committing teachers to the implementation of language policy. If both points are present, the benefits of language policy can obviously be obtained.
Broadly globalising processes have been in train for centuries, but contemporary discourse about globalisation is here located within a specific historical context, particularly characterised by new forms of communications and the pressures on states produced by the decline of Keynesianism and the end of the Cold War. Coincident changes also led to a growing interest in national identities, marked not least by the founding of this journal in 1999. Globalisation, a series of processes rather than a single force, has a range of effects on states, nations and national identities, including accommodation and adaptation as well as resistance. Indeed, globalising forces, such as democratisation, are shown to require nation-building. Attempts to impose order on international society through cosmopolitan devices are arguably more inimical to national identities. As with nations, cosmopolitanism involves an imagined community. Because this necessarily exists outside time, the building of a sense of trust and commonality across people and territory is however more challenging. Without popular ownership, it is argued, cosmopolitanism is often more likely to appear a threat than a boon. Building a global civil society, or indeed local democracies, is also unlikely when so many societies still lack local versions anchored in some form of national identity.
The ideas of national identity were formed under a modernist framework. But, increasingly, national identities exist and are recreated under new postmodern structures. These new identities stem from different dimensions of the social experience and are found at different scales. By and large, these postmodern identities reflect paradigmatic changes in human society, from political and economic changes to major technological innovations. While it is difficult to comprehend the specific circumstances in which new or dramatically altered national identities may emerge, it is essential to understand the types of contexts in which an outsider national identity, potentially upsetting the status quo, is likely to form.
Geography is an intrinsic part of national identities, and the contributions to this journal have reflected this throughout its existence. In this essay, we discuss how geography has shaped National Identities in particular ways. Several of the journal's articles have examined how would-be nationalists form a geographical image of the prospective nation in order to make it real or how they have turned various landscape elements into national icons. Other articles have specifically examined the vital role of geographical scale in mediating between national conceptions, subnational movements, supranational ideas, and globalization. Finally we look at those essays that specifically focus on the role of maps in constructing, displaying, and propagandizing national identity.
This article explores the evolution of centre-periphery relations in France during the last two decades, from the point of view of cultural pluralism, through an analysis of the fortunes of the independent Breton-language schools movement, Diwan. It seeks to identify and explain the process whereby this movement has succeeded, albeit imperfectly, in carving out a role for itself, despite the resistance of an increasingly beleagured cultural Jacobinism, which remains, however, deeply rooted in the French political culture.
Part One: Politics and Pedagogy: A History of Breton in the Schools 1. The Revolution of 1789 2. After the Revolution 3. Breton or No Breton in the Schools? 4. After the Second World War Part Two: The Breton Movement: a 'Breton World' 5. The Breton Movement 6. Celts 7. Wars and Petitions 8. Debates, Demos and Dance 9. Teaching and Learning Breton Part Three: Diwan:Breton Schools 10. Growth, Finance and Structure 11. Teachers and Pedagogy 12. Bretonisation and Integration Part Four: Plouneour-Mener: Values and Aspirations in a Finistere Commune 13. Politics and Education 14. The Peasant Life 15. Breton Language and Culture.
Since the Second World War France has experienced an upsurge of regionalistic and ethnic nationalist movements. There has been mutual interaction between these movements and the French left, particularly the Socialist Party. As a result, the policies of the Socialist government since May 1981 have included a wide programme of decentralisation which went some way to meeting the demands of the movements. But the continuing Jacobinism of the Socialists has imposed limitations and has led to a strengthening of the movements' moderate forces as well as to a splitting off and further hardening of the ‘purs et durs’ elements.
This article explores the evolution of centre‐periphery relations in France during the last two decades, from the point of view of cultural pluralism, through an analysis of the fortunes of the independent Breton‐language schools movement, Diwan. It seeks to identify and explain the process whereby this movement has succeeded, albeit imperfectly, in carving out a rôle for itself, despite the resistance of an increasingly beleagured cultural Jacobinism, which remains, however, deeply rooted in the French political culture.
Le Separatisme en Bretagne
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