| 1. |
- Bedford, Sofie, 1975-
(författare)
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Introduction to the Special Section : Political Mobilization in Azerbaijan — The January 2013 Protests and Beyond
- 2014
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Ingår i: Demokratizatsiya: Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization. - Philadelphia : Heldref Publications. - 1074-6846. ; 22:1, s. 2-14
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A wave of public protests rocked Azerbaijan at the beginning of 2013. The first protest event of the year was inspired by the disputed death of a young conscript in the Azerbaijani army. While the official cause of death was heart attack, the family insisted he was beaten to death. The result was a fierce debate about the difficulties facing newly recruited soldiers and the conditions under which they serve. Some activists initiated a Facebook group and called for a demonstration in Baku on January 12. Twenty thousand people joined the group, an impressive number by Azerbaijani standards, given that support for anti-establishment manifestations can be dangerous. Later as many as 1,000 protesters, also a large number for Azerbaijan, joined the actual event in support of the dead soldiers’ family, demanding the defense minister's resignation. Just a week later shopkeepers at Baku's largest shopping mall, Bina, protested against increased rents. The demonstrators blocked a major highway and 5,000 shopkeepers kept their businesses closed in support of the protest. This was shortly followed by another spontaneous outbreak of dissent in Ismayili, 150 km northwest of Baku, where community members set fire to cars and buildings and called for the governor's resignation after a controversial car accident. Riot police finally managed to disperse the protesters, many of whom were injured and/or imprisoned. The harsh treatment brought about another rally in the capital in support of the Ismayili protesters. The outbreak of civic unrest in Ismayili can be seen as particularly important since it indicates discontent with the government, not only in Baku, but outside the capital as well.
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| 2. |
- Berglund, Christofer, 1985-
(författare)
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Georgia between Dominant-Power Politics, Feckless Pluralism, and Democracy
- 2014
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Ingår i: Demokratizatsiya. - 1074-6846 .- 1940-4603. ; 22:3, s. 445-470
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article charts the last decade of Georgian politics (2003-2013) through theories of semi-authoritarianism and democratization. It first dissects Saakashvili’s system of dominant-power politics, which enabled state-building reforms, yet atrophied political competition. It then analyzes the nested two-level game between incumbents and opposition in the run-up to the 2012 parliamentary elections. After detailing the verdict of Election Day, the article turns to the tense cohabitation that next pushed Georgia in the direction of feckless pluralism. The last section examines if the new ruling party is taking Georgia in the direction of democratic reforms or authoritarian closure.
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| 3. |
- Bozhko, Sergey
(författare)
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Russia in Ukraine's Foreign Policy in 2010 as Seen in Political Discourse
- 2011
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Ingår i: Demokratizatsiya. - Philadelphia : Heldref Publications. - 1074-6846. ; 19:4, s. 367-384
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article, I attempt to answer this question: can Ukraine's recent foreign policy toward Russia be effectively understood by studying Ukrainian political discourse? I argue that during the studied period, the official Ukrainian discourse and rhetoric on Ukrainian-Russian relations was generally positive. Some of the most important details and decisions in the intergovernmental negotiations were not disclosed; the real discourse of politicians and power structures remained closed and sacral. I also identify some general tendencies in bilateral relations.
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| 4. |
- Khmelnitskaya, Marina, et al.
(författare)
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Flexible Authoritarian Governance in Russia: The Politics of Ideas on Family Policy
- 2023
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Ingår i: Demokratizatsiya. - Washington, DC : Johns Hopkins University Press. - 1074-6846 .- 1940-4603. ; 31:3, s. 335-362
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article examines governance in Russiausing policy ideas as an analytical lens and the case offamily policy. Following the definition of the ideationalprocess as a “discourse,” Russian governance is viewedas three discursive layers: the president, ministerialbureaucracy, and regional and local levels. This system—represented in our original “nested model of discoursivegovernance”—involves: intensive communicativediscourse from the president as he seeks to legitimizepolicy in the eyes of the public and provide signals toofficials; a vigorous coordinative discourse at the middlelevel, where officials and experts negotiate their ideas;and a local discourse in which political communicationand technical coordination coexist and involve (besidesofficials and experts) members of the public through the“collaborative” and “protest-induced” routes. The studyreveals the mechanism of flexible governance, which isassociated with the partial accommodation of differentideational positions.
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| 5. |
- Nilsson, Niklas, Senior Lecturer, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Georgian Politics since the August 2008 War
- 2009
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Ingår i: Demokratizatsiya. - 1074-6846 .- 1940-4603. ; 17:3, s. 251-268
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Georgian politics since late 2007 has attracted interest mainly because of itshighly polarized political climate. The leadership of Mikheil Saakashvili, widely heraldedas a beacon of democracy in the post-Soviet space following the peaceful Rose Revolutionof 2003, is pitted against an array of determined opposition forces that seek his removal andaccuse his government of authoritarian tendencies. Yet a closer study of Georgian politicssince the August 2008 Russian invasion suggests that the polarization of its politics is notreflected in society, which overwhelmingly supports conciliation and dialogue rather thananother round of revolutionary change. By mid-2009, the overheated Georgian politicalscene showed signs of adapting to this reality.
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| 6. |
- Petersson, Bo
(författare)
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Putin and the Russian Mythscape : Dilemmas of Charismatic Legitimacy
- 2017
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Ingår i: Demokratizatsiya. - : IERES. - 1074-6846 .- 1940-4603. ; 25:3, s. 235-254
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- For decades now, President Vladimir Putin has consistently enjoyed markedly high approval rates and seemingly benefitted from charismatic legitimacy, whereas systemic legal-rational legitimacy has remained on a low level. This article discusses how, through the successful communication of political myth, legitimacy has become ever more personalized in Putin’s Russia, and considers some of the dilemmas inherent in non-democratic settings where legitimacy builds on grounds that are not legal-rational in the Weberian sense.
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| 7. |
- Torbakov, Igor, Dr. 1958-
(författare)
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A Parting of Ways? : The Kremlin Leadership and Russia’s New-Generation Nationalist Thinkers
- 2015
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Ingår i: Demokratizatsiya. - 1074-6846 .- 1940-4603. ; 23:4, s. 427-457
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article focuses on what appears to be a turning point in the complex relationship between the political leadership of post-Soviet Russia and the new generation of Russian nationalists, who are increasingly setting the tone in the nationalist movement. My objective is to explore how this nationalist “New Wave” critiques the Russian nationalist tradition – not least the relationship between Russian nationalism and the Russian state – and to discuss nationalists’ views on how Russian nationalism should be reinvigorated so that it can become a truly influential popular movement. I argue that the moral and political revulsion of nationalist thinkers at the Kremlin’s attempt to masquerade as a nationalist force marks a crucial watershed in contemporary Russian history – namely, a definitive parting of ways between the new-generation democratic-oriented Russian nationalists and the Kremlin leadership.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Torbakov, Igor
(författare)
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The Russian Orthodox Church and Contestations over History in Contemporary Russia
- 2014
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Ingår i: Demokratizatsiya. - 1074-6846 .- 1940-4603. ; 22:1, s. 145-170
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article investigates the role that the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) plays in the politics of history in contemporary Russia. I suggest that the picture we are looking at is rather complex as the ROC is not a monolithic entity. While the ROC’s top leadership appears to be united with the Kremlin in their common intent to uphold a “patriotic” and state-centered historical narrative, certain segments of the Church and the Russian secular establishment might differ in their appraisal of various episodes of the country’s past. The article will demonstrate that the ROC doesn’t have a unified and consolidated position on how to treat the controversial past, in particular the Soviet period. Rather, there are several church subcultures whose historical interpretations tend to clash. Yet, ultimately, it is the Patriarchy’s stance that defines the official position of the Church. In this sense, the ROC hierarchy’s willing participation in the Kremlin-led attempt at forging a single “true” historical canon makes church-state relations in Russia ever more problematic. Both sides stand to lose due to their excessive coming closer together. The Church’s subservience to the state is likely going to cost it dearly in terms of moral stature and prestige. The state’s ruling elites’ casting of Orthodoxy as a “national religion” is counter-productive, if not outright dangerous in a multicultural and polyconfessional country.
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