Russia Against Modernity

Alexander Etkind (Central European University, Vienna)

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English

Polity Press
11 July 2023

History; Politics & government

Putin’s war is a “special operation” against modernity. The invasion has been directed against Ukraine, but the war has a broader target: the modern world of climate awareness, energy transition and digital labor. By trading oil and gas, promoting Trump and Brexit, spreading corruption, boosting inequality and homophobia, subsidizing far-right movements and destroying Ukraine, Putin’s clique aims at suppressing the ongoing transformation of modern societies.

Alexander Etkind distinguishes between Russia’s pompous, weaponized paleomodernity, on the one hand, and the lean, decentralized gaiamodernity of the Anthropocene, on the other. Putin’s clique has used various strategies – from climate denialism and electoral interference to war and genocide – to resist and subvert modernity. Working on political, cultural and even demographic levels, social mechanisms convert the vicious energy of the oil curse into all-out aggression. Dissecting these mechanisms, Etkind’s brief but rigorous analyses of social structuration, cultural dynamics and family models reveal the agency that drives the Russian war against modernity. This short, sharp critique of the Russian regime combines political economy, social history and demography to predict the decolonizing and defederating of Russia.

By: Alexander Etkind (Central European University Vienna)
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 227g
ISBN: 9781509556588
ISBN 10: 1509556583
Pages: 154
Publication Date: 11 July 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction Chapter 1. Modernity in the Age of Anthropocene Chapter 2. Petrostate Chapter 3. Parasitic governance Chapter 4. The So-Called Elite Chapter 5. The Public Sphere Chapter 6. Gender and Degeneration Chapter 7. Putin’s War Chapter 8. Defederating Russia Endnotes Index

Alexander Etkind is a professor at the Central European University in Vienna.

Reviews for Russia Against Modernity

"“Etkind situates Putin’s 2022 war in a much bigger story about Russian history and the country’s role as a major oil producer in a world facing a climate crisis. A concise book packed with big ideas.” Shaun Walker, The Guardian ""[Etkind's] book, a model of clarity, brevity, and simplicity, is an acute analysis of contemporary Russia in modernity; a polemic against Putin and Putinism’s klepto-fascism that predicts the collapse of the Russian Federation."" Eurasian Geography and Economics"