News

An electronic version of the article "A Troubled Return to the Homeland: Syrian Circassians in Southern Russia" has been published on the Europe-Asia Studies journal website. The article covers issues related to the migration of Syrian Circassians (Adyghe) to the Russian regions of the North Caucasus. With the outbreak of conflict in Syria, hundreds of Syrian Circassians decided to move to the Caucasus, where their ancestors lived. Since the Caucasus is perceived by the Syrian Circassians as their historical homeland, they believe that this is not just migration, but repatriation. However, the institutionalization of repatriation took a long time, since there was a risk that supporters of Daesh (the terrorist organization is banned in the Russian Federation) could ifiltrate to Russia.

At the moment, the section presents books and monographs published with the participation of CISR researchers.

The database provides a description of the revolutionary events of the 21st century including various characteristics: chronological, geographical, type of tactics of the protesters, purpose and degree of success. Also, based on the presented Database, the 'Atlas of Instability' has been made for the Afroasian (Afrasian) macrozone and for African states located to the South of the Sahel. It presents the risks of armed or non-violent revolutionary episodes for some countries from selected regions in long-term dynamics under three different scenarios - positive, inertial and negative.

The database is prepared as the part of the "Quantitative analysis and forecasting of the risks of socio-political destabilization in the countries of the Afroasian macrozone of instability" project under the support of the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 18-18-00254-P).

Students from the HSE University, St. Petersburg State University and other universities took part in the section. The presentations covered a wide range of topics, from identity and political representation to the political implications of environmental protests. Yevgeny Ivanov noted the high level of reports given there.

The South African Journal of International Relations (SAJIA) has published an article by laboratory scholars Leonid Issaev, Alisa Shishkina and Yakov Liokumovich entitled 'Perceptions of Russia's 'return' to Africa: Views from West Africa'. The article is included into the special issue covering the Russia's 'return' to Africa.

The Springer has published a new book edited by laboratory staff members Andrey Korotaev and Leonid Issaev, “New Wave of Revolutions in the MENA Region. A comparative Perspective". The book was written within the framework of a five-year project of the Russian Science Foundation "Quantitative analysis and forecasting of the risks of socio-political destabilization in the countries of the Afroasian macrozone of instability" and offers a comparative look at the new wave of revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa.

Yevgeny Ivanov, the junior researcher of the Lab, took part in the international scientific conference "Transformation of the values and norms of youth", which was held with the support of the Agency for Youth Affairs of Uzbekistan. Among the speakers there were researchers from Uzbekistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, France, and Brazil. Yevgeny Ivanov presented his report “Youth Values and Stability in Central Asia”, focusing on how changing values are associated with the processes of socio-political destabilization in the region.

Andrey Korotaev, head of the Laboratory, took part in the conference "Humanities vs Sciences & the Knowledge Accelerating in Modern World: Parallels and Interaction", organized by MIPT-Phystech.