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The War in Chechnya

The Chaotic Mode of Domination, Violence and Bare Life in the Post-Soviet Context

Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

This article argues that the post-Soviet form of sovereignty is chaotic in two senses: (1) its operations are not predicated on, constrained by or accountable to any formal rules, and (2) this form of sovereignty is a post-hegemonic one. In the absence of law and hegemony, relations of power are negotiated through the use of force, money and contacts, with force having the final say. Sovereignty, which is in the shifting balance of networks of power, becomes arbitrary and coercive. In the absence of a hegemonic system, spectacles have become the second axis of sovereignty. The article argues that the Chechen war is a significant example of such a spectacle and that it has played a crucial role in the constitution and transformation of post-Soviet sovereignty in Russia.

Key Words: chaos • conspiracy • Russia • sovereignty • spectacle

Critique of Anthropology, Vol. 27, No. 1, 37-62 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0308275X07073818


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