When “branding” meets “building:” the consequences of nation branding on identity in Kyrgyzstan and Estonia

ABSTRACT

Despite the growing attention to the everyday, nation-building literature has paid insufficient attention to the ways in which national identity is strengthened as a side effect of measures that are not initially conceived of as nation-building activities. This article examines contemporary examples of such non-traditional processes of nation-building by reviewing the unintended consequences of political measures not directly targeting identity construction. We focus on processes of identity construction in Kyrgyzstan and Estonia that have emerged as a side effect of nation branding. In both cases, the primary goal of the national government was not necessarily to boost national identity but rather to re-brand the country for international audiences. We argue, however, that these efforts at external image projection and change have also influenced the ways in which national identities are understood, perceived, and reproduced by domestic populations.

KEYWORDS:

• Identity
• Kyrgyzstan
• Estonia
• everyday
• branding

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. A game played on horseback in Kyrgyzstan.

2. Although its name and rules are different in each country, kok-boru is an ancient game played by men on horseback in most Turkic nations. Ulak and alaman ulak is another vernacular name for kok-boru in Kyrgyzstan, which is played in a slightly different informal format. Modern-day Kyrgyz kok-boru was standardized through the setting of common rules by the famous cultural workers Bolot Shamshiev, Temir Duishekeev, and Bolot Sherniyazov in 1996. In kok-boru two teams comprised of twelve men each fight to toss a beheaded goat into the taikazan (a special plate) to score.

3. The latter is a social network popular mainly in Russia and other former Soviet countries.

4. Interview with the head of the WNG Secretariat, 17 January 2021; Interview with the specialist of the WNG Secretariat, 5 February 2021.

5. Interview with the head of the WNG Secretariat, 17 January 2021.

6. Kyrgyz were sedentarized by the Soviets between 1920 and 1930. Today, Kyrgyz still practice a seasonal nomadic lifestyle at the pastures from late spring to early autumn to feed their cattle.

7. We refer to Kyrgyzstani identity as a more inclusive and civic one, while Kyrgyz identity is rather ethnic-based. Here we use ‘Kyrgyzstanis’ because the game became widespread not only among ethnic Kyrgyz but also among other ethnicities living in Kyrgyzstan.

8. Interviews with three kok-boru players, with two representatives of the Kok-Boru Federation of Kyrgyzstan, February 2021.

9. For details on Kyrgyz feasting or toi, see Turdalieva and Provis (2017).

10. Interview with a Kok-Boru player from Ozgon, 26 February 2021.

11. Interview with a Kok-Boru player from Ozgon, 26 February 2021.

12. Interview with the Minister of Culture, Information, Sport, and Youth Politics of Kyrgyzstan, 25 February 2021.

13. Interview with the general secretary of the Kok-Boru Federation of Kyrgyzstan, 26 February 2021.

14. Interviews with three kok-boru players, February 2021.

15. Interviews with three kok-boru players, February 2021.

16. Interview with the general secretary of the Kok-Boru Federation of Kyrgyzstan, 26 February 2021.

17. Personal communication with a food expert in Estonia.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions [101086415].

Notes on contributors

Abel Polese

Abel Polese is a scholar and development worker dividing his time between Europe, the post-Soviet region, and Southeast Asia. He is Principal Investigator of SHADOW, a four-year project starting in 2018, which is funded through Marie Curie RISE (H2020). SHADOW is a research and training programme with the goal of producing strategic intelligence on the region and training a generation of specialists on informality in post-Soviet spaces. He is co-editor of STSS, an open access journal (Q3 in SCOPUS), focusing on governance and social issues in the non-Western world.

Arzuu Sheranova

Arzuu Sheranova is independent researcher, consultant and international development practitioner in Central Asia and Europe. She holds PhD in Political Science from Corvinus University of Budapest and MA degree in Politics and Security from the OSCE Academy in Bishkek. She is an author of publications on nationalism, identity, inter-ethnic relations, conflict prevention, power, legitimacy and informal politics.