Browsing by Author "Kakabadze, Shota"

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A Tale of Two Orthodoxies: Europe in Religious Discourses of Russia and Georgia
(Routledge, 2018) Makarychev, Andrey; Kakabadze, Shota
The article seeks to analyze discourses of two Orthodox Churches—Georgian (GOC) and Russian (ROC)—from the vantage point of their various interconnections with Europe and the ensuing representations of Europe framed in religious terms. Of particular salience are relations between ROC and GOC, on the one hand, and the Roman Catholic Church, on the other, as well as the positioning of both ROC and GOC within the global community of Orthodox Churches. The analyzed political circumstances force religious hierarchs of both institutions, even if they share the similar ambivalence toward the West, to differently reproduce the image of Europe. The broader geopolitical picture puts the GOC in the position of supporting government’s foreign policy agenda which goes in opposition to the Kremlin, in spite of the fact that the former has a lot of common with the Moscow Patriarchate when it comes to criticism toward the Western liberal value systems.
“The Caucasian chalk circle”: Georgia’s self at the East/West nexus
(2020-09-18) Kakabadze, Shota; Makarychev, Andrey, juhendaja; Mälksoo, Maria, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Sotsiaalteaduste valdkond
See väitekiri käsitleb rahvusliku identiteedi ja välispoliitika vahelist suhet Euroopa Liidu ja Venemaa vahele jäävates riikides. Uurimistöö lähtepunktiks on sedastus, et Euroopa Liidu poolt naabruskonnas elluviidavate erinevate poliitiliste projektide osas esineb asümmeetria Euroopa Liidu enda ootuste ning sihtriikide poliitiliste eliitide ootuste vahel. Gruusia juhtumiuuring heidab valgust “limbole”, milles need naaberriigid eksisteerivad: ühelt poolt toob idapartnerlus koos assotsieerimislepingu ja põhjaliku ning laiaulatusliku vabakaubanduspiirkonnaga Gruusia läbi mitmesuguste õiguslike ning tururegulatsioonide ELi standarditele lähemale. Teisalt ei paku ükski nendest projektidest otseseid Euroopa Liiduga liitumise väljavaateid, jättes partnerriigid alalisse „jõudmise“ seisundisse. Seda faasi on kontseptualiseeritud liminaalsusena ning väitekirjas rakendatakse diskursusteooriad koos stigmatiseerimise kontseptsiooniga, uurimaks diskursiivseid konstruktsioone ametlikes dokumentides, kõnedes ja meediaväljaannetes. Analüütilistel eesmärkidel on mitmed paralleelsed diskursused väitekirjas konsolideeritud kaheks põhitüübiks: dominante (läänemeelne) ja sellele vastanduv rahvuslik identiteedikontseptsioon. Domineeriv kontseptsioon konstrueerib Gruusiat osana Euroopa perest, vastandades Euroopat „orientaalsele“ ja „barbaarsele“ Venemaale ning sidudes seeläbi Gruusia välispoliitika tsivilisatsioonilise narratiiviga. Vastanduv artikulatsioon aga käsitleb Gruusiat ida/lääne neksuses paiknevana ja defineerib seetõttu domineerivast diskursusest erinevalt nii Euroopat, kristlust kui sovetlikku minevikku, mis väljendub omakorda teistsuguses välispoliitilises agendas.
“Christian Stalin” – The Paradox of Contemporary Georgian Politics
(University of Tartu Press, 2017) Kakabadze, Shota
The following study sets as the starting point of analysis the paradox which one can observe in contemporary Georgian public space. Religious discourse refers to Stalin as a believer and even talks of his contribution to the revival of Christianity in the Soviet Union, despite the vast historical evidence suggesting otherwise. A considerable part of the Georgian population expresses respect or sympathy towards this historical figure. In this research, it is argued that explanations stemming from memory politics, nationalism or from the attempts of turning the image of Stalin into a commodity, fail to substantially address the puzzle and shed light on the phenomenon. Hence, the following study proposes a chain of signification developed within the discourse theory as a theoretical and methodological tool for looking at these developments. The discourse on national identity with Orthodox Christianity as a nodal point explains the possibility of such an image, religious Stalin, coming into existence.
Russia and the West: struggle for normative hegemony
(Tartu Ülikooli Euroopa kolledž, 2015) Kakabadze, Shota; Makarychev, Andrey, juhendaja
In the spring of 2012 Vladimir Putin was elected as the President of Russia for the third time. With his return as the head of the state, new conservative discourse, with normative dimension, started to emerge in the Russian politics. Cases of the Pussy Riot, the gay propaganda law or anti-blasphemy law, are examples of this conservative turn. This discourse also implies portrayal of the West as deviant and perverted, while Russia stands as the last bastion in defense of traditional values. Such articulation is widely supported and enhanced by the Russian Orthodox Church. As it is argued in the present study, this discourse serves not only domestic political purposes, but also provides important bases for the Russian normative hegemony to be projected outwards. Hegemony is defined from the Neo-Gramscian understanding and it is illustrated how the civil society institutions inside Georgia help to articulate, project and maintain the Russian discourse to the Georgian society and subsequently counter an alternative, the Western discourse, expressed within the Association Agreement with the EU. Discourse analysis, more specifically, the discourse theory was applied as a methodology to analyze ongoing discourse. Findings illustrate that the Georgian society is still struggling to associate itself with the Western normative discourse and it can serve basis for the Kremlin to achieve its political goals without brute force, through normative hegemony.