Myths and Reality of Far Eastern Regionalism: External Image and Identity of the Macroregion
https://doi.org/10.31857/S2587556621020114
Abstract
The article analyzes the key meanings of the external image of the Far Eastern region and their correlation with the internal content (territorial identity) in the regionalist discourse of the Far East. Based on the analysis of the materials of the media discourse of the Federal media, it is shown that the specialness of the macroregion is interpreted through economic markers and the semantic concept of “development.” Identification with the community through the name “Far East” is raised in the context of the discourse of problems in the macroregion. Special attention is paid to the internal discourses of the identity of the Far East. The article reflects the results of a study of Far Eastern regionalism conducted by the author in late October-early November 2019 in Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. The main materials for the analysis were expert interviews and the results of the included observation. It is shown how awareness of specific regional problems of the Far East contributes to the formation of the identity of the Far East. The study showed that the term “Far East” reflects the external name of the macroregion, is an administrative term that does not have “spiritual unity” in the form of common identification bases. Expert interviews allowed us to establish that the reasons for the lack of community at the macro-regional level are associated with a weak subjectivity and connectivity between the regions of the Far East. The key rallying idea is determined by the presence of a Moscow-free discourse. There is a need to construct positive identification markers through communication of actors who produce regionalist discourse in the Far East.
Keywords
Supporting agencies: This work was carried out in the Perm Federal Research Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 19-18-00053 “Subnational Regionalism and Dynamics of Multi-Level Politics (Russian and European Practices).”
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For citations:
Nazukina M.V. Myths and Reality of Far Eastern Regionalism: External Image and Identity of the Macroregion. Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk. Seriya Geograficheskaya. 2021;85(2):195-204. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31857/S2587556621020114
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