Dr. Nino Aivazishvili-Gehne
Researcher

Dr. Nino Aivazishvili-Gehne
Researcher

Research Interests:

  • Political anthropology
  • anthropology of borders
  • ethnicity
  • citizenship
  • Politics of nationalities in the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet space, the South Caucasus
  • Post-socialist transformations
  • migration studies in Germany
  • migrants from the former USSR

Current Research Project:

"The search for the "good life" in Germany (Osnabrück)"

The project focuses on people from the former USSR in the city of Osnabrueck, Germany. This group is diverse and includes people from all former Soviet republics who are now experiencing life in a different political, socio-economic and cultural system. In social sciences, migrants from the former USSR are frequently referred to as “Russian Germans”; “repatriates”; “Displaced” or “Jews from the former Soviet Union”, while outside academia, they are often generalized and referred to as just “Russians” which has a pejorative inclination. Similarly to other migrants, they are often associated with criminal behavior and religious radicalization. The project examines the societal perceptions of migrants from the former USSR in Germany in Osnabrueck and its consequences as well as their own agendas and proactive practices. How did they change their lives and their environment? What were the reasons to emigrate and how do they pursue their goal to find (or create) a “good life” in Germany.

The project uses several qualitative research methods from the field of social anthropology, especially participant observation, biographical interviews expert interviews. The results will be complemented by an analysis of the media discourse and political instruments relating to the focus group. 

Aivazishvili-Gehne is currently working on a book titled: "Auf der Suche nach dem guten Leben: Postsowjetische Gemeinschaften in Osnabrück"

Books 

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. 2023. Staatsbürgerschaft an der Grenze. Die georgischsprachigen Ingiloer in Aserbaidschan. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag.

Articles in peer reviewed Journals

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N.(In progress) The Pragmatics of Migration: ethnicity as agency and reconfigurations of community after emigration to Germany. “Jews of the Caucasus: Migration Routes and Multiple Belongings”. Special issue "Modern Jewish Studies".

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. 2023. Hoping for Others: Entangled Emotional States of “Russian Germans” and the Multifaceted Aspects of “Successful” Migration. In. Zeitschrift für Migration /Journal of Migration Studies (ZFM)

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. 2022. „Multiple Vertrautheit“ - Plädoyer für die Einführung eines neuen Begriffs: „Russlanddeutsche“ in Deutschland. In. Paideuma. Zeitschrift für Kulturanthropologische Forschung. 68: 149–165

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. 2018. Der Staat ist der Präsident. In Paideuma. Zeitschrift für Kulturanthropologische Forschung Band 64: 8-27.

Book Chapters

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. (forthcoming) Tales of the “Good Neighborhood” Post-Soviet Immigrants in a German City. In. D.Templin (ed.), Arrival Neighborhoods in European Cities, 1870-2020 (Routledge Advances in Urban History), London/New York: Routledge.

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. 2022. Verschiedene Wissensarten über Flucht und Migration in Deutschland. Autoethnographische Beobachtungen. In A. Delić, I. Kourtis, et al. (eds.), Globale Zusammenhänge, lokale Deutungen: Kritische Positionierungen zu wissenschaftlichen und medialen Diskursen im Kontext von Flucht und Asyl, S. 309-321.Wiesbaden: Springer VS.

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. 2022. Experiencing the Border, Encountering the States: The Ingiloy at the Azerbaijani-Georgian Borderland. In S. von Löwes and B. Eschment (eds.), Post-Soviet Borders. A Caleidoscope of Shifting Lives and Lands. pp. 119-135. London and New York: Routledge.

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. 2020. Wie erforscht man die Zugehörigkeit? - Umgang mit der Vielfalt vorhandener Kategorien. Georgischsprachige Ingiloer in Aserbaidschan. In H.Leonty and M.Schulz (eds.), Ethnographie und Diversität. Wissensproduktion an den Grenzen und die Grenzen der Wissensproduktion. S.261-285. Wiesbaden: Springer.

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. 2018. The Power of the Shrine and Creative Performances in Ingiloy Sacred Rituals. In Darieva, T. Mülfried, F und K. Tuite (eds.), Sacred Places, Emerging Spaces: Religious Pluralism in the post-Soviet Caucasus, pp.113-132. New York, Oxford: Berghahn Books.

Yalçın-Heckmann, L; and Aivazishvili, N. 2012. Scales of Trade, Informal Economy and Citizenship at Georgian-Azerbaijani Borderlands. In B. Bruns and J. Miggelbrink (eds.), Subverting Borders. Doing Research on Smuggling and Small-Scale Trade, pp. 193-212. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

Non-refereed Articles

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. 2023. The Schinkel Street Market as a multifunctional place in Osnabrück (Germany): nostalgia and political performance in the pandemic Working paper series on informal Markets and Trades

Khalvashi, T and Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. 2021. ‘The Pandemic (Day)dreams’,Entanglements, 4(1): 207-213.

Other Publications

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. & Jašina-Schäfer, A & Panagiotidis, J. Conflict, commitment and fear. Post-Soviet migrants in Germany and war in Ukraine. Published on 13.04.2022, https://www.eurozine.com/conflict-commitment-and-fear

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. Drei Leben des Denkmals für „Gefallene Helden der Freiheit“: Gedanken bei einem Besuch in Tbilissi. Published on 09.11.2022 https://ambivalenzen.hypotheses.org/4144

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. Die Geschichte darüber, wie der Antrag für mein aktuelles Projekt seinen Weg fand. Published on 11.09.2022 https://ambivalenzen.hypotheses.org/404

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. The Unseen Suffering Beyond Europe: The “Other Victims” of Russia’s Power Games (recet.at). www.recet.at/blog/detail/the-unseen-suffering-beyond-europe-the-other-victims-of-russias-power-games

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N.  My déjà-vu of the war and my fieldwork in Germany.  Published on 14.03.202 https://ambivalenzen.hypotheses.org/385

Aivazishvili-Gehne, N. Was bedeutet, „teilnehmend zu beobachten“? Gedankenflug über den Wert der Geschichten, die wir im Feld erfahren. Published on 06.03.2022 https://ambivalenzen.hypotheses.org/369