Russian Conflict Research Articles

Intergroup Conflict in Russia

The group position model ( Blumer 1958 ; Bobo and Tuan 2006 ) assumes that attempting to secure a privileged position for the ingroup is a main determinant of perceived intergroup conflict. This assumption is tested with survey data collected in 1999 and 2000 among eight titular groups in autonomous republics of the Russian Federation. The survey included an experiment that was aimed at disentangling the effects of perceived threat and the fear of outgroup encroachment (growing outgroup influence). The findings indicate that more conflict was perceived when the ingroup was larger (corresponding to stronger entitlement claims to privilege), especially among those who felt more threatened. This association was further strengthened among those whose fear of outgroup encroachment was made salient. This study shows the relevance of the group position model in understanding perceived intergroup conflict among national minority groups with a local privileged status.

War Crimes In The 2008 Georgia-Russia Conflict

Little has been written within empirically driven criminology about crimes committed during the conduct of warfare. The laws of war are over a century old and the current Geneva Conventions more than 50. This paper addresses this gap by providing a partial account of the nature and distribution of violations of the Geneva Conventions during the August 2008 Georgia–Russia conflict and during the post-conflict occupation period. Drawing on numerous investigations by multiple parties, it establishes that war crimes were committed by all belligerent parties. Yet, not all parties committed the same types or same number of crimes. These distribution factors are examined in light of international transnational controls and the motivations each party brought to the conflict.

Diversionary Role of the Georgia–Russia Conflict: International Constraints and Domestic Appeal

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 produced 15 newly independent states from the former Soviet republics. In the Soviet Union, they had shared every vital system or resource—the military, the...

The Geopolitics of Terrorism: Russia's Conflict with Islamic Extremism

A British specialist on the Russo-Chechen wars and international terrorism examines Russia's role in the Global War on Terror and, in particular, its long-term campaign against both separatists and Islamic extremists in Chechnya and elsewhere in the North Caucasus. The author advances the argument that Russia's Eurasian (as opposed to European) mode of governance, equating self-determination with separatism and cultural/religious differences with extremism, has generated societal pressures conducive to heightened political violence and terrorism. The implications of such pressures for the future incidence of terrorism in Russia are explored. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: H770, O180, P300. 2 figures, 52 references.

The cybersecurity challenge

The cybersecurity challenge

A Research on Inter-Cultural Conflicts in Russia: A Case Study of Korean Companies Extending to Russia

In this research, a case-focused research was made to collect and analyse inter-cultural conflict cases of the Koreans in Russia on the basis of results of the former two stages. While the first and the second stages were focusing on forming a fundamental basis for inter-cultural interpretation and management method, this third phase is purposed to collect actual cases and to apply them in inter-cultural management. In this third research, as a priority research task, it's purpose was to collect and analyse actual conflict cases of Korean companies which were aroused because of cultural differences and to present our own new inter-cultural management methods for Russian culture. In this final report, the concept of conflict, universality and speciality of inter-national culture was investigated as a theoretical background. In chapter III, the background of Russian culture's formation and cultural code was examined to understand the speciality of Russian culture. In Chapter IV, conflict cases of Korean companies who have entered Russian markets suffering from cultural differences are collected and examined and recent changes of Russia and its business culture are investigated. In the last chapter, successful cases of Korean companies are introduced and inter-cultural management method is presented to understand, accept and apply Russian culture in future relations.

The Logic of Terrorist Target Choice: An Examination of Chechen Rebel Bombings from 1997–2003

The current article seeks to add to the quantitative approach to understanding terrorism by examining the logic underlying terrorist choice of targets and timing within the context of the Chechen–Russian conflict. Using data on Chechen rebel bombings in Chechnya and Russia from 1997–2003, the analysis revealed support for a logic underlying terrorist choice of targets. The results indicated that civilian targets were more likely to be targeted in Russia than in Chechnya, illustrating the importance of examining contextual effects within quantitative approaches to terrorism. The results also implicated an affect of weather and urbanization. Implications of the results and future directions for research are discussed.

The narratives of exclusion and self-exclusion in the Russian conflict discourse on EU–Russian Relations

Abstract The article focuses on the interplay of the narratives of ‘exclusion’ and ‘self-exclusion’ in the Russian discourse on EU–Russian relations. Since the late 1990s, this discourse has acquired an increasingly conflictual orientation, whereby the official foreign policy objectives of ‘strategic partnership’ with the EU and Russia's ‘integration with Europe’ are increasingly problematised across the entire Russian political spectrum. In the analysis of the Russian conflict discourse we shall identify two at first glance opposed narratives. Firstly, the EU enlargement has raised the issue of the expansion of the Schengen visa regime for Russian citizens, travelling to Europe. Particularly acute with regard to Kaliningrad Oblast', this issue has also generated a wider identity-related discourse on the EU's exclusionary policies towards Russia. Secondly, the perception of Russia's passive or subordinate status in EU–Russian cooperative arrangements at national, regional and local levels resulted in the problematisation of the insufficiently reciprocal or intersubjective nature of the EU–Russian ‘partnership’ and the increasing tendency towards Russia's ‘self-exclusion’ from integrative processes, grounded in the reaffirmation of state sovereignty that generally characterises the Putin presidency. This article concludes with the interpretation of the two conflict narratives in the wider context of debates around the project of European integration.

Prospects for professional parliaments in Russia's regions

The executive–legislative framework employed in the republic of Udmurtia throughout the 1990s distinguished it from other regions in Russia, making it a crucial case for analysis. While Udmurtia's parliamentary executive should have dampened incumbency rates in the republic, the number of incumbent legislators winning re-election has increased significantly over time. At the same time, the proportion of business and industrial interests in parliament has also increased. With this set of politicians representing broader societal interests in the republic, these findings provide some hope for the rise of minimally responsive, increasingly professionalized regional legislatures in Russia, as opposed to government by apparatchiks. In this context, Putin's decision to appoint governors should spur political conflict in Russia as regional elites with personal stakes in their regional economies and vested interests in democratic institutions confront an encroaching federal government.

The Road to the Portsmouth Peace Treaty: The Reluctance of European Nations to Act as Mediators

The Russo-Japanese War and the peace overture that followed it at Portsmouth's naval yard in New Hampshire in 1905 marked a turning point in world history, and it also reshaped the future course of the Asia Pacific region and the world at large. It is quite true that for many people in the world, the Portsmouth Peace Treaty is the story of the negotiations between Russia and Japan. But if one takes a hard look at the preparation for peacemaking in terms of mediation, it is not just the story of two nations. Rather it is the story of more than three nations. When it comes to the question of who hosted the peace conference or the peace making effort, no one argues that it was the Americans led by American President Theodore Roosevelt, as he hosted the treaty negotiations in such a way as to put the U.S.'s own stamp on the final outcome. This led us to believe that President Theodore Roosevelt acted successfully as a mediator to bring the Russian-Japanese conflict to an end. But in reality Roosevelt was faced with a number of predicaments. For example, when Roosevelt set about making the arrangements for the peace conference, as a mediator he was very apprehensive about the prospects for its success. The Tsar wanted to clarify his own thoughts and bring himself to a decision for peace. The Tsar's message, which Cassini brought to Roosevelt on June 6, 1905, indicated that Russia would not seek peace or mediation. Thus, Roosevelt was forced to seek to influence Russia through its European allies, as most of the trouble, as he doubtless expected, came from the Russian side. But the Russian Tsar Nicholas and some other European diplomats characterized Roosevelt's peace efforts as premature and indiscreet. Roosevelt avowed that he was speaking for the interests of the world as well as those of Russia. He did not want Russia driven off the Pacific slope, and this message convinced the Tsar. (Jusserand to Declasse, telegram, May 15, 1905, Documents diplomatique francais, 2d ser., 6:509-10; Roosevelt to Lodge, May 15, 1905, and Roosevelt to Meyer, May 24, 1905, Morison, Letters of Theodore Roosevelt, 4:1179-82, 1190-91.) For example, when Roosevelt hoped that the British government would join in the campaign to moderate Japan's demands, he was destined to be disappointed. When Roosevelt broached the subject to British Ambassador Durand, he received a cool and evasive response. The purpose of this research paper is not to scrutinize the document of the Portsmouth Peace Conference, nor does it cover the whole spectrum of the mediation efforts made by the American President Theodore Roosevelt. Rather this research paper deals with: 1) the course of the Russo-Japanese War; 2) the diplomatic action of the Japanese government after the declaration of war; and 3) how allies on both sides of the Russian and Japanese conflict (France and Germany allied with Russia, Great Britain allied with Japan) together with the United States, tried to take a number of steps to prepare a mediation role before the Portsmouth Peace Treaty.

Ombudsman Institutions and Ethnic Conflict in Russia and Ukraine: A Failure of Local Institution-building?

Book synopsis: The European Yearbook of Minority Issues provides a critical and timely review of contemporary developments in minority-majority relations in Europe. It combines analysis, commentary and documentation in relation to conflict management, international legal developments and domestic legislation affecting minorities in Europe. Part I contains scholarly articles and, in 2004/5, features three special focus sections on Ombudsman Institutions, The EU and Minority Protection, and The Caucasus Region. Part II reviews the implementation of minority legislation and international standards at the universal and regional levels as well as new developments in relation to them and contains a list of international norms. Apart from providing a unique annual overview of minority issues for both scholars and practitioners in this field, the Yearbook is an indispensable reference tool for libraries, research institutes as well as governments and international organisations.

Le stalinisme entre histoire et mémoire : le malaise de la mémoire russe

Maria Ferretti, Stalinism between history and memory : the malaise of Russian memory. The article studies the memory of Stalinism in Russia, from the age of perestroika to our own time. It distinguishes between dif ferent stages of Russia's conflict with her past, the obstacles that have hampered it, the temptation to repress it and the refusal to assume traumatic past. The article shows how, during the Yeltsin years, there was an attempt purely and simply to efface the Soviet past - as if it were a bad parenthesis - and to construct an idealized image of Tsarist Russia. But the disillusionment provoked by the brutal introduction of capitalism and the failed promises of neo-liberalism have caused a massively impoverished population to take refuge in nationalism

Contested Arctic: indigenous peoples, industrial states, and the circumpolar environment

The Arctic may be the last frontier of colonialism, where industrial societies are aggressively exploiting the resources and undermining the social cohesion of indigenous peoples. In fact, this colonization of the circumpolar north is only now reaching its full momentum. Among the new conquistadores are oil company geologists, loggers, even resource biologists, bringing not only industrial pollution but also cultural pollution in their wake. For centuries, the aboriginal Arctic population has efficiently used resources to meet modest human needs, developing a special relationship to the land, water, and wildlife. But at the intersection of national ambitions and arctic ecosystems, native communities are being relentlessly squeezed between the ravages of resource extraction and the often naive agendas of environmentalists in urban centers far away.This volume explores some of the major threats to the Arctic environment and indigenous peoples' responses to these threats. Case studies discuss the push for oil and gas development in Canada, Alaska, and Russia; the toxic legacy of the former Soviet Union; land tenure conflicts in Russia; and wildlife management in Canada and Scandinavia.

Political conflict and institutional design: Paths of party development in Russia

Partisan conflict in the Russian parliament sheds light on the question of how institutional arrangements affect the development of a party system. Russian parliamentary parties divide along a left‐right axis, but share an integralist outlook on federalism issues. These cross‐cutting issue dimensions generate intra‐cameral and inter‐branch conflict over property rights and fiscal policy, while inter‐cameral disputes frequently centre on federalism issues. Despite the asymmetry of the Constitution and the severity of left‐right divisions, parliamentary parties all employ their existing institutional resources for electoral and policy goals. Party dominance of the Duma and the alignment of Duma parties on the same side of the federalism issue have tended to partition conflict in Russia, stabilizing the political system at the expense of coherent policy‐making.

Labour Relations in Transition: Wages, Employment and Industrial Conflict in Russia

Contents: 1. Labour Relations and Class Formation (S. Clarke) 2. Wage Systems in Pioneers of Privatisation (I. Donova) 3. Foremen: An Ethnographic Investigation (M. Ilyina) 4. Internal Mobility and the Restruction of Labour (G. Monousova, N. Guskova) 5. How to Survive on a Russian Wage (S. Alasheev, M. Kiblitskaya) 6. Employment Policy in an Industrial Enterprise (T. Metalina) 7. Changes in the Social Organisation of an Industrial Enterprise (I. Kozina) 8. A Miners' Town: From the Problem of Employment to the Problems of Personnel Management (I. Donova) 9. The Strike as a Form of Worker Activism in the Period of Economic Reform (V. Borisov) 10. Conflict in a Coal-Mining Enterprise: A Case Study of Sudzhenskaya Mine (V. Borisov, V. Bizyukova, K. Burnyshev) 11. Underground Miners' Strikes (P. Bizyukov) Index

Democratization and Conflicts in Russia and the Newly Independent States

This article analyzes the relationship between conflicts and democratization processes in Russia and the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union. The severe interethnic and political conflicts that marked the beginning of the era of democratization in the former Soviet Union still have not been resolved. These ongoing conflicts inhibit democratic reforms. States have neither the resources nor the will to promote the peaceful resolution of these conflicts. Nongovernmental, cooperative conflict resolution may provide some assistance in handling conflicts in the post-Soviet context. Drawing on her significant experience working in cross-cultural conflicts, the author provides illustrations of practical applications of conflict analysis and resolution skills and processes. Finally, in concluding the article, the author explores the connection between civil society building and peaceful conflict resolution.

Book Review: International and Comparative: Labor Relations in Transition: Wages, Employment, and Industrial Conflict in Russia

Book Review: International and Comparative: Labor Relations in Transition: Wages, Employment, and Industrial Conflict in Russia

Labor Relations in Transition: Wages, Employment, and Industrial Conflict in Russia.

Labor Relations in Transition: Wages, Employment, and Industrial Conflict in Russia.

Labour Relations in Transition: Wages, Employment and Industrial Conflict in Russia. Ed. Simon Clarke. Management and Industry in Russia Series. Cheltenham, Eng.: Edward Elgar, 1996. x, 282 pp. Notes. Index. Tables. $80.00, hard bound. - Conflict and Change in the Russian Industrial Enterprise. Ed. Simon Clarke. Management and Industry in Russia Series. Cheltenham, Eng.: Edward Elgar, 1996. x, 298 pp.

Labour Relations in Transition: Wages, Employment and Industrial Conflict in Russia. Ed. Simon Clarke. Management and Industry in Russia Series. Cheltenham, Eng.: Edward Elgar, 1996. x, 282 pp. Notes. Index. Tables. $80.00, hard bound. - Conflict and Change in the Russian Industrial Enterprise. Ed. Simon Clarke. Management and Industry in Russia Series. Cheltenham, Eng.: Edward Elgar, 1996. x, 298 pp. Notes. Index. Figures. $80.00, hard bound. - Volume 56 Issue 4

Analysis and Prognosis of Interethnic Conflicts in Russia and the CIS

Analysis and Prognosis of Interethnic Conflicts in Russia and the CIS