Radical Youth, between ideology, expressivity and violence:

Comparisons around the Russian experience

International Workshop

20 – 21 October 2011, EHESS, Paris

Under the Research project “Understanding Violence in Russia: War, Institutions, Society” with the support of the City of Paris “Emergence(s) program”

Skin-heads, hooligans, extremists, are the labels usually used by the media to name radical youth not only in Russia, but also in European countries, were a radicalization of the youth, and especially the rise of extreme-right movements has been observed for several years. In Russia, the “Manezh square” demonstration of “football fans” and extreme right in front of the Kremlin in December 2011 has shed

light on the capacities of mobilization, but also on the different dimensions of these movements. Together with violence against minorities and nationalist slogans, there is an increasing hostile behavior against State authorities. But among radical youth are also all movements that were born in reaction or protestation against the ultra-rights, and movements shaped by a specific sub culture and individual identity search.

Mainly based on field research undertaken on the Russian field, and interplaying the Russian experience with cases and researches from other several European countries such as France, United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium and Poland, the international workshop “Youth, between ideology, expressivity and violence” will gather leading and young specialists of the radical youth.

We hope to be able to draw some lines of comparison (between radical expressions all over Europe including Russia. In the Russian case, the rise of Russian contemporary ultra-nationalist movement will be analysed in its social and political context and in its expression such as the riots in Kondopoga in September 2006 and Manezh Square Demonstration. But we understand youth radicality and radical movements in a broader sense, which encompasses ideology, as well as cultural and artistic expressions and a violent behaviour.

We are particularly interested in the combination of a subjective dimension (the experience of a “radical” individual) with a global dimension (the experience of such movements in several countries, the resort to physical violence, the link between age and political and social attitudes).

The participants will present research on various types of youth radicality and radical movements, whether it refers to “right” or “left” ideologies (radical nationalists, anti-racists or anarchists). The choice of a broad spectrum of movements will help to draw the lines on how to describe “radicality” and “radical movements”.

In this context, the reflection on the role and place of violence (symbolic, physical, use of weapons, etc.) in their practices and ideology will take a large place in our workshop.

The participants will also address the status of empirical research and in such a sensitive context.

The workshop will give the opportunity to analyse the attitudes of youth radical movements to politics and to State authorities, as well as the State reactions to their activities. How these movements do position themselves in relation to their society and how society perceives them? The discussion will stimulate reflection and experiences common to Russia and Europe, by highlighting common features and characteristics of institutional, political and cultural trajectories.

The workshop will be organized around three panels :

Panel I : Theories, ideologies and typology of youth radicality and radical mouvements

Panel II : The role and place of violence in the youth radical movements

Panel III : Studying empirically the youth radicality and radical movements. Fields and researcher’s experience

Venue : EHESS, 190-198 avenue de France 75013 Paris (M Quai de la Gare or Bibliothèque)

• 20 October, 13.00-19.00 : room 640 6th floor
• 21 October, 9.00-13.00room A, Ground floor

Participants:

• Philippe Bataille, Director of the  CADIS (EHESS/CNRS), France
• Alexander Bikbov, Moscow University, Centre Maurice Halbwachs (Paris), Russia
• Manuel Boucher, Laboratory for the Study and Social Researches, Rouen, CADIS, France,
• Antimo Luigi Farro, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, CADIS, ISA Research Committee 47, President, Italy
• Mischa Gabowitsch, research fellow at Einstein Forum, Potsdam, Allemagne
• Lukasz Jurczyszyn, Pultusk Academy of Humanities, CADIS, ISA RC 47, Poland
• Anne Le Huérou, FMSH, CERCEC, France
• Elena Omelchenko, director of the Centre for youth studies of the Higher School of Economics in St.Petersburg, Russia
• Hilary Pilkington, Warwick University, United Kingdom
• Geoffrey Pleyers, Louvain University, CADIS, AFS RT 21, ISA RC 47, Belgique
• Vera Nikolski, Paris 1/CESS, France
• Daniele Di Nunzio, Institute for the Economic and Social Research (IRES), Rome, Italy
• Amandine Regamey, University Paris I, CERCEC, France
• Emanuele Toscano, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, CADIS, ISA RC47, Italy
• Alexander Verhovsky, Director, Centre for Information and Analysis “SOVA”, Moscow, Russia
• Michel Wieviorka, FMSH Administrator, CADIS