Slovenes: “a nation of owners of one of the three original European languages?”

The Slovene national movement of the late nineteenth century was based primarily on the myth of an eternal linguistic community, an essentialist position within historiography. The national development itself best fits into patterns described by Hroch and Gellner. Although most objective conditions for national constitution were met by 1929, it is not clear if subjective ones had been met by that time. World War II revitalized the nation-constitution process, particularly by warring Communist- and Catholic-supported political and military factions, both claiming to fight for a Slovene identity, while Communists also claimed to be fighting for a “Greater” (Megali) Slovenia. With the war’s end, and Slovenia becoming a Yugoslav republic and expanding geographically, there was no doubt of a Slovene national identity, as understood by Connor, among the general population. However, important developments followed in nation-constitution after 1945, particularly upon gaining independence in 1991. The process need not be considered completed. Slovenes may be considered leaning towards a cultural type nation, with a cultural nucleus in an essentialist understanding of the Slovene language.     

Of citizens and plebeians: Postnational political figures in Jürgen Habermas and Jacques Rancière

This paper focuses on Habermas's notion of cosmopolitan democracy. Reconfiguring the basic ideas of democracy in postnational terms is inevitable if social and political integration is to succeed on a supranational level. In exploring Habermas's ideas, we draw on Rancière, whose thought stands in a complex relationship to Habermas. On the one hand, Rancière largely shares Habermas's diagnosis of the present. Both bemoan the erosion of the political caused by post‐democracy and censure the rise of right‐wing extremism in Western societies. On the other hand, and in contrast to Habermas, Rancière holds that these problems should be addressed not primarily by strengthening political institutions and reaching a consensus between conflicting parties, but by rethinking conflict and resistance. We show that Habermas's and Rancière's propositions can be productively brought in dialogue by focusing on the paradigmatic types of political subjectivity involved in their accounts: the citizen (Habermas) and the plebeian (Rancière).     

Post-Soviet Civil Society Development in the Russian Federation: The Impact of the NGO Law

The passing of the Russian NGO Law in mid-2006 set clear parameters for Russian NGO activity and civil society development. In this paper we assess the impact of the NGO Law on both NGOs and Russian civil society. Our findings illustrate that the NGO Law has led to a reduction in NGO activity and curtailment of civil society development. We conclude that Russian civil society appears to be dominated by groups funded and thus controlled by the state. This has implications for Russia's on-going democratic development.     

Hungary's “anti-capitalist” far-right: Jobbik and the Hungarian Guard

The study analyzed whether the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the establishment of succeeding mono-national states was the expression of “longing” of mass proportions on the part of the nationalities within respective federal units. Using the data from two pan-Yugoslav surveys from the period preceding the dissolution, results were obtained that indicated a very limited support for this hypothesis. More specifically, results indicated that support for emancipation was rather weak, among youth in 1986 and even among the adult population in 1990, although some significant mean differences between the federal units and between major nationalities within them were evident. Specifically, opinions favoring independence were detected among Kosovo Albanians and later among Slovenians in Slovenia. In addition, findings also indicated that those with higher socioeconomic status were not more inclined toward independence. Results thus pointed more towards the idea that the dissolution was indeed instigated by a small group of “political entrepreneurs” not captured by the survey data.     

Restrictive Institutions and Critical Resources: Non-Profit Organisations and Volunteer Resources in the Russian Federation

Abstract

Resource management is essential for any organisation’s success. For non-profit organisations (NPOs) volunteers are a key resource. In this article, we examine how NPOs recruit, mobilise and manage volunteers in a challenging institutional and operational context. By drawing on a qualitative study of Russian health NPOs, our study highlights that the operational and institutional environment encountered by Russian NPOs leads to ‘management by network’ to acquire necessary volunteer resources. This pragmatic approach, whilst ensuring an organisation’s short-term survival, ultimately limits the type of volunteer recruited by Russian NPOs. The implications of these findings are also explored.     

Die Macht der groβen Zahlen

Zusammenfassung Der Artikel pr?sentiert Ergebnisse einer empirischen Untersuchung, in der russische Jugendliche und junge Erwachsene nach ihren Bildern und Vorstellungen vom Lebensstil der so genannten „neuen Russen“ befragt wurden. Die Ergebnisdiskussion steht im Zusammenhang einer sich als individualistisch verstehenden Richtung der Konsumsoziologie, die von den Arbeiten Simmels und Bourdieus inspiriert ist. Der expressiv-?ffentliche Konsum, wie die Befragten ihn mit den neuen Russen assoziieren, erweist sich als eine stark geschlechtsspezifisch gepr?gte Handlungsweise, die vorwiegend M?nnern zugeschrieben wird. Zugleich überraschen die Formen und das Sortiment dieses imagin?ren Konsums durch ihre Vorhersagbarkeit und st?ndige Wiederholung. Neben den aus der Sowjetepoche mitgeführten kulturellen Pr?dispositionen und Gewohnheiten drückt sich hierin die Funktionslogik einer Kultur aus, die durch ein Defizit an symbolischen Ausdrucksmitteln gekennzeichnet ist. Die Betonung quantitativer anstelle qualitativer Eigenschaften des Konsums ist unter den Bedingungen einer zahlenm?βigen Begrenztheit verfügbarer Statussymbole ein nahe liegender Ausweg, um überhaupt so etwas wie Distinktion zum Ausdruck bringen zu k?nnen. Nicht die Feinheit, sondern die überzeugungskraft der groβen Zahlen ist es folglich, die im postsowjetischen Russland den Unterschied markiert.

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Summary This article presents findings from an empirical study asking adolescents and young adults about their images of the lifestyle of so-called “new Russians.” The analysis is based on an individualistic approach within the sociology of consumption, inspired by the works of Simmel and Bourdieu. The expressive- public consumption pattern that respondents associated with the “new Russians” proved to be a highly genderized behavior primarily attributed to men. However, the predictability and constant repetition of the forms and assortment of this imagined consumption were quite surprising. Aside from cultural predispositions and habits retained from Soviet times, this seems quite to be the mark of a culture characterized by a deficit in symbolic means of expression. if there is a limited variety of status symbols, the emphasis on quantitative instead ofqualitative attributes of consumption seems a way to express anything of a distinction at all. Not subtlety but persuasion by (large) numbers is what makes a difference in post-Soviet Russia.

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Résumé Cet article présente les résultats d’une enquête de terrain au cours de laquelle des adolescents et de jeunes adultes russes ont été interrogés sur leur perception du style de vie de ceux que l’on nomme les „nouveaux russes“. La discussion de ces résultats s’inscrit dans le courant de la sociologie de la consommation individualiste inspirée des travaux de Simmel et de Bourdieu. La consommation ostentatoire, que les personnes interrogées associent aux nouveaux russes, appara?t comme une conduite spécifiquement masculine aux yeux de la majorité des sondés. Les formes et les objets de cette consommation imaginaire surprennent par leur prévisibilité et par leur constante répétition. Outre les prédispositions et habitudes culturelles héritées de l’époque soviétique, c’est la logique de fonctionnement d’une culture caractérisée par un déficit des moyens d’expression symboliques qui se manifeste à travers cette consommation. Dans un contexte marqué par une pénurie des symboles de statut social disponibles, l’accent mis sur les aspects quantitatifs de la consommation au détriment des aspects qualitatifs constitue un expédient pour pouvoir exprimer ne serait- ce qu’un semblant de distinction. Par conséquent, ce n’est pas le raffinement mais la force de persuasion de la quantité qui fait la différence dans la Russie postsoviétique.

     

Jugoslavias utenrikshandel

Artikkelen ble opprinnelig gitt som foredrag av S. Krajger på et møte arrangert av Norsk Untenrikspolitisk Institutt. 22. juni 1961. Den fullstendige tittel på foredraget var: Det politiske og økonomiske grunnlag for det økonomiske samarbeid mellom Jugoslavia og utlandet. Første del av foredraget er gjengitt uavkortet, fortsettelsen i konsentrert sammendrag.