Browsing by Author "Morozov, Viatcheslav"

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Global (Post)structural Conditions
(London, New York: Routledge, 2018) Morozov, Viatcheslav
Structuralist approaches are gaining prominence in the study of Russian foreign policy, mostly due to their ability to offer a solid comparative perspective on the Russian case. This chapter reviews the existing structuralist literature on the subject and contrasts it with other ways of looking at Russia’s position in Europe and in the world, in particular with mainstream constructivism. It differentiates between historical materialist approaches, which stay true to the classical Marxist precept of determination in the first instance by the economy, and discursive and institutionalist theories, foregrounding institutionally embedded hierarchies and multi-layered hegemonic orders. What all structuralist perspectives share is the emphasis on inequality inherent in the international system. This, in turn, results in conceptualising Russia’s insecurities and its ambiguous identification both with and against the West as resulting from its subaltern, semi-peripheral status in world politics and global economy. Building on these insights, the chapter puts forward the image of Russia as a subaltern empire, positioned in the interstice between two hegemonic orders of unequal scale.
Identity and Hegemony in EU-Russia relations: Making Sense of the Asymmetrical Entanglement
(London, New York: Routledge, 2018) Morozov, Viatcheslav
The study of EU–Russia relations has been a fruitful testing ground for constructivist research. This chapter attempts to take stock of the existing constructivist work on EU–Russia relations and to suggest some avenues for further development. It focuses on the structuralist approach by interpreting the identities of the actors as deriving from their relationship. The aim is to highlight the findings that are most relevant for the problematic of othering, hegemony and inequality.
Indigeneity and subaltern subjectivity in decolonial discourses: a comparative study of Bolivia and Russia
(2018) Morozov, Viatcheslav; Pavlova, Elena
The decolonial discourse of buen vivir in South America has declared the need to overcome Eurocentrism by tapping into indigenous knowledge. We compare the Bolivian version of this project with the conservative turn in Russian politics to demonstrate that they make a structurally analogous argument and they both end up with a false promise. The fullness of indigenous being that underlies such discourses is a Eurocentric, romanticist myth, which contributes to the silencing of the subaltern by imposing on them political categories not directly rooted in any genuine native experience. We reformulate postcolonial critique using Laclau’s theory of populism to suggest that subaltern subjectivity can only emerge in a bottom-up manner, through the aggregation and universalisation of local demands. While it might still be true that the subaltern cannot speak, there is no way for the subaltern to come into being other than through speaking politically.