Helge Blakkisrud
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 217466 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Helge Blakkisrud |
| PRENOMES | Helge |
| SOBRENOME | Blakkisrud |
| ASSINATURA | BLAKKISRUD H |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Norwegian Institute of International Affairs |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7363-5766 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 32 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 251 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 29 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 4 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 1999 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2025 |
| ÍNDICE H | 8 |
Political Legitimacy and Traditional Values in Putin's Russia
The first book to discuss regime legitimation in contemporary Russia after the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine Provides new insights into state–society relations in contemporary Russia Draws on a large-scale survey of 1,500 respondents in a nationally representative sample, plus 600 respondents each in six regional surveys Demonstrates how a conservative values-based rhetoric is being mobilised and implemented by the Putin regime. Discu…
Political Legitimacy and Traditional Values in Putin's Russia
Increasingly, non-democratic regimes seek legitimation by presenting themselves as carriers and protectors of values – typically, values which they perceive as being ‘not properly respected’ in democratic regimes. Values-based legitimation of authoritarianism is frequently framed in terms of nationalist revival and moral rebirth, rejecting today’s permissive liberal society where ‘everything goes’ in favour of a return to ‘traditional’ values. Si…
Meaning-Making in Times of Trouble
Does recognition matter? Exploring patron penetration of de-facto state structures
De facto states seek international recognition. But do patron states that extend such recognition to their de-facto state clients treat them differently than they would have done otherwise? Will patrons, having extended official recognition, be more inclined to treat their clients as ‘regular’ states? Or does recognition only make the client more beholden to the patron? To investigate this, we explore whether granting recognition affects the degr…
Strategic Triangles, Actors and Agency
In scholarly debates as well as in public discourse, Georgia is often reduced to being one of the states “in-between” Russia and the European Union (EU), and part of a “contested neighbourhood”. The breakaway region of Abkhazia is usually not even credited with that, being treated as a mere appendage to Russia. In this special issue we challenge such approaches by analyzing the forging of Georgia’s and Abkhazia’s strategic paths as much more comp…
Russkii as the New Rossiiskii ? Nation-Building in Russia After 1991
Russia’s post-1991 nation-building project has been torn between competing interpretations of national identity. Whereas the other former Soviet republics opted for nation-building centered on the titular nation, Russia’s approach to national identity was framed by the fact that the RSFSR had been defined not as a designated national homeland but as a multi-ethnic federation. This, coupled with Russia’s definition as the legal successor of the So…
Russia’s Neighborhood Policy and Its Eurasian Client States
Do authoritarian regimes engage in active export of their political systems? Or are they primarily concerned about their geopolitical interests? This article explores these questions by examining Russia’s policy towards Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria. In all three de facto states, Moscow is fully able to dictate election outcomes should it desire to, but, we argue, has increasingly refrained from doing so. These client states are unlik…
Navigating de facto statehood
What opportunities and trade-offs do de facto states encounter in developing economic ties with the outside world? This article explores the complex relationship between trade and trust in the context of contested statehood. Most de facto states are heavily dependent on an external patron for economic aid and investment. However, we challenge the widespread assumption that de facto states are merely hapless pawns in the power-play of their patron…
Governing the Arctic
After a period of relative neglect in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Arctic is back on the agenda of the Russian authorities. To ensure efficient coordination and implementation of its Arctic strategy, the government in 2015 established a State Commission for Arctic Development. It was to serve as a platform for coordinating the implementation of the government’s ambitious plans for the Arctic, for exchange of information among Arctic actors, and…
Museums, memory and meaning‐creation
To overcome the traumas of the 1992–1997 civil war, the Tajik authorities have turned to history to anchor their post‐independence nation‐building project. This article explores the role of the National Museum of Tajikistan, examining how the museum discursively contributes to ‘nationalising’ history and cultural heritage for the benefit of the current Tajik nation‐building project. Three main discursive strategies for such (re)construction of Ta…
Russia Before and After Crimea
Explores the momentous changes that have taken place in the Russian national identity discourse since Putin’s return to the presidency Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 marked a watershed in post-Cold War European history and brought East–West relations to a low point. 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 2…
Centre-periphery Relations in Russia
‘Restore Moscow to the Muscovites’
Russia encompasses the world’s second-largest migrant population in absolute numbers. This chapter explores the role migrants play in contemporary Russian identity discourse, focusing on the topic that ordinary Muscovites identified as most important during the 2013 Moscow mayoral election campaign: the large number of labour migrants in the capital. It explores how the decision to open up the elections into a more genuine contest compelled the r…
Anti-migrant, but not nationalist
Despite increasingly securitized anti-migrant policies in Russia, President Vladimir Putin has been extremely cautious in his rhetoric about international migrants, avoiding overtly ethno-nationalist frames. By repeatedly emphasizing the role of migrants in development and their potential for integration, Putin has charted out a statist agenda, outlining how immigration can contribute to the state’s goals. This chapter analyses a series of Putin’…
Introduction
Mannen, myten og utenrikspolitikken
Stavropol as “Russia’s Kosovo”? Nationalist mobilization and public response in a Russian region
Russian nationalism after Crimea is commonly depicted as aggressive and expansionist – but few Russian ethno-nationalists would accept this description. Quite the contrary: they would argue that ethnic Russians as the majority population find themselves under “under siege” from ethnic minorities. A case in point, they hold, is Stavropol Krai in the North Caucasus. In local ethno-nationalist circles this region is depicted as “Russia’s Kosovo, ” a…
The Muslim Question in Europe
Governing the governors
In December 2011, President Medvedev unexpectedly announced that the Kremlin was planning to re-introduce gubernatorial elections. Such elections had been discontinued in the aftermath of the 2004 Beslan terrorist attack. This article traces the new reform: the process of adopting the necessary legislative amendments in spring 2012; implementation through the elections in October 2012 – and partial backtracking in April 2013. The process was fram…
A New Kind of Arctic Power? Russia's Policy Discourses and Diplomatic Practices in the Circumpolar North
The aim of this article is to examine what the geopolitics of the Arctic look like as seen from the largest Arctic state. How are narratives about the development of the region received, reworked and produced in a Russian context? We find that Russian policy actors distance themselves from discourses of Arctic conflict and geopolitical competition, and examine how this approach may serve some of Russia's key interests in the region. We further ar…
Yielding to the sons of the soil
Among the post-Soviet de facto states, Abkhazia is unique in that the secessionists pursued self-determination in the name of a minority group. Today the ethnic Abkhaz enjoy a virtual monopoly on political power. Simultaneously, Abkhazia has developed a reasonably democratic political system. How has it been possible for the ethnic Abkhaz to monopolize power within a political system that exhibits most of the trappings of democratic rule? We disc…
Dynamics of de facto statehood
Scattered across the globe there exist a handful of unrecognized statelets. Although some such entities have proven short-lived, others have demonstrated remarkable tenacity. The South Caucasian de facto states – Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh – have existed for almost 20 years now. This article offers a comparative analysis of how these statelets have attempted to consolidate statehood though processes of state- and nation-building…
En usikker historie
Behov for ny russisk samfunnskontrakt
De facto states and democracy
De facto states are often dismissed as ‘failing states’. However, in Freedom House rankings of political rights and civil liberties, they sometimes perform better than their parent states – as has been the case with Nagorno-Karabakh. This article examines the development of democracy in Nagorno-Karabakh against a checklist of factors assumed to be relevant: cultural homogeneity, size, existential threats, role of the diaspora, and the consequence…
Living with Non-recognition
The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to the establishment of several non-recognised statelets, three of which—Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh—are located in the South Caucasus. This article sets aside the question of whether these quasi-states ought to be internationally recognised, and focuses on whether they exist as functioning state entities. To what extent are the authorities in these would-be states able to provide the popul…
From Secessionist Conflict Toward a Functioning State
How have the Transnistrian authorities sought to consolidate de facto statehood in the absence of international recognition? Starting from the idea that the time factor will eventually transform secessionists into state-builders, this article traces how the processes of state- and nation-building promoted by the Transnistrian de facto authorities have evolved since the early 1990s. Drawing on official sources, interviews, journalism, and the poli…
Medvedev's New Governors
On 7 May 2008, Dmitrii Medvedev was sworn in as the third President of the Russian Federation. Under his two predecessors, the relationship between Moscow and the regions had undergone cataclysmic
De facto states and democracy
De facto states are often dismissed as ‘failing states’. However, in Freedom House rankings of political rights and civil liberties, they sometimes perform better than their parent states – as has been the case with Nagorno-Karabakh. This article examines the development of democracy in Nagorno-Karabakh against a checklist of factors assumed to be relevant: cultural homogeneity, size, existential threats, role of the diaspora, and the consequence…
History writing and nation building in post-independence Tajikistan
Since the end of the Tajik civil war in 1997, the Tajik authorities have being seeking to instill a new national consciousness. Here the educational system plays a crucial role, not least the way history is taught. Through a state-approved history curriculum, the authorities offer a common understanding of the past that is intended to strengthen the (imagined) community of the present. In this article, we examine the set of history textbooks curr…
Governing the governors
In December 2011, President Medvedev unexpectedly announced that the Kremlin was planning to re-introduce gubernatorial elections. Such elections had been discontinued in the aftermath of the 2004 Beslan terrorist attack. This article traces the new reform: the process of adopting the necessary legislative amendments in spring 2012; implementation through the elections in October 2012 – and partial backtracking in April 2013. The process was fram…
Yielding to the sons of the soil
Among the post-Soviet de facto states, Abkhazia is unique in that the secessionists pursued self-determination in the name of a minority group. Today the ethnic Abkhaz enjoy a virtual monopoly on political power. Simultaneously, Abkhazia has developed a reasonably democratic political system. How has it been possible for the ethnic Abkhaz to monopolize power within a political system that exhibits most of the trappings of democratic rule? We disc…
Navigating de facto statehood
What opportunities and trade-offs do de facto states encounter in developing economic ties with the outside world? This article explores the complex relationship between trade and trust in the context of contested statehood. Most de facto states are heavily dependent on an external patron for economic aid and investment. However, we challenge the widespread assumption that de facto states are merely hapless pawns in the power-play of their patron…
Museums, memory and meaning‐creation
To overcome the traumas of the 1992–1997 civil war, the Tajik authorities have turned to history to anchor their post‐independence nation‐building project. This article explores the role of the National Museum of Tajikistan, examining how the museum discursively contributes to ‘nationalising’ history and cultural heritage for the benefit of the current Tajik nation‐building project. Three main discursive strategies for such (re)construction of Ta…
Russkii as the New Rossiiskii ? Nation-Building in Russia After 1991
Russia’s post-1991 nation-building project has been torn between competing interpretations of national identity. Whereas the other former Soviet republics opted for nation-building centered on the titular nation, Russia’s approach to national identity was framed by the fact that the RSFSR had been defined not as a designated national homeland but as a multi-ethnic federation. This, coupled with Russia’s definition as the legal successor of the So…
A New Kind of Arctic Power? Russia's Policy Discourses and Diplomatic Practices in the Circumpolar North
The aim of this article is to examine what the geopolitics of the Arctic look like as seen from the largest Arctic state. How are narratives about the development of the region received, reworked and produced in a Russian context? We find that Russian policy actors distance themselves from discourses of Arctic conflict and geopolitical competition, and examine how this approach may serve some of Russia's key interests in the region. We further ar…
Stavropol as “Russia’s Kosovo”? Nationalist mobilization and public response in a Russian region
Russian nationalism after Crimea is commonly depicted as aggressive and expansionist – but few Russian ethno-nationalists would accept this description. Quite the contrary: they would argue that ethnic Russians as the majority population find themselves under “under siege” from ethnic minorities. A case in point, they hold, is Stavropol Krai in the North Caucasus. In local ethno-nationalist circles this region is depicted as “Russia’s Kosovo, ” a…
Does recognition matter? Exploring patron penetration of de-facto state structures
De facto states seek international recognition. But do patron states that extend such recognition to their de-facto state clients treat them differently than they would have done otherwise? Will patrons, having extended official recognition, be more inclined to treat their clients as ‘regular’ states? Or does recognition only make the client more beholden to the patron? To investigate this, we explore whether granting recognition affects the degr…
Strategic Triangles, Actors and Agency
In scholarly debates as well as in public discourse, Georgia is often reduced to being one of the states “in-between” Russia and the European Union (EU), and part of a “contested neighbourhood”. The breakaway region of Abkhazia is usually not even credited with that, being treated as a mere appendage to Russia. In this special issue we challenge such approaches by analyzing the forging of Georgia’s and Abkhazia’s strategic paths as much more comp…
Russia’s Neighborhood Policy and Its Eurasian Client States
Do authoritarian regimes engage in active export of their political systems? Or are they primarily concerned about their geopolitical interests? This article explores these questions by examining Russia’s policy towards Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria. In all three de facto states, Moscow is fully able to dictate election outcomes should it desire to, but, we argue, has increasingly refrained from doing so. These client states are unlik…
Introduction
From Our Readers
Center‐Periphery relations in Russia's European north 1
Two Norwegian researchers examine the post‐Soviet evolution of decision‐making authority between the regions of Northwest Russia (Arkhangelsk Oblast, Republic of Karelia, Murmansk Oblast, and Nenets Autonomous Okrug) and the Russian Federation government in Moscow, with particular attention to the arena of natural resource use and management. The authors document an ongoing struggle for authority (including the right to allocate quotas for the fi…
Bokspalte
Centre-periphery relations in Russia
General development trends in law, politics and economy: relations between Moscow and the regions of northwestern Russia - the legal aspect the Russian regionalization process - decentralization by design or disintegration by default? Russian regions in transition - centralization through decentralization? Sectoral studies - resource management and military presence: offshore developments - the compatability of federal decisions and regional conc…
Living with Non-recognition
The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to the establishment of several non-recognised statelets, three of which—Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh—are located in the South Caucasus. This article sets aside the question of whether these quasi-states ought to be internationally recognised, and focuses on whether they exist as functioning state entities. To what extent are the authorities in these would-be states able to provide the popul…
History writing and nation building in post-independence Tajikistan
Since the end of the Tajik civil war in 1997, the Tajik authorities have being seeking to instill a new national consciousness. Here the educational system plays a crucial role, not least the way history is taught. Through a state-approved history curriculum, the authorities offer a common understanding of the past that is intended to strengthen the (imagined) community of the present. In this article, we examine the set of history textbooks curr…
Medvedev's New Governors
On 7 May 2008, Dmitrii Medvedev was sworn in as the third President of the Russian Federation. Under his two predecessors, the relationship between Moscow and the regions had undergone cataclysmic
From Secessionist Conflict Toward a Functioning State
How have the Transnistrian authorities sought to consolidate de facto statehood in the absence of international recognition? Starting from the idea that the time factor will eventually transform secessionists into state-builders, this article traces how the processes of state- and nation-building promoted by the Transnistrian de facto authorities have evolved since the early 1990s. Drawing on official sources, interviews, journalism, and the poli…
Dynamics of de facto statehood
Scattered across the globe there exist a handful of unrecognized statelets. Although some such entities have proven short-lived, others have demonstrated remarkable tenacity. The South Caucasian de facto states – Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh – have existed for almost 20 years now. This article offers a comparative analysis of how these statelets have attempted to consolidate statehood though processes of state- and nation-building…
En usikker historie
Behov for ny russisk samfunnskontrakt
De facto states and democracy
De facto states are often dismissed as ‘failing states’. However, in Freedom House rankings of political rights and civil liberties, they sometimes perform better than their parent states – as has been the case with Nagorno-Karabakh. This article examines the development of democracy in Nagorno-Karabakh against a checklist of factors assumed to be relevant: cultural homogeneity, size, existential threats, role of the diaspora, and the consequence…
Yielding to the sons of the soil
Among the post-Soviet de facto states, Abkhazia is unique in that the secessionists pursued self-determination in the name of a minority group. Today the ethnic Abkhaz enjoy a virtual monopoly on political power. Simultaneously, Abkhazia has developed a reasonably democratic political system. How has it been possible for the ethnic Abkhaz to monopolize power within a political system that exhibits most of the trappings of democratic rule? We disc…
A New Kind of Arctic Power? Russia's Policy Discourses and Diplomatic Practices in the Circumpolar North
The aim of this article is to examine what the geopolitics of the Arctic look like as seen from the largest Arctic state. How are narratives about the development of the region received, reworked and produced in a Russian context? We find that Russian policy actors distance themselves from discourses of Arctic conflict and geopolitical competition, and examine how this approach may serve some of Russia's key interests in the region. We further ar…
Governing the governors
In December 2011, President Medvedev unexpectedly announced that the Kremlin was planning to re-introduce gubernatorial elections. Such elections had been discontinued in the aftermath of the 2004 Beslan terrorist attack. This article traces the new reform: the process of adopting the necessary legislative amendments in spring 2012; implementation through the elections in October 2012 – and partial backtracking in April 2013. The process was fram…
The Muslim Question in Europe
Stavropol as “Russia’s Kosovo”? Nationalist mobilization and public response in a Russian region
Russian nationalism after Crimea is commonly depicted as aggressive and expansionist – but few Russian ethno-nationalists would accept this description. Quite the contrary: they would argue that ethnic Russians as the majority population find themselves under “under siege” from ethnic minorities. A case in point, they hold, is Stavropol Krai in the North Caucasus. In local ethno-nationalist circles this region is depicted as “Russia’s Kosovo, ” a…
Russia Before and After Crimea
Explores the momentous changes that have taken place in the Russian national identity discourse since Putin’s return to the presidency Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 marked a watershed in post-Cold War European history and brought East–West relations to a low point. 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 2…
Centre-periphery Relations in Russia
‘Restore Moscow to the Muscovites’
Russia encompasses the world’s second-largest migrant population in absolute numbers. This chapter explores the role migrants play in contemporary Russian identity discourse, focusing on the topic that ordinary Muscovites identified as most important during the 2013 Moscow mayoral election campaign: the large number of labour migrants in the capital. It explores how the decision to open up the elections into a more genuine contest compelled the r…
Anti-migrant, but not nationalist
Despite increasingly securitized anti-migrant policies in Russia, President Vladimir Putin has been extremely cautious in his rhetoric about international migrants, avoiding overtly ethno-nationalist frames. By repeatedly emphasizing the role of migrants in development and their potential for integration, Putin has charted out a statist agenda, outlining how immigration can contribute to the state’s goals. This chapter analyses a series of Putin’…
Introduction
Mannen, myten og utenrikspolitikken
Governing the Arctic
After a period of relative neglect in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Arctic is back on the agenda of the Russian authorities. To ensure efficient coordination and implementation of its Arctic strategy, the government in 2015 established a State Commission for Arctic Development. It was to serve as a platform for coordinating the implementation of the government’s ambitious plans for the Arctic, for exchange of information among Arctic actors, and…
Museums, memory and meaning‐creation
To overcome the traumas of the 1992–1997 civil war, the Tajik authorities have turned to history to anchor their post‐independence nation‐building project. This article explores the role of the National Museum of Tajikistan, examining how the museum discursively contributes to ‘nationalising’ history and cultural heritage for the benefit of the current Tajik nation‐building project. Three main discursive strategies for such (re)construction of Ta…
Political science (29 obras) · Law (22 obras) · Sociology (19 obras) · Politics (18 obras) · Law (15 obras) · Political economy (15 obras) · Post-Soviet Geopolitical Dynamics (10 obras) · Arctic and Russian Policy Studies (8 obras) · Economics (8 obras) · De facto (7 obras)