Suchergebnisse

Abstract: Security and Vulnerability After Armenia's Velvet Revolution: Elite Perceptions on Gender Equality, Human Rights and Conflict ResolutionThe Velvet Revolution in spring 2018 and the snap elections that followed in December 2018 shook Armenia. This article examines the country's new political elite and other central social elites, and their affective and evaluative beliefs with respect to human security, drawing on an elite survey conducted in 2017 and 2019, complemented by in-depth interviews. The aim is to shed light on whether Armenia's elite-level political culture is headed for progressive change concerning the rights of disadvantaged groups, primarily women and sexual minorities – an expectation among the young and educated in Yerevan. This study finds that, as regards reducing vulnerability and increasing the security and freedom of choice for those traditionally disadvantaged in Armenian society, the values and judgments of the new elites have remained basically traditional.

Abstract: HIV and AIDS in Russia: Regime Dynamics and ResponseOver the last two decades, the number of persons living with HIV in Russia has increased dramatically. According to WHO criteria, Russia is now facing a generalized HIV epidemic. This article analyzes how regime dynamics have influenced Russia's capacity to build a domestic response to the epidemic. Putin's cultural conservative turn in 2012 may have negatively affected the regime's ability to curb the spread of HIV. Evidence collected for this study indicates that three developments in particular have contributed to this. The first is the introduction of legislation aimed at reducing foreign involvement in Russia, which has weakened civil society as the main provider of prevention programs and services to key populations, and has forced global agencies to leave the country. Secondly, the increasing use of value-based conservative rhetoric after 2012 has meant better access to state structures, policy crafting and governmental funding for actors opposed to conventional methods of preventing HIV. Lastly, Putin's post-2012 cultural conception of the state has served to entrench Russian neopatrimonialism. As neopatrimonialism creates conditions unfavorable to successful implementation of reforms, including those necessary to deal with the ongoing epidemic, its stabilization may have assisted inaction as regards HIV.

Abstract: Review of Revolution! Swedish experiences from RussiaBirgitte Beck Pristed reviews Revolution! Swedish experiences from Russia, edited by Alexander Husebye, with contributions by Bengt JAngfeldt, Ulrika Knutson, Martin Kragh, Benito Peix Geldart, Gunnar Åselius. The volume is issued by the Swedish Center for Business History on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution and examines the postrevolutionary fate of Swedish entrepreneurs and their extensive business activities in Russia.

Susanna Rabow-Edling, from the Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Uppsala University, reviews Glenn Diesen's book, Russian Conservatism: Managing Change under Permanent Revolution (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021).

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.

Abstract: A Chinese Railway to the Arctic? The Story of Belkomur – so FarThe further development of the Northern Sea Route, including the associated logistical chains and infrastructure, enjoys high priority in Russia, and inadequate south–north transportation capacity is recognized as a problem. China has shown increasing interest in Arctic shipping over the past ten years. The construction of a railway from the Urals, with connections to China, to a deep-water port with access to the Arctic Ocean appeared attractive, both as a strategic opportunity for China and as a natural area for Chinese engagement in Russia, given announcements of the close partnership and common interests between the two countries. Since 2012 various Chinese companies have shown interest in investing, and the conclusion of a concession agreement has been announced several times. The Russian federal authorities have voiced support, without committing budget funding. Increasingly, however, critical remarks have been heard from the federal government, although regional support remains strong. As of mid-2021 no firm agreement had been signed, and the project was put on hold. Reviewing the history of the project since Chinese companies were first engaged, this article offers insights on Russian regional authorities' scope for manoeuvre and the relationship between central and regional power. It also reveals Russian misinterpretations of Chinese interest in the project.

Antologin Reforming Child Welfare in the Post-Soviet Space: Institutional Change in Russia behandlar Rysslands satsning under senare år på att etablera ett fosterhemssystem i stället för de ökända institutionerna för omhändertagna barn. Den praktiska implementeringen redogörs för från olika aktörers perspektiv, myndighets- och NGO-personal såväl som fosterföräldrar och barn, med fokus både på institutionella bromsklossar och reformens mer välfungerande aspekter.
Reforming Child Welfare in the Post-Soviet Space: Institutional Change in Russia focuses on the efforts of the Russian state in recent years to replace the notorious orphanages with a system for foster care. The anthology examines the practical implementation of the reform from various perspectives: those of the local authorities and NGOs as well as foster parents and foster children, focusing both on the negative side-effects caused by institutional inertia and path dependency, and on more successful aspects of the reform.

Abstract: Language policy in Slovakia and the Czech Republic after 1993The establishment of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in 1993 sparked challenges for language policy in the two new states. From a linguistic point of view, the Czech and Slovak languages are very similar but the language situations in the two countries differ: Slovakia is home to two sizable linguistic minorities (Hungarian and Romani), whereas Czechia houses several small minority languages. Applying Robert L. Cooper's and Joshua A. Fishman's analytical categories and focusing on the activities of national politicians and prominent linguists, this article examines status and corpus planning in the two countries. In Slovakia, politicians have engaged intensely in status planning, focused on legislating Slovak as a state language. The establishment of a state language opened for political interference in corpus planning. In Czechia, status planning started out from a liberal platform in the 1990s, and interest mainly focused on corpus planning. Hotly debated questions of corpus planning put Czech linguistic authorities on the defensive. Increasingly, adaptations to the charters and conventions of the European Council have co-shaped both countries' language policy. During the period analyzed here, Slovakia has seen the linguistic standardization of Rusyn and Romani, and linguists in both countries have advanced their theoretical understanding of corpus planning.

Abstract: Between generations: Attitudes towards family responsibilities in the East and the West of Europe The article addresses the strength and character of family responsibility norms in Eastern and Western Europe. The strength is measured by the level of support for filial and parental responsibilities (i.e., adult children's obligations towards older parents and vice-versa) and the character is indicated by the priority given to the older or the younger generation. For the analyses, we employ data from thirteen Eastern and Western European countries participating in the Generations and Gender Survey. In general, family norms are stronger in the East than in the West, but it is difficult to establish where to draw a dividing line. The contrast between the two extremes, Norway and Sweden in the north-west and Georgia in the south-east, is striking. The remaining countries line up quite close along the geographical diagonal (from Scandinavia to Georgia). The character of the norms is less clearly distributed – whereas almost all countries in Eastern Europe give priority to the older generation, the picture in the West is more mixed. The results partly confirm earlier conclusions about east-west differences in family responsibility norms, but adding more countries to the analyses has revealed a more complex and ambiguous picture than presented in previous studies.

Mens journalister har lett for å ty til adjektiver for å beskrive et økologisk katastrofeområde, er det vanskeligere å se og formidle årsakssammenhenger. Hvorfor fikk ikke sovjetiske, senere russiske, myndigheter i samarbeid med sine nordiske naboland stanset de grenseoverskridende svovelskyene fra østsiden av Pasvikelven? Det er disse spørsmålene Lars Rowe på en systematisk og beundringsverdig godt dokumentert måte gir svar på i boken Pollution and Atmosphere in Post-Soviet Russia: The Arctic and the Environment.
Journalists easily find adjectives to describe environmental catastrophes; it is more difficult, however, to ascertain and convey their causes. Why, for example, didn't Soviet, and later Russian, authorities collaborate with Nordic neighbors and manage to put a stop to the sulphur clouds emanating from the eastern side of the Pasvik River? Lars Rowe looks at this question in a systematic and admirably well-documented way and provides answers in his book, Pollution and Atmosphere in Post-Soviet Russia: The Arctic and the Environment.

Abstract: An East-West divide in late-life wellbeing in Europe? A comparative study of 12 countries This study explores late-life loneliness and depression in European countries, noting the role of micro-level differences in socioeconomic status, health, and social variables. Findings from cross-sectional, nationally representative data from 12 countries and 36,000 individuals in the Generations and Gender Survey show a marked East–West divide among older but not among younger adults. Among older adults (aged 60–80) loneliness and depression are as much as three to four times more prevalent in Eastern European (20–40%) than in Northwest European countries (10–15%). These patterns reflect economic, social, and societal issues which in turn affect the conditions for active and healthy aging. There is considerable variation among Eastern European countries, correlating with macro-level economic development and welfare spending. Generous welfare states seem to offer a buffer against, or postpone, the risk of late-life depression and loneliness. Cultural factors may also play a role: because of high expectations as to strong family and community ties, Eastern Europeans may have a lower loneliness threshold than other Europeans.

The article analyses representations of history in today's Russia as part of the ideology for expressing central political concepts underlying the Putinist regime. Mainstream interpretations of history build on a populist vision of Russia as a community with a stable, unchangeable core of identity. In this ideological context, history serves as the canvas on which the 'authentic' Russian identity manifests itself. The present research article examines representations of history by focusing on the concepts of 'historical sovereignty', 'unity of history', and the role of elites in history. It finds that regime ideology in today's Russia relies on a sizable infrastructure that involves producing historical knowledge for the purpose of securitizing history and making it an instrumental element in the populist (conservative-communitarian) ideology. Sources for this study come from the network exhibition 'Russia – My History', contextualized through content analysis of the key producers of ideology in Putin's Russia.

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.

Abstract: Security Policy and Memory Politics: Establishing the Soviet Liberation Monument in Kirkenes, 1945–1952A few kilometers from the border with Russia, in the town of Kirkenes in the easternmost corner of Northern Norway, there stands a bronze statue of a Soviet soldier looking out over the borderland. The Soviet Liberation Monument, as the statue is called, was unveiled in 1952 by the Norwegian authorities, in gratitude for the Soviet liberation of the East Finnmark area in 1944. The statue has served as a meeting place for regular commemorative ceremonies involving the Norwegian and Soviet authorities, throughout the Cold War and up until the present. This article explores the interplay between security policy and memory politics at the onset of the Cold War by examining the seven-year long process of establishing this monument. As the Iron Curtain descended over Europe, the monument and the memories attached to it became important tools with which Norway developed a critical dialogue with its great-power neighbor. The article shows how the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs learned how to use the collective memories of the Soviet liberation to ensure Norway's security-policy goal of low tension in its relations with the USSR.

Armenia's Velvet Revolution - Why So Overdue? In early April 2018 Armenia completed the transition from semi-presidential rule to a parliamentary republic. Under the slogan 'More power to the people', the ruling Republican Party had paved the way for the incumbent president, Serzh Sargsyan, to continue in power, now as prime minister as his second and final term of presidency was drawing to an end. However, the ensuing events ended with popular protests, the 'Velvet Revolution', which forced Sargsyan and the Republicans out of office. The new administration, led by the former opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan, has ousted several influential leaders and initiated an ambitious anti-corruption programme. Nonetheless, one significant issue remains: early elections that are supposed not only to reflect the prevailing political landscape in Armenia but also reform the country's election laws. What triggered the spring 2018 uprising, when corruption and social discontent have been both well-known and prevalent in Armenia over the past two decades? This article offers insights into the background to the popular uprising, and the relation between Armenia and its large and influential diaspora, citing two main factors for the delay since independence in 1991 – the historical legacy of the perils of internal disunity, together with the effects of the unresolved Karabakh conflict. It concludes with some reflections on the way forward.