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2. Russia’s Nationalities Policy before and after the 2020 Constitutional Amendments: Is the “Ethnic Turn” Continuing?
- Author:
- Veera Laine
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- In January 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a set of constitutional amendments, aiming to secure the continuity of his power in the years to come. At the same time, the amendments allowed ideological visions on national identity to be inscribed in the Constitution. Since summer 2020, the Constitution has enhanced the symbolic status of the Russian language, which is now not only the state language but also the language of those who speak it (i.e. of “ethnic” Russians or “Russian-speakers”), implicitly referred to as the state-founding people. These provisions, together with support for compatriots abroad, not only continue the turn observable since the 2010s in Russia’s nation-building from a civic vision towards an ethnic vision of nation, but also challenge the existing interpretations of state borders. The provisions on safeguarding the “historical truth” and establishing a single framework for education hinder the republics from pursuing their identity policies. This Working Paper argues that the amendments both adjust the earlier changes and signal new ones in the official discourse and nationalities policy.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Governance, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Constitution, and Leadership
- Political Geography:
- Russia and Europe
3. The Eighth Brigade: Striving for Supremacy in Southern Syria
- Author:
- Abdullah Al-Jabassini
- Publication Date:
- 12-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Abstract:
- In June 2018, the Syrian regime forces backed by Russia launched a military offensive that aimed at terminating rebel rule and restoring control over southern Syria. By August 2018, Daraa’s rebel organisations were pushed to surrender under a “patchwork” strategy, including Russian-led negotiations between regime and opposition figures, and the Syrian regime’s use of armed force. The two fundamentally divergent approaches have demarcated three main zones in which the regime’s authority and thus the roles former rebels come to play in the post-rebellion period vary significantly. In eastern Daraa, Russia established the Eighth Brigade, a sub-division of the Fifth Corps, and entrusted Ahmad al-Oda, a former rebel leader, with its command. By incorporating former rebels in the Eighth Brigade’s ranks, Russia, in fact, intended to establish a local armed actor characterised by a wide margin of manoeuvre to handle local security affairs and inflict acceptable and monitored small-scale violence to limit the regime’s authority and to keep Iranian influence at bay, thereby limiting status quo violations. For more than two years, the Eighth Brigade has limited the regime’s authority, served as a bulwark against Iranian expansion, intervened to defuse tensions, and mediated to prevent wide-scale regime-led military offensives against several localities, all of which are Russia’s top priorities to maintain the status quo in the south. Nevertheless, the Eighth Brigade has been mired in struggles to overcome and mitigate top four interrelated challenges. First, the absence of official recognition by the Syrian Ministry of Defence. Second, the ambitions of Iran and its proxies in southern Syria. Third, the intermittent cyclical patterns of retaliations with local armed groups in neighbouring province of Sweida. Fourth, the ongoing rivalries among former rebel leaders.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy, Governance, Local, Peace, and Intervention
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Middle East, and Syria
4. Dictators and Leadership: Lessons from Stalin and Mao
- Author:
- Graeme Gill
- Publication Date:
- 05-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Kellogg Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The accepted wisdom about dictators is that they rule their political systems in an essentially arbitrary and willful manner. Their leadership colleagues are said to live in constant fear of the dictator, always vulnerable to his will and always looking to defend themselves against him. The leadership is shown as a Hobbesian “war of all against all” as the leader rules with no real restraint. This paper challenges that view. It will explain why such a view of leadership politics in authoritarian systems is inadequate, and will illustrate this by looking at two of the most egregious dictators of the twentieth century, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong.
- Topic:
- Communism, Democratization, Politics, Governance, Institutions, and Political Parties
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Eurasia, and Asia
5. How does China fare on the Russian market? Implications for the European Union
- Author:
- Alicia Garcia-Herrero and Jianwei Xu
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Bruegel
- Abstract:
- China’s economic ties with Russia are deepening. Meanwhile, Europe remains Russia’s largest trading partner, lender and investor. An analysis of China’s ties with Russia, indicate that China seems to have become more of a competitor to the European Union on Russia’s market. Competition over investment and lending is more limited, but the situation could change rapidly with China and Russia giving clear signs of a stronger than ever strategic partnership.
- Topic:
- Economics, Markets, Bilateral Relations, Governance, Investment, and Exports
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Europe, Eurasia, and Asia
6. Social Innovation and Higher Education in the BRICS (1): a background overview
- Author:
- Paula R. Cruz, Victor Rebourseau, and Alyssa Luisi
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- BRICS Policy Center
- Abstract:
- This working paper results from the first phase of the research project on “Social Innovation and Higher Education in the BRICS” conducted by the Research Group on Innovation Systems and Development Governance at the BRICS Policy Center. This research aims to contribute to both the advancement of the scholarly debate on the engagement of HEIs in social innovation initiatives, and the promotion of more inclusive and sustainable development policies in the Global South, particularly in the BRICS.
- Topic:
- Development, Education, Governance, Innovation, and Higher Education
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, India, South Africa, and Brazil
7. Social Innovation and Higher Education in the BRICS (2): a multiscalar governance approach with evidence from DESIS Labs
- Author:
- Paula R. Cruz, Alyssa Luisi, and Victor Rebourseau
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- BRICS Policy Center
- Abstract:
- This is the second working paper resulting from the first phase of the research project on “Social Innovation and Higher Education in the BRICS” conducted by the Research Group on Innovation Systems and Development Governance at the BRICS Policy Center. It aims to provide evidence on the ways in which social innovation labs in HEIs in the BRICS countries may operate within a complex, multiscalar governance mode, which a number of local-, national-, and international or transnational level stakeholders participate in.
- Topic:
- Development, Education, Governance, and Higher Education
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, India, South Africa, and Brazil