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This edited volume sheds light on the lives of young people in various central and peripheral regions of Russia, including youth belonging to different ethnic and religious groups and who have differing views on contemporary politics. While the literature continues to grow regarding the inclusion of youth in global contexts, the specific cultural, political, and economic circumstances of being young in Russia make the Russian case unique. Chapter authors focus on four key aspects that characterize the youth experience in contemporary Russia: cultural practices and value affiliations, citizenship and patriotism, ethnic and religious diversity, and the labor market. This collection will appeal to readers interested in contemporary life in Russia and looking for the latest empirical material on youth identities and cultures, as well as those looking to learn about the critical viewpoint of local academics regarding the ongoing processes in contemporary Russian society.
Based on extensive ethnographic research, this collection uses a variety of theoretical perspectives and methodologies to examine some of the many subcultures and new religious movements that have emerged in Central and Eastern Europe since the fall of communism.
Russia’s Skinheads: Exploring and Rethinking Subcultural Lives provides a thorough examination of the phenomenon of skinheads, explaining its nature and its significance, and assessing how far Russian skinhead subculture is the ‘lumpen’ end of the extreme nationalist ideological spectrum. There are large numbers of skinheads in Russia, responsible for a significant number of xenophobic attacks, including 97 deaths in 2008 alone, making this book relevant to Russian specialists as well as to sociologists of youth subculture. It provides a practical example of how to investigate youth subculture in depth over an extended period – in this case through empirical research following a specific group over six years – and goes on to argue that Russian skinhead subculture is not a direct import from the West, and that youth cultural practices should not be reduced to expressions of consumer choice. It presents an understanding of the Russian skinhead as a product of individuals’ whole, and evolving, lives, and thereby compels sociologists to rethink how they conceive the nature of subcultures.
Russian youth culture has been a subject of great interest to researchers since 1991, but most studies to date have failed to consider the global context. Looking West? engages theories of cultural globalization to chart how post-Soviet Russia&’s opening up to the West has been reflected in the cultural practices of its young people. Visitors to Russia&’s cities often interpret the presence of designer clothes shops, Internet caf&és, and a vibrant club scene as evidence of the &"Westernization&" of Russian youth. As Looking West? shows, however, the younger generation has adopted a &"pick and mix&" strategy with regard to Western cultural commodities that reflects a receptiveness to the...
This book assesses the quality of democracy in Poland from the collapse of communism in 1989 up to the 2011 parliamentary election. It presents an in-depth, empirically grounded study comparing two decades of democratic politics. Drawing on democratic theory and comparative politics, the book puts forward an evaluation of democracy based on four dimensions: representation, participation, competition and accountability. The book is an important contribution to debates on the performance of the new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe, where some scholars argue that there is a ‘democratic crisis’, that, after a period of democratic progress, most of these countries are experiencing de...
When the Soviet Union collapsed universities were freed from state control and left to themselves. This forced universities to be much more market-oriented. This book explores this transformation from the end of the Soviet Union until the present. Based on extensive original research, the book charts the struggles of universities, showing how chaos and decline came to what had been one of the triumphs of the Soviet Union - a higher education system which provided a high standard of advanced education to large numbers of people and made major research achievements. The book shows how a lack of funds, lack of commercial experience and the ending of former means of support such as strong univer...
This book examines the crisis in Ukraine, tracing its development and analysing the factors which lie behind it. It discusses above all how the two sides have engaged in political posturing, accusations, escalating sanctions and further escalating threats, arguing that the ease with which both sides have reverted to a Cold War mentality demonstrates that the Cold War belief systems never really disappeared, and that the hopes raised in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union for a new era in East-West relations were misplaced. The book pays special attention to the often ignored origins of the crisis within Ukraine itself, and the permanent damage caused by the fact that Ukrainians are killing Ukrainians in the eastern parts of the country. It also assesses why Cold War belief systems have re-emerged so easily, and concludes by considering the likely long-term ramifications of the crisis, arguing that the deep-rooted lack of trust makes the possibility of compromise even harder than in the original Cold War.
The land border between Russia and the European Union is one of the longest land borders in the world, with very considerable trade flowing across the border in both directions. This book examines the nature of the EU-Russia border, and the issues connected with its management. It describes the territories and the societies on each side of the border, discusses the challenges which confront border management, including migration and criminal activities, and explores how people on both sides perceive each other and perceive threats and security issues. It concludes by assessing achievements to date in managing the border and by assessing continuing unresolved challenges.
This updated and expanded new edition continues the theme of the first edition of emphasizing the substantial growth of street gangs throughout the world. Although a substantial amount of research on street gangs has been conducted in recent decades, much of it has focused on the United States. This book summarizes much of the research being conducted in many other countries where the street gang phenomenon is currently developing, which includes poverty, the retreat of the state, increasing income inequality, urbanization, population growth, exploitation, marginalization, underground economie.
This book explores the impact of globalisation and new technologies on youth cultures around the world, from the Birmingham School to the youthscapes of South Korea. In a timely reappraisal of youth cultures in contemporary times, this collection profiles the best of new research in youth studies written by leading scholars in the field.