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41. Majorities and Minorities in Post-Soviet Space

Author:
Federica Prina and Aziz Berdiqulov
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
The concepts of ‘majority’ and ‘minority’ are challenging terms to define in a clear and precise manner, especially in the unique environments of post-Soviet space. Linking the definitional complexities of ‘majority’ to the post-Soviet and postcolonial condition, this paper examines the majority-minority dynamics through the lenses of the fluidity of groups, the interaction of communities and the power differentials between communities. In doing so, the paper analyses cases from two post-Soviet countries. First, the case of Russia illustrates contentious identification of majority and minority communities, where an alternative vocabulary for definition of ‘minority’ and ‘majority’ emerged along with alternative understanding of related concepts. Second, the case of Tajikistan looks at the interplay of majority-minority concepts and discusses how the Russian community as a former ‘political majority’ adjusts to its new status of non-dominant group, while the Tajik community becomes the single subject of the nation-building policies.
Topic:
Post Colonialism, Minorities, Ethnicity, Identity, and Post-Soviet Space
Political Geography:
Europe and Post-Soviet Europe

42. Unpacking the Post-Soviet: Political Legacy of the Tartu Semiotic School

Author:
Andrey Makarychev and Alexandra Yatsyk
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
This article sketches out general approach to using cultural semiotics as a cognitive tool for analyzing international relations in general and in post-Soviet area in particular. The authors discuss how the homegrown school of cultural semiotics associated with the University of Tartu can be helpful for IR studies. In this respect we place cultural semiotic knowledge in a multidisciplinary perspective and look for projections of its concepts into the vocabulary of foreign policy. Then we intend to discuss the Tartu school from a political perspective, thus claiming that its premium put on cultural issues renders strong politicizing effects. Ultimately, we use cultural semiotic notions and approaches for problematizing the concept of the post-Soviet with its conflictual split between reproducing archaic policies and discourses, on the one hand, and playing by the rules of the post-modern society, with entertainment, hybridity and the spirit of deconstruction as its pivots.
Topic:
Academia, Transition, Post-Soviet Space, and Cultural Semiotics
Political Geography:
Eurasia and Global Focus

43. Full Issue

Author:
Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Ìrìnkèrindò: A Journal of African Migration
Institution:
Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration
Abstract:
Contents Editorial Mixed, Perilous and Other Migrations: Do African Lives Matter? Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome 1 Breaching Fortress Europe: By Any Means Necessary: The Complications of African Migration to Europe. Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome .................................................................................... 12 African Migrants in Post-Soviet Moscow: Adaptation and Integration in a Time of Radical Socio-Political Transformations. Dmitri M. Bondarenko........................................................ 35 Exploring the Migration Experiences of Black Zimbabwean Women in the Greater Cincinnati Area. Florence Nyemba and Lisa Vaughn ................................................................................... 76 Socio-cultural Factors Influencing the Ebola Virus Disease-related Stigma among African Immigrants in the United States Guy-Lucien S. Whembolua, Donaldson Conserve, and Daudet Ilunga Tshiswaka ....................................................................................................................... 117
Topic:
Migration, History, Ebola, Immigrants, Post-Soviet Space, and Stigmatization
Political Geography:
Africa, Russia, Europe, Zimbabwe, and United States of America

44. Rusia y la Estrategia Global de Seguridad de la Unión Europea

Author:
María Isabel Nieto
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:
Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:
El presente artículo hace un recorrido de las relaciones de la UE y Rusia en la última década y constata el deterioro en las relaciones bilaterales. La Rusia de Putin se ha convertido en un jugador geoestratégico muy activo, con un comportamiento inquietante, rompiendo equilibrios de la escena internacional que se arrastraban tras el final de la guerra fría. Rusia es una prioridad de la política exterior y la seguridad europea en la nueva Estrategia Global de Seguridad, pero ha llegado a ser también un formidable competidor. Este aspecto tendría que haber vertebrado más esta sección de la Estrategia que no resulta convincente. Simultáneamente, la cuestión que no queda clara es qué instrumentos tiene la UE para la defensa de sus vecinos cuando pueda ponerse en cuestión la soberanía o la defensa territorial, cuestión que va más allá del apoyo a la resiliencia de estos vecinos.
Topic:
Security, European Union, Vladimir Putin, and Post-Soviet Space
Political Geography:
Russia and Eastern Europe

45. The Eurasian Economic Union: Breaking the pattern of post-Soviet integration?

Author:
Sean Roberts, Anaïs Marin, Arkady Moshes, and Katri Pynnöniemi
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:
The Eurasian Economic Union between Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia consolidates a market of 170 million people with a combined GDP of almost 3 trillion US dollars. On paper, this union has the potential to transform economic relations in the region and to offer an alternative to the EU in the post-Soviet space. The Union, which comes into effect from January 2015, marks the latest achievement in the current ‘intensive phase’ of integration, which has seen the creation of a Eurasian Customs Union (2010), a Single Economic Space (2012) and a Eurasian Economic Commission (2012), all intended to facilitate the four economic freedoms – the free movement of goods, people, services and capital. Expanding the Union is also seen as a priority, with Armenia set to join the Customs Union and Kyrgyzstan already at an advanced stage of negotiation. However, despite early successes, further deepening and widening of the Union are fraught with difficulties and the pace of integration will inevitably slow, as member states come to terms with the commitments they have made. Plans to deepen the Union have encountered a number of implementation issues leading to multi-speed integration from the outset. Likewise, plans to expand the Union have revealed a creeping politicisation that threatens to undermine the ‘economic only’ nature of this integration project. More importantly, the latest phase of post-Soviet integration shows strong signs that the older problems of weak institutions and large asymmetry between member states are continuing to hinder closer ties. Taken together, and against the backdrop of an increasingly hostile international environment that has accompanied the crisis in Ukraine, the Eurasian Economic Union faces an uphill struggle to maintain momentum and deliver the results member states desire.
Topic:
European Union, Multilateralism, Economic Policy, and Post-Soviet Space
Political Geography:
Russia and Eastern Europe

46. Not Another Transnistria: How sustainable is separatism in Eastern Ukraine?

Author:
András Rácz
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:
The situation in Eastern Ukraine is often compared with that of Transnistria, the separatist region of Moldova. However, the two cases differ for a number of reasons, all of which will make the “Novorossiya” project much harder for Russia to sustain than Transnistria. First and foremost, unlike Transnistria, the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in their current shape will be unable to influence the everyday political and economic functioning of Ukraine. Vis-à-vis the rest of Ukraine, they are much smaller than Transnistria is in relation to Moldova. The main energy pipelines leading to Ukraine do not cross the separatist territories, and with the economic ties getting severed, the main instrumental function of a frozen conflict – namely to constantly influence and destabilize the target country – is likely to be lost. There are also several other factors, including: the lack of ethnic, national, linguistic or cultural background that would provide identity foundations for the Novorossiya project; the reliance of the separatists on the continuous, massive presence of the Russian military; the damage already inflicted on Russia’s international reputation; the effect on Russian domestic politics; the need for considerable financial assistance from Russia to the separatist territories; and the risk of increasing soft security challenges directly affecting Russia. In addition to all this, it cannot be guaranteed that the separatist elites will always be fully obedient to the will of Moscow. The a priori readiness to defend and support the action of the local authorities will limit Moscow’s room for maneouvre. Costly both politically and economically, the Novorossiya project is able to serve the Russian strategic objectives vis-à-vis the rest of Ukraine much less than Transnistria was able to do so vis-à-vis Moldova. Hence, one probable scenario is a further escalation of hostilities to expand the separatist-controlled territory, which may unfold relatively soon. However, in the medium term, the gradual restoration of Ukraine’s constitutional order in the territory should also be considered possible, within the framework of a larger international compromise and provided that reforms progress in Ukraine.
Topic:
European Union, Separatism, and Post-Soviet Space
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe

47. Homo Politicus and His Religiousness in Transitional Societies of Kirghizia

Author:
Irina I. Ivanova and Vadim P. Tutlis
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:
Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:
The article deals with a analysis of Homo politicus and Homo religiosis in postsoviet Kirghizia. On that political condition in the West and political ones in the East are compared. The authors draw a conclusion that reference point for modern transitional Kirghizia must be not political absenteeism but a junction of all citizens to policy.
Topic:
Politics, Religion, Transition, and Post-Soviet Space
Political Geography:
Eurasia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kirghizia

48. The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Education Services in Economies of the Former Soviet Union

Author:
Irina Sinitsina
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
The global economic crisis has created new challenges for education systems all over the world. The Former Soviet Union countries were confronted with an urgent issue, not necessarily specifically related to the crisis: to formulate and introduce new educational curricula, standards, and delivery models in order to adjust to the challenges imposed by the transition to the post-industrial stage of development. Irina Sinitsina summarised her chapter in the CASE Network Report No. 100 "The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Education Services in Economies of the Former Soviet Union" in this E-brief. Using the available data, she comes to the conclusion that during the crisis, the education system of FSU countries were not dramatically affected by overall budget cuts.
Topic:
Education, Financial Crisis, Social Policy, Social Services, Labor Market, and Post-Soviet Space
Political Geography:
Central Asia, Caucasus, and Eastern Europe

49. What Can Arab Countries Learn From Post-communist Transition?

Author:
Marek Dabrowski
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
More than a year has passed since the beginning of the political uprising against the authoritarian regimes in the Arab world. But, as demonstrated by the recent dramatic developments in Syria, the process is far from over. Meanwhile nations which have already freed themselves from their authoritarian rulers (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen), must decide where to go and how to manage their political and economic changes. To a lesser extent, a similar challenge is being faced by those constitutional monarchies (like Morocco or Jordan) which accelerated reforms in order to avoid political destabilization. Many politicians and experts, especially those from Central and Eastern Europe, suggest their Arab colleagues learn from the experience of the postcommunist transition of the early 1990s. However, while learning from others is always a useful exercise, the geopolitical and socio-economic context of the Arab revolution seems to be different, in many respects, from that of former Soviet bloc countries more than twenty years ago.
Topic:
Development, Authoritarianism, Arab Spring, and Post-Soviet Space
Political Geography:
Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Arab Countries

50. The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Public Health Expenditures in the Economies of the Former Soviet Union

Author:
Roman Mogilevsky
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
The financial crisis strongly affected the countries of the former Soviet Union1 (FSU) in 2008-2009. All of the countries experienced either a recession or a considerable slowdown in growth. The crisis also adversely affected government budget revenues, so governments had to adjust their expenditures to the falling revenues. Under such conditions, public expenditures on health were at risk of being cut. This brief explores whether or not this actually happened and why or why not.
Topic:
Financial Crisis, Economy, Public Health, and Post-Soviet Space
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe