Browsing by Author "Yatsyk, Alexandra"

Now showing 1 - 13 of 13

Biopolitical Populism in Poland: The Case of PiS
(Brill, 2020) Yatsyk, Alexandra
This paper examines the discourse of PiS party in Poland as a form of biopolitical populism. I view this phenomenon as a specific style of political discourse rather than an ideology, that, first, focuses on bodily issues, including family and gender policy, sexual behavior, etc., second—it is inherently performative and as such it appeals to emotions, and, third—it directly communicates with “people” while circumventing the existing institutional framework of the state. Based on the cases of PiS rhetoric on the Smolensk catastrophe, and its narratives on gender and anti-LGBTQ issues, I demonstrate how the latter could be used for political othering and for subverting the core democratic principles. My data includes publications in Polish media and on social platforms (Twitter and Facebook), mostly before and after elections to European and national parliaments in May and October 2019, as well as during the presidential election in spring 2020.
Both in-between and out: national sovereignty and cross-border governmentality in the Euro 2012 in Lviv
(London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. (New Georgaphies of Europe)., 2016) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, Alexandra
The chapter focuses on the case of Lviv as a host city of UEFA Cup in 2012, and approaches this case study from the perspective of governmentality
Celebrating Borderlands in a Wider Europe. Nations and Identities in Ukraine, Georgia and Estonia
(2016) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, Alexandra
The book deploys borderland identities of a group of post-Soviet countries into the reviving binary logic of EU – Russia conflictual interaction
Entertain and Govern. From Sochi 2014 to FIFA 2018.
(Routledge, 2018) Yatsyk, Alexandra; Makarychev, Andrey
The article looks at Russia’s international sports politics from two different perspectives. The authors discuss sport mega-events as instruments of legitimizing the existing regime and stabilizing its foundations. They argue that, due to mega-events, the Russian state has found itself under persistent external pressures from international organizations, and has had to react to them and adjust its legal norms and policy practices accordingly. The key argument of the article is that both elements of the puzzle can be approached as central elements of governmentality
From Sochi - 2014 to FIFA - 2018: a Fading Sovereignty?
(2017) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, Alexandra
In this article, we uncover the dynamics and the evolution of Russian discourses of sovereignty before and after the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games using some elements of Foucauldian methodology and constructivist reading of sovereignty as an institution. We argue that there is a discrepancy between the rhetoric of sovereign power and the institutional practices in which it is embedded. It leads us to theorize that sovereignty discourses are contextual, unstable and constitutively shaped by commitments taken as key elements of international socialization. In the case of Russia, these discourses can be divided into three groups: pre-Sochi, post-Sochi and pre-World 2018 Cup discursive formations. As we venture to demonstrate, Putin's model of sovereignty is in crisis, yet it has support, both domestic and international. In the near future, sport is likely to remain one of those spheres of high visibility where the ideology of surviving under sanctions and counter-attacking the West will be reified.
Imperial Biopolitics and Its Disavowals: Russia, Georgia, and Spaces In-Between
(Region: Regional Studies of Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia Journal, 2018) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, Alexandra
In this article about the conflict between Georgia and Russia, the authors claim that the application of biopolitical—that is focused on controlling large population groups—instruments leads to the strengthening of imperial logic in Russian foreign policy. This argument is explored on the grounds of the projection of the Russian conservative agenda to Georgia, with its strong religious components and moral appeals, as well as on the basis of Moscow's policy of gradually absorbing Abkhazia and South Ossetia by means of incorporating their population through passportization and other instruments.
Lotman's Cultural Semiotics and the Political
(London, New York: Rowman & Littlefield International, 2017) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, Alexandra
The authors analyse Lotman's semiotics in a series of temporal contexts, starting with the rigidity of Soviet-era ideologies, through to the post-Soviet de-politicization that - paradoxically enough - ended with the reproduction of Soviet-style hegemonic discourse in the Kremlin and ultimately reignited politically divisive conflicts between Russia and Europe. The book demonstrates how Lotman's ideas cross disciplinary boundaries and their relevance to many European theorists of cultural studies, discourse analysis and political philosophy. Lotman lived and worked in Estonia, which, even under Soviet rule, maintained its own borderland identity located at the intersection of Russian and European cultural flows. The authors argue that in this context Lotman’s theories are particularly revealing in relation to Russian-European interactions and communications, both historically and in a more contemporary sense.
Nation Building, Political Boundaries and Cultural Authenticity: Post-Soviet Borderlands in Transformation
(Cambridge Scholars Publshing, 2016) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, Alexandra
Based on a comparative analysis of the cases of Ukraine, Georgia and Estonia, the article argues that cultural semantics of the performative events are constitutive for borderland identities-in-the-making.
Russia as a counter-normative soft power: between ideology and policy
(London and New York : Routledge, 2018) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, Alexandra
The chapter discusses the concept of soft power as a counter-normative tool in Russian foreign policy
Russia-EU Borderlands after the Ukraine Crisis: the Case of Narva
(London and New York: Routledge, 2016) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, Alexandra
The authors contribute to the ongoing problematization of the Russian – Estonian border issues by specifically addressing the case of Narva from different research perspectives grounded in critical border studies that is premised on unpacking different meanings of borders and their ability to play constitutive roles for political relation and subjectivities
Russian “Federalism”: Illiberal? Imperial? Exceptionalist?
(2018) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, Alexandra
Sovereignty and Russian national identity-making: The biopolitical dimension
(Edinburgh University Press, 2018) Yatsyk, Alexandra; Makarychev, Andrey
The chapter discuss issues of Russian sovereignty and identity from a biopolitical perspective
Unpacking the Post-Soviet: Political Legacy of the Tartu Semiotic School
(All Azimuth, 2018) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, Alexandra
This article sketches out general approach to using cultural semiotics as a cognitive tool for analyzing international relations in general and in post-Soviet area in particular. The authors discuss how the homegrown school of cultural semiotics associated with the University of Tartu can be helpful for IR studies. In this respect we place cultural semiotic knowledge in a multidisciplinary perspective and look for projections of its concepts into the vocabulary of foreign policy. Then we intend to discuss the Tartu school from a political perspective, thus claiming that its premium put on cultural issues renders strong politicizing effects. Ultimately, we use cultural semiotic notions and approaches for problematizing the concept of the post-Soviet with its conflictual split between reproducing archaic policies and discourses, on the one hand, and playing by the rules of the post-modern society, with entertainment, hybridity and the spirit of deconstruction as its pivots.