Minority Ethnic Mobilization in the Russian Federation

Discusses the spread of nationalism in the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation.

Dmitry P. Gorenburg (Author)

9780521032391, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 14 December 2006

312 pages, 6 b/w illus. 1 map 45 tables
22.8 x 15.7 x 1.8 cm, 0.475 kg

'… a paradigmatic, and, to a large extent, innovative study of the micro-processes of nationalist mobilization.' Ab Imperio

This book explains how state institutions affect ethnic mobilization. It focuses on how ethno-nationalist movements emerge on the political arena, develop organizational structures, frame demands, and attract followers. It does so in the context of examining the widespread surge of nationalist sentiment that occurred through the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It shows that even during this period of institutional upheaval, pre-existing ethnic institutions affected the tactics of the movement leaders. It challenges the widely held perception that governing elites can kindle latent ethnic grievances virtually at will to maintain power. It argues that nationalist leaders can't always mobilize widespread popular support and that their success in doing so depends on the extent to which ethnicity is institutionalized by state structures. It shifts the study of ethnic mobilization from the whys of its emergence to the hows of its development as a political force.

List of figures and tables
Preface
1. Minority ethnic mobilization in Russia: an introduction
2. Explaining ethnic mobilization: the role of ethnic institutions
3. From cultural society to popular front: the formation and development of nationalist organizations
4. The Soviet institutional legacy and ethno-nationalist ideology
5. Institutions matter: measuring support for nationalism
6. Intragroup variation in support for nationalism: not all ethnics are the same
7. Outcomes: did regional governments adopt the nationalist agenda?
8. The larger picture: support for nationalism in Russia's other republics
9. Institutions and nationalism
Appendix: construction of variables and indices
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP]