This seminar will explore two interrelated phenomena. First, do social movement dynamics operate the same way in non-democratic contexts as in democratic contexts? Second, can the same methods developed in Western liberal democracies for studying social movements be applied to non-democratic settings? This talk focuses on southern Russia for a number of reasons.
Putin’s tenure as president and premier from 1999 to the present has resulted in reassertion of government control on domestic mass media, the crackdown on dissenting elite, and repression of political opposition and independent civil society. These changes create an environment for social movements characterised by higher degrees of state coercion and more scarce opportunities for social movements to engage in open communication with constituencies.
Another reason is that post-Soviet social movements have remained heavily understudied in the West. The talk focuses on the environmental movement in Krasnodar Krai and the ethno-national Balkar movement in Kabardino-Balkaria for the period between 2000 to the present.
Speaker:
Karena Avedissian
PhD from Birmingham University, Fellow at the University of Southern California
This event is in English. No interpretation will be provided. This event is open to public.
Organizer: College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Phone: +374 10 32-40-40
Email: info@aua.am
Venue: 113W, Paramaz Avedisian Building