The pawn of great powers: The East–West competition for Caucasia

AbstractMy argument in this paper is that Caucasia has become an area of contention, like much of post-Soviet Eurasia, between the East and West, particularly between Russia's Caucasian policy, which revolves around its long-term interest in re-establishing its regional hegemony in the so-called Near Abroad, and the United States' grander ambition for global hegemony. The South Caucasus has provided the first opportunity for Russia to demonstrate its will to prevent the United States, NATO, and the European Community from penetrating the southern tier of the former USSR. Russia's move is not a program of imperial control, but rather a determined effort to contain or even roll back the influence of other powers, most importantly, the United States and NATO in the regions closest to Russia's borders. The “southern tier” of the former Soviet Union – Caucasia and Central Asia – contains the most vulnerable regions in which other powers might intervene, and it is here where Russia will test its new policies. Up until August 2008 it used primarily “soft power” vigorously to prevent other powers from increasing their influence in the region. In August it demonstrated it was prepared, when pushed, to use “hard power.” The Russo–Georgian War was a watershed in East–West relations with a more assertive Russia willing to take on its more powerful competitors

Nationalism and Class as Factors in the Revolution of 1917

Also CSST Working Paper #9.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/51133/1/365.pd

The Russian Revolution: A New History. By Sean McMeekin. (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2017. Pp. xxxi, 496. $30.00.)

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146979/1/hisn13056_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146979/2/hisn13056.pd

Living the Revolution: Urban Communes and Soviet Socialism, 1917–1932. By Andy Willimott. Oxford University Press. 2017. xv + 203pp. £60.00.

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146506/1/hist12652_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146506/2/hist12652.pd

Proletarian Dictator in a Peasant Land: Stalin as Ruler

Also CSST Working Paper #69.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/51226/1/460.pd

Toward a Theory of National Intellectual Practice

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/51327/1/563.pd

Beyond national narratives? : centenary histories, the First World War and the Armenian Genocide

In April 2015 the centenary of the Armenian Genocide was commemorated. Just like the First World War centenary, this anniversary has provoked a flurry of academic and public interest in what remains a highly contested history. This article assesses the state of the current historiography on the fate of the Ottoman Armenians. It focuses on the possibilities for moving beyond the national narratives which continue to dominate the field, in particular through connecting the case of the Armenian Genocide to what has been termed a ‘transnational turn’ in the writing of the history of the First World War

Why We Hate You: The Passions of National Identity and Ethnic Violence

Emotion, the key to human motivation, is an integral part of politics. This paper shows how a consideration of emotions contributes to the existing causal theories of ethnic violence. The author begins with a discussion of identity and nation, examining how the concept of national identity has developed over time into a single unitary identity. While identities are in fact fluid, they are treated in politics are if they are immutable. The author examines the connection between emotion and action, as emotions are preconditions for making reasonable choices or prioritizing preferences. Next, the paper covers the history of emotions in political theory, in particular, how emotion is presented in opposition to rationality. In examining various theories of ethnic conflict, Suny shows how ethnic conflict is ultimately about collective action, though the initiative for violence may be located at the top. He examines two recent works in some detail: Stuart Kaufman’s Modern Hatreds (2001) and Roger D. Petersen’s Understanding Ethnic Violence (2002). Four key emotions--fear, hatred, rage, and resentment--play an important role in ethnic conflict. Suny points our the important distinction between anger and hatred. Groups take collective action when their emotions are mobilized, but emotions also play an important role in sustaining social movements. Finally, Suny uses the concepts of resentment and anxiety to explain the genocide against Armenians perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in 1915, showing the important role of emotions in explaining mass killing