Shifting Perspectives – Personal and Political Transformations

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus put forward the distinct doctrine of fl ux, the idea that the only constant in life is change. The fl ux of change generates relentless processes of transformation and shifting perspectives that are frequently perceived as unexpected and unpredictable. They are often triggered by the quest of individuals and groups for self-determination, for the need for cultural reassessment, by the ravages of war, or by more mundane motives of globalized businesses or politics. The essays in this collection robustly explore one or more of these states of transformations and shifting perspectives within three sections: Social Construction of Identity, Citizens and Governing Bodies, and Traumatization in/by War. We are well aware that as authors we are freezing a moment of shifting perspectives in the writings here. They will go on to all sorts of changes and lives from what we describe. And for that we are ever mindful and ever grateful.