In the opinion of some historians the era of fascism ended with the deaths SPPS of Mussolini and Hitler. Yet the debate about its nature as a historical phe- 35 nomenon and its value as a term of historical analysis continues to rage with ever greater intensity, each major attempt to resolve it producing dif- Griffin / Loh Umland (Eds.) SOVIET AND POST-SOVIET POLITICS AND SOCIETY ferent patterns of support, dissent, and even hostility, from academic col- Edited by Dr. Andreas Umland leagues. Nevertheless, a number of developments since 1945 not only complicate the methodological and definitional issues even further, but make it ever more desirable that politicians, journalists, lawyers, and the general public can turn to “experts” for a heuristically useful and broadly Roger Griffin, Werner Loh and consensual definition of the term. These developments include: the emer- gence of a highly prolific European New Right, the rise of radical right pop- Andreas Umland, Eds. ulist parties, the flourishing of ultra-nationalist movements in the former Soviet empire, the radicalization of some currents of Islam and Hinduism into potent political forces, and the upsurge of religious terrorism. Fascism Past and Present, Most monographs and articles attempting to establish what is meant by fascism are written from a unilateral authoritative perspective, and the in- West and East tense academic controversy the term provokes has to be gleaned from reviews and conference discussions. The uniqueness of this book is that it provides exceptional insights into the cut-and-thrust of the controversy and East Fascism Past and Present, West An International Debate on Concepts and Cases as it unfolds on numerous fronts simultaneously, clarifying salient points of in the Comparative Study of the Extreme Right difference and moving towards some degree of consensus. Twenty-nine established academics were invited to engage with an article by Roger Griffin, one of the most influential theorists in the study of -ge With an afterword by Walter Laqueur neric fascism in the Anglophone world. The resulting debate progressed through two ‘rounds’ of critique and reply, forming a fascinating patchwork of consensus and sometimes heated disagreement. In a spin-off from the original discussion of Griffin’s concept of fascism, a second exchange documented here focuses on the issue of fascist ideology in contemporary Russia. This collection is essential reading for all those who realize the need to provide the term ‘fascism’ with theoretical rigor, analytical preci- sion, and empirical content despite the complex issues it raises, and for any specialist who wants to participate in fascist studies within an interna- tional forum of expertise. The book will change the way in which historians and political scientists think about fascism, and make the debate about the threat it poses to infant democracies like Russia more incisive not just for academics, but for politicians, journalists, and the wider public. ISBN: 978-3-89821-674-6 ibidem ibd ibidem Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society (SPPS) ISSN 1614-3515 General Editor: Andreas Umland, Editorial Assistant: Olena Sivuda, Drahomanov Peda- Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, [email protected] gogical University of Kyiv, [email protected] EDITORIAL COMMITTEE* DOMESTIC & COMPARATIVE POLITICS FOREIGN POLICY & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Prof. Ellen Bos, Andrássy University of Budapest Dr. Peter Duncan, University College London Dr. Ingmar Bredies, FH Bund, Brühl Dr. Taras Kuzio, Johns Hopkins University Dr. Andrey Kazantsev, MGIMO (U) MID RF, Moscow Prof. Gerhard Mangott, University of Innsbruck Dr. Heiko Pleines, University of Bremen Dr. Diana Schmidt-Pfister, University of Konstanz Prof. Richard Sakwa, University of Kent at Canterbury Dr. Lisbeth Tarlow, Harvard University, Cambridge Dr. Sarah Whitmore, Oxford Brookes University Dr. Christian Wipperfürth, N-Ost Network, Berlin Dr. Harald Wydra, University of Cambridge Dr. William Zimmerman, University of Michigan SOCIETY, CLASS & ETHNICITY HISTORY, CULTURE & THOUGHT Col. David Glantz, “Journal of Slavic Military Studies” Dr. Catherine Andreyev, University of Oxford Dr. Marlène Laruelle, George Washington University Prof. Mark Bassin, Södertörn University Dr. Stephen Shulman, Southern Illinois University Prof. Karsten Brüggemann, Tallinn University Prof. Stefan Troebst, University of Leipzig Dr. Alexander Etkind, University of Cambridge POLITICAL ECONOMY & PUBLIC POLICY Dr. Gasan Gusejnov, Moscow State University Prof. em. Marshall Goldman, Wellesley College, Mass. Prof. em. Walter Laqueur, Georgetown University Dr. Andreas Goldthau, Central European University Prof. Leonid Luks, Catholic University of Eichstaett Dr. Robert Kravchuk, University of North Carolina Dr. Olga Malinova, Russian Academy of Sciences Dr. David Lane, University of Cambridge Dr. Andrei Rogatchevski, University of Glasgow Dr. Carol Leonard, University of Oxford Dr. Mark Tauger, West Virginia University Dr. Maria Popova, McGill University, Montreal Dr. Stefan Wiederkehr, BBAW, Berlin ADVISORY BOARD* Prof. Dominique Arel, University of Ottawa Dr. Luke March, University of Edinburgh Prof. Jörg Baberowski, Humboldt University of Berlin Prof. Michael McFaul, US Embassy at Moscow Prof. Margarita Balmaceda, Seton Hall University Prof. Birgit Menzel, University of Mainz-Germersheim Dr. John Barber, University of Cambridge Prof. Valery Mikhailenko, The Urals State University Prof. Timm Beichelt, European University Viadrina Prof. Emil Pain, Higher School of Economics, Moscow Dr. Katrin Boeckh, University of Munich Dr. Oleg Podvintsev, Russian Academy of Sciences Prof. em. Archie Brown, University of Oxford Prof. Olga Popova, St. Petersburg State University Dr. Vyacheslav Bryukhovetsky, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Dr. Alex Pravda, University of Oxford Prof. Timothy Colton, Harvard University, Cambridge Dr. Erik van Ree, University of Amsterdam Prof. Paul D’Anieri, University of Florida Dr. Joachim Rogall, Robert Bosch Foundation Stuttgart Dr. Heike Dörrenbächer, DGO, Berlin Prof. Peter Rutland, Wesleyan University, Middletown Dr. John Dunlop, Hoover Institution, Stanford, California Prof. Marat Salikov, The Urals State Law Academy Dr. Sabine Fischer, SWP, Berlin Dr. Gwendolyn Sasse, University of Oxford Dr. Geir Flikke, NUPI, Oslo Prof. Jutta Scherrer, EHESS, Paris Prof. David Galbreath, University of Aberdeen Prof. Robert Service, University of Oxford Prof. Alexander Galkin, Russian Academy of Sciences Mr. James Sherr, RIIA Chatham House London Prof. Frank Golczewski, University of Hamburg Dr. Oxana Shevel, Tufts University, Medford Dr. Nikolas Gvosdev, Naval War College, Newport, RI Prof. Eberhard Schneider, University of Siegen Prof. Mark von Hagen, Arizona State University Prof. Olexander Shnyrkov, Shevchenko University, Kyiv Dr. Guido Hausmann, University of Freiburg i.Br. Prof. Hans-Henning Schröder, SWP, Berlin Prof. Dale Herspring, Kansas State University Prof. Yuri Shapoval, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences Dr. Stefani Hoffman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Prof. Viktor Shnirelman, Russian Academy of Sciences Prof. Mikhail Ilyin, MGIMO (U) MID RF, Moscow Dr. Lisa Sundstrom, University of British Columbia Prof. Vladimir Kantor, Higher School of Economics Dr. Philip Walters, “Religion, State and Society”, Oxford Dr. Ivan Katchanovski, University of Ottawa Prof. Zenon Wasyliw, Ithaca College, New York State Prof. em. Andrzej Korbonski, University of California Dr. Lucan Way, University of Toronto Dr. Iris Kempe, “Caucasus Analytical Digest” Dr. Markus Wehner, “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” Prof. Herbert Küpper, Institut für Ostrecht Regensburg Dr. Andrew Wilson, University College London Dr. Rainer Lindner, CEEER, Berlin Prof. Jan Zielonka, University of Oxford Dr. Vladimir Malakhov, Russian Academy of Sciences Prof. Andrei Zorin, University of Oxford * While the Editorial Committee and Advisory Board support the General Editor in the choice and improvement of manuscripts for publication, responsibility for remaining errors and misinterpretations in the series’ volumes lies with the books’ authors. Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society (SPPS) ISSN 1614-3515 Founded in 2004 and refereed since 2007, SPPS Recent Volumes makes available affordable English-, German-, and Russian-language studies on the history of 114 Ivo Mijnssen The Quest for an Ideal Youth in Putin’s Russia I the countries of the former Soviet bloc from the Back to Our Future! History, Modernity and Patriotism late Tsarist period to today. It publishes be- according to Nashi, 2005-2012 tween 5 and 20 volumes per year and focuses With a foreword by Jeronim Perović ISBN 978-3-8382-0368-3 on issues in transitions to and from democracy such as economic crisis, identity formation, civil 115 Jussi Lassila society development, and constitutional reform The Quest for an Ideal Youth in Putin’s Russia II The Search for Distinctive Conformism in the Political in CEE and the NIS. SPPS also aims to high- Communication of Nashi, 2005-2009 light so far understudied themes in East Europe- With a foreword by Kirill Postoutenko ISBN 978-3-8382-0415-4 an studies such as right-wing radicalism, reli- gious life, higher education, or human rights 116 Valerio Trabandt protection. The authors and titles of all previ- Neue Nachbarn, gute Nachbarschaft? ously published volumes are listed at the end of Die EU als internationaler Akteur am Beispiel ihrer Demokratieförderung in Belarus und der Ukraine 2004-2009 this book. For a full description of the series and Mit