Launch of Conflicts and Tensions, the first volume of The Cultures and Globalization Series

'Conflicts and Tensions' is the first edition of the groundbreaking series Culture and Globalization, edited by Helmut Anheier and Yudhishthir Raj Isar.

The Prince Claus Fund supported the publication and together with the University of Utrecht and the Centre for Conflict Studies the Fund organised a launch on 10 December 2007 in the Academiegebouw Utrecht

Prof. Dr. Georges Corm, pre-eminent Arab scholar and former Minister of Finance of Lebanon, presnted “The West versus the Arab World: Deconstructing the Divide,” based on his contribution to Conflicts and Tensions.

The book launch was held on December 10th at 3:00 pm in the Academiegebouw, Domplein 29 Utrecht.

More about the Publication

In Conflicts and Tensions prominent thinkers from a variety of fields offer “cross-cutting approaches that address basic questions about the ‘whys and hows’ of tensions and conflicts linked to cultural identity and…forms of cultural expression.”

The Committee for Culture and Development of the Prince Claus Fund advised on the development of the publication by initially organising the conference Cultures, Globalization Processes and Development in the Peace Palace in September 2004, and later supporting the editorial board of the series.

This publication, in its own words, “analyses … the cultural dimensions of conflict and the conflictual dimensions of culture - domains in which the knowledge gap is both politically dangerous and economically damaging.” Not only does this work help fill that gap, it is also a significant contribution to the theme chosen for this year’s Prince Claus Awards: Culture and Conflict.

The publication of this book marks the inauguration of a series of books on World Cultures. Like so many other phenomena that characterize and are generated by globalization, conflict/culture relationships remain inadequately analyzed. This applies in particular to cultural identities and their forms of expression, creation, maintenance and renewal. The theme is not only to ensure well-being of the cultural-artistic dimension in the process of globalization. More than that, and in a broad and genuine sense, this book and the series as a whole are meant to serve the cause of peace and security through open debate, learning and understanding.

The book was launched on 10 December 2007 in in the Academiegebouw of the University of Utrecht, Domplein 29, Utrecht, The Netherlands.