[Discussion] CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORS- Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORS- Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet
Societies

The Journal of POWER INSTITUTIONS IN POST-SOVIET SOCIETIES #3, June
2005. An electronic journal of social sciences www.pipss.org/

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORS:
"The influence of military culture on Russian and post-Soviet societies"
Pipss.org is a new electronic journal of social sciences devoted to the
armed forces and power institutions of post-Soviet societies. Pipss.org
is a multi-disciplinary journal, which addresses issues across a broad
field of disciplines including sociology, anthropology, political
science, psychology, economics, history, legal science. Its main
objective is to study changes and their underlying mechanisms in
post-Soviet republics, through the analysis of the institutions that
remain most hidden from the public eye: armies and power institutions.
As an electronic journal, pipss.org also aims to promote scholarly
debate across as broad an audience as possible, and make CIS research
available to Western scholars. Thanks to its international scientific
board drawn from a large pool of leading academics and experts in their
respective fields, it is in a position to become a leading source of
analysis on post-Soviet societies.

THIRD ISSUE:
The issue editors of Vol. 3 would like to invite scholars and experts to
submit their papers for publication in a special issue on  "The
influence of military culture on Russian and post-Soviet societies"

The aim of this issue is to study the influence, in all its various
aspects, of military culture on Russian society.

Therefore our first step will be to question ourselves about military
culture: although difficult to define, an attempt to identify the
culture of  the military and evaluate how entrenched/ embodied that
culture is in national culture is necessary.

In recent years, references to military values and patriotism have
pervaded public debates and political discourse. Our intent is to study
the impact and significance of this phenomenon. To what extent can it be
ascribed to an ideological program devised at top state level, to what
extent does it correspond to popular 'demand'? The popularity of
military and patriotic values is due to a combination of both factors,
which exert their influence through various processes and practices,
among which the following are notable:
  - the spreading of military values in the public sphere, through
political discourse: from songs, moevies... aimed at improving the
forces' own image among their countrymen to Putin's speeches;
  - the spreading of military values through the public education system
(NVP);
  - the fact that the military has taken over social problems the
government has not taken care of (such as the adoption of orphans,
summer camps for children, the revival of zarnitsas);
  - Chechnya: to what extent the conflict has and continues to generate
a new perception of the military in Russian society and to what extent
it has affected a change in the military's values;
  - the Cossack revival and the public adhesion to the military values
spread by Cossacks;
  - the revival of Soviet-style practices (such as delation) and the
    involvement of civilians in maintaining public order;
  - the convergence of military and religious values in the context of
nationalistic discourse;
  - Opposition to these tendencies in the form of anti-militarist
movements and the battle for alternative service...

Given the fact that military culture and values have played a very
important role in the construction of Soviet national identity, the
observation and analysis of these processes and practices in CIS
countries (such as the affirmation in public discourse of the need to
revive spirit of patriotism in Kazakhstan, the formation of squads of
civilian volunteers to help patrol the border in Belarus) can provide
useful elements enabling us to understand how these countries, each in
its own way, deal with their Soviet past and with the construction of
post-Soviet reality.

Papers dealing with other issues related to armies and power
institutions in the CIS, as well as book review  proposals are also welcome.

Reviews:
Publishers interested in publicizing their editions, please send mail
review copies to:
Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski
15 rue Charlot
75003 Paris
France

Forthcoming Issues:
For the forthcoming issues, the journal still welcomes articles that
focus on such topics as:
  - "Dedovshchina", "Military and police elites".
  - The fourth issue will be devoted to "Military and Security
structures and the Regions" (Issue 4).

Guidelines for article submission:
The journal will be published in four languages (French, English,
Russian, and German with a 100-word abstract in English) thanks to which
most authors will be able to write in their mother tongue. This will
ensure greater precision in the articles and avoid a decrease in
scientific quality. But we draw your attention to the fact that most
pipss.org readers are essentially English speakers, therefore we do
encourage articles in English in order to reach an audience as broad as
possible.

The articles submitted to pipss.org for publication should be original
contributions and should not be under consideration for any other
publication at the same time. Manuscripts should be attached as
Microsoft Word format. (For more details about the guidelines for
article submission please check www.pipss.org  or contact the Editorial
Board). There should be a cover page stating the author's background and
affiliation, full address.  The deadline for submission is April 15,
2005, with publication in mid-June. Final decisions on publication will
be made by the Editorial Board.

Please send your contributions or inquiries to:
Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski, Chief Editor, kozlowsk@club-internet.fr;
Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski (3rd Issue Editor)
Anne Le Huerou (3rd Issue Editor)

Editorial Board: Eden Cole, Francoise Dauce, Gilles Favarel-Garrigue,
Anne Le Huerou, Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski, Joris Van Bladel



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Studies