Nationalism in the Neighborhood: Policy Independence and Hostility to Hegemons

• In Event: Hegemony and its Discontents

Abstract

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the relationships between Russia and its 14 post-Soviet neighbors took vastly different shapes, ranging from mutual cooperation to military conflicts. Why would states with similar past experiences under Soviet rule and similar asymmetric power positions vis-à-vis the regional hegemon experience such radically different relationships with Russia? In contrast to prevailing theories focusing on power, economic interdependence, and static identities, I propose that this variation in post-Soviet states’ foreign policy choices towards Russia can be best explained by national mobilization. If states’ particular historical developments such as previous struggles for independence are combined with effective information dissemination mechanisms such as public education and mass media, their people become primed to see themselves as a unique socio-political unit. After gaining formal independence, these states display higher policy independence from and greater hostility towards the regional hegemon that previously dominated them. The theory is tested here through an in-depth analysis of historical national mobilization and recent foreign policy in post-Soviet states. This study sheds light on the often-assumed but rarely systematically studied effects of nationalism on interstate relations, and contributes toward a more nuanced treatment of the concept of nationalism by distinguishing among national characteristics, national experiences, and information dissemination mechanisms.

Author

• Eteri Tsintsadze-Maass, University of Kentucky