CRRC, ARISC and American Councils are pleased to announce the 7th talk of the Spring 2024 Tbilisi Works-in-Progress series!
“Interest Groups in the USSR: The View from the Construction of the Tbilisi Metro”
Mitsuru Hobara, University of Tokyo
The relations among the former union republics of the USSR is a main discussion topic in international relations, but this cannot not be understood without its history as a domestic relationship within the USSR. In this study, Mitsuru Hobara analyzes the political processes at the union republic level, perceiving the union republic as an “interest group” and describing its center-local relationship and local autonomy, through a focus on the construction of the Tbilisi Metro. Based on research so far conducted on the Moscow Metro, Mitsuru compares the construction of these metros to examine how the Soviet political process at the union republic level proceeded.
Mitsuru HOBARA is a Ph.D student of the University of Tokyo in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He holds a Research Fellowship for Young Scientists of Japan of the Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS DC1), and his major fields of study are Soviet history, Soviet politics, and city construction.
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Works-in-Progress is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place at the CRRC office at Chavchavadze Ave. 5 and online. It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.
In observation of the spirit of the Chatham House Rule, the talks will not be recorded, and we courteously request that the other participants refrain from recording and/or distributing recordings as well. The opinions expressed in WiP talks are those of the speakers alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of CRRC, ARISC or of American Councils.
