An oasis of democracy in an authoritarian sea? Civil society,social, and institutional trust in Georgia

We examine whether the existence of civil society in Georgia has promoted social and institutional trust in the population. As much of the literature suggests, Georgia is different from its neighbors in that civil society development is more advanced. Does participation in civil society lead to more social and institutional trust? Using survey data from the Caucasus Barometer and the World Values Survey, we find that attitudes regarding social and institutional trust are more developed in Georgia than in its neighbors, and that activity in voluntary organizations is positively associated with social and institutional trust in Georgia.     

Rational or reckless? Georgia's zugzwang in the Caucasus

Although the 2008 Russian-Georgian war was a military defeat for Georgia, it has only reinforced Georgia's westward trajectory. One noteworthy difference from Georgia's pre-war policy is a new regional strategy – the North Caucasus Initiative – that seeks to create a soft power alternative to Russia's military dominance in the region. We suggest that this approach is rational rather than reckless, as some critics have claimed. It represents a carefully calculated strategy that is already benefiting Georgia and from which all concerned parties, including Russia, stand to gain. If the South and North Caucasus were more open and less divided – a direction in which this new initiative appears to point – the Caucasus could become more prosperous and more stable. That would serve Russia's long-term interest by significantly reducing the cost of subsidies to sustain and stabilize the volatile region.     

Georgian readiness for NATO membership after Russian-Georgian armed conflict

The history of the cooperation between Georgia and NATO had started long before the Rose Revolution. Nowadays, Georgia belongs to the countries which want to join NATO. This article gauges the Georgian readiness for its accession to NATO. Study on NATO enlargement provides requirements on future members of NATO, even though it avoids such an explicit formulation. This article concludes that Georgia is not yet ready to join NATO because it has serious deficiencies in the area of democracy building, military readiness, and settling territorial disputes with its neighbours. The only area where the situation is satisfactory is the support of the public for the accession.     

Manual or History? Roberto Cipriani's Sociology of Religion

Roberto Cipriani's history of the sociology of religion begins with philosophical predecessors and works its way through the major writing of numerous nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholars. It places a great deal of valuable information between two covers. One can argue with the way many of the authors are grouped together, however—something that can cause problems for students. And some important personages in the field, especially women who have made contributions, are omitted.     

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the context of South Caucasus regional security issues: An Armenian perspective†

For more than a quarter-century, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been one of the most important factors influencing the political map of the South Caucasus. On 12 May 1994, Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia, and Azerbaijan signed a cease-fire agreement that ended military operations in the conflict zone and has been observed until recently. Negotiations for a peaceful settlement have been underway within the framework of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minsk Group co-chaired by the USA, Russia, and France since 1992, but society and the elite in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan remain largely unprepared for compromise. Considering the settlement process a zero-sum game, they have generally accused one another of escalating the conflict and of a lack of willingness to restore peace. Other countries and international organizations involved in the negotiations do not share a vision of the future and frequently pursue their own interests. Accordingly, the Karabakh conflict could remain unresolved for decades more. The aim of the paper is a general assessment of the current stage and dynamic of this conflict and the impact of new trends and old obstacles on the prospects for further settlement.     

Griffins or Chameleons? Hybridity as a Permanent and Inevitable Characteristic of the Third Sector

Abstract

The term “third sector” is increasingly used, but it is also increasingly difficult to define. It is characterized by fragmentation, fuzziness, and constant change. Furthermore, the bordering domains of community, market, and state are equally difficult to define and are becoming more blurred. One may have to accept that hybridity and change are permanent features of the organizations and arrangements involved. They could be classified not with reference to the structural characteristics of abstract domains but on the basis of how they cope with conditions of hybridity and change. The search for a valid empirical definition of the third sector, however modestly ambitious, must focus on the fringes of the domain where the “hard cases” can be found—the phenomena that are most difficult to identify and therefore most likely to reveal what is essential to the different domains.     

“Forward to David the Builder!” Georgia's (re)turn to language-centered nationalism

After the Rose Revolution, President Saakashvili tried to move away from the exclusionary nationalism of the past, which had poisoned relations between Georgians and their Armenian and Azerbaijani compatriots. His government instead sought to foster an inclusionary nationalism, wherein belonging was contingent upon speaking the state language and all Georgian speakers, irrespective of origin, were to be equals. This article examines this nation-building project from a top-down and bottom-up lens. I first argue that state officials took rigorous steps to signal that Georgian-speaking minorities were part of the national fabric, but failed to abolish religious and historical barriers to their inclusion. I next utilize a large-scale, matched-guise experiment (n?=?792) to explore if adolescent Georgians ostracize Georgian-speaking minorities or embrace them as their peers. I find that the upcoming generation of Georgians harbor attitudes in line with Saakashvili's language-centered nationalism, and that current Georgian nationalism therefore is more inclusionary than previous research, or Georgia's tumultuous past, would lead us to believe.     

AARON AVSHALOMOV AND NEW CHINESE MUSIC IN SHANGHAI, 1931–1947

Abstract

In this article, I position Russian composer Aaron Avshalomov (1894–1965) within the pre-1949 Shanghai music community at a crucial juncture in modern China’s cultural development. First, I examine Avshalomov’s eclectic background and identity as Chinese-acculturated foreigner, Russian-Jewish immigrant, and multifaceted musician, which uniquely situated him among Shanghai’s influential foreign artists for experimentation with new blends of Chinese and Western music from 1931 to 1947. Second, I discuss how this exploration facilitated his contribution to the forging of a new, “national” Chinese music. Third, I describe Avshalomov’s musical style by offering examples of Chinese-Western fusion composition. Finally, I demonstrate that Avshalomov was historically significant via the influence he had on Chinese musicians and through his foreshadowing of future musical developments. He thus serves as an individual exemplar of hybrid identity, creativity, and agency within a city and newly forming tradition that were also characteristically multivalent.     

No man’s land? A comparative analysis of the EU and Russia’s influence in the Southern Caucasus

The article investigates, through a comparative analysis, the different mechanisms of influence that the EU and Russia are projecting in their shared neighborhood in shaping domestic politics. It focuses on the economic and energy sectors in order to analyze two relevant policies for contrasting EU and Russia’s influence in the case of the Southern Caucasus. Contrary to commonly held opinions, Russian influence is receding in both areas and is a dominant external actor only in Armenia. In contrast, the EU is slowly increasing its presence in the economic area and has become a key player in the energy sector.