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Helge Blakkisrud
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Sammendrag
Helge Blakkisrud forsker på utviklingen av russisk føderalisme og sentrum-periferi relasjoner med et særlig fokus på utviklingen av institusjonen med regionale guvernører.
Han jobber også med russisk nordområdepolitikk, minoritetspolitikk og russisk nasjonalisme. I tillegg er han interessert i stats- og nasjonsbyggingsprosesser i Eurasia med særlig vekt på utvikingen i ikke-anerkjente stater.
Blakkisrud er redaktør for Nordisk Østforum, et nordisk, fagfellevurdert tidsskrift for russlands- og østeuropastudier.
Han har vært gjesteforeleser ved OSSE-akademiet i Bisjkek, Kirgisistan, siden 2008. I 2009–2010 var han Fulbright Visiting Fellow ved UC Berkeley.
Ekspertise
Utdanning
1996 Doktorgradsprogrammet (statsvitenskap), Universitetet i Oslo
1995 Cand. polit. (statsvitenskap), Universitet i Oslo. Oppgave: De russiske minoritetene i Estland og Latvia.
Arbeidserfaring
1995- Forsker/leder Forskningsgruppen for Russland, Asia og internasjonal handel
2018- Tilknyttet Det norske universitetssenter i St. Petersburg i en amanuensis II-stilling
2005-2009 Tilknyttet Det norske universitetssenter i St. Petersburg i en II-stilling
1995- Valgobservatør for OSSE på Balkan og i det postsovjetiske området
1994- Ansvarlig redaktør, Nordisk Østforum
Aktivitet
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Tøm alle filtre'Restore Moscow to the Muscovites': Othering 'the migrants' in the 2013 Moscow mayoral elections
Today, the Russian Federation has the second largest migrant population in the world in absolute numbers. The chapter looks at what role these migrants – and migrantophobia – play in Russian contemporary identity discourse through the lens of the 2013 Moscow mayoral elections. On the eve of these elections, Muscovites identified the large numbers of labour migrants in the capital as the most important campaign issue. This chapter explores how 'the migrant issue' was addressed at the candidate level as well as how it was perceived by ordinary Muscovites. First, it traces what images of 'the migrant' the candidates presented; how they assessed the potential for integration into Russian society; and what measures they proposed for regulating the flow of new migrants. Next, drawing on survey data, the chapter discusses to what extent campaign promises reflected the positions of the electorate on the same issues. It concludes that the Moscow electoral experiment of allowing semi-competitive elections contributed to pushing the borders of what mainstream politicians in Russia perceived as acceptable positions on migrants and migration policy, for at least two reasons: Firstly, incumbent mayor Sobianin faced stiff competition from the rising star of the non-systemic opposition, liberal-nationalist Aleksei Navalnyi, and had to find a way of outbidding him on the migrant issue. Second, in this more competitive environment, Sobianin could not rely on administrative resources alone, but had to respond to popular demands, to ensure an acceptable win: therefore, he had to appear as 'tough' on migrants. The experiment with semi-competitive elections in Moscow in 2013 thus demonstrated the limits of the Kremlin’s ability to fully control Russian nationalist discourse and also contributed to reinforcing the idea of 'the migrant' as the new 'Other' in Russian identity discourse.
Russia before and after Crimea: Nationalism and Identity, 2010-17
Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 marked a watershed in post-Cold War European history and brought East–West relations to a low. At the same time, by selling this fateful action in starkly nationalist language, the Putin regime achieved record-high popularity. This book shows how, after the large-scale 2011–13 anti-Putin demonstrations in major Russian cities and the parallel rise in xenophobia related to the Kremlin’s perceived inability to deal with the influx of Central Asian labour migrants, the annexation of Crimea generated strong ‘rallying around the nation’ and ‘rallying around the leader’ effects. The contributors to this collection go beyond the news headlines to focus on overlooked aspects of Russian society such as intellectual racism and growing xenophobia. These developments are contextualised with an overview of Russian nationalism: state-led, grassroots and the tensions between the two.
Russland sett med nordiske øyne
De nordiske landene ligner utvilsomt på hverandre i mange henseender. Men hvor mye felles har de når det kommer til forholdet til Russland? Det er tema i Nordisk Østforum (NØF).
Tradition, Nation und der böse Westen: Putin, Erdoğan und die Legitimation ihrer Herrschaft
Gateway or Garrison? Border regions in times of geopolitical crisis
Russia's border regions have had moments as open 'gateways' to cooperation. More often, however, the border has been viewed as a 'garrison': an outpost of state power. This chapter places the Russian Far East in the broader context of Russia's pursuit of economic development and security concerns, noting that Russian foreign policy is not necessarily uniform: there are elements of compartmentalization/disaggregation along geographical vectors. The chapter broaches the question that informs all case studies in this volume: has Russia intensified its diplomatic and economic outreach to its eastern border areas and beyond because of the recent breakdown in relations with the West—or would such a shift have taken place anyway, given the economic pull of the Asia-Pacific region?
Afterword: 6400 kilometers away - but not a policy world apart
The Afterword presents two key findings from this volume. First, while numerous new strategy documents and instruments have been adopted in recent years, contributing authors voice concern about the steps Moscow has taken to translate lofty ideas into practical policies. Second, the key initiatives were formulated well before the current crisis in Russia's relations with the West. While a certain rebalancing of the Western and Eastern vectors is taking place, there is still a long way to go before Russia's 'window to the East' can match its 'window to the West'. Only long-term commitment on the part of Moscow can transform the Russian Far East from a neglected periphery and military outpost into a viable gateway to the Asia-Pacific.
Great Powers and Arctic Politics (GPARC)
GPARC analyser hvordan stormakter (USA, Russland og Kina) forholder seg til maritim politikk i Arktis....
Mannen, myten og utenrikspolitikken: Putin som utenrikspolitisk aktør
I henhold til den russiske grunnloven tilligger utenriks- og forsvarspolitikk formelt presidentens domene. Etter at Putin nå i snart tjue år har vært med på å prege politikken, er det etter hvert vanskelig å skille mellom hva som er Putins personlige stil og påvirkning og hva som representerer grunntonen og de lengre linjer i russisk utenrikspolitikk. Men hvor står Putin ved inngangen til sin fjerde – og i henhold til grunnloven siste – presidentperiode? Hva kjennetegner ham som person og politiker? Og hva kan vi forvente fra Putin på den utenrikspolitiske arenaen i løpet av den neste seksårsperioden?
Russia's Turn to the East - Domestic Policymaking and Regional Cooperation
This book is open access under a CC BY license. This book explores if and how Russian policies towards the Far East region of the country – and East Asia more broadly – have changed since the onset of the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Following the 2014 annexation and the subsequent enactment of a sanctions regime against the country, the Kremlin has emphasized the eastern vector in its external relations. But to what extent has Russia’s 'pivot to the East' intensified or changed in nature – domestically and internationally – since the onset of the current crisis in relations with the West? Rather than taking the declared 'pivot' as a fact and exploring the consequences of it, the contributors to this volume explore whether a pivot has indeed happened or if what we see today is the continuation of longer-duration trends, concerns and ambitions.
Armenia og Tyrkia – dratt mellom fortid og framtid
Vahram Ter-Matevosyan snakkar om det vanskelege forholdet mellom Tyrkia og Armenia, ein situasjon som har stått meir eller mindre stille dei siste 26 åra.