Regional Identity and Constructive Regionalization in the North Caucasus: Group Perceptions and Nuances from Inside the Region

Abstract

The North Caucasus region of Russia is certainly one of the world’s most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse. The region’s landscapes reflect legacies of Russian imperialism and Soviet rule, along with contemporary Russian federal administration. The North Caucasus also constitutes a zone of religious transition between Christianity and Islam. These qualities, all of which may potentially serve as markers of identity among the region’s local population, have long constituted a challenge for ethnic Russian, and/or Russian state dominance, and thus have promoted state-led efforts and policies (namely “ethno-federalism” and “federal district reform”) that attempt to achieve a cohesive sense of regional identity for the North Caucasus. This dissertation examines empirical understandings and perceptions of regional and territorial identity as expressed through the collective experiences, attitudes, and opinions of young adults in the contemporary North Caucasus. The project aims to investigate how “the region” ranks among other identity markers of North Caucasus’s many ethno-national and socio-cultural groups, recognize how residents of the region understand it in terms of territorial composition and meaning, and discern any nuances among the population regarding the use of regional policy by the Russian state so as to influence perceptions and discourses on identity, security, and economic development (efforts which I term “constructive regionalization”). The research methodology includes analysis of survey data, as well as a GIS-based cognitive mapping exercise, to indicate statistically significant differences of opinion on the importance of identity markers and their territorial salience. These differences are explained via qualitative interview data gained directly from participants in the field.