Word: communal
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...heart of the sectarian violence in Iraq is not so much religious dispute as it is a very secular competition for power and prominence in the new Iraq. Iraq is not all that different from Northern Ireland or Bosnia, where religion paraded as ethnicity and became a vehicle for communal rivalries. In the vacuum of power left by the fall of Saddam Hussein, the game of numbers has favored Shi'as, who are 60% of the population. It is for this reason that they wholeheartedly embraced democracy. Disgruntled Sunnis, on the other hand, vested their fortunes in boycott and violence...
...Iraq, the fear is of an escalation of the current insurgency into a much bigger war. Analysts may have in mind something like the U.S. Civil War, with Sunni and Shi'ite armies fighting each other across well-defined fronts. Or they may imagine a sudden spasm of massive communal conflict and ethnic cleansing along the lines of Bosnia or Rwanda. Neither scenario is all that likely, although bouts of violent ethnic cleansing are certainly possible in a few parts of the country, especially Kirkuk...
...Paris Review's Plimpton Prize for first fiction, is narrated collectively by the citizens of the impersonator's home village, as if all of them are speaking in a single voice. The effect is as mesmerizing as an incantation, and a reminder of the constant presence of the communal in China. When Mao scoffs at the threat of U.S. nukes, the villagers take heart. "For the years to come, we will live with our eyes turned to the sky, waiting for the American bombs to rain down on us, waiting to prove to the dictator our courage, and our loyalty...
...People travel to Common Ground from all over—I met people who biked down to New Orleans wearing superhero uniforms and helping others along the way,” he wrote. “There are a lot of challenges that come with communal living, but what most impressed me was the collective energy and flexibility and the fact that the organization continues to thrive as waves of volunteers come...
...Harvard undergraduates gravitate in such large numbers toward economics? Is it a communal fascination with the theoretical work of Malthus and Ricardo, Smith, and Keynes? Could it be a deep interest in garnering the empirical skill set proffered by this empress of the social sciences before departing to a career of more abstractly conceived pursuits? Though I’ve yet to conduct a study on the question, I’d hazard that neither of these explanations is the correct one. I’m rather inclined to side with The Crimson Staff of 1929; most of the roughly...