A University of Oklahoma political science professor has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to examine the ways daily patriotic and nationalist practices translate into support for and legitimacy of the Russian regime. The Fulbright Scholar Program sponsors U.S. and foreign participants for exchanges in all areas of endeavor and continues to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
Paul Goode, associate professor and director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Political Science, OU College of Arts and Sciences, also directs the newly established OU Center for the Study of Nationalism. Goode plans to travel to Tyumen, Russia, in July to conduct research that will include ethnographic observation, interviews with political parties and marketing firms, and focus groups with a variety of Russian citizens. He partnered with Tyumen State University to observe the popular demand for nationalism and the methods used to deliver nationalist messages into the private lives of Russian citizens.
Goode chose Tyumen in Western Siberia as the site for this research to better understand how patriotism and nationalism work among "ordinary" Russians outside of Moscow. This topic was growing in importance a year ago but has more significance in the wake of Russia's response to the regime change in the Ukraine, said Goode. Understanding the role of patriotism and nationalism in cultivating regime legitimacy—or its role in any political transformation—is critical for understanding the potential for developing, and the limits to, areas of cooperation in U.S. and Russian foreign policies, he said.
By examining the intersection between regime legitimacy, patriotism and nationhood in the form of the Russian citizens' daily practices, Goode seeks to connect insights from political science on the politics of hybrid regimes with the emerging body of work on "everyday nationalism." The findings of this research will be published in a book-length manuscript and in collaboration with Russian scholars in peer-reviewed journal articles. For more information about Goode's research, please contact him at paulgoode@ou.edu .