Sex, Politics, and Putin

Sex, Politics, and Putin
Author: Valerie Sperling
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 375
Release: 2015
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0199324352

Is Vladimir Putin macho, or is he a "fag"? Sex, Politics, and Putin investigates how gender stereotypes and sexualization have been used as tools of political legitimation in contemporary Russia. Despite their enmity, regime allies and detractors alike have wielded traditional concepts of masculinity, femininity, and homophobia as a means of symbolic endorsement or disparagement of political leaders and policies. By repeatedly using machismo as a means of legitimation, Putin's regime (unlike that of Gorbachev or Yeltsin) opened the door to the concerted use of gendered rhetoric and imagery as a means to challenge regime authority. Sex, Politics, and Putin analyzes the political uses of gender norms and sexualization in Russia through three case studies: pro- and anti-regime groups' activism aimed at supporting or undermining the political leaders on their respective sides; activism regarding military conscription and patriotism; and feminist activism. Arguing that gender norms are most easily invoked as tools of authority-building when there exists widespread popular acceptance of misogyny and homophobia, Sperling also examines the ways in which sexism and homophobia are reflected in Russia's public sphere.

The Quest for an Ideal Youth in Putin's Russia I

The Quest for an Ideal Youth in Putin's Russia I
Author: Ivo Mijnssen
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2014-04-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3838265785

This book analyzes the dubious role of the Democratic Antifascist Youth Movement "Nashi" in contemporary Russia. Part of the Putinist project of political stabilization, Nashi mobilizes young Russians through its emotional appeal, skillful use of symbolic politics, and promise of professional self-realization.

Youth Politics in Putin's Russia

Youth Politics in Putin's Russia
Author: Julie Hemment
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2015-09-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0253017815

Julie Hemment provides a fresh perspective on the controversial nationalist youth projects that have proliferated in Russia in the Putin era, examining them from the point of view of their participants and offering provocative insights into their origins and significance. The pro-Kremlin organization Nashi ("Ours") and other state-run initiatives to mobilize Russian youth have been widely reviled in the West, seen as Soviet throwbacks and evidence of Russia's authoritarian turn. By contrast, Hemment's detailed ethnographic analysis finds an astute global awareness and a paradoxical kinship with the international democracy-promoting interventions of the 1990s. Drawing on Soviet political forms but responding to 21st-century disenchantments with the neoliberal state, these projects seek to produce not only patriots, but also volunteers, entrepreneurs, and activists.

Introducing Intercultural Communication

Introducing Intercultural Communication
Author: Shuang Liu
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2010-11-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1446259544

Books on intercultural communication are rarely written with an intercultural readership in mind. In contrast, this multinational team of authors has put together an introduction to communicating across cultures that uses examples and case studies from around the world. The book further covers essential new topics, including international conflict, social networking, migration, and the effects technology and mass media play in the globalization of communication. Written to be accessible for international students too, this text situates communication theory in a truly global perspective. Each chapter brings to life the links between theory and practice and between the global and the local, introducing key theories and their practical applications. Along the way, you will be supported with first-rate learning resources, including: • theory corners with concise, boxed-out digests of key theoretical concepts • case illustrations putting the main points of each chapter into context • learning objectives, discussion questions, key terms and further reading framing each chapter and stimulating further discussion • a companion website containing resources for instructors, including multiple choice questions, presentation slides, exercises and activities, and teaching notes. This book will not merely guide you to success in your studies, but will teach you to become a more critical consumer of information and understand the influence of your own culture on how you view yourself and others.

Nexus of Patriotism and Militarism in Russia

Nexus of Patriotism and Militarism in Russia
Author: Katri Pynnöniemi
Publisher: Helsinki University Press
Total Pages: 343
Release: 2021-05-27
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9523690353

This edited volume explores patriotism and the growing role of militarism in today’s Russia. During the last 20-year period, there has been a consistent effort in Russia to consolidate the nation and to foster a sense of unity and common purpose. To this end, Russian authorities have activated various channels, from educational programmes and youth organizations to media and popular culture. With the conflict in Ukraine, the manipulation of public sentiments – feeling of pride and perception of threat – has become more systemic. The traditional view of Russia being Other for Europe has been replaced with a narrative of enmity. The West is portrayed as a threat to Russia’s historical-cultural originality while Russia represents itself as a country encircled by enemies. On the other hand, these state-led projects mixing patriotism and militarism are perceived sceptically by the Russian society, especially the younger generations. This volume provides new insights into the evolution of enemy images in Russia and the ways in which societal actors perceive official projections of patriotism and militarism in the Russian society. The contributors of the volume include several experts on Russian studies, contemporary history, political science, sociology, and media studies.

The New Autocracy

The New Autocracy
Author: Daniel Treisman
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2018-02-06
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0815732449

Corruption, fake news, and the "informational autocracy" sustaining Putin in power After fading into the background for many years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia suddenly has emerged as a new threat—at least in the minds of many Westerners. But Western assumptions about Russia, and in particular about political decision-making in Russia, tend to be out of date or just plain wrong. Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin since 2000, Russia is neither a somewhat reduced version of the Soviet Union nor a classic police state. Corruption is prevalent at all levels of government and business, but Russia's leaders pursue broader and more complex goals than one would expect in a typical kleptocracy, such as those in many developing countries. Nor does Russia fit the standard political science model of a "competitive authoritarian" regime; its parliament, political parties, and other political bodies are neither fakes to fool the West nor forums for bargaining among the elites. The result of a two-year collaboration between top Russian experts and Western political scholars, Autocracy explores the complex roles of Russia's presidency, security services, parliament, media and other actors. The authors argue that Putin has created an “informational autocracy,” which relies more on media manipulation than on the comprehensive repression of traditional dictatorships. The fake news, hackers, and trolls that featured in Russia’s foreign policy during the 2016 U.S. presidential election are also favored tools of Putin’s domestic regime—along with internet restrictions, state television, and copious in-house surveys. While these tactics have been successful in the short run, the regime that depends on them already shows signs of age: over-centralization, a narrowing of information flows, and a reliance on informal fixers to bypass the bureaucracy. The regime's challenge will be to continue to block social modernization without undermining the leadership’s own capabilities.

The Discourse on Gender Identity in Contemporary Russia

The Discourse on Gender Identity in Contemporary Russia
Author: Dennis Scheller-Boltz
Publisher: Georg Olms Verlag
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2017-08-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3487156083

Conchita Wursts Sieg beim Eurovision Song Contest 2014 war ein zentrales diskursives Moment, welches das derzeitige Spannungsfeld zwischen Postgenderismus und Traditionalismus in Russland offenlegte und aufzeigte, wie sehr Geschlecht und Sexualität, nicht zuletzt für das russische Selbstbild und die Konstruktion einer russischen nationalen Identität, instrumentalisiert und politisiert werden und wie sehr Identitätskonzepte den russischen Alltag mitbestimmen. Die Monografie widmet sich der Diskussion um Geschlecht und Sexualität in Russland nach dem Sieg von Conchita Wurst und untersucht das Verhältnis von Diskurs und Identität. Im Vordergrund steht die Funktion von Sprache sowohl für die Identitätskonstruktion als auch für die Schaffung und Abgrenzung von Räumen. Dabei lassen sich nicht nur lexikologische und wortbildnerische Besonderheiten beobachten, sondern es liegt insgesamt ein auffälliger Sprachgebrauch mit interessanten Argumentationsstrategien vor. Ausführungen zu Identität und kritische Anmerkungen zur russischen Gender- und Queer-Linguistik komplettieren diesen Band. Conchita Wurst’s 2014 victory in the Eurovision Song Contest was a significant discursive moment which revealed the current tensions between postgenderism and traditionalism in contemporary Russia. This case also made clear just how far gender and sexuality are instrumentalised and politicised – not least in creating Russians’ self-perception and constructing a Russian national identity – and how massively notions of identity impact on Russian everyday life. The monograph focuses on the discussion of gender and sexuality in Russia following the 2014 event and investigates the relation between discourse and identity. Above all, it is concerned with the function of language in identity construction, and in the creation and demarcation of spaces. In this context, Dr. Scheller-Boltz’s study not only analyses lexicological and word-formation peculiarities, but also provides some revealing research findings about specific language use, including certain argumentation strategies. The monograph begins with a detailed introduction to notions of identity and concludes with some critical remarks on Russian gender and queer linguistics.

Civil Society in Putin's Russia

Civil Society in Putin's Russia
Author: Elena A. Chebankova
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2013
Genre: History
ISBN: 0415656877

1. Methodology, Theoretical Considerations and the Structure of the Study . - 2. Public and Private Cycles of Socio-Political Life in Russia . - 3. The Pulic Sphere and the State in Russia . - 4. A Kind of Society: The Nature of Political Radicalism in Modern Russia . - 5. State-Sponsored Civic Associations in Russia: Systemic Integration or a 'War of Position'? . - 6. Foreign-Sponsored Associations in Russia: Themes and Problems . - 7. Grassroots Movements in Modern Russia: A Cause for Optimism? . - Conclusion