Central Eurasia

What Is and What Should Be:
Sociology of Studying Russia in the U.S.

ABSTRACT
The article examines the process of knowledge formation about Russia in American academia since the end of the Cold War. The article’s hypothesis is that knowledge formation largely reflects
the social and national and cultural conditions of the country and its research community. Although many scholars strive for objectivity and ethical detachment from the object of their research, they most often approach its study from positions that reflect and project the interests and values of the societies in which they work. This hypothesis is formulated within the framework
of the sociological approach to knowledge formation undertaken in the article, which involves understanding the conditions of its formation and the social demands that it meets. American
knowledge about Russia, which they have long viewed and continue to view as a threat and challenge to the interests and values of the United States, bears the stamp of national assumptions,
preferences, beliefs, and emotions. In studying reality, they are far from always able to free themselves from the American understanding of what should be, projecting into their research
how, in their opinion, Russia should develop. Since the second half of the 2000s, this gap has been widening. Compared to the Cold War, knowledge about Russia in America has lost its former
status of priority and privilege, and has become more politicized, especially in matters affecting international security and the politics of values. In addition, this knowledge has been integrated
into generally accepted theories of international relations and comparative politics in the West. These changes refl ect Russia’s declining status in the international hierarchy compared to the United States and the growing conviction of American social scientists in the universal validity of their approaches and theories. Contemporary Russia is increasingly perceived as developing in the wrong direction, threatening Western “liberal democratic” values and security, and, with its desire to be an “empire,” the very structures of modern society. Although not all American researchers share such concepts and theories, the latter express the mood of the mainstream in both politics and science. The fi nal part sums up the results and discusses the possibilities of forming less biased and
ideologically loaded knowledge about Russia. Approaches to obtaining such knowledge in the United States exist, although they do not dominate.

www.interanalytics.org

Подвели итоги цикла публикаций из пяти книг на основе междисциплинарных исследований по тематике "Взаимоотношения стран Центральной Азии с Россией и Китаем".

Have summarized the results of a series of publications comprising five books based on interdisciplinary research on "Relations of the Central Asian countries with Russia and China".

Glenn Diesen Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

Опубликована очередная моя книга:

В.В. Парамонов. Россия и Китай в контексте безопасности Центральной Азии: взгляд из Узбекистана / В.В. Парамонов. – Ташкент, 2024. – 212 с. (V.V. Paramonov. Russia and China in the Context of Central Asian Security: A View from Uzbekistan / V.V. Paramonov. - Tashkent, 2024. - 212 p.).

1. Тема говорит сама за себя, весьма актуальная. Обложка книги дизайнерская, довольно точно отражает общий смысл за что особая признательность дизайнеру, который много работал над ней.

2. Как и в случае других моих книг, печатные версии этой монографии (а их осталось уже менее 50) будут передаваться преимущественно в библиотеки партнерских организаций и распространяться в ходе моего участия в различных зарубежных научных мероприятиях: конференциях, семинарах и т.п.

3. Как и прежде готов рассмотреть различные варианты организации моих выступлений на вышеуказанных научных мероприятиях, а также варианты чтения лекций, проведения учебных занятий по тематике.

4. Электронные версии книги предназначены для свободного и широкого распространения. Тем не менее принял решение расширять доступ к электронной версии книги постепенно:
-в начале лишь для круга специалистов, заинтересованных и неравнодушных;
-уже потом - для всех остальных.

5. Все заинтересованные в ознакомлении с монографией могут направить мне соответствующий запрос. Во-первых, делаю это так для того, чтобы понять интерес к теме, во-вторых, чтобы расширить контакты в экспертной среде, особенно среди начинающих исследователей и, в-третьих, чтобы найти учеников, готовых к развитию этого исследования.

6. Как и в случае с моими другими публикациями, выражаю заинтересованность в дальнейшем продолжении этого исследования в соавторстве:
-за счет поддержки персональных исследований других экспертов и ученых по этой теме (магистерские, кандидатские / PhD, докторские / DSc диссертации);
-за счет доработки книги под моим руководством и ее дальнейшей публикации;
-за счет творческого и профессионального перевода книги на другие языки, ее последующей публикации;
-за счет запуска исследовательских и других проектов на базе данного исследования.
Рассмотрю любые предложения по сотрудничеству.

7. В целом, как и ранее, выражаю заинтересованность в развитии знаний, проектов и исследований по тематике данной публикации и другим тематикам, уже затронутых в моих постах.

Speaking with a founder and director of the analytical group of Central Eurasia Project, advisor of the director at center on the contemporary History of Uzbekistan, he told Sputnik India that the development of any transport infrastructure is a positive factor for the economically and geographically land-locked countries of Central Asia.

“The project you have outlined is part of the North-South transport corridor, which is supported by Russia and is well connected to the Russian transport infrastructure. I believe the projected railway will take a very long time to implement and build,” Vladimir Paramonov, said.

He further said that it would be more effective to simultaneously use the railway section through Uzbekistan's participation in the project more generally. Moreover, Uzbekistan has valuable experience in extending the Termez-Mazar-i-Sharif railway to Herat and is very interested in developing transport links between Central and South Asia.

Central Asian Connectivity: Nations Join Hands For Transport Corridor Projects Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister, Serik Zhumangarin, on Tuesday, announced that the country is prepared to supply the necessary equipment and tools for constructing the railway line between the land ports of Torghandi in Herat and...

- John J. Mearsheimer: "Diesen has written a terrific book about the emerging world order... A must read for anyone who wants to understand the great shift in the global distribution of power that is taking place before our eyes"
- Ambassador Chas Freeman (Former U.S. assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs): "A most thoughtful and realistic account of the evolution of the world order"
- Jack Matlock (Former US ambassador to the Soviet Union): “Brilliant, in-depth analysis of the roots of the Ukraine war and the emerging changes in the world order.”
- Sergey Karaganov (advisor to President Putin): "A must read to understand the complexity of the Ukraine War as a historical inflection point"
- Ray McGovern (former CIA presidential briefer): “What luck! Professor Diesen takes the role of Christopher, patron saint of travelers, as we stumble across the threshold into 2024 – a truly liminal year. With laudable candor, Diesen presents little-known facts – on Ukraine, for example – showing how we arrived at this dangerous juncture. If facts lead to action, we may yet survive the demise of the tottering hegemon of the West.”
- Richard Sakwa: "A corrective to mainstream Western narratives, providing a powerful conceptual framework for critique. A brilliant foundational work"
- Clare Daly (MEP): “A superb book! Diesen dismantles the war propaganda and outlines why the Ukraine War is a symptom of a collapsing world order"
- Alastair Crooke (diplomat & MI6): “An important read. Important insights – as we need to face up to the unwelcome task of challenging our own preconceptions and having to navigate in an unfamiliar (non-western) landscape – where old steady handholds simply – are no longer present. No longer there.”

In Afghanistan’s crowded scene of actors and accomplices, the United Nations has been an enduring and prominent presence. However, it has successfully insulated itself from public scrutiny and accountability. Its decision to exclude Afghan women and civil society representatives from the just concluded Doha conference, the third such meeting the U.N. has sponsored, may become a blessing in disguise by finally removing the facade of respectability, moral authority and competency from the U.N.

The U.N.’s role in the decades-long Afghan conflict is as old as the conflict itself. Just a few days after the Soviet Army’s occupation of Afghanistan, the U.N. Security Council issued its first resolution related to the country (No. 46) on January 9, 1980. Thereafter, Afghanistan has competed with Arab-Israeli conflicts on the number of related U.N. interventions, resolutions, and initiatives.

The UN’s Capitulation to the Taliban For decades, the United Nations has failed Afghanistan.