Testing constructivism: why not more “Cossacks” in Krasnodar Kray?

Despite attempts to portray Krasnodar Kray in southern Russia as a homeland for Cossacks, to date the Cossack identity there remains underdeveloped. Why has a Cossack identity in Krasnodar not become more popular? This article uses the case of the Kuban Cossacks as a test of constructivist theories of identity. The article takes as background the attempts of the Russian authorities to display the Cossacks as the indigenous people of the region for the upcoming Winter Olympics in 2014. Despite this and other efforts, only a minuscule proportion of the inhabitants of Krasnodar Kray identify with the Cossack label, which makes this case problematic for constructivism. The article reviews constructivist theories of ethnic and national identity and analyses the advantages and obstacles to the successful construction of a Cossack identity in the Krasnodar region. It finishes by drawing implications for constructivist theorizing from the case of the Kuban Cossack Host.     

Rural rage: the roots of right-wing populism in the United States*

ABSTRACT

In the United States, right-wing populism is a major factor in national politics, as evidenced by the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States in 2015. Right-wing populism is defined by an appeal to ‘people’ (usually white, heterosexual Christians) to rebel – against both liberal ‘elites’ from above and ‘subversives’ and ‘parasites’ from below – by engaging in a hardline brand of conservative politics. There are a variety of right-wing populist political currents in the U.S. One of the most visible is the contemporary ‘Patriot’ movement, which is the successor to the Armed Citizens Militia movement which swept the across the nation in the 1990s. Today, the core Patriot movement groups are united by an interpretation of the Constitution that derides federal power (especially regarding environmental regulations, public lands, and progressive taxation) and advocates for a radical brand of right-wing decentralization. This opposition to federal government policies is framed in a way that inflames preexisting White, Christian nationalism (including anti-immigrant xenophobia and Islamophobia), as well as Christian Right support for patriarchy and opposition to LGBTQ rights.     

The Euromaidan and the crisis of Russian nationalism

This article examines the reverberations in Russia of the Euromaidan protests and the fall of the Yanukovych regime in Ukraine. It shows how the events in Kyiv provoked a major crisis in the Russian nationalist movement, which was riven by vituperative denunciations, the ostracism of prominent activists, the breakdown of friendships, the rupture of alliances, and schisms within organizations. Focusing on pro-Kremlin nationalists and several tendencies of opposition nationalists, it argues that this turmoil was shaped by three factors. First, the Euromaidan provoked clashes between pro-Kremlin nationalists, who became standard-bearers of official anti-Euromaidan propaganda, and anti-Putin nationalists, who extolled the Euromaidan as a model for a revolution in Russia itself. Second, the events in Ukraine provoked ideological contention around issues of particular sensitivity to Russian nationalists, such as the competing claims of imperialism and ethnic homogeneity, and of Soviet nationalism and Russian traditionalism. And third, many nationalists were unprepared for the pace of events, which shifted rapidly from an anti-oligarchic uprising in Kyiv to a push for the self-determination of ethnic Russians in Crimean and southeast Ukraine. As a result, they were left in the uncomfortable position of appearing to collaborate with the oppressors of their compatriots.     

Sectarianism and conflict in Syria

This article challenges the sectarian narrative of Syria’s current civil war, which relies on several false assumptions about the nature of political identity. It first questions how sectarian the uprising and civil war actually are, suggesting that the conflict is ‘semi-sectarian’, given the multiple other fault lines of contention, notably class, ideology and other non-sect, sub-state ties. It then draws on the theoretical debates between primordialists, ethno-symbolists and modernists to historicise political identity development in Syria. In doing so, it reasserts the modernist case, emphasising how political identities in Syria, both national and sectarian, have developed in a complex interrelated manner in the modern era and how the recent violent mobilisation of sectarian identity is the result of long- and short-term structural, economic, socio-cultural and political factors rather than unchanging ancient animosities. Of these, the most vital remain structural changes and elite reactions to them, with the prospect of state collapse in Syria’s future the most likely cause of a descent into further sectarian chaos.     

A Soviet West: nationhood,regionalism, and empire in the annexed western borderlands

This article considers the role the Soviet Union's western borderlands annexed during World War II played in the evolution of Soviet politics of empire. Using the Baltic Republics and Western Ukraine as case studies, it argues that Sovietization had a profound impact on these borderlands, integrating them into a larger Soviet polity. However, guerrilla warfare and Soviet policy-making indirectly led to these regions becoming perceived as more Western and nationalist than other parts of the Soviet Union. The Baltic Republics and Western Ukraine differed in their engagement with the Western capitalist world. Different experiences of World War II and late Stalinism and contacts with the West ultimately led to this region becoming Soviet, yet different from the rest of the Soviet Union. While the Soviet West was far from uniform, perceived differences between it and the rest of the Soviet Union justified claims at the end of the 1980s that the Soviet Union was an empire rather than a family of nations.     

论韩国民族主义及其影响下的中韩关系

民族主义是一种古老而成熟的社会意识,它对一个国家的各个方面均能产生影响。笔者试图通过对韩国民族主义的分析,把握其特性及韩国对外政策中的民族主义性格,将民族主义作为一种特定的思维模式并建立一个理论框架来说明它是怎样影响中韩政治关系发展的,并对中韩关系的发展作出预测。     

民族主义与女性时尚:1934年“妇女国货年”运动新论

民族主义与社会时尚均为现代性的核心元素,其冲突在妇女国货年运动中得到充分展现。赋予女性消费行为和时尚观念的民族主义色彩,将女性消费时尚政治化与道德化,乃是运动期间舆论宣传基本的话语策略。运动期间女用奢侈品进口不减反增的悖论性现象,表明民族主义终究不敌消费时尚。近代都市女性的崇洋时尚,不应简单归诸女性民族主义情感之缺失,实质乃是近代男性社会建构的必然结果。     

Labour and the Scottish National Party: the Triumph of Continuity in a Changing Scotland

Scotland's party system appears on the verge of major change with the Scottish National Party poised to supplant the Labour party as the dominant force. Under a charismatic leader, the SNP is using populist means to try and secure independence. However, real change appears elusive even if constitutional arrangements are altered further. The SNP distrusts democratic participation and is keen to rule through mobilised interests groups and the civil‐service, strengthening the corporatist style of government characterising Scotland for centuries. Labour might avoid long‐term marginalisation, if it was to embrace an agenda based on strong democratic citizenship and a broad nationalism which emphasises a continuing Union in which the benefits of devolution are clearly directed towards individual citizens as well as elite groups     

Between Globalism and Localism,Italian Style

Survey and historical evidence reveal that Italians have emerged as the European masters of multiple loyalties, balancing relatively weak levels of state nationalism with strong affinities for sub-state, continental and global identities and institutions. These distinctive patterns can be traced to elite opinion leadership, the perceived material and psychological benefits derived from the European movement, and the legacy of the First Republic's party system.     

Civil Society and Violence in India's Northeast

The dominant view of India's Northeast highlights violence as a predominant feature and presents civil society as non-existent. Nevertheless, between a militarily-willed state and violent insurgencies lie very many formal associations and informal networks that organize the space for a civil society. The paper attempts to highlight the existence of such relatively lesser-known institutions of civil society in the region. However, there seem to be differences in the very nature of associations of civil society. Homogenous, intra-ethnic networks of civil society in the rural Northeast seem to be more vulnerable to violence and nationalistic fervour. In contrast, formal associations or inter-ethnic informal networks in the urban Northeast seem to handle conflicts and violence better. While the contents herein are expected to inform public discourses on a fragile region, they might also help challenge popular notions about the potential of an existent civil society in similar regions.