Questions for Exam II

   Discussion Questions:

 

 

 Questions on Taras and Ganguly, pp. 126-155:

 

1. What is meant be the term "matrioshka nationalism"?

2. What were two major differences between the Soviet model of empire and the characteristics of previous empires in history?

3. What is meant by the term "Russification"? How successful was Russification?

4. How did the Soviet policy of federalism contribute to the failure to assimilate "titular" peoples into the Soviet Union? What was the administrative structure of federalism in the USSR? What representative bodies were located at each level of the federation?

5. What are some of the major events which led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991?

6. How did the process of democratization (under Gorbachev) contribute to increasing nationalism among Soviet citizens?

7. How does the theory of reactive ethnicity explain why Russian nationalist mobilization occurred?

8. In addition to Russian nationalism, what other reasons are given for the decision by Russian President Boris Yeltsin to invade Chechnya?

9. What role was played by Dudayev and Shamil Basayev in the Chechen conflict?

10. According to the authors, what role has been played by international forces or international diplomacy in determining the nature and the outcome of the Chechen conflict? 

 

Russification IN THE USSR as of 1979

Largest National Groups

Russian Native Language

Bilingual in Russian

Do Not Speak Russian

Ukrainians

17.1%

49.8%

33.1%

Uzbeks

0.6

49.3

50.1

Belorussians

25.4

57.0

17.6

Kazakhs

2.0

52.3

45.7

Tatars

13.2

68.9

17.9

Azerbaijanis

1.8

29.5

68.7

Armenians

8.4

38.6

53.0

 

 

Coppieters and Sakwa, pp. 156-186

 

1.      Why has the international community viewed the 1994 Russian war against the Chechens differently from the 1999 Russian war against the Chechens?  How did the Russian people view the two wars differently?  How did “oil politics” change between the two wars?

2.       How did the proportion of Russians in the population of the USSR differ from the proportion of Russians in the population of the Russian Federation?

3.      How did the titular nationality proportion of the population in the former union republics of the USSR differ from the titular nationality population proportion in most of the republics of the Russian Federation?

4.      What was it about the leadership group that came to power in Chechnya in 1990-91 that contributed to the emergence of a violent revolution in the republic?

5.      What were the circumstances under which Chechnya declared independence?

6.      What delayed and prevented the authorities in Moscow from forging a coherent and consistent response to the crisis in Chechnya?

7.      What kinds of “criminality” emerged in Chechnya in the early 1990s?

8.      What reasons are offered for why no agreement could be reached between Moscow and Chechnya?  (What reasons are given for why Russia went to war?)

9.      According to Sakwa, did Chechnya have a just cause in claiming independence in 1991?  Do you agree with his conclusion?

10.  What were some weaknesses in Russia’s normative justifications for going to war?

11.  Why did Russian military operations fail in Chechnya between 1994 and 1996?

12.  What relationship emerged between Maskhadov and Basaev after Maskhadov was elected president of Chechnya in 1997?

13.  What did Basaev do to prompt the second military intervention of Russian troops into Chechnya in 1999?

14.  How did the failure of the outside world to recognize Chechen independence contribute to declaration in 1997 that Chechnya was to be an Islamic Republic?  Overall, what factors contributed to the Islamification of Chechnya?

15.  What impact did the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in September 2001 influence perceptions about Chechnya?

 

 

Chechen Leaders:

 

Dudayev:                    elected president in 1991, killed in 1996

 

Aslan Maskhadov:    elected president of Chechnya in 1997

 

Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov:        appointed administrative head by Russia in 2000 and elected president in October 2003, killed in May 2004

 

Shamil Basayev:                    Chechen field commander

 

Alu Alkhanov:                        Elected president of Chechnya August 2004.  He was the Kremlin’s choice to win the elections.  He had served as interior minister of Chechnya and according to official results, he received nearly 74 percent of the  vote, with 85.2 percent turnout. But other candidates complained of widespread violations in a vote.

 

Aslan Maskhadov joined the Soviet army, serving in both Hungary and Lithuania, before becoming Chief of Staff of the Chechen army in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Under his leadership, Chechen forces won many battles against Russian forces sent to crush Chechen rebels in December 1994.

In 1997, Maskhadov and Russian president Boris Yeltsin signed an agreement promising an end to 400 years of conflict between Moscow and the region.

Maskhadov became a candidate for president, running against the more radical Shamil Basayev, a field commander with a popular following.

Maskhadov won a victory in January 1997, swearing "to reinforce the independence of the Chechen state."

The election was declared fair by international monitors. Russian President Boris Yeltsin sent his congratulations, and Russia said it wanted to rebuild relations with Chechnya.

During the fighting after 1999, Maskhadov's government was removed from power and a pro-Moscow administration was set up.

After the Russian theater siege in October 2002, Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled out talks with what he called "terrorists," including Maskhadov.

 

September 2004:        In the Republic of North Ossetia in Southern Russia “militants” took about 1,200 hostages at a school.  The result was the death of at least 335 hostages, mostly children, when the terrorists (mistakenly) set off bombs inside the gymnasium where the hostages were being held. 

 

Russia's FSB intelligence service is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the capture of two Chechen rebel leaders -- Shamil Basayev or Aslan Maskhadov.

The U.N. Security Council put had Basayev on its official terrorist list last year after Washington classified him as a threat to the United States.

Basayev was appointed Chechen prime minister in 1997 but he resigned after serving one six-month term.

Maskhadov worked with Basayev until 1998, when Basayev established a network of military officers which soon devolved into rival warlords.

 

 

Coppieters and Sakwa, pp. 133-155 “Special Status for Tatarstan”

 

1.      What does “sovereignty” mean in the Soviet and post-Soviet context?

2.      What are the grievances that provide the foundation for the secessionist predisposition in Tatarstan?

3.      What is the basic difference between a remedial secession theory (Buchanan) and a choice theory of secession (Miller)?

4.      Note:  the Mongols (led by descendents of Genghis Khan) that invaded the Bulgar Khanate (and Kievan Rus) in the 13th Century “called both themselves and the Turkic tribes they forcefully enlisted into their armies ‘Tatars’.”  How does this contribute to “two strands of national identity”?

5.      When was the Kazan Khanate “wiped out” by Russia’s Tsar Ivan the Terrible?

6.      How did the “Tatars’ preoccupation with traditional Islam” during the period of rule by Russian Tsars hamper the development of the Tatars?

7.      How did the Jadidism seek to redress these problems with Tatar development?

8.      What is the main explanation given for the retarded cultural development in Tatarstan during the Soviet period (in comparison with places like Ukraine or Lithuania)?

9.      What are some examples of progress made in the secessionist process for Tatarstan between 1987 and 1994?  What changed when Vladimir Putin became President of Russia in 2000?

10.  What explanations or causes are identified by Zverev for the unraveling (break-up) of the Soviet Union?

11.  What it is about the nature of the “Tatar nation” (what characteristics of Tatar national identity) make it more reasonable to accommodate this identity within the structure of Russian Federalism than to accommodate it within a new, independent state?

12.  To what degree did the Tatars suffer long-standing and continued injustice, cultural discrimination and discriminatory redistribution under Soviet rule? 

13.  To what degree would Tatarstan be economically viable as an independent state (in the event of secession)?

Coppieters, pp. 187-212

 

1.      Which of the administrative units within the Soviet Union had the highest political status?  What was the next level?  Give an example of each.

2.      What proportion of the population of Abkhazia was Abkhaz in 1989?  How does this differ from the situation in Chechnya?

3.      Why was Georgia’s declaration of independence in 1991 perceived by the Abkhaz community as a threat?

4.      Did Georgian troops act in accordance with the just cause principle when they started military operations in Abkhazia in August 1992?  (Why or why not?) What accounts for the defeat of the Georgian troops in this venture?

5.      What characteristics of the Georgian government at the time of the intervention in Abkhazia might lead one to wonder whether that government enjoyed “legitimate authority”?

6.      Georgia was forced to make concessions to Moscow in 1993?  Why did this happen?

7.      On what basis does the author conclude that the “Georgian leadership bears the full burden of responsibility for the initiation of the hostilities” (p. 202)?

8.      According to the author, what are the advantages of a federal solution to this problem?

Taras and Ganguly, pp. 156-181:

1. What are the primary issues associated with Quebec nationalism?

2. What are some of the main anti-secessionist arguments associated with the "federalists"?

3. What historic "defeat" is described as being analogous to the loss of the Alamo to Santa Ana's army in 1836?

4. Why does the "Report on the Affairs of British North America (1839) written by British Governor General Lord Durham constitutes an "historical grievance" in contemporary Quebec?

5. What is the historical significance of the British North America Act (BNA Act) of 1867?

6. How was defensive nationalism in Quebec tied to Roman Catholicism?

7. What are the three conscription crises identified by the authors?

8. What significant transformations have occurred within Quebec society and economy and in Quebec's relations with the central government after World War I (and up though the 1950s)?

9. What were some characteristics of the Quiet Revolution that occurred in Quebec after 1960?

10. What is the political platform of the Parti Quebecois?

11. What is the difference between the provisions of the 1969 Official Languages Act and the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101)?

12. What factors contributed to Quebec nationalism in the 1980s?

13. Why did the Meech Lake Accord fail?

14. Why is the wording for a referendum so crucial?

15. What was the outcome of the 1995 referendum on sovereignty?

16. What can we learn from the 1998 ruling of the Canadian Supreme Court?

17. Why is secession so difficult in a democracy?

18. To economic arguments support or hurt Quebec's independence movement?

19.  What is the position of the U.S. with regard to Quebec independence?

 

Coppieters, pp. 213-227:

 

1.      When was the Parti Quebecois (PQ) formed?  What has been the focus of its political program? 

2.      What important function was controlled by the Catholic Church in Quebec prior to the 1960s?

3.      How did the perception of French-speaking residents of Quebec of their relative status with Canada change during the 20th Century?

4.      How did immigration patterns in the 20th Century change the balance of English and French speakers in Quebec?

5.      When did the Parti Quebecois (PQ) first come to power?  What was the first piece of legislation passed under this government?

6.      What was the question on the referendum held in 1980?  What was the result of the referendum?

7.      What was the position of Rene Levesque concerning the relationship between Quebec and the rest of Canada?  How did Jacques Parizeau’s position differ from this?  How do the two leaders represent ethnic and civic forms of nationalism?

8.      What was the question on the referendum held in 1995?  What was the result of the referendum?  (see: http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/1995-Quebec-referendum)

 

 

Quebec’s Prime Ministers Since 1968

Premier

From

To

Party

Jean-Jacques Bertrand

1968-10-02

1970-05-12

Union Nationale

Robert Bourassa

1970-05-12

1976-11-25

Liberal

René Lévesque

1976-11-25

1985-10-03

Parti Québécois

Pierre-Marc Johnson

1985-10-03

1985-12-12

Parti Québécois

Robert Bourassa

1985-12-12

1994-01-11

Liberal

Daniel Johnson, Jr

1994-01-11

1994-09-26

Liberal

Jacques Parizeau

1994-09-26

1996-01-29

Parti Québécois

Lucien Bouchard

1996-01-29

2001-03-08

Parti Québécois

Bernard Landry

2001-03-08

2003-04-29

Parti Québécois

Jean Charest

2003-04-29

present

Liberal

 

From:  http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/List%20of%20Quebec%20premiers

 

See Elections in Canada:       http://www.electionworld.org/canada.htm

                                                http://electionresources.org/ca/

See Elections in Quebec:       http://www.mapleleafweb.com/election/quick/qb.html

 

 

POPULATION OF CANADA 

 

2001

% of Canada

Capital City

 

Actual #

2001

 

Canada

30,007,094

100.00

Ottawa

Newfoundland Labrador

512,930

1.70

St. John's

Prince Edward Island

135,294

0.45

Charlottetown

Nova Scotia

908,007

3.02

Halifax

New Brunswick

729,498

2.43

Fredericton

Quebec

7,237,479

24.11

Quebec City

Ontario

11,410,146

38.02

Toronto

Manitoba

1,119,583

3.73

Winnipeg

Saskatchewan

978,933

3.26

Regina

Alberta

2,974,807

9.91

Edmonton

British Columbia

3,907,738

13.02

Victoria

Yukon

28,674

0.09

Whitehorse

Northwest Territories

37,360

0.12

Yellowknife

Nunavut

26,745

0.09

Iqaluit

 

 

Bar Chart of Population with French Mother Tongue, Provinces and Territories, 1996

Bar Chart of Population with French Mother Tongue, Provinces and Territories, 1996

 

 

Source: Canada. Statistics Canada. 1996 Census.

 

 

 

 

Taras and Ganguly, pp. 212-234:

 

1.      According to Zartman, what functions are lost when a state collapses?

2.      What are some of the reasons why so many separatist movements appeared when African colonies were first granted independence?

3.      For what reason is Eritrea's geopolitical position of strategic importance?

4.      What is the historical foundation for the Eritrean claim to independence?

5.      Why did the United States want Eritrea to be a part of Ethiopia?

6.      In the period from 1950 to the later 1980s, what position was taken by most African states toward Eritrean demands for independence?  (What was the position of the OAU?)  What explains this stance?

7.      Who were the main Ethiopian leaders between 1950 and 1991?  What was their stance toward Eritrea?

8.      What was the "coalition" that arguably secured Eritrean independence in 1991-1993?

9.      What factors contributed to the breakdown in relations between Mele Zenawi (President of Ethiopia) and Afwerki (President of Eritrea)?

10.  Provide examples of the "internationalization" of the Eritrean conflict.

11.  What factors help to explain the ethnic polarization between the Hutus and the Tutsi?

12.  Which group (Hutus and the Tutsi) currently holds power in Rwanda and Burundi?

13.  Provide examples of the "internationalization" of the Hutus - Tutsi conflict.

 

 

Eritrea

DATELINE: A POLITICAL HISTORY


1889- Eritrea defined as a Nation State/ colonised by Italy.
1941- World War II/ Italy defeated in Africa/ Eritrea is now governed by the British.
1952- Eritrea federated as an autonomous state with Ethiopia.
1961- The beginning of the Independence war by the ELF (the Eritrean Liberation Front).
1962- Ethiopia annexes Eritrea as it's 14th province.
1970- EPLF (Eritrean People's Liberation Front) formed.
1976-8 Liberation movements take control over most of the towns and countryside.
1991- Eritrea liberated from Ethiopia by the EPLF. Transitional govt. set up with Secretary - General of the EPLF, Issaias Afwerki as leader.
1993- UN sponsored referendum for Independence of Eritrea held on APRIL 23rd - 25th. 99% of the votes cast are pro Independence. On April 27th Eritrea becomes an Independent and recognised nation. MAY 24 is proclaimed National Day in Eritrea.

1998- Border war breaks out between Ethiopia and Eritrea

 

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