An Auspiciously "Glocal" Beginning: Preface to the Inaugural Issue of Region

The launching of a new journal is, like that of most bold projects, an exercise in optimism. Never quite sure what to expect "out there," one hopes nevertheless that the environment proves conducive to the success of the mission. In launching Region and devoting its first issue to "The Second Decade of Post-Communism," the editors have embarked on a scholarly mission inspired by earlier endeavors, yet departing from them as well. A truly international journal with an editorial board spanning the Eurasian and North American continents, Region seeks to transcend not only national boundaries, but also those boundaries that have all too often separated academic specialists in global or international relations from professionals with on-the-ground expertise. It also aims to bring together those primarily interested in current developments and future prospects in the former Soviet bloc with those whose interests are largely defined by the Soviet period itself. Finally, its ambition is to appeal no less to generalists seeking reliable perspectives on discrete topics than to specialists wishing to pursue issues in greater depth.

But how can Region be all these things to all these people? Two concepts—the title of the journal itself, and the neologism "glocality"—encapsulate its dual appeal. "Region" as a concept can, of course, be applied to a wide variety of different spatial conceptions, but rarely does it demand or even emphasize prescribed boundaries. Regions are what one makes of them, or better still, how one makes them. They depend for their definition above all on what attributes one chooses to emphasize—climatological, topographical, agricultural, educational, and, of course, political. They are constructions, approximations of distinguishing features—sometimes counter-intuitive ones. The concept of glocality is intended to capture that unexpected yet essential quality. It stresses both local adaptation to global phenomena and that adaptation's transnational or even global significance. To the question of what a region is, we would reply that the question can only be decided by those submitting to Region contributions for publication and the cases they make therein.

Two decades after the collapse and transformation of the Soviet bloc, we still have only a dim awareness of the paramountcy of local specificities or generic similarities. One could ask in what respects the countries comprising Eastern Europe were more like the constituent republics of the Soviet Union than the countries of Western Europe. The answer might depend on which Soviet republics—Ukraine or Kazakhstan, Latvia or Armenia—as well as which countries of Western Europe—France or Portugal, the Netherlands or Italy. And what about China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba? Do the largely democratic outcomes of transitions in post-Communist Eastern Europe—as opposed to the predominantly authoritarian nature of Central Asian polities—argue in favor of the ubiquity of deep cultural forces or the conjuncture of historically specific geopolitical factors? Obviously, there is still much to learn, and it is hoped that the publication of Region will help to shorten the learning curve.

This inaugural issue offers an exciting combination of essays from the cognate disciplines of political science, sociology, and cultural studies. Richard Sakwa reconstructs the at times conflicted relationship between sovereignty and democracy both with respect to international relations and domestic politics. Sovereignty, juxtaposed with governmentality, also figures as one of two theoretical couplets discussed by Andrey Makarychev, the other being politicization-depoliticization. Labor migration has been one of the most fascinating developments of the post-Soviet era. Esther Tetruashvily's essay analyzes the impact of changing Russian labor migration laws on the status of migrants from CIS states, arguing that their unpredictability and inconsistency have left many migrants outside the law. Zhanna Chernova interprets Russian family law in similar terms, pointing to the need for a more liberal definition of family relationships and responsibilities. László Kürti analyzes post-Communist Hungary's rock music and the extent to which it has reflected that country's not unproblematic political evolution since 1989. Finally, applying insights from business administration and supply-chain management as well as their own experiences in...