From Balcony to Barricade: Nationalism and Popular Mobilisation in Georgia,Ukraine, and Russia

This article examines the dynamics of popular mobilisation in autocratic post-communist regimes, focusing on how opposition groups manoeuvre around cultural and structural constraints to inspire ordinary citizens to join street protests, despite the real dangers associated with political action. Using evidence from original interviews with activists in Georgia, Ukraine, and Russia, the article analyses the comparative challenges facing Russian activists in constructing new collective identities for the people they hope will become their followers, through the use of an inclusive, civic nationalism and a narrative that links action in the present to an ongoing, shared historical process.