History, Europe and the “National Idea”: The “Official” Narrative of National Identity in Ukraine

2000 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 671-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kataryna Wolczuk
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Political Community ◽  
National Character ◽  
The Political ◽  
Practical Issue ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
New States

The demise of the Soviet Union entailed a reconfiguration of the political space and a reforging of collective identities within the boundaries of the new successor states. In the view of Anthony Smith, this was inevitable: “the rediscovery of the national self is not an academic matter, it is a pressing practical issue, vexed, and contentious, which spells life or death for the nationalist project of creating a nation.” Defining the national “self not only accomplishes a symbolic break with the previous political community but also sets out the parameters of statehood with regard to language and minority rights. However, even if the newness of the polity precipitates ”the definition, creation, and solidarification of a viable collective identity,“ this can be anything but straightforward. New states dwell on particularism, that is they look to ”local mores, established institutions, and the unities of common experience—to ‘tradition,’ ‘culture,’ ‘national character,’ or even ‘race’ for the roots of a new identity.“ And yet defining the national particularism may be fraught with inherent difficulties because, as Geertz observed, ”new states tend to be bundles of competing traditions gathered accidentally into concocted political frameworks rather than organically evolving civilizations.“

4. Race for the H-bomb

2020 ◽  
pp. 39-59
Author(s):  
Joseph M. Siracusa
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
National Character ◽  
The Political ◽  
Window Of Opportunity ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Atomic Weapons ◽  
Hydrogen Bomb ◽  
Human Control ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Atomic Weapon

America’s monopoly on atomic weapons was shorter than expected. ‘Race for the H-bomb’ details the development of the hydrogen bomb and the political developments surrounding it. The Soviet Union developed an atomic weapon faster than worst-case scenarios had predicted. Stalin appeared at first to dismiss the bomb, but it is likely that his understanding was more nuanced. What else could America have done with their short window of opportunity? Some argued for preventive war, but this went against the national character. The development of the hydrogen bomb took war out of the realms of logic and human control altogether, and anti-nuclear movements began to gather force in the 1950s.

Ethnic Discrimination and the Discourse of “Indigenization”: The Regional Regime, “Indigenous Majority” and Ethnic Minorities in Krasnodar Krai in Russia

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Popov ◽  
Igor Kuznetsov
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Ethnic Discrimination ◽  
The Political ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Krasnodar Krai ◽  
Democratic Reform ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
The Soviet Union

To many in both the East and the West it seemed axiomatic that the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was due to “nationality reasons,” which were viewed as a natural process in the last empire's decline. Then, during the democratic reform of a totalitarian state, ethnic minority rights were first spoken of, and the growth of national self-awareness appeared to be an integral part of society's liberalization. Time has since shown that liberal changes in the economy and in the political and social spheres are not always accompanied by the establishment of social justice; indeed, it has frequently been minorities who are among the most unfortunate and marginalized groups in society. Defending the rights of minorities and combating ethnic and racial discrimination remains one of the most relevant issues in practically all post-socialist countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern and Central Europe.

The Demise of Adam in the Qisas al-Anbiyā: The Symbolic Politics of Death and Re-Burial in the Islamic "Stories of the Prophets"

Numen ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 497-535
Author(s):  
Loren Lybarger
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
The Political ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Symbolic Politics ◽  
Religious Literature ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Identity And Difference ◽  
Biblical Figures

AbstractThis paper explores how death and burial narratives — particularly those associated with Adam, the paradigmatic first human being, in the Islamic religious literature known as qisas al-anbiyā ("stories of the [Biblical] prophets") — relate to the discursive processes through which religious communities articulate lines of inclusion and exclusion in the formation of their collective identities. In conversation with Katherine Verdery (The Political Lives of Dead Bodies), who examines reburials of political figures in Eastern Europe following the 1989 collapse of the Soviet Union, this paper argues that Islamic narratives regarding the death and burial of biblical figures like Adam serve to re-appropriate, re-situate, and re-define boundaries of identity and difference both among Muslims (e.g.male/public vs. female/private; Sunni vs. Shi'a; ālim (scholar) vs. populist preacher) and between Muslims and non-Muslim monotheists, Jews and Christians, principally. Grounding the discussion, empirically, are a series of close analyses of various renditions of the story of Adam's demise as found in a range of mostly Sunni qisas al-anbiyā materials. From these analyses, the paper offers an expanded understanding of how religious communities, specifically, develop multiple and competing claims in an effort to "monopolize the practices associated with death" (Verdery).

scholarly journals Keiji Sato, Ethnic political mobilization: an integrative or disintegrative force in the modern polity? Case-studies of political mobilization by non-titular nations in Moldova, Estonia and Lithuania

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 64-80
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Political Mobilization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Reconciliation ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Ethnic Tension ◽  
Independent States ◽  
Rich Material

The ethnic political mobilizations, which were originally led by the non-titular nations of the Soviet republics, traced different paths at their latter phase, after the collapse of the USSR in particular; the emerging of de facto independent states inside de jure newly-established states (Moldova and Georgia), the political reconciliation by forming autonomy (Moldova and Ukraine), the uprising of the inter-state war (Azerbaijan and Armenia), and the ethnic tension toward improvement of minority rights (Lithuania and Estonia). The four casestudies presented in this paper demonstrate that rich material and immaterial resources increased the sustainability of ethnic political mobilization. The sustainability was an important factor in achieving de facto independent states after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Translation and Transformation: English-Language Children's Literature in (Soviet) Russian Guise

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Inggs
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
English Language ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
The Political ◽  
Philosophy Of Action ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
Soviet Russia

This article investigates the perceived image of English-language children's literature in Soviet Russia. Framed by Even-Zohar's polysystem theory and Bourdieu's philosophy of action, the discussion takes into account the ideological constraints of the practice of translation and the manipulation of texts. Several factors involved in creating the perceived character of a body of literature are identified, such as the requirements of socialist realism, publishing practices in the Soviet Union, the tradition of free translation and accessibility in the translation of children's literature. This study explores these factors and, with reference to selected examples, illustrates how the political and sociological climate of translation in the Soviet Union influenced the translation practices and the field of translated children's literature, creating a particular image of English-language children's literature in (Soviet) Russia.

scholarly journals The All-Buryat Congress for the Spiritual Rebirth and Consolidation of the Nation: Siberian politics in the final year of the USSR

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-71
Author(s):  
Melissa Chakars
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
The Political ◽  
Socialist Republic ◽  
Soviet Socialist Republic ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
People's Party ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Russian State ◽  
General Goals

This article examines the All-Buryat Congress for the Spiritual Rebirth and Consolidation of the Nation that was held in the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in February 1991. The congress met to discuss the future of the Buryats, a Mongolian people who live in southeastern Siberia, and to decide on what actions should be taken for the revival, development, and maintenance of their culture. Widespread elections were carried out in the Buryat lands in advance of the congress and voters selected 592 delegates. Delegates also came from other parts of the Soviet Union, as well as from Mongolia and China. Government administrators, Communist Party officials, members of new political parties like the Buryat-Mongolian People’s Party, and non-affiliated individuals shared their ideas and political agendas. Although the congress came to some agreement on the general goals of promoting Buryat traditions, language, religions, and culture, there were disagreements about several of the political and territorial questions. For example, although some delegates hoped for the creation of a larger Buryat territory that would encompass all of Siberia’s Buryats within a future Russian state, others disagreed revealing the tension between the desire to promote ethnic identity and the practical need to consider economic and political issues.

Lukewarm Neutrality in a Cold War? The Case of Austria

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 36-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwin A. Schmidl
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Military Occupation ◽  
Iron Curtain ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
East And West ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Other Orientation ◽  
Over Time

Geographically, Austria's position during the Cold War differed significantly from that of Switzerland or Sweden, let alone Ireland. Austria, like Finland, was situated along the Iron Curtain. In 1945, Austria was divided between East and West, and the Soviet Union hoped that the Austrian Communists could quickly gain power by largely democratic means. This effort failed, however, when the Communists lost decisively in the November 1945 elections. Over the next decade, Austria remained under Soviet and Western military occupation. The formal adoption of a neutral status for Austria in May 1955, when the Austrian State Treaty was signed, was a compromise needed to ensure the departure of Soviet forces from Austria. Although some other orientation might have been preferred, neutrality over time became firmly engrained in Austria's collective identity.

scholarly journals Reassessing the Standard of Living in the Soviet Union: An Analysis Using Archival and Anthropometric Data

2010 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Brainerd
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Physical Growth ◽  
Standard Of Living ◽  
The Political ◽  
Archival Data ◽  
Anthropometric Data ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Child Height ◽  
Adult Stature

This article uses anthropometric and archival data to reassess the standard of living in the Soviet Union. In the prewar period, the population was small in stature and sensitive to the political and economic upheavals experienced in the country. Significant improvements in child height, adult stature, and infant mortality were recorded from approximately 1945 to 1970. While this period of physical growth was followed by stagnation in heights, the physical growth record of the Soviet population compares favorably with that of other European countries at a similar level of development in this period.

In Afghanistan: Western and Soviet Methods of Counterinsurgency

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-40
Author(s):  
Lasha Tchantouridze
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Limited Success ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Us ◽  
Military Mission ◽  
Lasting Change

The two-decade-long U.S.-led military mission in Afghanistan ended in August 2021 after a chaotic departure of the NATO troops. Power in Kabul transferred back to the Taliban, the political force the United States and its allies tried to defeat. In its failure to achieve a lasting change, the Western mission in Afghanistan is similar to that of the Soviet Union in the 1980s. These two missions in Afghanistan had many things in common, specifically their unsuccessful counterinsurgency efforts. However, both managed to achieve limited success in their attempts to impose their style of governance on Afghanistan as well. The current study compares and contrasts some of the crucial aspects of counterinsurgency operations conducted by the Soviet and Western forces during their respective missions, such as special forces actions, propaganda activities, and dealing with crucial social issues. Interestingly, when the Soviets withdrew in 1988, they left Afghanistan worse off, but the US-backed opposition forces subsequently made the situation even worse. On the other hand, the Western mission left the country better off in 2021, and violence subsided when power in the country was captured by the Taliban, which the United States has opposed.

The Role of National Diversity in Political Reform A Comparative Study between the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the British Northern Ireland Region

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tareq Kakarash ◽  
Alnasir Doraid
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Difference

The issue of national diversity is considered one of the most important points in studying the development of political systems in our time. Many scholars and researchers have noticed that there is rarely a people or nation in the world today that does not possess different national or ethnic diversity, some of which succeed in forcibly obliterating them, which leads to its ignition and the division of nations and states. (As happened in the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, the Eight State, the Empire of Austria-Hungary, etc.) and as it will happen in the future in other repressive countries, no matter how long their repression takes, and some of them succeed in preserving them through assimilation and understanding, as happened in Switzerland and a few other countries. While there are countries that have been striving for decades to arrange their national situations (such as India, Belgium and Spain), with varying degrees of success. The element of national diversity sometimes plays an active role in reforming the political system, and at other times this national diversity hinders the entire political reform. On the basis of the difference and contrast between the two models in terms of the degree of modernity and development, however, a careful examination of the two models confirms that they are not different to this degree. Only years (1998 in Britain and 2003 in Iraq) and the political conflict still exists in the two countries, leading to a final solution to this crisis.

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