Youth in Regime Crisis: Comparative Perspectives from Russia to Weimar Germany

Description

How do political regimes respond to the challenges emanating from youth mobilization? This book seeks to understand regime resilience and breakdown by analysing the public meaning of youth, as well as the physical mobilization of young people. Mobilization carried by young people is a key component in understanding the stabilisation of the authoritarian regime structures in contemporary Russia, but the Russian experience makes only sense if placed in its broader historical context.Three comparative cases, the breakdown of the authoritarian Soviet Union, the breakdown of the democratic Weimar Republic, and the crisis of the democratic regime in France around 1968 highlight how regimes which lacked popular support have compensated for their insufficient legitimacy by trying to mobilize youth symbolically and politically. This book illustrates the symbolic significance of youth and its role in regime crisis by analysing a new data set of newspaper articles with a new method of discourse analysis. The combination of qualitative interpretation and quantitative network analysis enables a deeper and more systematic understanding of discursive structures about youth. Through this methodological innovation the book contributes to the way we define the categories of youth, generation, and crisis. It makes the case that our conceptualisation should reflect the way terms are being used - usages that can be captured in a systematic way with new methods of discourse analysis. Oxford Studies in Democratization is a series for scholars and students of comparative politics and related disciplines. Volumes concentrate on the comparative study of the democratization process that accompanied the decline and termination of the cold war. The geographical focus of the series is primarily Latin America, the Caribbean, Southern and Eastern Europe, and relevant experiences in Africa and Asia. The series editor is Laurence Whitehead, Senior Research Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford. Cover Youth in Regime Crisis: Comparative Perspectives from Russia to Weimar Germany Copyright Contents List of Figures List of Tables Notes on Translations Acknowledgements PART I: THEMES AND SCOPE 1: Setting, Concepts, and Theory 1.1 DISCOURSE AND MOBILIZATION IN REGIME CRISIS 1.2 CRISIS: POTENTIAL CHANGE AND MOBILIZATION 1.3 YOUTH: IDEALIZATION AND MOBILIZATION 1.4 GENERATION: CHANNELLING EXPERIENCES AND EXPECTATIONS 1.4.1 Reading the Literature on Generation 1.4.2 Generations from Russia to Weimar: An Overview 1.4.2.1 Contemporary Russia 1.4.2.2 Perestroika Russia 1.4.2.3 Weimar Republic 1.4.2.4 France in the Period around 1968 1.5 DEVELOPING A COMPARATIVE HISTORICAL FRAME 1.6 YOUTH IN REGIME CHANGE: A THEORY OF THE PROCESSES AT WORK 1.7 HYPOTHESES: YOUTH IN REGIME CRISIS 1.8 OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK 2: Interpreting Text as Discourse or Using Text as Data 2.1 THE DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIAL REALITY 2.2 ANALYTIC PROCEDURE 2.2.1 Developing a Qualitative Coding Scheme 2.3 DISCOURSES AS NETWORKS: ‘MORE THAN WORDS’ 2.3.1 Linking Discourse and Network Analysis 2.3.2 Measuring Significance in Discourse Networks 2.3.3 Formations in Discourse Networks 2.4 REMARKS ON TRANSLATIONS 3: Youth as a Political Force in Twentieth-Century Europe: An Overview 3.1 YOUNG PEOPLE BUT NO YOUTH ‘AVANT LA LETTRE’ ? 3.2 THE INTERWAR PERIOD: WEIMAR IN CONTEXT 3.2.1 A Devastating War and Its Impact on Youth 3.2.2 New Beginnings: Youth in the Soviet Union 3.2.3 Gaining Distance from the First World War with Youth 3.3 APPROACHING THE SECOND WORLD WAR: POLITICAL ESCALATION AND YOUTH 3.3.1 Radical Youth in the Late Weimar Republic 3.3.2 Youth Movements beyond Weimar 3.4 RISING FROM THE ASHES OF WAR: AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR 3.4.1 A Symbol of Cultural Renewal: Youth in Non-Communist Europe 3.4.2 A Political Driving Force and Contestation through Culture: Communist Europe 3.5 A GENERATIONAL WAKE-UP CALL AROUND 1968 3.5.1 A Global Turn towards Resistance 3.5.2 Expanding the Borders of 1968 3.6 YOUTH IN OUR TIME: POLITICS THROUGH OTHER MEANS? 3.6.1 Youth Movements and the Regime Changes of 1989/1991 3.6.2 Lethargic or Rebellious? Youth between Resistance and Conformity 3.6.2.1 The ‘Colour Revolutions’ 3.6.2.2 The Arab Spring 3.6.2.3 ‘Outraged’ and ‘Desperate’: Youth in the Economic Crisis PART II: YOUTH DURING REGIME CRISES 4: The Russian Federation after the ‘Colour Revolutions’: Consolidating an Authoritarian Regime 4.1 A STABLE BUT INSECURE POLITICAL REGIME: RUSSIA BY 2005 4.1.1 Youth in Putin’s Russia: From Disregard to Resurgence 4.1.2 Three Components of Russia’s Regime Consolidation 4.2 A COMPARTMENTALIZED BUT DIVERSE MEDIA LANDSCAPE AND THE DISCURSIVE CONTEXTS OF YOUTH MOBILIZATION 4.2.1 Corpus Structure: Topic, Genre, Author and Discursive Position 4.2.1.1 Topics 4.2.1.2 Genres and Authors 4.2.1.3 Discursive Positions 4.2.2 Eliminating the Diversity of Youth: Three Discursive Formations 4.3 THE PRO-KREMLIN YOUTH: A NEW PERSPECTIVE 4.3.1 Nashi: The Discursive Resurgence of Youth 4.3.2 Mobilizing to Appropriate the Past 4.3.3 Youthful Courage and Creativity: Sports and the Arts 4.3.4 Youth Acting beyond Control 4.4 YOUTH IN DISCORDANCE WITH THE REGIME 4.4.1 Rediscovering the Political Dimension of Youth 4.4.2 An Increasing Fear about Oppositional Youth 4.4.3 A Carnival of Mobilization 4.4.4 Mockery of Official Youth Movements 4.4.5 Youth Opposition Abroad 4.5 VIOLENT YOUTH: THREATENING THE ESTABLISHMENT 4.5.1 Skinheads and Fascists 4.5.2 Left-Wing Radicals 4.5.3 Youth Out of Control 4.6 YOUTH IN A CONSOLIDATING AUTHORITARIAN SYSTEM 4.6.1 Establishing a New Discursive Regime to Reshape the Meaning of Youth 4.6.2 Co-optation of Youth to Display Popular Support for the Political Regime 4.6.3 The Limited Impact of Mobilization Restricted to Youth 5: The Soviet Union during Perestroika: Youth amidst Authoritarian Regime Breakdown 5.1 FROM CRISIS TO SYSTEM COLLAPSE: SOVIET UNION 1985–1991 5.1.1 Change as Usual (until February 1986) 5.1.2 Change Unlike That Which Came Before (February 1986–March 1988) 5.1.3 Change and Contestation (March 1988–Spring 1989) 5.1.4 Change and Decline (Spring 1989–Spring 1991) 5.2 YOUTH: THE VANGUARD OF SOCIALIST PROGRESS 5.3 GLASNOST’ : THE LIBERATION OF MEDIA, AND THE DISCURSIVE CONTEXTS OF YOUTH MOBILIZATION 5.3.1 Corpus Structure: Topic, Genre, Author and Discursive Position 5.3.1.1 Topics 5.3.1.2 Genres, Authors, and Discursive Positions 5.3.2 Disintegrating Truths and Changes across Three Discursive Formations 5.4 THE SOVIET-LENINIST DISCURSIVE FORMATION: A FADING YOUTH DISCOURSE AT THE ONSET OF PERESTROIKA 5.4.1 Generational Continuity and Soviet Grandeur: Temporalities in the Soviet-Leninist Discursive Formation 5.4.2 The Komsomol’s Delegitimization: Discursive and Social Aspects 5.4.3 The Waning of the Soviet-Leninist Discourse: The End of a Journey Downstream 5.5 THE AUTONOMOUS DISCURSIVE FORMATION: YOUTH ABROAD AS VANGUARD 5.5.1 Thinking about Russian Youth throughReference to Youth Abroad 5.5.2 Saving the Komsomol from the Outside 5.6 YOUTH AS VICTIM AND THREAT: THE IMPORTANCE OF NEFORMALY 5.6.1 Youth as an Innocent Victim of Western Influence 5.6.2 Neformaly, a New Phase of Youth Mobilization, and the Changing Fate of the Komsomol 5.6.3 Youth as a Risk to the System 5.6.4 May 1988: The ‘Moscow Spring’? 5.6.5 The End of Youth Mobilization and a Cross-Generational Rejection of the Ancien Régime 5.7 YOUTH DURING AUTHORITARIAN REGIME BREAKDOWN 5.7.1 The Eroding Discursive Setting 5.7.2 Independent Mobilization of Youth and the Need for Reform 5.7.3 Youth as a Mirror of Society: The Generalization of Protest 6: The Weimar Republic and Roads Not Followed: Breakdown of an Unconsolidated Democracy 6.1 THE ‘GOLDEN TWENTIES’ AND PERPETUAL CRISIS 6.2 A NEW POLITICAL STAKEHOLDER AND ECONOMIC SUFFERING: YOUTH IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD 6.3 A DIVERSE MEDIA: THE DISCURSIVE CONTEXTS OF YOUTH MOBILIZATION 6.3.1 Corpus Structure: Topic, Genre, Author and Discursive Position 6.3.1.1 Topics 6.3.1.2 Genres 6.3.1.3 Authors and Discursive Positions 6.3.2 A Stable Diversity: Four Key Discursive Formations 6.4 THE PRO-DEMOCRACY DISCURSIVE FORMATION AND INDEPENDENT YOUTH MOBILIZATION 6.4.1 Mobilizing for Democracy, but Not for Weimar: Republican, Socialist, and Catholic Youth 6.4.2 Reconciling Europe through Youth 6.4.3 Youth as Vanguard of Cultural Change 6.5 THE YOUTH & FUTURE DISCURSIVE FORMATION: LOOKING FORWARD, THANKS TO YOUTH 6.5.1 The Political Struggle around Youth for the Future 6.5.2 Demographics, an Uncertain Present, and a Contested Future 6.5.3 Educating for the Future 6.6 YOUTH AS A VICTIM OF CRISES: A THIRD DISCURSIVE FORMATION 6.6.1 Insurmountable Legacies for Youth 6.6.2 A Generation Wanted by No One 6.7 THE THREAT DISCURSIVE FORMATION: YOUTH AS TROUBLE-MAKER 6.7.1 Political Mobilization of Weimar Radicals 6.7.2 Localized Violence: The University 6.7.3 Youth, Crime, and Punishment 6.8 YOUTH AND THE BREAKDOWN OF AN UNCONSOLIDATED DEMOCRACY 6.8.1 Discursive Heterogeneity and Democratic Disintegration 6.8.2 Independence and Diversity of Youth Mobilization 6.8.3 Youth Mobilization and Its Relation to Adults 7: France around 1968: Consolidating a Democratic Regime 7.1 A GLOBAL CONTEST OF AUTHORITY ARRIVES IN FRANCE 7.2 THE MEDIA AND BATTLES OVER THE MEANING OF ‘68’ : THE DISCURSIVE CONTEXTS OF YOUTH MOBILIZATION 7.2.1 Corpus Structure: Topic, Genre, Authors and Discursive Positions 7.2.2 Discursive Formations: Briefly Shaking a Stable Order 7.3 A GLOBAL REVOLUTION: TRANSNATIONAL SPACES OF CONTESTATION 7.3.1 Prelude to May 68: A World in Rebellion 7.3.2 Mobilizing against Oppressive Regimes in the East, the West, and the ‘Third World’ 7.3.3 More Nuanced Ideas about Youth Mobilization at Home and Abroad 7.4 LA MOBILISATION: THE FRENCH FUTURE DISCURSIVE FORMATION 7.4.1 Intellectuals: The Future through Present Past 7.4.2 Is It Easy to Be Young? Challenges for Youth 7.5 A DISORIENTED GENERATION: THE DISCURSIVE FORMATION ABOUT LES ÉVÈNEMENTS 7.5.1 Old Wine in New Bottles: Rebels without a Cause 7.5.2 Tribouillerie: The Unrest as a Generational Uprising 7.5.3 A Mere Crisis of the Educational System 7.5.4 Who Pulls the Strings Behind the Scenes? 7.6 YOUTH IN A DEMOCRATIZING MOMENT 7.6.1 Non-Hegemonic Discursive Structures 7.6.2 Youth Mobilization and Democratic Regime Stability 7.6.3 Youth Briefly Strengthened through Cross-Generational Mobilization PART III: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES 8: Youth and Crisis: Discourse and Mobilization across Space and Time 8.1 REFINING THE HYPOTHESES ABOUT YOUTH AND CRISIS 8.2 YOUTH MOBILIZATION AND POLITICAL STABILITY DURING CRISIS 8.2.1 Authoritarian Regimes 8.2.1.1 Russia: The Re-emergence of Youth 8.2.1.2 The Soviet Union: Youth Delegitimizing the Regime 8.2.2 Democratic Regimes 8.2.2.1 Weimar Republic: Youth for and against Democracy 8.2.2.2 France around 1968: Overcoming the Crisis against Youth 8.2.3 The Role of Youth during Crises in Authoritarian and Democratic Regimes 8.3 ON THE FINE LINE BETWEEN YOUTH AND GENERATION 8.3.1 Chronological Overview 8.3.1.1 Weimar Republic: A Generation Not Just Made from the First World War 8.3.1.2 France around 1968: The Rapid Politicization of Youth 8.3.1.3 The Soviet Union: A Youth Liberated during Perestroika 8.3.1.4 Russia: Back to the Future with Youth 8.4 TEMPORALITIES OF CRISIS 8.4.1 Present Times of Crises: Multiplying Possibilities 8.4.1.1 Duration 8.4.1.2 Rhythms 8.4.1.3 Timing 8.4.2 Updating Pasts and Changing Futures in Crises 8.4.2.1 Remaking the Soviet Past and Finding a New Future: The Russian Federation 8.4.2.2 The Crumbling Soviet Futures during Perestroika 8.4.2.3 Creating a Future Symbol of Youth Resistance: France 1968 8.4.2.4 The Open Futures of the Weimar Republic 8.5 CONCLUDING REMARKS Appendix: Coding Scheme STRUCTURE (*) DEFINITION EVALUATIONS (*) TEMPI (+) Bibliography ENGLISH LANGUAGE LITERATURE FRENCH LANGUAGE LITERATURE GERMAN LANGUAGE LITERATURE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE SOURCES LITERATURE IN OTHER LANGUAGES Index