The Rise and decline of ethnic mobilization and sovereignty in Tatarstan

Date

2017

Author

Dinç, Deniz

Metadata

Show full item record

Item Usage Stats

342
views

0
downloads

This thesis analyzes the rise and decline of the intertwined concepts of ethnic mobilization and sovereignty in the case of Tatarstan. The rise and fall of the ethnic revival of the Tatars is examined within a micro perspective as a part of the ongoing concept of autonomous sovereignty. The post-Soviet sovereignty experience of Tatarstan is evaluated within a macro chronological perspective taking the concept of state capacity into account. Research findings of this study reveal that the ethno-national nomenklatura network under the leadership of Mintimer Shaimiev was always the determinant in shaping the content of the ethnic revival in Tatarstan compared with the other rival actors, TOTs and Democratic Opposition. The legacy of the Soviet nationality policies formed a solid ethnicity regime structure, which created and constrained the Tatar nomenklatura elites. Thanks to this historical legacy, the Tatar nomenklatura elites mobilized and instrumentalized nationalism for their elite survival strategy and self-gain in the period of ethnic revival. During the 1990s, due to the expansion of the sovereignty of Tatarstan, the Tatar nomenklatura elites focused on obtaining as many concessions as possible from the federal center by putting forward the discourse of sovereignty. However, starting from the 2000s until today, the Tatar ethno-national nomenklatura exhibited a very submissive attitude against the overcentralization policies of Moscow. Having forgotten the sovereignty discourse of the 1990s, the Tatar elites currently chase federal subsidies and investments, which reveals how their pragmatic nationalist view easily adopts the new political conjectures

Subject Keywords

Sovereignty., Tatars, Tatarstan (Russia), Turkic peoples, Volga-Ural Region (Russia)

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12621023/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/26465

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

The effect of the nomadic/settled contradiction on the transformation of the Kazakh identity: a reinterpretation Özkan, Alparslan; Köksal, Pınar; Department of Eurasian Studies (2020) The aim of this thesis is to examine the effect of historical contradiction between nomadism and sedentarism on the transformation of the nomadic Kazakh identity by using the theoretical approaches of Ibn Khaldun and Anatoly M. Khazanov. From the 18th century to the first half of the 20th century, the relation of the Kazakh society with Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union was one of the most clear examples of this historical conflict. The Kazakhs, who had a pastoral nomadic lifestyle during these periods, w...
The Crimean autonomous region and Ukraine's relations with Russia in the Post-Soviet era Umerov, Eldar; Tanrısever, Oktay Fırat; Department of International Relations (2013) This thesis explores the autonomy of the Crimean region in Ukraine in terms of its impact on Ukraine’s relations with Russia in the post-Soviet era. Thesis analyzes also the impact of the relations between Ukraine and Russia on the autonomy of the Crimean region. Contrary to the views that consider the Crimean autonomy as a product of the ethno-territorial relations between the Crimea which is populated by mainly ethnic Russians and Kiev, thesis argues that the interstate relations between Ukraine and Russi...
The Post-Soviet regional integration process Ertürk, Muhsin; Kuşçu Bonnenfant, Işık; Department of Eurasian Studies (2019) This thesis examines the Russian-led regional integration processes that emerged after the dissolution of the USSR. The disintegration of the Soviet Union resulted in the break up of economic, social and technological ties between the member states. This situation led the countries in the post-Soviet area to face deep economic and social crises. Many different integration efforts have been carried out in order to eliminate these problems and to establish new ties between the newly independent countries that...
The Neo - Kemalist arguments on the counter - revolution debates in Turkey Bengisun, Egemen; Ayata, Ayşe; Department of Political Science and Public Administration (2018) This thesis traces the origins and eventual construction of the discourse of “counter – revolution” in Turkey. The main actors of this discourse could be analysed in three intellectual circles which are former Cadre members, two leftist Kemalists: Mihri Belli and Doğan Avcıoğlu and the Neo – Kemalists. Although these groups set forth their ideas regarding “counter – revolution” in very different historical contexts, there is an ideological intertwinement between them. The Neo – Kemalists, an intellectual gr...
The politics of recognition of Crimean Tatar collective rights in the post-Soviet period: With special attention to the Russian annexation of Crimea Aydin, Filiz Tutku; Şahin, Fethi Kurtiy (2019-03-01) This paper examines the process of how Crimean Tatars strived to attain group differentiated rights since they have returned to their homeland in the early 1990s. Whereas the politics of minority rights were viewed through security lens in earlier literature, we emphasize the significance of cultural constructs in influencing the minority policies, based on qualitative content analysis of "speech acts" of elites, and movement and policy documents. Focusing on the interaction of the framing processes of Crim...

Citation Formats

D. Dinç, “The Rise and decline of ethnic mobilization and sovereignty in Tatarstan,” Ph.D. - Doctoral Program, Middle East Technical University, 2017.