Kin-state Politics in Times of Geopolitical Realignment

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Session Description

This roundtable on “Kin-state Politics in Times of Geopolitical Realignment” offers complementary perspectives drawing on new research that straddles the boundaries of comparative politics and international relations. Myra Waterbury will explore how kin-state policymakers attempt to use regional and other transnational economic networks to benefit ethnically- and linguistically- affiliated minority communities in neighboring countries; and how such programs might impact national minority communities and their relations with both their home and kin-state government and institutions. Her presentation will situate the Hungarian case in a regional comparative framework. Zsuzsa Csergo will discuss how various strategies and forms of kin-state engagement impact the ability of “external kin” minorities to construct democratic political agency in their home states. Her comparative account will focus on Hungarian, Polish and Russian minorities in Central and Eastern Europe; with references to Turks in Bulgaria and Albanians in Northern Macedonia. Erin Jenne will utilize network analysis theory to reconceptualize the kin-state as a “transborder diasporic network,” in the context of which the kin-state government may play variable brokerage roles (as “itinerant broker,” “representative” or “gatekeeper”) that have knock-on effects for inter-ethnic relations in neighboring states. She will apply this framework to the case of Hungary over time and across Hungarian diasporic segments, accounting for variable ethnic tensions in the region across space and over time. Jennie Schultz will present on kin-states’ use of soft power to influence politics in target states, addressing the question of how scholars should measure the effects of such efforts. Focusing on Russia's increasing attention and use of soft-power strategies in former Soviet Republics, she asks: Should scholars focus on Russia's ability to coopt Russian-speakers; its impact on elites in target states; or some combination? Given geostrategic realities, how important is soft power as a tool for kin-states to influence politics in target states? And what implications do Russia's strategies have for other kin-states in the region? Harris Mylonas will consider the impact of the international system structure on kin-state politics, exploring implications for dual citizenship, kin group expectations, and kin-state actions/policies.

Sub Unit

• Related Groups / Association for the Study of Nationalities

Chair

• David D. Laitin Stanford University

Presenters

• Myra A. Waterbury Ohio University

• Zsuzsa Csergo Queen's University

• Erin K. Jenne Central European University

• Jennie Schulze Duquesne University

• Harris Mylonas George Washington University