Erica Marat - Böcker

There is a Russian saying that "police mirror society." The gist of this is that every society is policed to the extent that it allows itself to be policed. Centralized in control but decentralized in their reach, the police are remarkably similar in structure, chain of command, and their relationships with the political elite across post-Soviet nations--they also remain one of the least reformed post-communist institutions. As a powerful state organ, the Soviet-style militarized police have resisted change despite democratic transformations in the overall political context, including rounds of competitive elections and growing civil society. While consensus between citizens and the state about reform may be possible in democratic nations, it is considerably more difficult to achieve in authoritarian states. Across post-Soviet countries, such discussions most often occur between political elites and powerful non-state actors, such as criminal syndicates and nationalistic ethnic groups, rather than the wider citizenry. Even in countries where one or more rounds of democratic elections have taken place since 1991, empowered citizens and politicians have not renegotiated the way states police and coerce society. On the contrary, in many post-Soviet countries, police functions have expanded to serve the interests of the ruling political elites. What does it take to reform a post-Soviet police force? This book explores the conditions in which a meaningful transformation of the police is likely to succeed and when it will fail. Departing from the conventional interpretation of the police as merely an institution of coercion, this book defines it as a medium for state-society consensus on the limits of the state's legitimate use of violence. It thus considers policing not as a way to measure the state's capacity to coerce society, but rather as a reflection of a complex society bound together by a web of casual interactions and political structures. The book compares reform efforts in Ukraine, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, finding that bottom-up public mobilization is likely to emerge in the aftermath of transformative violence--an incident when the usual patterns of policing are interrupted with unprecedented brutality against vulnerable individuals. Ultimately, The Politics of Police Reform examines the various pathways to transforming how the state relates to society through policing.

In patterns of violence across the world, some victims attract strong public support and propel historic levels of collective action, but the vast majority suffer in silence. Why are some violent acts more galvanizing than others?In Transformative Violence, Erica Marat examines the mobilization following the gang rape of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi in 2012 and the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico in 2014 to explain how certain violent acts can trigger unprecedented levels of mobilization in defense of the victims. While such events--transformative violence--emerge from complex networks of causal mechanisms, they all draw sharp moral contrasts between the typical victims and repressors in a society. More specifically, Marat shows that cases of violence that spark large public reaction share a similar set of traits. They include mobilization of both grassroots and national-level activists, a type of victim that resonates with the broader public, and a visual narrative of the victim's suffering. While all three occur independently, it is the union of these events that captures the attention of the public at large, prompts it to act, and eventually leads to policy changes. If any of these three events are missing, the chances that an act of violence will be transformative diminishes as well.Marat also identifies patterns of violence in societies and incidents of civic activism before and after events of transformative violence. By understanding the factors leading to social mobilization in the name of specific victims, we can explain what social structures, processes, and institutions move the political realm toward more inclusive representation. Transformative Violence thus explores the dynamics of violence in the contemporary world--how a society interconnected by vibrant conversations and instant visuals rises against structural violence.

The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia offers the first comprehensive, cross-disciplinary overview of key issues in Central Asian studies. The 30 chapters by leading and emerging scholars summarise major findings in the field and highlight long-term trends, recent observations and future developments in the region. The handbook features case studies of all five Central Asian republics and is organised thematically in seven sections:HistoryPoliticsGeographyInternational RelationsPolitical EconomySociety and CultureReligionAn essential cross-disciplinary reference work, the handbook offers an accessible and easyto- understand guide to the core issues permeating the region to enable readers to grasp the fundamental challenges, transformations and themes in contemporary Central Asia. It will be of interest to researchers, academics and students of the region and those working in the field of Area Studies, History, Anthropology, Politics and International Relations.Chapter 23 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

The military played a pivotal role in the political development, state functions, foreign policy and the daily lives of the people in the Central Asian states from the early twentieth century until the present. This book is the first major, in-depth study of the military institutions in Central Asian states. It examines their hidden story, the different stages of their development from the early twentieth century until the present, and the influence they had on the state and society. It effectively combines history, sociology of the military and political science and provides deeper insights into how recently formed states function. By concentrating extensively on the military, this book is an important and a timely contribution to a wide range of disciplines including Central Asian studies, and post-colonial state and nation-building studies.

The military played a pivotal role in the political development, state functions, foreign policy and the daily lives of the people in the Central Asian states from the early twentieth century until the present. This book is the first major, in-depth study of the military institutions in Central Asian states. It examines their hidden story, the different stages of their development from the early twentieth century until the present, and the influence they had on the state and society. It effectively combines history, sociology of the military and political science and provides deeper insights into how recently formed states function. By concentrating extensively on the military, this book is an important and a timely contribution to a wide range of disciplines including Central Asian studies, and post-colonial state and nation-building studies.

A consequential shift is taking place in Central Asian studies today. What started as a slow rejection of the idea that the region benefited from Soviet control has turned into a decentralized, collective effort to revise the region's relationship to its colonial identity and to search for indigenous interpretations of the self. This Element explores the current decolonial disruptions in Central Asia-how the region is being redefined by its inhabitants, both in discourse and in practice. It captures the main areas of activism in memory studies, language activism, art installations, and transnational solidarity networks. Decolonial discussions are gaining traction, challenging political elites' hegemony over national identity formation. Such changes harbour the potential to profoundly alter Russia's influence in the areas it once controlled. Decolonial disruptions are reshaping how Central Asians think about their past and imagine their future.

A consequential shift is taking place in Central Asian studies today. What started as a slow rejection of the idea that the region benefited from Soviet control has turned into a decentralized, collective effort to revise the region's relationship to its colonial identity and to search for indigenous interpretations of the self. This Element explores the current decolonial disruptions in Central Asia-how the region is being redefined by its inhabitants, both in discourse and in practice. It captures the main areas of activism in memory studies, language activism, art installations, and transnational solidarity networks. Decolonial discussions are gaining traction, challenging political elites' hegemony over national identity formation. Such changes harbour the potential to profoundly alter Russia's influence in the areas it once controlled. Decolonial disruptions are reshaping how Central Asians think about their past and imagine their future.

The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia offers the first comprehensive, cross-disciplinary overview of key issues in Central Asian studies. The 30 chapters by leading and emerging scholars summarise major findings in the field and highlight long-term trends, recent observations and future developments in the region. The handbook features case studies of all five Central Asian republics and is organised thematically in seven sections:HistoryPoliticsGeographyInternational RelationsPolitical EconomySociety and CultureReligionAn essential cross-disciplinary reference work, the handbook offers an accessible and easyto- understand guide to the core issues permeating the region to enable readers to grasp the fundamental challenges, transformations and themes in contemporary Central Asia. It will be of interest to researchers, academics and students of the region and those working in the field of Area Studies, History, Anthropology, Politics and International Relations.Chapter 23 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

What role does law play in post-communist societies? This book examines the law as a social institution in Eurasia, exploring how it is shaped in everyday interactions between state and society, organisations and individuals, and between law enforcement and other government entities. It bridges the gap between theoretically rich work on law-in-action and the empirical reality of Eurasia.The contributions in this volume include research on policing, the legal profession, public attitudes towards law, regime support and oppositional mobilisation, crime policy, and property rights, among others. The studies shift away from the common perception that, in Eurasia, the law exists only as a tool for the state to enforce order and suppress dissent. Instead, they show, through empirical analyses, that citizens evade, use, reinterpret and shape the law even in authoritarian contexts—sometimes containing state violence and challenging the regime, and other times reinforcing state capture from below.The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Europe-Asia Studies.

What role does law play in post-communist societies? This book examines the law as a social institution in Eurasia, exploring how it is shaped in everyday interactions between state and society, organisations and individuals, and between law enforcement and other government entities. It bridges the gap between theoretically rich work on law-in-action and the empirical reality of Eurasia.The contributions in this volume include research on policing, the legal profession, public attitudes towards law, regime support and oppositional mobilisation, crime policy, and property rights, among others. The studies shift away from the common perception that, in Eurasia, the law exists only as a tool for the state to enforce order and suppress dissent. Instead, they show, through empirical analyses, that citizens evade, use, reinterpret and shape the law even in authoritarian contexts—sometimes containing state violence and challenging the regime, and other times reinforcing state capture from below.The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Europe-Asia Studies.

Centering diverse contributions written by scholars from the regions themselves – many of whom represent a new generation born after the Soviet collapse – this edited volume presents one of the most comprehensive studies of Central Asia and the South Caucasus to date.The book’s dual-regional scope is unique: by examining Central Asia and the South Caucasus side by side, the volume enables comparative insights into how different societies grapple with shared legacies of empire, contested borders, energy economies, religion, migration, and environmental crises. The first part of the volume provides in-depth country profiles that blend history, political analysis, and social dynamics, while the second part analyzes thematic issues ranging from the role of social media and grassroots activism to the role of religion in everyday lives and environmental degradation. Chapters introduce fresh approaches to understanding historical trajectories, authoritarian resilience, social movements, and decolonial debates. The volume also interrogates Russia’s ongoing influence, China’s rising role, and the regions’ complex positioning between East and West.The collection offers an indispensable resource for students, policymakers, and academics seeking to understand the evolving politics, societies, and identities of these neighboring regions.