PhD Thesis by Sofia Tipaldou
My PhD dissertation deals with the factors that influence the emergence of contemporary far right... more My PhD dissertation deals with the factors that influence the emergence of contemporary far right organizations in Russia and underlines the key role of leadership in those organizations. The research questions addressed in my research are: To what extent does the Russian radical right movement vary over time? What accounts for the internal transformation (the emergence and further evolution) of radical right organizations in Russia? The central outcome variable of my study are the emergence and organizational change of the Russian radical right movement that has to do with the why,when, and how mobilizing structures arise and how they change their form, strategy, discourse, and model. The population of my study is the broader radical right movement in Russia, which I will call “nationalist-patriotic opposition” and define as: the wide spectrum of extraparliamentarian nationalist organizations (parties, movements, and milieus), as well as their allies within the Duma. I used a number of data-gathering methods that include participant observation, semi-structured interviewing (key informant interviews), the use of indigenously generated documents by social movement organizations, newspaper articles, and archival research. My study uses an interdisciplinary approach that combines different disciplines (political science, sociology, and area studies) and different methods based on extensive fieldwork (key-informant semi-structured interviewing, participant observation, and archival research) and aims to forge a bridge between political science and sociology literature on this topic. It addresses the analytical challenge of identifying circumstances that include both structural and cultural processes and combine them with an agent-based approach in order to understand movement emergence and development. It is based on the ongoing effort of merging nationalism and social movement theories in order to contribute to the construction of a more solid theory of radical right protest. My argument is that Russia's contemporary radical right organizations have changed their form, strategy, discourse, and model through an adaptation process under the influence of new socioeconomic cleavages (along the lines of nation-state/ nationless confederacy, civic/ blood citizenship, and parliamentarian/ extraparliamentarian political organizations), the government's response towards these cleavages (particularly through migration policy), and opportunities the regime or other external factors (e.g. technology) opens or closes to them. Opportunities are shaped by the structural context which includes cultural, social, and political elements. The mobilization and outcomes of the nationalist-patriotic movement may feed back into both movement structures and context structures. During this process, the role of leadership is crucial, for capitalizing on the existing opportunities, for constructing a message attractive to the public, and for transforming their organizational forms and structures in a way that will enable them to survive and to accomplish their goals. Evidence from interviews with leaders of nationalist-patriotic movements shows that their agency is fundamental for the movements' creation and survival. My study makes a series of conceptual contributions, including the introduction of a broader definition of the radical right that accounts for the complex relations that exist within and among the organizations that comprise it and their interaction with opposing organizations; the introduction of the term “technological opportunity structures”; and the disentanglement of the existent form of the National- Bolshevik Party- The Other Russia- from the nationalist-patriotic front. The present research contributes to obtaining more insight into the patterns and dynamics of right-wing radicalism in transitional settings, especially non-democratic ones. The case study of Russia seeks to contribute to the debate in social science on the emergence and development of radical right wing movements about a broader category of similar cases that undergo rapid systemic change. It has further implications for our understanding of the role of nationalist organizations in democratic transition; on the understanding of similar movements in other transitional settings, e.g.. Ukraine, or in Western non-transitional settings with similar characteristics, e.g. Southern European economic crisis environments; and for the better understanding of pressures in domestic policy that may impact governmental decision-making in a series of issues, e.g. foreign policy
ARTICLES (PEER REVIEWED) by Sofia Tipaldou
Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals, 2018
Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals, 2018
Resumen: En el marco de la guerra entre Ucrania y Rusia en el Donbás y la anterior crisis de Crim... more Resumen: En el marco de la guerra entre Ucrania y Rusia en el Donbás y la anterior crisis de Crimea, este artículo trata de identificar y cartografiar, a partir de cuatro discursos de Vladimir Putin, elementos de populismo en las estrategias discursivas y formales de su régimen para justificar y crear una forma específica de conflicto. El análisis muestra cómo, aquí, el populismo va más allá de la dicotomía pueblo/establishment, al basarse en nociones complejas de enemistad y alianza, una definición muy amplia de la nación rusa, una nueva división del espacio político, e introducción de nuevos y reafirmación de antiguos símbolos de unidad más allá de las fronteras de la Rusia actual. Ello proyecta una nueva sombra sobre la política exterior rusa para el espacio postsoviético. Con ello, no solo se quieren esclarecer cuestiones sobre el conflicto en Ucrania, sino también aportar nuevos elementos a la literatura existente sobre populismo.
Abstract: In the context of the war between Ukraine and Russia in the Donbass and the earlier crisis over Crimea, this paper examines four speeches by Vladimir Putin to identify and map populist elements in his discursive and formal strategies of justifying and creating a specific form of conflict. The analysis shows how this populism goes beyond the people/ establishment dichotomy and is based on complex notions of enmity and alliance, a very broad definition of the Russian nation, a new division of the political space, and the introduction of new symbols of unity and the reaffirmation of old ones beyond the borders of today’s Russia. This casts a new shadow over Russian foreign policy in the post-Soviet space. Clarity is sought on questions about the Ukrainian conflict, but it is also hoped new elements will be brought to the existing literature on populism.
European Societies, 2018
This article discusses how two similar far right movements in different political systems – Golde... more This article discusses how two similar far right movements in different political systems – Golden Dawn (GD) in democratic Greece and the Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI) in authoritarian Russia – adapted their strategies and claims to better fit existing political contexts and how this affected the institutionalization of these movements. GD, a neo-Nazi movement formed in the 1980s, entered mainstream politics during the deep financial crisis of 2010, and since 2012 has consolidated its position as the third major opposition party. DPNI was founded in 2002; it had close connections with governing politicians and mobilized large xenophobic protests until it was banned in 2011. It then entered into a coalition with other far right groups under the banner of Russkie, cooperated with the liberals in the massive anti-fraud protests during 2011–2013, and tried to register as the Party of Nationalists, but failed and has now disbanded. While GD de-radicalized its anti-immigration claims to fit with the dominant discourse and exploited the financial crisis for its grass-root mobilization, DPNI changed its strategies and collaborated with its ideological opponents only after it had become very popular and faced with severe state repression. Our comparative analysis shows that far right movements adapt to their diverse environments in a manner similar to that of other anti-establishment movements regardless of context – whether within a democratic or non-democratic regime.
Demokratizatsiya The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, vol. 27, no. 3, p. 347-370 , 2019
This article focuses on the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine (Donbass) that started with the e... more This article focuses on the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine (Donbass) that started with the events on the Euromaidan and the swift annexation of Crimea by Russia. Our analysis of key speeches by Vladimir Putin regarding the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbass demonstrates that in this case, populism extends beyond the dichotomy of the people against the establishment, since it relies on complex notions of enmity and alliance. We argue that the Russian political leadership deployed a discourse of Russian identity based on an overstretched definition of the Russian nation, a new discursive division of the political space, and the introduction of new and the reaffirmation of old symbols of unity. We also conclude that populism and nationalism were used interchangeably depending on the audience: the Russian leadership has used discursive strategies associated with populism to articulate this new vision of identity to residents of Crimea and nationalist ones when addressing domestic audiences.
Europe-Asia Studies, 2014
This article examines how, if at all, the mobilisation of the Russian Movement Against Illegal Im... more This article examines how, if at all, the mobilisation of the Russian Movement Against Illegal Immigration has had an impact on changes in Russian policies. Little is known about the outcomes of radical right movements in general or the Russian radical right in particular. The Movement Against Illegal Immigration has arguably played a role in shaping negative public attitudes towards immigration. On the other hand, the Russian government has not adopted any clear nationalistic anti-immigration policy frame. We show that disruptive events of Movement Against Illegal Immigration's mobilisation have caused reactions in terms of the elite discourse on immigration and restrictive immigration legislation.
Book Chapters by Sofia Tipaldou
The Steppe and Beyond: Studies on Central Asia
In 2019, Kazakhstan’s president Nursultan Nazarbayev surprised the world by voluntarily stepping ... more In 2019, Kazakhstan’s president Nursultan Nazarbayev surprised the world by voluntarily stepping down after almost thirty years in power to leave space for “a new generation of leaders.” Kazakhstan has become the success story of post-communist development in the region. Investors, domestic elites, and foreign leaders have been praising the stability of Nazarbayev’s neopatrimonial regime. Nazarbayev, however, is the first Central Asian leader who chose to step down from the presidency through a political tandem with the chairman of the Senate and second in line for the presidency, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Despite the fact that Tokayev finds himself in a secondary role in Kazakhstan’s political system, he has taken some steps toward changing his image and has shown some controversial signs of liberalization. This chapter discusses the turbulent relationship between political elites and the opposition in Kazakhstan, following the analytical model of the Sociology of Power. It first presents the elites that control Kazakhstan, the competition that these elites face from abroad, and the most significant groups and leaders that can mobilize popular discontent. The focus then turns on the strategies that Kazakh elites used to maintain power and the prospects of Kazakhstan’s transition.
White Power Music: Scenes of Extreme-Right Cultural Resistance, Aug 2012
Book Reviews by Sofia Tipaldou
Nationalities Papers, 2018
Conference Papers by Sofia Tipaldou
ecprnet.eu
The current paper proposal aims to explore the events that took place in Moscow's Manezh Squ... more The current paper proposal aims to explore the events that took place in Moscow's Manezh Square on December 11, 2010. The conflict started with the killing of a fan of Moscow's Spartak soccer club by a young man from Northern Caucasus. Five days after the tragic protest events ...
At the same time that Russia faces a rapid economic development, with a consequent increasing nee... more At the same time that Russia faces a rapid economic development, with a consequent increasing need for cheap labor force that mainly comes from the Caucasus and Central Asia, we notice a parallel increase in violent and non-violent xenophobic activities. How did a once multinational society turn into one of the most dangerous countries for “foreigners”, for those that do not look “Slavs”?
The present paper aims to research the brokerage of radical right organizations in the political polarization of a transitional setting. Radical right organizations in Russia form a very varied constellation, but all have in common that they claim to be the “true representatives” of the Russian people. From the year 2000 and on, the target of the racist speech of radical right actors has changed: from the international Jewry and the Americans of the 1990s, the enemy is now “internal”, the “illegal immigrant”. At the same time, radical right actors have accomplished a series of anti-immigrant – anti-Caucasian in their majority – mobilizations that attracted considerable pubic visibility: the 2006 Kondopoga pogrom, the annual nationalist Russian March, the 2010 Manezh riots, the 2011 “Stop Feeding the Caucasus” campaign.
The paper will draw on original data from my fieldwork in Russia and will focus on non-parliamentary radical right movements of the 2000s, like the Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI) and the Russian People's Movement (ROD). It aims to show the extent to which the radical right actors' mobilization, in combination with the opportunities they faced, succeeded in the political polarization of modern Russians against their former comrades.
The significance of the present proposal is to bridge social movement studies and nationalism studies through an interdisciplinary approach and to contribute to expand our knowledge on political polarization through its study in a transitional setting.
Other publications by Sofia Tipaldou
Uploads
PhD Thesis by Sofia Tipaldou
ARTICLES (PEER REVIEWED) by Sofia Tipaldou
Abstract: In the context of the war between Ukraine and Russia in the Donbass and the earlier crisis over Crimea, this paper examines four speeches by Vladimir Putin to identify and map populist elements in his discursive and formal strategies of justifying and creating a specific form of conflict. The analysis shows how this populism goes beyond the people/ establishment dichotomy and is based on complex notions of enmity and alliance, a very broad definition of the Russian nation, a new division of the political space, and the introduction of new symbols of unity and the reaffirmation of old ones beyond the borders of today’s Russia. This casts a new shadow over Russian foreign policy in the post-Soviet space. Clarity is sought on questions about the Ukrainian conflict, but it is also hoped new elements will be brought to the existing literature on populism.
Book Chapters by Sofia Tipaldou
Book Reviews by Sofia Tipaldou
Conference Papers by Sofia Tipaldou
The present paper aims to research the brokerage of radical right organizations in the political polarization of a transitional setting. Radical right organizations in Russia form a very varied constellation, but all have in common that they claim to be the “true representatives” of the Russian people. From the year 2000 and on, the target of the racist speech of radical right actors has changed: from the international Jewry and the Americans of the 1990s, the enemy is now “internal”, the “illegal immigrant”. At the same time, radical right actors have accomplished a series of anti-immigrant – anti-Caucasian in their majority – mobilizations that attracted considerable pubic visibility: the 2006 Kondopoga pogrom, the annual nationalist Russian March, the 2010 Manezh riots, the 2011 “Stop Feeding the Caucasus” campaign.
The paper will draw on original data from my fieldwork in Russia and will focus on non-parliamentary radical right movements of the 2000s, like the Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI) and the Russian People's Movement (ROD). It aims to show the extent to which the radical right actors' mobilization, in combination with the opportunities they faced, succeeded in the political polarization of modern Russians against their former comrades.
The significance of the present proposal is to bridge social movement studies and nationalism studies through an interdisciplinary approach and to contribute to expand our knowledge on political polarization through its study in a transitional setting.
Other publications by Sofia Tipaldou
Abstract: In the context of the war between Ukraine and Russia in the Donbass and the earlier crisis over Crimea, this paper examines four speeches by Vladimir Putin to identify and map populist elements in his discursive and formal strategies of justifying and creating a specific form of conflict. The analysis shows how this populism goes beyond the people/ establishment dichotomy and is based on complex notions of enmity and alliance, a very broad definition of the Russian nation, a new division of the political space, and the introduction of new symbols of unity and the reaffirmation of old ones beyond the borders of today’s Russia. This casts a new shadow over Russian foreign policy in the post-Soviet space. Clarity is sought on questions about the Ukrainian conflict, but it is also hoped new elements will be brought to the existing literature on populism.
The present paper aims to research the brokerage of radical right organizations in the political polarization of a transitional setting. Radical right organizations in Russia form a very varied constellation, but all have in common that they claim to be the “true representatives” of the Russian people. From the year 2000 and on, the target of the racist speech of radical right actors has changed: from the international Jewry and the Americans of the 1990s, the enemy is now “internal”, the “illegal immigrant”. At the same time, radical right actors have accomplished a series of anti-immigrant – anti-Caucasian in their majority – mobilizations that attracted considerable pubic visibility: the 2006 Kondopoga pogrom, the annual nationalist Russian March, the 2010 Manezh riots, the 2011 “Stop Feeding the Caucasus” campaign.
The paper will draw on original data from my fieldwork in Russia and will focus on non-parliamentary radical right movements of the 2000s, like the Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI) and the Russian People's Movement (ROD). It aims to show the extent to which the radical right actors' mobilization, in combination with the opportunities they faced, succeeded in the political polarization of modern Russians against their former comrades.
The significance of the present proposal is to bridge social movement studies and nationalism studies through an interdisciplinary approach and to contribute to expand our knowledge on political polarization through its study in a transitional setting.