Call for Articles - Military Journalism in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

Deadline for submitting abstracts: January 25, 2014

In the sociology of media, the question of military journalism occupies a special place as one carrying significant political and institutional-specific implications. This is particularly obvious in the case of the USSR, where censorship, ideological challenges related to conflicts, and inaccessibility of the army have hindered attempts to gain knowledge of the production process regarding news and information surrounding the military. Since the fall of the USSR, Russian media space has experienced an opening and a liberalization applicable to military journalism. The old Soviet army newspapers have continued to exist (Krasnaia Zvezda, for example) while civil titles dedicated to military topics have appeared (for instance, the military supplement Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie of the daily newspaper Nezavisimaia Gazeta). At the same time, new independent media have gravitated toward military topics, fed by specialized civil correspondents.

The post-Soviet period has been favorable to media coverage of military issues. Interest lies, first and foremost, with concerns about the future of the army. Problems surrounding the conversion of military industry, the management of nuclear armaments, the reduction of manpower, and the fight against violence in the barracks (dedovshchina) have fed media chronicles and contributed to the development of a journalism specialized in military queries.

In addition, the numerous armed conflicts which have erupted in the post-Soviet space (such as in Chechnya but also in Moldova, in Nagorny Karabakh and more recently in Georgia) raise the question of how these clashes should be portrayed by the media. “The war is one of the privileged moments of production of media information,” notes A.J. Bizimana. But it is also a time when pressures between the principles of freedom of the press, on one side, and institutional control measures on the media, on the other, are at their maximum.

This issue of The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies will be devoted to military journalism in the USSR, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) from concurrent historical, sociological and political points of view. It will examine the faces of tension and compromise between freedom of the press and constraints suitable for military journalism.

Before embarking on a reflection about the contemporary period, and in order to assess progress made since the fall of the USSR, this issue will welcome historical articles as well as interviews related to the media situation in the military during the Soviet period.
The articles could focus on the following themes:

For the post-Soviet period, a reflection on liberalization of the media in Russia and the CIS will be carried out. After the glasnost period, freedom of the press became recognized, and a privatization of media outlets ensued.
The 1990s were characterized, on one hand, by the question of evolving military press organs and, on the other hand, by the development of private, independent media interested in military affairs.

Proposed articles could answer the following questions:

The journal will be published in three languages (French, English and Russian with a 100-word abstract in English) thanks to which most authors will be able to write in their mother tongue. This will ensure greater precision in the articles and avoid a decrease in scientific quality. But we draw your attention to the fact that most of our readers are essentially English speakers, therefore we do encourage articles in English in order to reach an audience as broad as possible.

Manuscripts should be attached as Microsoft Word format. References should be given in footnotes. For more details about the guidelines for article submission please check http://www.pipss.revues.org or contact the Editorial Board at e.siecakozlowski@gmail.com.
There should be a cover page stating the author’s background and affiliation, full address. If you wish to submit an article, please first contact the Chief Editor (e.siecakozlowski@gmail.com) and send a 100-word abstract in English.
The deadline for article submission is January 25th, 2014, with publication in May 2014. Final decisions on publication will be made by the Editorial Board.

Issue Editors: Françoise Daucé, Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski

Papers dealing with other issues related to armies and power institutions in the CIS, as well as book review proposals are also welcome.

Ms. Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski
Chief Editor
e-mail: e.siecakozlowski@gmail.com