A European Home for Russia? : The Late Soviet Conceptualization of Globalization

• The aim is to reconstruct Gorbachev’s concept of a European home, and its underlying philosophy of history. The concept is contextualised within the convergence debate of the post war-period, in which a rapprochement between communism and capitalism was posited. The concept indicated a paradigmatic departure from the traditional ‘anti-imperialist’ Soviet outlook, towards a search for ‘universal consensus,’ where so-called ‘human’ values were placed above the international class struggle. The idea about a bipolar world was redefined from the viewpoint of recognizing global interdependence. But how could Russia fit into a new European, global or even cosmic order? The concept of a European home will be discussed in relation to the early 20th century movement of Russian cosmism. The paper concludes with reflections on what the conceptualisation can tell us about the fall of communism and what impact the concept has had on today’s search for a common European identity, as well as implications for our contemporary understanding of questions about global integration and systemic crises. An argument is advanced that the notion contained paradoxes and anachronisms that rather contributed to the dislocation of post-Soviet Russia from Europe.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Filosofi, etik och religion -- Idé- och lärdomshistoria (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Philosophy, Ethics and Religion -- History of Ideas (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Kulturstudier (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Cultural Studies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

History of Ideas

Idéhistoria

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)