Papers by Iacopo Adda
Europe-Asia Studies
History museums, their narratives of a nation’s past and their construction of collective memory ... more History museums, their narratives of a nation’s past and their construction of collective memory are important but oft-neglected dimensions in international relations analyses. This article examines three border history museums on the Chinese side of the formerly contested Sino–Russian frontier. It argues that their nationalist representations of Sino–Russian history challenge assessments of the recent level of rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing on the international stage and the robustness of a possible future alliance or semi-alliance. Hence, this article raises the question of the role of historical memory in the evolution of the Sino–Russian partnership since the fall of the USSR.
Europe-Asia Studies, 2022
History museums, their narratives of a nation’s past and their construction of collective memory ... more History museums, their narratives of a nation’s past and their construction of collective memory are important
but oft-neglected dimensions in international relations analyses. This article examines three border history museums on the Chinese side of the formerly contested Sino–Russian frontier. It argues that their nationalist representations of Sino–Russian history challenge assessments of the recent level of rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing on the international stage and the robustness of a possible future alliance or semi-alliance. Hence, this article raises the question of the role of historical memory in the evolution of the Sino–Russian partnership since the fall of the USSR.
Eurasian Geography and Economics, 2021
Since the fall of the USSR, Sino-Russian relations have evolved along a paradoxical dichotomy of ... more Since the fall of the USSR, Sino-Russian relations have evolved along a paradoxical dichotomy of friendship and mistrust. Experts have widely discussed this phenomenon, but little attention has been paid to historical narratives. Border regions of the Russian Far East are places where memories of a conflicting Imperial past coexist with more recently developed friendly narratives of cooperation and “bon voisinage”. Exhibitions in history museums are interesting objects of study in this context. They selectively display historical contents to visitors and convey a political interpretation of the past. This paper explores the significance of the representations of history in Russian border museums, and that of the Nerchinsk Treaty, within the framework of contemporary Sino-Russian relations. This analysis reveals contradictory elements related to the historical narratives of the history museums of Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Chita and Nerchinsk. On the one hand, it detects a desire to portray a history in a way that expunges elements of contestation and smooths over highly controversial facts. On the other hand, national discourses cannot completely renounce particularistic narratives or obliterate elements of pride considered to be founding elements of Russia’s past. The persistence of tensions triggered by the interpretation of history is then revealed.
Apres des decennies d’indifference substantielle, la Russie et le monde entier sont en train de r... more Apres des decennies d’indifference substantielle, la Russie et le monde entier sont en train de redecouvrir l’importance de la Russie orientale et, en particulier, de ses territoires les plus eloignes des centres du pouvoir classiques de ce pays, l’Extreme-Orient. Le developpement de ces regions est devenu en quelques annees un imperatif politique de l’elite dirigeante russe. Neanmoins, cette tâche est tres complexe a realiser d’un point de vue structurel et est extremement couteuse d’un point de vue economique. Les questions en jeu sont nombreuses : geopolitiques, economiques, diplomatiques, demographiques, energetiques, sociales et militaires. Dans ce memoire il s’agira donc d’examiner les perspectives de developpement de la Russie orientale (et en particulier de l’Extreme-Orient) au sein de la region de l’Asie-Pacifique, les obstacles qui pourraient empecher leur realisation, les atouts que cette region peut offrir a Moscou, les risques qui pourraient surgir dans le cas ou les pl...
Connexe : les espaces postcommunistes en question(s)
Connexe : les espaces postcommunistes en question(s)
Imperial & Global Forum, 2020
See the website, it is open access.
Eurasian Geography and Economics, 2020
Since the fall of the USSR, Sino-Russian relations have evolved along a paradoxical dichotomy of ... more Since the fall of the USSR, Sino-Russian relations have evolved along a paradoxical dichotomy of friendship and mistrust. Experts have widely discussed this phenomenon, but little attention has been paid to historical narratives. Border regions of the Russian Far East are places where memories of a conflicting Imperial past coexist with more recently developed friendly narratives of cooperation and “bon voisinage”. Exhibitions in history museums are interesting objects of study in this context. They selectively display historical contents to visitors and convey a political interpretation of the past. This paper explores the significance of the representations of history in Russian border museums, and that of the Nerchinsk Treaty, within the framework of contemporary Sino-Russian relations. This analysis reveals contradictory elements related to the historical narratives of the history museums of Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Chita and Nerchinsk. On the one hand, it detects a desire to portray a history in a way that expunges elements of contestation and smooths over highly controversial facts. On the other hand, national discourses cannot completely renounce particularistic narratives or obliterate elements of pride considered to be founding elements of Russia’s past. The persistence of tensions triggered by the interpretation of history is then revealed.
The main research question investigated in this paper is the following: will a post-NATO world em... more The main research question investigated in this paper is the following: will a post-NATO world emerge during the next decades? The relevance of such a question is a consequence of the political and economic changes that have seen the light as a result of the power shift of international relations after the end of the Cold War. In spite of this, some contradictory tendencies, such as the weakening of the European pole within the NATO block, the US-NATO enlargement and its military aggressiveness, are generating a number of significant obstacles to the emergence of a post-NATO world. We will argue that the existence of these obstacles could be interpreted as some steps toward the historical downsizing of the US-EU-NATO hegemony. A ''post-NATO'' world does not necessarily imply the end of NATO, but rather the end of its hegemonic military presence on the global stage. Firstly, we will put the question into context mentioning the debates around NATO's future and underlining the path undertaken by the Alliance in the frame of the redefinition of the aims of its ''strategic concepts''. In this perspective, we will underline the direct link which exists between US strategic needs and NATO's evolution in the post-Cold war era. Secondly, we will argue that the recent process of military expansionism led by NATO is remarkably de-legitimizing its actions on the global stage. Such a process, along with the current world system shift toward the end of unipolarity, is likely to provoke dramatic consequences in terms of international insecurity and the spreading of war. Thirdly, we will briefly compare the US and Chinese foreign actions, arguing that the space of international legitimacy is radically changing. This fact represents another brick supporting the idea of the emergence of a post-NATO world system in the future of international relations.
Après des décennies d'indifférence substantielle, la Russie et le monde entier sont en train de r... more Après des décennies d'indifférence substantielle, la Russie et le monde entier sont en train de redécouvrir l'importance de la Russie orientale et, en particulier, de ses territoires les plus éloignés des centres du pouvoir classiques de ce pays, l'Extrême-Orient. Le développement de ces régions est devenu en quelques années un impératif politique de l'élite dirigeante russe. Néanmoins, cette tâche est très complexe à réaliser d'un point de vue structurel et est extrêmement coûteuse d'un point de vue économique. Les questions en jeu sont nombreuses : géopolitiques, économiques, diplomatiques, démographiques, énergétiques, sociales et militaires. Il s'agira donc d'examiner les perspectives de développement de la Russie orientale (et en particulier de l'Extrême-Orient) au sein de la région de l'Asie-Pacifique, les obstacles qui pourraient empêcher leur réalisation, les atouts que cette région peut offrir à Moscou, les risques qui pourraient surgir dans le cas où les plans du Kremlin devaient échouer, les stratégies géopolitiques que le gouvernement semble vouloir mettre en pratique ainsi que les attentes et les nécessités des populations locales.
The main research question investigated in this paper is the following: will a post-NATO world em... more The main research question investigated in this paper is the following: will a post-NATO world emerge during the next decades? The relevance of such a question is a consequence of the political and economic changes that have seen the light as a result of the power shift of international relations after the end of the Cold War. In spite of this, some contradictory tendencies, such as the weakening of the European pole within the NATO block, the US-NATO enlargement and its military aggressiveness, are generating a number of signicant obstacles to the emergence of a post-NATO world. We will argue that the existence of these obstacles could be interpreted as some steps toward the historical downsizing of the US-EU-NATO hegemony. A ''post-NATO'' world does not necessarily imply the end of NATO, but rather the end of its hegemonic military presence on the global stage. Firstly, we will put the question into context mentioning the debates around NATO's future and underlining the path undertaken by the Alliance in the frame of the redefinition of the aims of its ''strategic concepts''. In this perspective, we will underline the direct link which exists between US strategic needs and NATO's evolution in the post-Cold war era. Secondly, we will argue that the recent process of military expansionism led by NATO is remarkably de-legitimizing its actions on the global stage. Such a process, along with the current world system shift toward the end of unipolarity, is likely to provoke dramatic consequences in terms of international insecurity and the spreading of war. Thirdly, we will briefly compare the US and Chinese foreign actions, arguing that the space of international legitimacy is radically changing. This fact represents another brick supporting the idea of the emergence of a post-NATO world system in the future of international relations.
Book Reviews by Iacopo Adda
Connexe, les espaces postcommunistes en question(?), 2017
Rivista Geografica Italiana, 2017
del 1991 è stato spesso sottovalutato in Russia. La tesi uffi ciale di Mosca è anzi che "in Ucrai... more del 1991 è stato spesso sottovalutato in Russia. La tesi uffi ciale di Mosca è anzi che "in Ucraina sia in atto una sistematica operazione antirussa, iniziata con "rivoluzione arancione" del 2004, ripresa con la rivolta di Maidan del 2013, preparata e pilotata da agenti segreti occidentali (Usa)". Mentre dagli Usa, Brzesinksi -"il più accanito russofobo occidentale" -sostiene che le ambizioni neoimperiali della Russia non possono realizzarsi senza l'Ucraina e dunque è qui che si deve agire per impedirle. In risposta al quale Korovin, allievo del geopolitico Dugin, già dal 2008 proponeva la "linea di Stalin", ossia una spartizione dell'Ucraina che trascenda l'annessione della Crimea del 2014.
Connexe - Les espaces postcommunistes en question(s) N. 4, 2018
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Papers by Iacopo Adda
but oft-neglected dimensions in international relations analyses. This article examines three border history museums on the Chinese side of the formerly contested Sino–Russian frontier. It argues that their nationalist representations of Sino–Russian history challenge assessments of the recent level of rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing on the international stage and the robustness of a possible future alliance or semi-alliance. Hence, this article raises the question of the role of historical memory in the evolution of the Sino–Russian partnership since the fall of the USSR.
Book Reviews by Iacopo Adda
but oft-neglected dimensions in international relations analyses. This article examines three border history museums on the Chinese side of the formerly contested Sino–Russian frontier. It argues that their nationalist representations of Sino–Russian history challenge assessments of the recent level of rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing on the international stage and the robustness of a possible future alliance or semi-alliance. Hence, this article raises the question of the role of historical memory in the evolution of the Sino–Russian partnership since the fall of the USSR.