contributors

Articles by Dominika V. Polanska and Grzegorz Piotrowski

1. International activities of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union: East versus West

   The Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRYU) is an administered mass organization for youth in contemporary Belarus and has been supported by the Lukashenka government for decades. It is therefore well positioned to engage in international activities. What’s more, it claims to develop “multi-vector international youth collaboration” by participating in international programs and projects. This article aims to map and explain the international activities of the BRYU from the early 1990s until the present day. It asks how the association’s international activities look in practice and what explains these patterns. It finds there is a qualitative difference between the BRYU’s international activities with actors in Russia, the European Union and China. The article suggests that in comparison to the BRYU’s domestic activities, which have been the primary focus of previous research, the youth league’s participation in international affairs is limited. It argues that this state of affairs can be explained by its structural subservience to President Lukashenka, for whom the BRYU’s international activities are of secondary importance.

2. Chinese youth: Domestic issues and transnational developments

   The increasing investment in and emphasis on ideological and political education at Chinese universities, and statements, including by Xi Jinping himself, and other policies related to youth and higher education, reveals a growing concern about youth. This article provides a brief overview of developments and policies affecting Chinese youth, including the emergence of new values among them.

3. The role of Russian soft power in promoting authoritarianism. Targeting youth in post-Soviet Central Asia

   The paper aims to explore the practical application of “soft power” in “hybrid” countries. The analysis is based on the example of soft power-strategies developed and implemented by the Russian Federation in post-Soviet Central Asia throughout the last two decades. The overarching research questions of the paper are the following — what are the most interesting features of Russian soft power in the changing geopolitical conditions of the post-Soviet space? How does it address local youth to secure Russian domination in the region and ensure the sustainability of local political regimes? What is the future of Russian soft power and geopolitical influence in the region?

4. Governing extremism through communities in Tajikistan

   Since the country’s civil war, which began with rival protests in the center of the capital city Dushanbe turning violent in May 1992, protests have been relatively rare in Tajikistan as the government of Emomali Rahmon has consolidated its control. Yet protests erupted across Tajikistan in late September 2016.

5. What do Azerbaijani youth prefer: Silicon Valley, Pushkin, or Confucius?

   The aim of this essay is to explore the cultural, educational or so-called soft power influence of Russia and China in Azerbaijan. The essay analyzes the state and perspectives on the influence of Chinese and Russian soft power in the South Caucasus, focusing on Azerbaijan. It discusses the current situation and tries to put the soft power influence of Russia and China into perspective. It zooms in on the Azerbaijani case, because, contrary to other South Caucasus governments, the Azerbaijani leadership is trying to find a balance between the involvement of both the regional powers and the great powers by maintaining a virtually equal political distance from the West and from Russia and China.

6. Ring out the old and ring in the young: Upgrading Authoritarianism in Azerbaijan

   Using Heydemann’s concept ‘authoritarian upgrading’ as the theoretical point of departure, this article sheds light on the adaptation of the Azerbaijani authoritarian regime that is taking place in the political arena, civil society, media and information sector, and in relation to religious practices. It elaborates on how authoritarian upgrading is associated with the consolidation of the authoritarian regime and suggests that the core of these measures entails making authoritarian norms and values appear more attractive and acceptable. Notably, it illustrates the conscious attempts to engage the younger generation across multiple sectors in authoritarian upgrading making them both a target and a tool in this process.

7. Soft Power. Coopting post-Soviet youth: Russia, China, and transnational authoritarianism

   This Special Issue include eight articles that endeavor to analyze more deeply different aspects of the influence of transnational “soft power” aimed at coopting youth in authoritarian and hybrid regimes through radical and nationalist youth organizations, patriotic education, and youth wings of ruling parties. By means of such activities, governments try to distract the youth from countercultural movements and opposition politics as well as to educate an obedient and loyal generation. The purpose is to “vaccinate” such generations with illiberal or authoritarian values in order to eliminate potential threats to regimes’ stability.

8. The EU-funded “Europast”project’s first summer school

   June 19-23, 2023, a summer school of the international project “Europast” took place at Lund university. “Europast” is short for the project’s title “Facing the Past: Public History for a stronger Europe” and is an international project financed by the EU within Horizon Europe program that started in December 2022 and will end in November 2025.

9. Promoting multidisciplinarity and international cooperation

   On March 27—30, the Baltic University Programme (BUP) organized the BUP Master Thesis Training 2023. 22 master students from the BUP participating universities attended the event, which took place at the Geocentrum at Uppsala University.

10. Cultural heritage under scrutiny. As a concept, a political tool and a contemporary discourse

    Kulturarv: en begreppspolitik [Cultural Heritage: the politics of the concept], Johan Hegardt and Marcia Sá Cavalcante Schuback, (Södertörn philosophical studies, 2022), 124 pages.

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