Everyday Foreign Policy: Performing and Consuming the Russian Nation After Crimea

(Hardback)

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While everyday high level practices have become an important area of study, the everyday of the every(wo)man has been overlooked both in theoretical and empirical conceptualisations.

Building on feminist, sociological, and ethnographic research, this book argues that everyday foreign policy is an assemblage a combination of physical and cultural practices that inhabit digital and bodily spaces. Following the feminist call to liberate international relations from the straitjacket of high politics, this book contextualizes foreign policy within daily practices of regular citizens, who also have their own motivation behind reposting memes, eating a certain kind of cheese or shaming women for their dating preferences. This book focuses on Russian grass roots foreign policy after the annexation of Crimea, zeroing in on fetishisation of Putin, militarization, sanctions, Russian-Turkish and Russian-American relations, FIFA World Cup and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reviews

'Gaufmans witty and engaging study of Russian patriotic identity practices on and off the Internet is a treasure trove of invaluable insights. If you want to understand the countrys political and everyday culture since its first invasion of Ukraine, this is a great place to start.'
Eliot Borenstein, Professor of Russian and Slavic Studies, New York University

'Gaufman reminds us of the power of the everyday, including when discussing international affairs. Her granular approach to micro-practices and discourses offers a rare window into the way Russians view and practise foreign policy. A must-read book to reshape our knowledge of Russia and capture the roots of the current crisis.'
Marlene Laruelle, The George Washington University

'Gaufman's book is a timely and compelling account of the myriad ways that Russians extend and embody Russia's foreign policy through their everyday practices. The book takes readers on a whirlwind tour of patriotic consumption (buying and eating), manifestations of societal militarization, popular support for food sanctions, canceling of family vacations in Turkey, embracing of Trump's conspiratorial vision of the American establishment and international order, policing of the conjugal order at the World Cup, and panic buying during the Covid-19 pandemic. By focusing on the everyday, the book complements existing works that frame Russia's foreign policy as imperialist, an extension of Putin's authoritarian rule, or a product of memory politics. At a time when the world struggles to understand Russian identity in relation to the war in Ukraine, Gaufman provides essential context and insight. For scholars and students, the book further presents an important theoretical intervention in deftly weaving together the growing bodies of research on international practices and everyday nationalism.'
Paul Goode, McMillan Chair in Russian Studies, Carleton University

Author Bio

Elizaveta Gaufman is Assistant Professor of Russian Discourse and Politics at the University of Groningen