UPTAKE — Building Research Excellence in Russian and East European Studies at the Universities of Tartu, Uppsala and Kent
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The goal of the project is to increase research productivity and excellence and to promote international visibility and integration of three European universities – Tartu in Estonia, Uppsala in Sweden, and Kent in the United Kingdom -- in the field of Russian and East European Studies by creating a dynamic, comprehensive, open and sustainable framework for cooperation and transfer of knowledge. In line with the objectives of Twinning, the aim of the project is to reduce the existing gap in scientific and innovation performance between the high-performing (UK and Sweden) and low-performing member states (Estonia). The work plan envisions the launch of an ambitious new academic conference series, the organization of five international summer and winter schools, extensive inter-institutional mobility, joint supervision of doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, coordinated promotion of research outputs, joint conceptualization and launch of new collaborative research projects, as well as extensive dissemination and communication measures. The expected impact of the project is a significant improvement in the overall scientific capacity of the University of Tartu in the field of Russian and East European Studies, measured in terms of high-impact publications, external research funding, and integration into relevant international research networks. Due to the regionally leading position of the coordinating institution, as well as the open and inclusive approach chosen by the consortium, the project is expected to make a significant contribution to spreading excellence in the entire Baltic region and post-communist Europe more broadly.
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Item When Goliath Meets Goliath: How Russia and the EU Created the Vicious Circle of Instability in Moldova(Global Affairs, 2016) Nizhnikau, RyhorMoldova (like most of the post-Soviet countries) suffers from state capture, endemic corruption and a lack of prosperity. This article examines the policies of the EU and Russia in Moldova and in particular how they have contributed to the dysfunctional institutions, political instability and social unrest that have become a permanent feature in the country’s development. Comparing Russia’s and the EU’s policies on the eve of and after the Parliamentary elections in Moldova of 2014, it argues that Russian and EU policies in Moldova are similar in their strategies. They both focus on creating a support base for their vision of Moldova’s future among local elites and both thereby become involved in domestic politics. The winners are the domestic elites that use external assistance to maintain existing structures and institutions that support an inefficient state which continues to extract rents and through which they manage to stay in power. A consequence of the preservation of inefficient state structures and mechanisms is the uneven distribution of power and resources, flourishing corruption and the impoverishment of the population. The elite-oriented policies of both Russia and the EU reinforce, rather than improve, the status quo in Moldova and contribute thereby to greater domestic instability, prevent substantial economic growth and increase existing social problems in the country.Item Глас народа: украинский конфликт глазами латиноамериканцев(2016) Pavlova, ElenaАнализируя средства массовой информации Латинской Америки и результаты опросов, проведенных в Боливии в декабре 2014 г., автор пытается выявить ключевые моменты дискуссии о событиях в Украине и определить, насколько Россия может рассчитывать на поддержку государств региона в своем противостоянии с Западом, что именно влияет на наличие или отсутствие данной поддержки.Item Both in-between and out: national sovereignty and cross-border governmentality in the Euro 2012 in Lviv(London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. (New Georgaphies of Europe)., 2016) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, AlexandraThe chapter focuses on the case of Lviv as a host city of UEFA Cup in 2012, and approaches this case study from the perspective of governmentalityItem Russia’s neighbourhood policy: Conflictual contexts and factors of change(Helsinki: Finnish Institute of International Affairs., 2016) Makarychev, AndreyThe chapter analyses factors shaping Russia's relations with post-Soviet neighbours in the context of global politicsItem Celebrating Borderlands in a Wider Europe. Nations and Identities in Ukraine, Georgia and Estonia(2016) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, AlexandraThe book deploys borderland identities of a group of post-Soviet countries into the reviving binary logic of EU – Russia conflictual interactionItem The Limits to Russian Soft Power in Georgia(2016) Makarychev, AndreyThis paper looks at conditions that stipulated the emergence of soft power as a peculiar type of discourse and policy practice in Russia, with a particular focus on Russian-Georgian relationsItem The Russian Federation and European Union against Corruption: A Slight Misunderstanding?(Routledge Taylor & Francis Ltd., 2016) Pavlova, ElenaIt was hoped that the Partnership for Modernisation would improve the troubled relationship between the Russian Federation and the European Union (EU), but it has fallen far short of expectations. Moreover, the disagreement between the two parties has been evident not only on such predictably conflictual topics as human rights but also in the areas where mutual understanding would have seemed likely to have been achieved. This article analyses one of these topics, the fight against corruption, as it is defined in the Russian discourse. It is argued that the Russian discourse on corruption exists at three levels, which do not overlap at all. The first level is the official definition of corruption; the second is ‘home corruption’, which is interpreted only as an economic problem and frequently understood as a part of the socio-economic system and the third level – that of political opposition, where the fight against corruption, although being the axial line for the articulation of the protest agenda, has nothing to do with the anti-corruption fight as such. As a result, the Russian and the EU discourses have little in common, which presents some problems for future cooperation.Item Why Narva is not next(Copenhagen University Press. (Centre for Military Studies)., 2016) Kasekamp, AndresItem Promoting stability in the Middle East? The American alliance with Saudi Arabia after the “Rebalance”(Helsinki: Finnish Institute of International Affairs, 2016) McNamara, Eoin MicheálItem The War in Chechnya in Russian Cinematographic Representations: Biopolitical Patriotism in 'Unsovereign' Times(2016) Makarychev, AndreyThis paper addresses the intricacies of patriotism during the two wars in Chechnya (1994-1996 and 1999-2000) as represented in Russian cinematographic narrativesItem Russia “Understanders” in Europe: Discourses, Communication, Consequences / Россия и ее «понимающие» союзники: Дискурсы, коммуникация, последствия(2016) Makarychev, Andrey; Braghiroli, StefanoThe article discusses how and to what extent non-mainstream political parties in EU member states can be sensitive and responsive to the Kremlin-imposed political agendaItem Russia-EU Borderlands after the Ukraine Crisis: the Case of Narva(London and New York: Routledge, 2016) Makarychev, Andrey; Yatsyk, AlexandraThe authors contribute to the ongoing problematization of the Russian – Estonian border issues by specifically addressing the case of Narva from different research perspectives grounded in critical border studies that is premised on unpacking different meanings of borders and their ability to play constitutive roles for political relation and subjectivitiesItem The Baltic Sea Region: practising security at the overlap of the European and the post-Soviet society of states(2016) Linsenmaier, ThomasThe chapter ‘The Baltic Sea Region: Practicing Security at the Overlap of the European and the Post-Soviet Society of States’ puts forward an interpretative framework for understanding the political dynamics currently on display in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). It does so from the perspective of the English School of International Relations, approaching the BSR as a particular sub-set of relations, a borderland, in the wider interplay between the European and the post-Soviet regional international society. Given Russia’s presence as the ‘Other within’, events occurring in the wider constellation, such as the conflict in Ukraine, affect also Baltic Sea regionalism and the security constellation in the area. With ambiguity over Russia’s normative outlook resolved, the patterns of regional differentiation cutting across the BSR become manifest. Cooperative frameworks in the area have come under strain and patterns of securitisation increasingly diverge along the regional divide. Drawing on the conceptual apparatus of the English School, the chapter suggests understanding security practice in the BSR before the background of the interplay of two regional international societies, the European and the post-Soviet regional international society.Item Charting informal engagement between de facto states: a quantitative analysis(2016) Toomla, RaulAlthough being considered illegal entities and largely ignored, de facto states have received some extent of acceptance such as foreign representations short of embassies located in their capitals. This paper examines the conditions which lead to this informal engagement measured by the number of foreign representations to the contested states. We study the position of non-recognised states in the international system and the factors that condition this position. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, this paper establishes sufficient and/or necessary conditions that lead to more informal diplomacy between established states and their non-recognised counterparts using data from eight casesItem Borders in the Baltic Sea Region: Suturing the Ruptures(London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) Makarychev, AndreyBased on different case studies, the chapters collected in this volume contribute to the conceptualization of the BSR as a particular borderland case, for example, a complex regional formation located at the intersection of different cultural, ethnic, religious and civilizational flows and polesItem How do you tailor diplomatic training? Sizing up peer institutions and their training practices for the Diplomatic School of Armenia(2016) Berg, EikiThe Diplomatic School of Armenia (est. in 2009) explored how its peer institutions were organized, how they tailored their training programmes and how any existing structures and practices could be suited for Armenia. This paper reviews part of a comparative study which was carried out in 2013–2014. We include a sample of 14 institutes and training centres, ranging from countries which had diplomatic training fully integrated into the ministerial structures to those where the institute had become an entirely separate entity; including states where training focused strictly on skills development, as well as those cases where the focus had turned to offering post-graduate studies. It appears that all peer institutions have followed unprecedented development paths, becoming today’s diplomatic training centres, schools and academies. This made the tailoring exercise for Armenia even more challenging.Item Claiming the diaspora: Russia's compatriot policy and its reception by Estonian-Russian population(2016) Kallas, KristinaNearly a decade ago Russia took a turn from declarative compatriot protection discourse to a more programmatic approach consolidating large Russophone1 populations abroad and connecting them more with Russia by employing the newly emerged concept of Russkiy Mir as a unifying factor for Russophones around the world. Most academic debates have since focused on analyzing Russkiy Mir as Russia’s soft power tool. This article looks at Russia’s compatriot policy from the perspective of the claimed compatriot populations themselves. It is a single empirical in - depth case study of Russia’s compatriot policy and its reception by the Russian-speaking community in Estonia. The focus is on Russia’s claims on the Russophone population of Estonia and the reactions and perceptions of Russia’s ambitions by the Estonian-Russians themselves.Item Restraining Rivalries? US Alliance Policy and the Challenges of Regional Security in the Middle East and East Asia(Royal Irish Academy, 2016) McNamara, Eoin MicheálBarack Obama’s US presidency clearly signalled that America aims to re-order its foreign policy preferences to emphasise Asia. This article examines the challenges for US alliance management in the Middle East and East Asia, the two regions that have encountered the sharpest turnaround in terms of the US strategic attention received, as measured by the past decade. The threat of regional rivalries, linked to wider nuclear proliferation, lingers over both these regions. In addressing the Middle East, this article will focus on the problematic US-Saudi alliance; this arrangement represents a fragile regional linchpin, preventing further nuclear proliferation and regional destabilisation. By comparison, East Asia is a far more stable security order. However, it is argued that the US will continue to face a difficult balancing act between its accommodation of China’s ‘peaceful rise’ and the credible assurance of its nervous allies: Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.Item Stabilizing Dispersed Identities, or Why Politics Defines EU-Russia Disconnections?(London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Ltd., 2016) Makarychev, AndreyThis chapter looks at the crisis in EU–Russia relations, with the conflict over Ukraine at its zenith, from the viewpoint of the twin concepts of boundaries and borders deployed at the intersection of competing research perspectives.Item The Europeanization of foreign policy in the face of the Russian disinformation war(Kaitseväe Ühendatud Õppeasutused, 2016) Vilson, MailiSince 2014 a key development emerging from the crisis in Ukraine has been the extensive use of various disinformation and propaganda techniques used by Russia against not only Ukraine, but also against the European Union (EU) member states and the West in general. While such campaigns were gradually acknowledged in Berlin, Brussels, and Washington, the reactions of the EU and NATO came with a long delay. This article focuses on the institutional and political (re)actions of the EU to the Russian disinformation campaign against the European Union member states and Eastern neigh-borhood countries after the beginning of the Ukraine crisis in 2014. The key developments are the launch of a special Eastern StratCom Task Force within the EEAS as a completely new institutional formation, the adoption of the Action Plan for Strategic Communication, and the increased financial support for the European Endowment for Democracy. Tracing the EU collective response indicates that there was a decision of the member states to favor an EU-level solution over a solely national one in the foreign policy arena. This article argues that these developments are indicative of the Europeanization of the foreign policies of the member states, which is in itself a remarkable development given the altered European security environment.