How loyal are ethnic minorities to their state of residence? How supportive are they of its political system and political leaders? If variation exists within a given minority, what explains this variation at the individual level? Is political support by ethnic minorities a rational calculation or is it the result of subjective, identity-related factors? These are the central questions of this research investigation to be undertaken in three former Soviet republics: Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The investigators combine mass surveys and focus groups to examine the attachment of minorities, especially ethnic Russians outside Russia, to their state of residence and their level of support for its institutions. The project addresses four major shortcomings in the existing literature on attitudes in the post-Communist states: the emphasis on attitudes within Russia; the dominance of aggregate level data analysis; the confusion of the elements of political support; and, the limited use of multiple methods within a given study. This multi-country, multi-method study produces a better understanding than now exists of the reasons for `political support` by an ethnic minority, variation in it within a given ethnic group, and variation in it from newly independent state to newly independent state. Understanding such support and its variation enables scholars to make sense of the puzzle of why we have ethnic conflict in one post-Soviet state and not another, and it will help in understanding the future of ethnic nationalism and relations between Russia and its neighbors. The implications for this understanding thus include both a better ability to understand and predict domestic and international politics in the region and a better understanding of the types of policies and practices that Western countries and international organizations should be encouraging in the former Soviet Union. The dataset to be produced will be of great value to scholars interested in exploring this topic.
