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There are two tendencies in populism studies that this paper addresses. The first can be defined as empirical Western-centrism manifested as the dominance of the European and American agenda in mainstream works on populism. Although, some researchers emphasize the global significance of the phenomenon, the proportion of studies related to the populist parties, movements, and leaders in the rest of the world is significantly inferior to the number of works on the Western agenda. The second trend is the tradition to approach populism, mainly, as a manifestation of some kind of crisis of democratic ‘normality’ in the context of electoral processes and party competition in liberal democratic political systems. If so, does it mean that populism is an indistinctive phenomenon beyond democratic party systems or the Western world? Moreover, what should be done with cases discovered in the non-democratic or non-liberal context, do they have the potential to develop the theory of populism. Therefore, my intention in this paper is to broaden the understanding of populism with the case of the revolution in Kyrgyzstan of October 2020 and the new Kyrgyz president Sadyr Japarov elected in January 2021. I believe that populism can be found beyond the Western left-right ideological opposition as well as to draw its strength and distinct symbolic content from alternative sources. Therefore, I am going to argue within the framework of Laclauian that Japarov’s political logic is essentially populist, although the Kyrgyz political system cannot be described as liberal or democratic. Moreover, I am convinced that the Kyrgyz case can contribute to the development of populism studies, while the theory of populism can suggest the further development of the situation in Kyrgyzstan.

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The paper addresses the issue of Abkhaz-Georgian ethnopolitical conflict treating it as not a single process but as the complex case that consists of several consecutive self-sufficient conflicts or sub-conflicts during which different parties had various goals and escalated the situation trying to achieve miscellaneous aims. Although each of these sub-conflicts are looking like historical phases of one conflict, each of them has its own logic and, therefore, requires to be analyzed separately. The first sub-conflict of 1991-1994 can be quite accurately explained from the structuralist perspective as an attempt of the Abkhaz to reconsider their status and break the discriminative social structures developed during imperial and Soviet rule. The second phase 1994-2008 was the period of nationalist mobilization and the new clashes and atrocities were the result of the Georgian and Abkhaz elites’ intention to strengthen their legitimacy and power. Russia's role in this case fits well with the concept of "humanitarian intervention" and does not correspond to the Roger Brubaker’s famous “triadic nexus” (1996). Finally, the last phase of conflict since 2008 can be hardly called an ethnopolitical conflict itself since peace and the military status quo were established after the war of 2008 which neither side can challenge. Therefore, after 2008, it is more appropriate to speak about the need of post-conflict reconciliation instead of Abkhaz-Georgian ethnopolitical conflict. However, none of the parties has taken steps towards this reconciliation yet because the settlement of the conflict is impossible while it continues to be used for nationalist mobilization.

Статья посвящена изучению трансформации политической элиты Канады в связи со вступлением в силу Конституционного акта 1791 г., а также формированию системы управления новообразованной колонии Верхняя Канада. Особое внимание уделяется роли этнического фактора в данном процессе, положению представителей англо-и франкоканадской общины в новой политической системе, а также влиянию этнического фактора на ранний период политической истории Верхней Канады. Основная цель авторадополнить существующие в исторической науке представления о причинах возникновения франкоканадского национализма. Ключевые слова: история Канады, Верхняя Канада, Нижняя Канада, межэтнические отношения в Канаде, франкоканадцы, франкоканадский национализм.