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The affective politics of sovereignty: reflecting on the 2010 conflict in Kyrgyzstan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

David Gullette  and
John Heathershaw
David Gullette*
Affiliation:
University of Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic
John Heathershaw
Affiliation:
Department of Politics, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
*
* Corresponding author. Email: davegullette@hotmail.com
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Abstract

This article examines the concept of sovereignty in elite and popular affection during the violent and turbulent events from April to October 2010 in the Kyrgyz Republic. Nationalist leaders promoted Kyrgyz ethnic values and ideals as the center of sovereignty held by some to be under threat. These events exemplify what we describe as the affective politics of sovereignty. We explore how emotion, in particular, serves as an important component of the constitution of sovereignty as both an international and popular institution. We explore how Kyrgyz identity has become intertwined with the sovereignty of Kyrgyzstan and clashes with Western multi-ethnic conceptions and practices.

Keywords

affective politicssovereigntyethnogenesisethnicityconflictKyrgyzstanKyrgyz
Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , January 2015 , pp. 122 - 139
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

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