Grateful to Vera Tolz and the @m-deceit.bsky.social project for hosting my talk today on Russian media portrayals of international sanctions. Great to be back among the worker bees in Manchester!

Look, I know that William Gibson wrote Neuromancer before he even owned a computer, but I kinda feel like the inability to manage powerpoint slides should disqualify you from making authoritative statements on information warfare.

This article explores the ethical and practical challenges of conducting long-term ethnographic fieldwork in conflict zones in an era of widespread smartphone and social media use. It argues that digital technology not only transforms methodological approaches but also reshapes the nature of war itself. Drawing on insights from fieldwork in various conflict zones, including Somalia, Ukraine, and South Sudan, it asks: How does rapidly acquired digital connectivity change the way we conceptualize, approach, and conduct fieldwork in conflict zones? When smartphones are both research tools and potential weapons of war (Ford and Hoskins 2022), how can we use them ethically? Reflecting on three online/offline complexities of the author’s fieldwork experiences in Somalia/Somaliland in 2021, the article suggests that participative warfare and digital research methodologies are intertwined, driven by the proliferation of connected devices. Practical, ethical, and security concerns arise from this intersection. First, researchers may become direct participants in war, whether physically present or not. Second, there is limited awareness of the security risks posed by technology, especially given the rise of mis- and disinformation in conflict settings. Finally, since the traditional notion of the “field” has collapsed, making us potentially reachable anywhere and at any time, we need to reconsider how we establish temporal boundaries to ensure safe and sustainable research practices. The article concludes that researchers must navigate a blended field of offline and online phenomena, underscoring the need to safeguard in-person fieldwork while allowing sufficient time to engage with the digital realm.

New in Advance Articles:

We Are All Netnographers Now? Fieldwork in an Age of Participatory Warfare
by Jethro Norman

doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

"As Paul Goode, a professor at Carleton University and yet another guardian of Western liberal ideology, noted in a comment to The Guardian"

Making waves on the official website of the Republic of Belarus.

ICYMI

Look me up if you want to chat at BASEES about publishing your research in CPCS!

This article focuses on the opportunities for allowing protests in contemporary Russia despite military censorship and a ban on any public action or criticism of the ongoing war against Ukraine. The research analyzes the tactics of the women’s activism that were used on Red Square in November 2023, demanding the return of their mobilized relatives. The study shows how women activists manage risks, declare demands, and avoid detention while interacting with police and officials of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF). Through the analysis of framing perspective, the study examines the demonstration and interactions in the community’s blog. Findings indicate that the actualization of several specific framings in the movement’s action—including appropriation of the KPRF’s rhetoric and self-representation as responsible and patriotic soldiers’ wives with minor support from the KPRF—presents a space for protest in Russia’s closed political system.

Recently published:

The Defending “Defenders”: Framing Public Actions in Contemporary Russian Political Opportunity Structures
by Marina Bezenkova

Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This article examines the evolving identities and solidarity among Russia’s anti-war movement, particularly focusing on the convergence between feminist and decolonial activism. Using the Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAR) and ethnic or decolonial activists as case studies, the research highlights how solidarity influences the activists’ understanding of their objectives, reshapes identities, and introduces new grassroots coalitions. In the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine, these interactions challenge traditional boundaries between movements and foster a growing solidarity. The study draws on diverse data sources, including interviews with FAR activists, interviews with ethnic/decolonial activists, and online ethnography, to explore how discursive shifts, particularly regarding ethnic discrimination and intersectionality, redefine activist identity and solidarity. The study provides a comprehensive understanding of the convergence of decolonial activism and feminism in the context of the war against Ukraine. By analyzing these changes, the article contributes to a deeper understanding of how activist identities and alliances evolve under authoritarian conditions, providing insight into the broader dynamics of civil resistance and identity politics.

Recently published:

Transformations in Russian Activism: Navigating Identity and Solidarity in Russia’s Anti-War Movement
by Vlada Baranova

Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

This is a very stubborn myth, indeed, despite a lot of insightful and nuanced scholarship produced over the last couple of years covering the efforts of war-induced migrants in Europe and elsewhere. I work with one such group in Canada and their energy is not matched by their visibility.

One of Schulmann's more interesting observations from yesterday: Belarus is now freer than Russia in terms of access to information.

Ekaterina Schulmann and Maksim Kurnikov, recording today’s episode of “Status” live in Ottawa!

Russia's school propaganda was highlighted by Oscar-winning film - but does it work? The messages are clear: the full-scale invasion is a defensive war and patriotism means unquestionable loyalty.

English version: www.bbc.com/news/article...

Фильм Таланкина о патриотическом воспитании получил «Оскар». Но работает ли пропаганда в школах? - BBC News Русская служба В фильме «Господин Никто против Путина», основанном на съемках уроков «патриотического воспитания» в провинциальной школе, показана картина милитаризации российского образования при кажущемся равнодуш...

Happy to have contributed to this BBC story examining patriotic education in Russia, following on the success of Talankin's Oscar-winning documentary "Mr Nobody Against Putin." Linking to the more substantial Russian version (English version is linked in the next post):
www.bbc.com/russian/arti...

Finally officially published 🔆Open Access🔆: my article on the normalizing of war and occupation on Russian television in @nationalitiesp.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1017/nps....

If only someone studied these kinds of questions...

Our special issue explores the roots, strategies, and frames that shaped women’s activism contesting Russia’s war in Ukraine. This introductory article places gendered anti-war activism in the context of the late Soviet and post-Soviet periods. This approach highlights critical changes that have occurred in Russian politics and society in the past two decades. On the one hand, we observe the rise of a new grassroots feminism and increased women’s activism, as well as the rise of horizontal protest organizations that effectively relied on new media as a tool of mobilization. On the other hand, we observe a profound change in the regimes’ repressive response to all types of wartime activism and growing societal quiescence in the face of state actions against soldiers’ wives and mothers. We conclude with a discussion of the articles included in the special issue, to highlight the debates and contributions that emerged across different approaches and empirical lenses.

Recently published:

Introduction: New Research on Russian Women’s Anti-War Activism after February 2022
by: Regina Smyth & Veronica Kostenko

Free access for one week: doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...

A fantastic collection of articles in this issue!

I suppose blaming the regions means Putin was less shocked by the scale of theft in the center.

The science says that White House is unlikely to benefit from a rally-around-the-flag effect, nor is this likely to work as a diversionary war. And, as we all know, the Trump administration is all about the science.

oxfordre.com/politics/dis...

No immediate threat to national security.
No congressional authorization.
No constitution.

The Trump administration has become the greatest force for the spread of nuclear weapons. Near threshold adversaries now must get them to prevent an attack a la North Korea.
America's "allies" need them since the nuclear umbrella is now in tatters.l

A process begun already in 2014 with the state takeover of the Perm-36 gulag museum and its conversion into a museum honoring the prison guards.

I interviewed the original directors of Perm-36 as well as the advisor for its replacement and wrote about it here:

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Happening tomorrow! Still time to register.

Well that was fun. Bluesky is pretty much X now with a coat of paint.

Here we go. Pro-fascism accusations incoming.

Nope. It was absolutely infuriating.

As far as I recall, the GOP blocked prosecution for impeachment and there were at least four different suits against Trump for a variety of charges in New York and Georgia.

This you?

The felon is in office and pardoned all the J6ers. How's that working out?

bold, practical solutions from anonymous internet person who disabled quote posts