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In studying national and state identity, scholars have primarily focused on official or political discourses as evidence of identity construction. More recently, Ted Hopf has underlined the importance of popular culture in examining societal discourses of Soviet and Russian state identity. By looking at portrayals of minorities in Chinese and Indian movies and visual arts we extend Hopf's framework in two ways. First, both China and India have significant heterogeneous, illiterate and poor parts of their population, rendering textual sources less useful as the primary means to study identity. Second, we want to see what types of culture are generated by the state as opposed to internal and external others. By looking at popular culture in a democracy and a non-democracy, we can assess to what extent popular culture is manufactured by the state or is representative of societal discourses. Through an analysis of significant films and art in the post-cold war period, we show how popular culture both reflects and is used as a means to carve out state identity with relation to 'internal' others, such as Muslims and the rural poor. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the term ‘terrorism’ is analytically fraught, this does not prevent its use by political adversaries in long-standing conflicts. Scholars contend that proscription lists such as the State Sponsors of Terrorism list are tools by which enemies of the ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 9/11 attacks intensified the proliferation of international laws centered on the norm of non-combatant immunity and underscoring the illegitimacy of using violence against civilians, regardless of justifications and root causes. While scholars have critically examined how this legislation was interpreted and implemented by states and international organizations, the response of groups labeled as 'terrorist' remains under-explored. To what extent have these norms impacted violent groups themselves? I assess whether and to what extent violent groups have changed their strategies and discourses after 9/11 to ascertain to what extent violent non-state actors respond to international norms and pressure. Following an analysis of the discourse of selected groups in India and Sri Lanka, I find that while anti-terrorism norms are handicapped by the inability of states to prosecute non-state actors, the active contestation of the label of 'terrorism' suggests that such groups are not immune to normative pressures. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-conflict scenarios are ridden with unique challenges which confront peace-builders. These difficulties become pronounced in cases where external actors are primarily responsible for post-conflict reconstruction and democratization given lack of resources and institutions which charecterize post-conflict societies. Thus although local agency in post-conflict situations may be desirable, it is not always feasible. How far does the vision of external powers match that of the indigenous people who are most directly impacted by post-conflict planning? I highlight a disjuncture between external and local visions and priorities in the context of one of the most compelling cases of current post-conflict peace-building; Afghanistan. I discuss the challenges created by historical context and culture by pointing to key issues which are standard practice in Western models of post-conflict peace building but proved to be contentious in Afghanistan. I emphasize that peacemakers must be flexible about incorporating local understandings, institutions and concerns instead of trying to transplant Western models. Further, it is important to ask whether democratization should be a priority in all post-conflict situations. In the case of Afghanistan democratization may not represent the immediate concerns of the Afghan people; instead, as this paper argues establishing basic security and normalcy is a task of greater importance. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]