CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2010
| Author | Sokirianskaia, Ekaterina Leonidovna |
|---|---|
| Title | Governing Fragmented Societies: State-Building and Political Integration in Chechnya and Ingushetia (1991-2009) |
| Summary | My dissertation analyzes state-building and political integration in the two North Caucasian Republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya. The study is to a large extent designed as a reaction to the mainstream claim that the degree of national consolidation and stability of these North Caucasian regimes are primarily a result of clan politics, i.e. political process where the main actors are pre-existing kin-based identity organizations. The task of this research was thus to assess the relative role of informal social structures in projects aimed at establishing and consolidating indigenous political units in the North Caucasus and to identify the principal internal reasons for the outcomes of these projects. On the basis of long-term participant observation, interviews with experts, analysis of historical data and modern political processes this thesis argues that clans (teips) have seized to be patterns of political integration of any prominence in Ingushetia and Chechnya. As a result of demographic growth and social change brought about by colonization, Soviet modernization and frequent forced and voluntary resettlements, they lost their organizational structure and are incapable to mobilize members for action. Five case studies show that although certain traditional institutions and practices still play an important role in the society, state-building is determined by struggle for power between socially heterogeneous groups that are driven by ideologies, programs, economic or military interests, and can be based on strong or weak ties. Five structural factors influence elite formation and state-building in the region: descent, kinship, territory, religion and ideology. The prominence of each of them is dependent on elite choices and the particular demands of the state-building project. Governments differ in how homogeneous they are, and how strong are the ties binding their members together. I conclude that the lack of checks and balances and a risk-prone environment increase the relevance of strong ties. I also show that the role of kinship in structuring the elite and the determining the strength of ties within governments do not covary, despite the expectations to the contrary. |
| Supervisor | Enyedi Zsolt |
| Department | Political Science PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2010/pphsoe01.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University