Emil Edenborg (Swedish Institute of International Affairs and Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies at Stockholm University) reviews The Shortest History of Russia: From the Vikings to the Present Day (Den korteste historien om Russland: fra vikingene til våre dager) by Peter Normann Waage (published in 2020 by Wigmostad & Bjorke).
This article begins by examining strategic culture studies, in particular Alan Bloomfield's concept of different sub-cultures in strategic culture. It then focuses on the border between Russia and Finland and how Finnish EU membership was made possible by Finland's decision not to challenge the WWII border treaty with the Soviet Union after the Soviet collapse. Next, it investigates the debates and public opinion relating to Finland's 1994 EU referendum, to see how the dynamics changed three strategic cultural sub-groups: "self-defence", "Westernisers" (including Western international organizations) and "Reassurance and Dialogue with Russia". In conclusion, it is argued that EU membership altered the hierarchy of these strategic culture sub-groups in Finland, as well as their substance. These changes were, however, more evolutionary than revolutionary.
Abstract: EU Actorness in the South Caucasus: Possibilities and LimitationsDespite significant institutional changes and refinements since its creation in 2004, the ENP (European Neighborhood Policy) remains a major tool available to the EU for providing incentives for reform and stability in non-member states through the diffusion of its norms and rules. Earlier studies, drawing on the Europeanization conceptual framework, have been mostly concerned about how and by which mechanisms compliance with EU rules takes place, rather than focusing on whether and to what extent it occurs. By contrast, this article assesses the actorness of the EU in three countries of the South Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan), viewing actorness as composed of three dimensions – capability, opportunity, and presence – enabling and constraining the aspirations of the EU to be an international actor in the South Caucasus.
Aksel V. Carlsen arbetade som forskare vid Institutet för internationella arbetarrörelsen under de två sista decennierna av den sovjetiska eran. I boken IMRD – min arbejdsplads i Moskva berättar han om kollegor, forskningsprojekt och den komplicerade relationen som institutet hade till den politiska regimen i det auktoritära sovjetsystemet. Ett intrikat nätverk mellan "sextitalisterna", som strävade efter socialistiska reformer av systemet, och de toppstyrda rigida politiska maktstrukturerna omgav och definierade IMRD:s verksamhet.
During the two final decades of the Soviet era, Aksel V. Carlsen worked as a researcher at the Institute for the International Labor Movement (IMRD). In IMRD – min arbejdsplads i Moskva (IMRD: my workplace in Moscow) he writes about colleagues, research activities and the institute's complicated interaction with the authoritarian Soviet regime. An intricate network existed between members of the 'sixties generation', who aimed at reforming the Soviet system, and the centralized rigid power structures – a network that enveloped and determined the work of the IMRD.
The amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation adoped after a 2020 referendum included a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. This is a recent manifestation of the turn to 'traditional values' in Russian politics and society, the best-known expression of which is the 2013 ban on 'propaganda for non-traditional sexual orientation'. This development cannot be understood as solely reflecting 'traditional' attitudes of the Russian population, nor as a backlash against LGBTQ activism. The turn to 'traditional values' must be considered in the context of a global pattern of increased pro-family mobilization, which opposes LGBTQ rights, feminism and the alleged undermining of gender as biologically determined and strictly binary – described by researchers as 'anti-gender mobilization'. Traditionalist politics in Russia should be analysed in a transnational and international perspective, but conservative mobilization is not a monolithic phenomenon. Using the concept of 'discourse coalition' developed by Maarten Hajer, I show how the identification of shared storylines enables a range of actors to act in similar ways, sometimes coordinating their actions, despite ideological, religious or strategic disagreements, on the domestic as well as the global arena.
Da president Vladimir Putin kom til makten i Russland på tidlig 2000-tallet, var en viktig del av hans statsbygging å skaffe seg kontroll over medielandskapet hjemme. Evnen til å forme egne innbyggeres oppfatning av virkeligheten har stått sentralt siden, og utover 2010-tallet har dette også inkludert et internasjonalt publikum. Irina Grigor gir oss i sin doktorgradsavhandling i kommunikasjon fra Universitetet i Helsinki, et nærmere innblikk i russisk bruk av media og strategiske narrativer, med et særlig fokus på bruk av visuelle virkemidler i russiske medier i ulike case i løpet av perioden 2012–2016.
Since President Putin came to power in the early 2000s, he has increasingly seized control of the domestic media landscape. In addition to Moscow's focus on shaping Russian domestic opinion, there have been similar control attempts aimed at an international audience. In her doctoral dissertation in communications from the University of Helsinki, Irina Grigor provides valuable insights into Russia's use of the media and strategic narratives. Using a case-study approach, Grigor devotes particular attention to the application of visual tools by the Russian media in the 2012–2016 period.
Abstract: Who is responsible for the protection of human rights in Kosovo?Human rights are central in the international community's missions in Kosovo. Moreover, Kosovo's 2008 Constitution lists eight directly applicable human rights instruments, along with detailed instructions on how they are to be interpreted in line with developments at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). And yet, human rights protection is lacking in the region. Potential violations attributable to the local authorities can be adjudicated, but only through the national courts, which raises questions of independence and impartiality. Meanwhile, NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) and the European Union's Rule of Law Programme (EULEX) enjoy immunity against prosecution by the domestic courts while still wielding some executive and judicial power. EULEX has an internal human rights panel, modelled on the less-than-successful panel established to hold the UN's Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) accountable, while KFOR has no similar judicial body. This article maps which options individuals have for addressing human rights violations in Kosovo and where the system still has its weaknesses. Additionally, it traces how the jurisdictions have changed in the past 15 years and proposes a way forward to fill the lacunae that remains.
Not since the 1940s have more people been on the move than today – across borders or in their own country. People flee from rebellion and war, but many also emigrate because they are looking for work and because they dream of a better life. In recent years, Norway has received large numbers of immigrants and has become a multicultural society. The lectures of ten researchers at a seminar entitled På vandring og på flukt. Migrasjon i historisk perspektiv (On the move and fleeing. Migration in a historical perspective) in 2016 allow the history of migration to be seen in a long historical perspective. The first lectures were devoted to emigration as a phenomenon with a long time span, while the later ones focused more strongly on the situation in recent years, with large-scale immigration and the emergence of a multicultural Norway. All the lectures saw the movement of people and its consequences against the background of the international situation, both in a historical perspective and in the context of our contemporary world. This is also the case with this anthology. - Ikke siden andre verdenskrig har flere mennesker vært på vandring og på flukt – over landegrenser eller innenfor eget land. Mennesker flykter fra opprør og krig. Men mange bryter også opp fra sitt hjemsted og flytter fordi de søker arbeid og drømmer om et bedre liv. De siste årene har vi opplevd at flere enn noen gang har stått ved våre grenser for å komme inn. Norge er blitt et flerkulturelt samfunn. Mange innvandrere har kommet til Norge opp gjennom tidene. Noen har vært på flukt, men flere har kommet for å finne arbeid. Eksempelvis kom det mange svensker over grensen til Øst- og Sørlandet sent på 1800-tallet og tidlig på 1900-tallet. I tidligere århundrer var det likevel ikke innvandring, men tvert imot utvandring som dominerte. Nordmenn reiste til Holland for å søke arbeid på 16- og 1700-tallet, og til Amerika på 18- og 1900-tallet. Mange vendte tilbake, men de fleste bosatte seg permanent i det nye landet. Korttidsutvandring til Spania er et fenomen som har preget vår nyere historie. Foredragene til ti forskere på Agderseminaret 2016 gjorde at noen lange linjer kunne trekkes gjennom de siste århundrenes migrasjonshistorie. De første foredragene var viet utvandringen, mens de siste fokuserte sterkere på situasjon de senere årene med stor innvandring og et flerkulturelt Norge. Den internasjonale situasjonen, før og nå, dannet rammen rundt. Slik er også denne antologien disponert.
