Nation in Analytical Focus: Some Aspects of Foreign and Russian Studies
Research Article
How to Cite
Avksentev V.A., Aksiumov B.V. Nation in Analytical Focus: Some Aspects of Foreign and Russian Studies. Humanities of the South of Russia. 2020. Vol. 9. No. 3. P. 154-169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18522/2227-8656.2020.3.11 (in Russ.).
Abstract
The relevance of the study is determined by the incompleteness of nation-building in modern Russia, the presence of competing projects, the lack of consensus in the scientific community and terminological differences in political documents. The purpose of the article is to clarify the scientific status of the term “nation” and determine the reasons for the transition of the problem of nation to the category of unsolvable. The evolution of ideas of the nation from primordialism through social constructivism to epistemological postmodernism is analyzed in foreign scholarly literature. The asynchrony of the development of the concept of nation in foreign and Russian literature is shown, which is determined not by the “lag” of Russian science, but by philosophical and world outlooks that are different in Russian and foreign science. In foreign, primarily English-language literature, the study of the phenomenon of a nation takes place in the context of changing theoretical and methodological attitudes: from scientific realism, epistemological optimism and social materialism, affirming the “eternity” of national life forms, through social constructivism, which recognizes the objective but constructed nature of national communities, to epistemological postmodernism, depriving the nation of objective foundations. The inscription of the problem of nation into the dominant epistemological and socio-philosophical concepts led to the fact that the problem itself at the stage of transition from social constructivism to epistemological postmodernism acquired the status of a philosophical, “eternal” and unsolvable one and its discussion virtually reached a deadlock. In Russian science, there is currently a movement from primordialism to constructivism. The specificity of the Russian discourse on the nation is its “inscription” not so much into the philosophical and epistemological picture of the world as into the political context. It is concluded that the currently actively promoted concept of the Russian nation can serve as the theoretical basis for the integration of Russian society not due to theoretical advantages, but because it is the most appropriate construct for solving the problems of spatial, territorial and ethnocultural development of Russia.
Keywords:
nation, primordialism, constructivism, epistemological postmodernism, Russian nation
References
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Bankovskaya, S.P. (2016). Imagined communities as a sociological phenomenon. In Anderson B. Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Мoscow: Kuchkovo pole. (in Russian).
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Bromley, Yu.V. (1983). Essays on the theory of ethnos. Мoscow: Nauka. (in Russian).
Brubaker, R. (2012). Ethnicity without groups. Мoscow: Izd. dom Vysshey shkoly ekonomiki. (in Russian).
Verdery, K. (2002). Where do “Nation” and “Nationalism” go? Nations and Nationalism. Мoscow: Praksis. (in Russian).
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Hobsbawm, E. (1998). Nations and nationalism since 1780. Saint Petersburg: Aleteyya. (in Russian).
Coakley, J. (2018). ‘Primordialism’ in nationalism studies: theory or ideology? Nations and Nationalism, 24, 2, 327-347.
Kolstø, P. (2018). Is imperialist nationalism an oxymoron? Nations and Nationalism, 25, 1, 18-44.
Nation. Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at: https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Nation.
Seton-Watson, H. (1977). Nations and States. An Enquiry into the Origins of Nations and the Politics of Nationalism. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press.
Anderson, B. (2016). Imagined communities. reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. Moscow: Kuchkovo pole. (in Russian).
Balibar, E. (2004). National form: history and ideology. Balibar E., Wallerstein I. Race, nation, class. Ambiguous identities. Мoscow: Logos. (in Russian).
Bankovskaya, S.P. (2016). Imagined communities as a sociological phenomenon. In Anderson B. Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Мoscow: Kuchkovo pole. (in Russian).
Berger, P.L., Luckmann, T. (1995). The Social construction of reality. A Treatise on sociology of knowledge. Мoscow: Medium. (in Russian).
Breuilly, J. (2002). Approaches to nationalism. Nations and Nationalism. Мoscow: Praksis. (in Russian).
Bromley, Yu.V. (1983). Essays on the theory of ethnos. Мoscow: Nauka. (in Russian).
Brubaker, R. (2012). Ethnicity without groups. Мoscow: Izd. dom Vysshey shkoly ekonomiki. (in Russian).
Verdery, K. (2002). Where do “Nation” and “Nationalism” go? Nations and Nationalism. Мoscow: Praksis. (in Russian).
Gadzhiev, K.S. (2018). Russian Federation: national state or a state of nations? Polis. Politicheskiye issledovaniya, 3, 130-146. (in Russian).
Gellner, E. (1991). Nations and Nationalism. Мoscow: Progress. (in Russian).
Drobizheva L.M., Ryzhova S.V. (2015). Civic and ethnic identity and perception of the preferable state in Russia. Polis. Politicheskiye issledovaniya, 5, 9-24. (in Russian).
Calhoun, C. (2006). Nationalism. Мoscow: Territoriya budushchego. (in Russian).
Klimenko, E.V. (2015). Integration of the diversity. Formation of the civic nation in Russia. Polis. Politicheskiye issledovaniya, 6, 131-143. (in Russian).
Lubsky, A.V., Posukhova, O.Yu. (2016). Nation-building projects and models of national integration in Russia. Vlast', 24, 8, 39-48. (in Russian).
Presidential Executive Order “On Amending the State Ethnic Policy Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2025 approved by Presidential Executive Order No. 1666 of December 19, 2012”. Available at: https://www.garant.ru/ products/ipo/prime/doc/72020010/. (in Russian).
Pain, E.A., Fedyunin, S.Yu. (2017). Nation and democracy: perspectives for managing cultural diversity. Мoscow: Mysl'. (in Russian).
Semenenko, I.S. (2015). Nations, nationalism, national identity: new dimensions in academic discourse. Mirovaya ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya, 59, 11, 91-102. (in Russian).
Smith, A.D. (2004). Nationalism and modernism. A critical survey of recent theories of nations and nationalism. Мoscow: Praksis. (in Russian).
Sokolovskiy, S.V. (2016). The ontologics of the national: the cultural complexity of national communities and the problems of its categorization. Cultural complexity of modern nations. Мoscow: Politicheskaya entsiklopediya. (in Russian).
Stalin, I.V. (1934). Marxism and the national and colonial question. Collection of selected speeches and articles. Мoscow: Partizdat TsK VKP(b). (in Russian).
Tishkov, V.A. (2016). Complicating diversity: how to understand and organize it. Cultural complexity of modern nations. Мoscow: Politicheskaya entsiklopediya. (in Russian).
Hobsbawm, E. (1998). Nations and nationalism since 1780. Saint Petersburg: Aleteyya. (in Russian).
Coakley, J. (2018). ‘Primordialism’ in nationalism studies: theory or ideology? Nations and Nationalism, 24, 2, 327-347.
Kolstø, P. (2018). Is imperialist nationalism an oxymoron? Nations and Nationalism, 25, 1, 18-44.
Nation. Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at: https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Nation.
Seton-Watson, H. (1977). Nations and States. An Enquiry into the Origins of Nations and the Politics of Nationalism. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press.
Article
Received: 20.05.2020
Accepted: 18.07.2020
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:
APA
Avksentev, V. A., & Aksiumov, B. V. (2020). Nation in Analytical Focus: Some Aspects of Foreign and Russian Studies. Humanities of the South of Russia, 9(3), 154-169. https://doi.org/10.18522/2227-8656.2020.3.11
Section
PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIETY
