In recent years there has been a noticeable proliferation of modern information and communication technologies usage among migrant communities and their increased representation and networking online. Contemporary literature argues that current uses of ICT forge multidimensional diasporic identity and imply a stronger sense of national belonging and communal solidarity. With this argument in mind, this thesis examines the impact of communication technologies on community-making processes within Eastern Slavic diasporas in the UK. In investigating the case of Eastern Slavs in Britain, this thesis uses recent theories of diaspora that define it as a form of consciousness and a category of practice. This research is also informed by sociological theories of community, identity, nationalism, and social networks. The study is based on the combination of online and offline research techniques and includes qualitative content analysis of relevant websites, 14 expert interviews with organisers of diasporic communities, and 26 biographical interviews with members of the diaspora. The findings reveal a convergence between the processes of ‘re-invention’ of national identities in the sending countries after the collapse of the USSR and community-making in diasporas. It is argued that diasporic national belonging should be understood as oscillating between ‘supra-national’ and ‘national’ ‘imagined communities’. The former is based upon an ideology of common identity among Eastern Slavs, whether drawing upon Soviet or pre- Soviet themes whilst the latter emphasises a more separatist and narrow national identity. Analysing social networks of diasporic communities, the research shows that their development is based on particular sets of national symbols and narratives. The outcomes of investigation suggest that the expression of national identity and belonging is clear-cut on a collective level, but on the individual level it is predominantly hybrid and ambivalent.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:575392 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Kozachenko, Ivan |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=195988 |
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