UPTAKE 2017. aasta publikatsioonid

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10062/58448

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 30

The biopolitical turn in post-ideological times: a trajectory of Russian transformation
(Tartu: University of Tartu Press, 2017) Makarychev, Andrey
The authors study the applicability of the concept of biopolitics to contemporary Russian society and the ruling regime. The article singles our several domains of biopower that play major roles in defining the nature of Russian political regime
Organic Tradition or Imperial Glory? Contradictions and Continuity of Russian Identity Politics
(2017) Morozov, Viacheslav
Russian identity politics and, more broadly, the country’s development in modern times has been conditioned by two constitutive splits: between the imperial elites and the peasant masses, on the one hand, and between Russia and Europe, on the other. The current conservative turn aims to overcome the internal split by attuning state policy to mass consciousness, with its alleged preference for ‘traditional values’. This strategy ignores the fact that today’s Russia is a modern, urbanised society. In the long run, it undermines the Kremlin’s effort to achieve and consolidate great power status.
Vocabularies of International relations after the Crisis in Ukraine
(London and New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Ltd., 2017) Makarychev, Andrey
The edited volume discusses the applicability of an ample variety of academic conceptualizations – from rationalist to reflectivist, and from quantitative to qualitative - to teh pos-2014 international relations. The authors claim that many of the old concepts – such as multipolarity, spheres of influence, sovereignty, or even containment – are still cognitively valid, yet with the eruption of the crisis in Russia – Ukraine relations they are used in different contexts and thus infused with different meanings. It is exactly these multiple conceptual languages that this volume puts at the centre of analysis.
Normative Power: Some Theory Aspects and Contemporary Practice of Russia and the EU
(2017) Pavlova, Elena
Цель статьи – разграничить понятия нормативная сила (НС) и мягкая сила (МС) и через данную призму показать развитие отношений России и Европейского союза. В теоретической части, отталкиваясь от конструктивистского подхода, авторы различают указанные понятия на основе их взаимоотношений с Другим и приводят три положения. Первое: МС – это инструмент внешней политики, сознательного манипулирования Другим, а НС – дискурсивная практика идентичности, которая не может использоваться инструментально, ее цель – распространение норм. Второе: МС сохраняет дистанцию между агентом и реципиентом, тогда как НС предполагает возможность ее преодоления, включение Другого. Для этого могут использоваться как территориальные, так и темпоральные критерии. Третье: закат НС связан с ее успехом, переосмыслением норм, а также расширением ее агентов за счет включения Других, т.е. реципиентов, тогда как потенциал и длительность МС определяются, главным образом, ее агентом. В эмпирической части прослеживаются вехи становления НС Евросоюза и возникшие в последнее время проблемы: новый виток обсуждения ценностей, увеличение агентов НС Европы за счет новых стран-членов. Авторы также рассматривают диалектику отношений России и Евросоюза через различия НС и МС. Продемонстрировано, что Брюссель эволюционировал в этих отношениях от НС начала 1990-х годов к МС на нынешнем этапе. Москва, в свою очередь, двигалась от восприятия НС Евросоюза как реципиент к требованиям признать ее в качестве агента НС. Показано, что это включение произошло для России, но не для ЕС, что порождает ожесточенные споры. Наконец, авторы обращаются к причинам неспособности России сформировать свою НС, среди которых акцент на деидеологизации отношений, на инструментализацию ресурсов, а также существование в идейно-нормативном поле Европы. Все это позволяет России успешно применять МС, но мешает появлению НС, в рамках которой Россия могла бы выступать в качестве основного агента. В современном мире, однако, НС является одним из важнейших элементов для признания актора международных отношений центром силы.
The Harmonization of Laws on Same-Sex Unions in Post-Communist Post-Accession Countries
(2017) Kilp, Alar
EU law on same-sex unions (SSU) expects Member States to legally recognize the family life of same-sex couples in the form of marriage, partnership, or cohabitation. The normative expectation, which in about 2010 became a principled position of the EU institutions and the European Court of Human Rights, has not been endorsed by one Western European Member State (Italy) as well as the majority of the post-Communist Member States (Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia). There are a number of causes behind the failure to enact SSU laws: the legacies of the communist regimes, the prevalence of a certain interpretation of Christian doctrine, the medium level of economic affluence, and an unfavorable balance of power between the change and blocking coalitions of social, religious, and political actors. Unlike Western European countries, where the family life of same-sex unions was legally recognized primarily due to pressures from below (due to changes in public opinion and shifts in cultural values), governments and legislatures in most Central and Eastern European Member States are encouraged more from above (by the European Union and the Council of Europe). Therefore, the prospects for legal recognition of same-sex unions are slim in countries where the European normative agenda meets no significant support from domestic social values or religious and political actors. This conflict of national and EU forces is most likely to persist in Member States which are post-Soviet, culturally Orthodox, not shifted from materialist to post-materialist values, and governed by right-wing governmental coalitions.
Empowerment of Domestic Stakeholders: From Outcome-oriented to Processoriented Europeanization in the ENP Countries
(Routledge, London, New York, 2017, 2017) Nizhnikau, Ryhor
This chapter examines the strategies of the European Union (EU) that aim at promoting institutional reforms in neighbouring countries such as Ukraine. It particularly addresses the question why does rule convergence vary at the sectoral level in Ukraine. It argues that EU policies are more efficient if they aim at flexible adaptation of rules to local needs and empower domestic actors to actively participate in reforms. However, the EU’s dominant approach instead promotes institutional monocropping and reinforces the capacities of the entrenched elites, which aim at the preservation of the status quo. The EU’s strategies are analyzed regarding the examples of anti-corruption reforms in the migration and environmental sectors in Ukraine.
Biopolitics and national identities: between liberalism and totalization
(Routledge, 2017) Makarychev, Andrey
This is an introductory article to the special cluster on the biopolitical reading of nation-building in post-Soviet countries. The authors explain the advatnages of using the biopolitical approach to countries with hybrid identities, and discuss the totalizing potential of biopolitical narratives
A Russian Challenge to Multipolarity? The Prospects for Political Cooperation between Russia and Latin America
(Routledge, Copyright © 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2017) Pavlova, Elena
This article focuses on the attitudes in Latin American countries toward Russia’s newly assertive foreign policies since the annexation of Crimea. Without trying to analyze the Ukrainian events as such, this article describes the concerns of Latin American intellectual and political elites about the consequences of the crisis for the structure of the contemporary international system, which is seen as multipolar. The potential decline of multipolar ity is presented in the Latin American debate as a serious problem, and both the West and Russia are blamed for this trend. Coupled with other issues, these disagreements may have a detrimental effect on Russia’s relations with Latin American states.
Biopolitical conservatism and “pastoral power”: a Russia – Georgia meeting point.
(Tbilisi: Georgian Institute of Politics., 2017) Makarychev, Andrey
The paper applies the concept of biopolitics to the analysis of Russia's relations with Georgia. It highlights the centrality of Orthodoxy for Russia's "soft power" and religious diplomacy.
Eastern Borderlands as Europe-Makers: (How) Can neighbours redefine the EU?
(2017) Makarychev, Andrey
A general and strategic effect of EU’s Association Agreements and DCFTAs with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine has been the extension of the concept of Europe and its wider opening to neighborhoods and margins. It is on this basis that a European normative order can be differentiated from both the ‘Russian world’ and Eurasian geopolitical space. However this paper argues that the process of association is not a unilateral move, but a multilateral and reciprocal development; it is a way for Europe to know more about itself, and to politically redefine itself. The neighbourhood policy causes controversial effects on the EU. On the one hand, it consolidates the liberal minded groups within European societies eager to see the EU as a promoter of values of freedom and civic liberties to be projected eastwards and defended in EU’s neighborhood. On the other hand, the problems of practical implementation tend to solidify sceptical groups in both the EU and its associated neighbours that contest not only the deepening of EU’s engagement with Ukraine, but EU ’s normative project as a whole. The implementation of the joint strategy of the EU and its close neighbours faces a challenge of finding a proper balance between two dominant – yet to a large extent contradictory – approaches. One consists of capitalizing on these countries’ status as victims of Russia’s policies, countries whose very existence is under threat, which implies support and help from the EU. Another, requiring much more consistent efforts, is for the associated neighbouring states to emerge as positive showcases of transition, and useful partners contributing not only to the transformation process in post-Soviet area, but also to EU’s and NATO’s security. The recent three years made clear that the former alone does not guarantee to Ukraine, Georgia or Moldova a fully-fledged European voice.
Has economic voting changed? A comparative analysis of Italy and other Southern European countries
(2017) Talving, Liisa; Braghiroli, Stefano
The financial and debt crisis caused severe economic and political instability in Italy. Economic hardship led to an array of unpopular policy measures, giving rise to public dissatisfaction and civil unrest. These dramatic developments call for a re-assessment of the basic link between the economy and political support. This article uses the European Election Studies (EES) Voter study data from 2004, 2009 and 2014 to investigate patterns of economic voting. We assess the magnitude of economic effects in Italy in comparison with other Southern European countries that in recent years have witnessed similar economic and political turmoil. The results point to a strong impact of economic conditions on incumbent support in Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain. However, retrospective voting weakened amid the crisis, with Italian voters in particular placing less blame for economic conditions on the national government than before. Importantly, we also find a considerable increase in prospective voting in Italy. Despite the nation’s past economic experience, voters were willing to reward Renzi’s government when they believed that its policies would bring economic improvement.
Implementing EU's Normative Agenda in the South Caucasus: Contradictory effects
(Tbilisi: Georgian Institute of Politics, 2017) Berg, Eiki; Kilp, Alar
It is not a secret that the EU has sought to influence regional developments by imposing liberal democratic norms on the third countries interested in closer relations with the union. Given that this soft power approach may effect change, we analysed the role of EU normative powers in influencing human rights dialogues. We also saw how both the political establishments and societies at large have adapted to these new circumstances. Further to the east, the lever for Europeanization seems to be eroding. To that end, the EU has continuously reaffirmed that its support for and cooperation with target countries must be conditional on the promotion of civil liberties and democratic reforms. While there is concern that the EU’s normative policies may be ineffective if they are not fully implemented on the ground, it is possible that the prospect of EU integration could prove to be an attractive aspiration for large segments of these societies. Fully implementing EU norms, however, may drive these countries into conflict with the conservative mores sustained by the state/religious institutions.
Migrant Integration Policy Index Health Strand. Country Report Estonia.
(International Organization for Migration, 2017) Kallas, Kristina
Estonia: Religious Association Restrictions of Same-Sex Couple Religious Rights
(Krakow: NOMOS, 2017) Kilp, Alar
EU law on same-sex unions (SSU) expects Member States to legally recognize the family life of same-sex couples in the form of marriage, partnership, or cohabitation. The normative expectation, which in about 2010 became a principled position of the EU institutions and the European Court of Human Rights, has not been endorsed by one Western European Member State (Italy) as well as the majority of the post-Communist Member States (Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia). There are a number of causes behind the failure to enact SSU laws: the legacies of the communist regimes, the prevalence of a certain interpretation of Christian doctrine, the medium level of economic affluence, and an unfavorable balance of power between the change and blocking coalitions of social, religious, and political actors. Unlike Western European countries, where the family life of same-sex unions was legally recognized primarily due to pressures from below (due to changes in public opinion and shifts in cultural values), governments and legislatures in most Central and Eastern European Member States are encouraged more from above (by the European Union and the Council of Europe). Therefore, the prospects for legal recognition of same-sex unions are slim in countries where the European normative agenda meets no significant support from domestic social values or religious and political actors. This conflict of national and EU forces is most likely to persist in Member States which are post-Soviet, culturally Orthodox, not shifted from materialist to post-materialist values, and governed by right-wing governmental coalitions.
Biopower and Geopolitics as Russia's neighbourhood strategies: reconnecting people or reaggregating lands?
(Routledge, 2017) Makarychev, Andrey
In this article, we address geopolitics and biopower as two different yet mutually correlative discursive strategies of sovereign power in Russia. We challenge the dominant realist approaches to Russia’s neighborhood policy by introducing the concept of biopolitics as its key element, which makes analysis of political relations in the post-Soviet area more nuanced and variegated. More specifically, we address an important distinction between geopolitical control over territories and management of population as two of Russia’s strategies in its “near abroad.”
Authoritarianism and corporatism in the Baltics
(Routledge, 2017) Kasekamp, Andres
From “Communautaire Spirit” to the “Ghosts of Maastricht”: European Integration and the Rise of Financialization
(2017) Pataccini, Leonardo
The present article addresses the relationship between the process of economic integration of the European Union and the rise of financialization in the continental economy. For that purpose, it analyzes the policies applied and the main macroeconomic indicators of a selected group of countries. The conditions imposed by the Treaty of Maastricht and the Convergence Criteria show a strong neoliberal mark, in alignment with those of the Washington Consensus Agenda, promoting the development of the financial activities and favoring the interest of the financial actors to the detriment of other sectors, such as the industrial and the salaried and middle-income groups. The article also emphasizes the importance of the structural reforms applied, by arguing that it would have been impossible to meet the objectives of the Economic and Monetary Union without a substantial transformation of the European economy. Additionally, the article introduces a novel concept called “the paradox of financialization.” It refers to the increasing dependence of EU economies on the financial sector for economic growth, while the only way for the financial sector to expand is by engaging in riskier and more speculative practices. Consequently, this situation makes economic growth more unstable and cycles more volatile.
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.
Economic aspects of migration and the refugee crisis in Europe: challenges and opportunities in a dramatic scenario
(2017) Pataccini, Leonardo; Eamets, R.
The world is currently facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War. The growing number of people displaced by civil conflict or natural disasters has increased dramatically in the recent years and this is posing enormous challenges to host countries. However, to date economic impacts of refugees in host and sending countries are controversial and arguably understood. Therefore, the aim of this article is to analyse how the traditional economic approach of migration and labour can help to understand and manage the refugees’ situation, as well as their potential benefits for all the parties involved. The present research concludes that, in the long run, refugee migration may have positive outcomes for sending and host economies, and for themselves. However, it is also emphasized that carefully designed refugee policies are critical to meet that goal, mainly focusing on two aspects: identification and integration.
Russians, Refugees and Europeans: What shapes the discourse of the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia?
(University of Latvia Press, 2017) Wierenga, Louis
The Conservative Peoples’ Party of Estonia (EKRE) presents a unique case in the study of far-right parties for two reasons. First, the ‘others’ to which they juxtapose Estonians are the Russian-speaking minority, who are white, Christian, and to a large extent, share many of the socially conservative values of the EKRE. Second, there has been a trend for European far-right parties to look towards the Russian Federation for ideological support due to shared socially conservative ideological positions, and an opposition to the EU and NATO. EKRE takes a different stance towards the Russian Federation than many other far-right parties in Europe. Interviews were conducted with members of EKRE, as well as members of other political parties in Estonia, primarily focusing on the post-migrant crisis relationship between EKRE and the Russian-speaking population in Estonia, as well as other core issues related to EKRE. The aim of this article is twofold: first, it serves as an introductory piece, introducing EKRE to the broader literature on populist, radical right parties. Secondly, this article asks the questions “is the presence, or the possibility of the presence of a foreign, racially and religiously different ‘other’ enough to attract a significant portion of a national minority to vote for and become members of a PRR party?” and “is the presence, or the possibility of the presence of a foreign, racially and religiously different ‘other’ enough to entice a PRR party to cooperate with a national minority which was previously their target?” This article argues that EKRE is open to Russian-speakers becoming members within the party, but will not extend their reach to them as Russian speakers. Rather, they would welcome Russian-speakers as party members provided they are Estonian nationalists who adhere to the party constitution and see Estonia as a sovereign nation which they seek to protect.

Browse

Browsing UPTAKE 2017. aasta publikatsioonid by Issue Date