Andreas Umland Libri

The special issue offers an interdisciplinary approach to exploring the questions of agency of less mainstream groups in protest movements in patriarchal and authoritarian societies. The themes covered include the place of feminist and gender equality movements in democratically restricted environments, intersections between feminism and nationalism and citizenship, possibilities of right-wing feminism and ‘pop-feminism’, the role of gender in high politics and the relationship between nationality and sexuality in the context of protest movements. The journal features contributions by scholars, human rights and gender equality activists, and journalists, and facilitates a constructive and wide-ranging discussion of the recent and ongoing protest movements in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.

The Russian war in Ukraine has been accompanied, fueled, and legitimized by an unprecedented information campaign. Russia's propaganda has been surprisingly successful in distorting the war and the way it is perceived and understood. This special inaugural issue of JSPPS launches an interdisciplinary discussion of the Russian war of information being waged in tandem with the military war in Ukraine.

Featuring a special section on "Russian Foreign Policy Towards the 'Near Abroad'"Issue 4,2 deals with Russia's post-Maidan foreign policy towards the so-called "near abroad," or the former Soviet states. This is an important and timely topic, as Russia's policy perspectives have changed dramatically since 2013/2014, as have those of its neighbors. The Kremlin today is paradoxically following an aggressive "realist" agenda that seeks to clearly delineate its sphere of influence in Europe and Eurasia while simultaneously attempting to promote "soft-power" and a historical-civilizational justification for its recent actions in Ukraine (and elsewhere). The result is an often perplexing amalgam of policy positions that are difficult to disentangle. The contributors to this special issue are all regional specialists based either in Europe or the United States.

Wie funktioniert universitäres Lehren und Lernen in den postkommunistischen Staaten? Was unterscheidet west- und osteuropäische Hochschullehre und -strukturen voneinander? Was erwartet westliche Gastlektoren an einer Universität der ehemaligen Sowjetunion oder Ostmitteleuropas? Was können erfahrene Lektoren in Osteuropa künftigen Gastdozenten in den Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften mit auf den Weg geben? Dieser Band ist die erste Veröffentlichung dieser Art in deutscher Sprache. Er vereinigt Berichte, Untersuchungen und lehrmethodische Anleitungen von 15 ehemaligen und derzeitigen Gastdozenten, die hier ihre Beobachtungen, Reflexionen und Ratschläge zur Lehrtätigkeit an Universitäten im ehemaligen Ostblock wiedergeben.