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Transformation Group Newsletter VOLUME 6, ISSUE 1 TRANSFORMATION GROUP NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2010 GLASGOW UNIVERSITY Happy New Year! Another of our six-monthly roundups of what has been happening among those who deal in whole or in part with politics in the communist or formerly INSIDE THIS ISSUE: communist-ruled countries of Eastern Europe and the Far East. CONFERENCE 1 P A P E R S CONFERENCE PAPERS F I E L D W O R K 3 Vikki presented work focussing edge creation’, that was co- legal culture – such as breaking the on the methodological aspects organised by the universities law ‘in an emergency’, ‘in self- TRANSFORMA- 3 TION GROUP of conducting cross-cultural of Glasgow, Manchester and defence’, and ‘if they were unlikely S Y M P O S I U M research in November 2009. Helsinki. Vikki’s paper was to get caught’ or ‘would do no harm She attended the AAASS An- entitled ‘The tensions and to others’ (the J. S. Mill principle). At V I S I T O R S 3 nual Conference in Boston 12- contributions of conducting the other end of the scale, actions 15 November delivering an cross-cultural feminist re- such as ‘giving bribes under pres- G R A N T S 4 impulse paper, ‘Possibilities search: reflections from re- sure’ were at the ‘most country- for knowledge transfer and search on women’s human specific’ end of the scale. The paper impact in feminist research rights in contemporary Rus- also discussed how various ele- PUBLICATIONS 4 practice: reflections from con- sia’. ments of popular legal cultures var- ducting research across disci- ied across Europe – some conform- Bill reports as follows: RUSSIA AND 5 plinary and geographical ing to the familiar ‘east-west’ pat- ITS “IMAGES” boundaries’, as part of a 14 July: Presented paper to tern, others conforming to the less roundtable, entitled ‘Ideas that 2009 World Congress of Politi- frequently cited ‘core-periphery’ RUSSIAN STUD- 6 cal Science in Santiago, Chile. IES IN KOREA never meet? Navigating inter- pattern. disciplinary knowledge and My paper was: ‘Culture, Con- practice’, that she co- text and Behaviour: the Law- “CRISIS CON- 6 FERENCE”, 13- organised with colleagues breaking, Law-abiding Public’. 14 MAY 2010 from the Departments of Cen- The paper was based on ap- CONGRATULA- 7 tral and East European Stud- proximately 1000 interviews in T I O N S ies and Slavonic Studies at each of five countries: Eng- Glasgow. land, Norway, Poland, Bulgaria WHO WE ARE 7 AND WHAT WE and Ukraine. Amongst other Vikki was also invited to de- D O findings it looked at eight sce- liver a keynote address in Hel- narios in which ‘generally law- sinki 26-27 November 2009 Above: “It’s been cold in Yakutsk as abiding people’ would at a postgraduate workshop well (courtesy of Katsu)” ‘knowingly break the law’. entitled, ‘Understanding Rus- Some of these proved to be sia: critical reflections on amongst the ‘most pan- method, practice and knowl- European’ elements of popular TRANSFORMATION GROUP NEWSLETTER Page 2 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 In October Bill presented Plan: Rebuilding Social Pro- fucius Institute on 29 Octo- Cristian writes from Turin: ‘In another paper to the Norwe- tections for Stability and ber. November 2009 I took part Growth?’, at an international gian Research Council’s Stephen spoke (with Valen- to a conference in Livorno workshop on ‘Dealing with annual “Changing Europe” tina) at a day conference on about the 20th anniversary Economic Crisis: Chinese Russia in Hutcheson’s conference, at the NRC Approaches and Experi- of the events of 1989 and headquarters in Oslo. His ences’ organised by the Grammar School, Glasgow, the post Cold War world. I paper was: ‘Public attitudes Association for Social Sci- in September, and in Octo- presented a paper about towards European and Inter- ence Research on China at ber in Khar’kiv at the First Russian elite approaches national Standards in Law Trier, Germany, on 27-28 Congress of Ukrainian Soci- toward the West from the November – a very gener- and Law-enforcement’. The ologists, where he pre- late 1980s to the late ously hosted event that al- paper was based on the sented a paper on ’Coloured 1990s and the political de- lowed us to sample ancient same interviews. Amongst Roman cuisine and wines of Revolutions: Is there a Pat- velopment of post-Soviet other findings it concluded: the Mosel as well as visit tern?’ and took part in a Russia. It was instructive for (1) that a ‘predominantly- Karl Marx Haus (his birth- panel discussion on me to discuss this topic with European identity’ is a suffi- place). In November Jane ‘Independent Sociology: other experienced historians also gave a keynote lecture cient, but not a necessary Myth or Reality? and to present my paper to on ‘Health Reform and the condition for welcoming and such a large audience in- PRC Government’s Promo- In November he spoke at supporting European and tion of ‘Social Harmony’ at a the annual meeting of the cluding young students as International Standards; and conference on 'The Impact American Association for the well as experienced aca- (2) that a ‘predominantly- of the Global Economic Cri- Advancement of Slavic Stud- demics.’ Country identity’ is a neces- sis on Social Development: ies in Boston on ‘People and Politics in Post-Communist sary, but not a sufficient Social Policy Responses in Greater China', held at the Belarus’, drawing in part on condition for rejecting the University of Hong Kong. our 2009 national survey. application of European and She combined this trip with International Standards . a visit to an of post-1949 Chinese materials at the Jane presented a paper on Chinese University of Hong ‘China’s changing health Kong. governance’ at a workshop on Urban Governance in Jane also participated in a China at the University of cross-UK government strat- Turku, Finland, 12-14 Au- egy meeting, ‘Scenarios for gust, combining the trip with China in 2025 and their a wonderful family holiday in Helsinki and exploring the Implications for UK Defence, south-western archipelago. Diplomacy and Development She organised a panel at the ObJectives’, organised by the APSA meeting in Toronto, 3- Cabinet Office, DfID, Ministry 6 September, at which she of Defence, London, on 6 presented a paper on November. She delivered a ‘Health Politics in China: lecture, ‘The China Chal- Explaining State Retrench- ment, 1978-2003’. She lenge: Models, Visions and presented another paper, on Global Futures’, at the Uni- Above: “Stephen, Grigorii Ioffe and Andrei Korobkov ex- ‘Economic Crisis and versity of Edinburgh & Con- plore Beacon Hill after the AAASS meeting in Boston” China’s 2009 Health Reform TRANSFORMATION GROUP NEWSLETTER Page 3 F I E L D W O R K Sam has been carrying out coming months he will con- Smith Foundation Seedcorn colleagues from Helsinki fieldwork in Moscow for a tinue to locate documents Grant (£1200). The data and Glasgow. couple of months. He has for his thesis and complete generated from this study been working in the Library some interview work. Stephen was in Moscow forms the basis of several of the State Duma and the again in September 2009, Vikki began work on her new conference papers that have ‘Leninka’ or Russian State for library research and pro- proJect that explores Library as part of his thesis been accepted for presenta- Ject-related discussions with which looks at the Russian women’s access to legal tion in 2010. Vikki will pre- Olga Kryshtanovskaya, and military in contemporary advice as one of a variety of sent at BASEES in March, at in Ukraine in October. He continued to visit the Johns politics. In addition to his means used by women to the British Sociological Asso- research, he has been dab- Hopkins Bologna Center access rights in 2009. She ciation annual conference in bling in the murkier depths during the autumn term as spent July in Ul’yanovsk April as part of a roundtable of Russian cuisine and AdJunct Professor of Euro- conducting fieldwork for her struggling to stay upright on on the ‘Sociology of rights’ pean icy pavements. As yet he pilot study entitled ‘Mapping with a colleague from the hasn’t bumped into Medve- access to legal advice in Sociology Department at dev or Putin but has seen at provincial Russia’, which Glasgow, and at ICCEES in least one ‘minigarch’. In the was funded by an Adam July on a panel with Studies. TRANSFORMATION GROUP SYMPOSIUM The Group organised a departmental symposium in November 2009. Stephen spoke on ‘Explaining “coloured revolutions”’, Sarah on ‘Politics and the Internet’ and Valentina on ‘Russia as a Normative Power’. We expect to organise a second symposium later in the current term. VISITORS Visitors during the past six months included Kate Horner of the UK Cabinet Office, who was here in November to discuss cur- rent Russian elite politics with Stephen and Valentina. VOLUME 6, ISSUE 1 Page 4 GRANTS Valentina and Stephen were that the relatively small or even increased? How will We propose to examine awarded £3500 to assist in group that takes Russia's the silovik i and other strate- such matters on an annual organising a ‘crisis confer- key decisions is increasingly gic groups be distributed basis in successive cross- sections, from January 2008 ence’ in May 2010 (see composed of siloviki with a across the presidential ad- to January 2011 inclusive.’ below). Additional support military or security back- ministration, within a gov- was made available by the ground. This distinctive rul- ernment that will be chaired Centre for Russian, Central ing group faces a serious by a more influential prime and East European Studies, challenge as it seeks to minister, within the newly- courtesy of Richard Berry.
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