Suchergebnisse

Rysk november. En intervjuresa i nordvästligsta Ryssland er en reiseskildring fra Kola-halvøya og Karelen i Russland, der forfatteren beskriver egne møter underveis med representanter for både sivilsamfunnet og det offentlige. Boka er lettlest og engasjerende, og egner seg for alle som er interessert i samfunnsutviklingen i Russland og arktiske spørsmål.
Rysk november. En intervjuresa i nordvästligsta Ryssland is a travelogue from the Kola Peninsula and Karelia in Russia, where the author describes his own meetings along the way with representatives of both civil society and the public sector. The book is easy to read and engaging, and suitable for anyone interested in the development of Russian society and the Arctic.

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: "Even if it didn't happen, it's true" – Houston, We Have a Problem!Houston, We Have a Problem! (director: Žiga Virc, 2016) is a mockumentary film from Slovenia that stirred up controversy in the former Yugoslavia. The film deals with the Yugoslav space program, which Josip Broz Tito sells to the United States under President Kennedy for $2.5 billion. However, it turns out that the Yugoslavs have nothing to sell: their space program is utterly useless. The payment is then converted into a loan, forcing Yugoslavia into an economic crisis. Tito dies, and with more or less direct involvement from the US side, Yugoslavia dies with him. The content of this film, and the debate surrounding it, show that popular culture dealing with the past has inherited traces of the ideologizations of the past. This article presents interpretations of public reactions to the film, but also analyzes what it seeks to convey regarding Yugoslav historiography, through this fable of Yugoslavia, its purported space program, and US involvement.

March 2018 – and then what? The issue of political succession in Putin's Russia
As president of Russia and a prominent political leader, Vladimir Putin has consistently endeavoredto legitimize his rule by appealing to central political myths and taken-for-granted truths inRussian society. In rhetoric and official communication, he emerges as the guarantor of domesticorder and stability, the protector of traditional values, and a staunch advocate of Russia'sstatus and position as a great power in a world often depicted as hostile. What is being communicatedhere, and apparently finds resonance among broad segments of public opinion, is thaton all these parameters Putin is uniquely qualified to lead Russia. Four times in the course of18 years, Putin has been elected president in the first round of elections, and throughout thisperiod he has received high rankings in regular monthly opinion polls. However, his legitimationstrategies have been so firmly linked to the persona of Putin that we may speak of an emergingdilemma with his fourth presidency. Who could fill his shoes as his successor? The articleanalyzes this dilemma, taking its point of departure in Weber's seminal theorizing on types oflegitimate authority and the routinization of charisma. It discusses the evident dearth of crediblesuccessor candidates, and concludes by discussing possible actions for dealing with or postponingthe issue of succession.