
Nation-building in the Post-Soviet Borderlands
The Politics of National Identities
Cambridge University Press
Published on 10. September 1998
Book
Paperback/Softback
308 pages
978-0-521-59968-9 (ISBN)
Description
This book examines how national and ethnic identities are being reforged in the post-Soviet borderland states. The first chapter provides a conceptual and theoretical context for examining national identities, drawing in particular upon post-colonial theory. The rest of the book is divided into three parts. In Part I, the authors examine how national histories of the borderland states are being rewritten especially in relation to new nationalising historiographies, around myths of origin, homeland, and descent. Part II explores the ethnopolitics of group boundary construction and how such a politics has led to nationalising policies of both exclusion and inclusion. Part III examines the relationship between nation-building and language, especially with regard to how competing conceptions of national identity have informed the thinking of both political decision-takers and nationalising intellectuals, and the consequences for ethnic minorities. Such perspectives on nation-building are illustrated with substantive studies drawn from the Baltic states, Ukraine, and Belarus, Transcaucasia, and Central Asia.
Reviews / Votes
'... this book brings together several important aspects of nationalizing regimes, specifically the politics of history, social boundaries, and language ... this book is a breath of fresh air in the study of nationalities in the post-Soviet states. Consequently Nation-building in the Post-Soviet Borderlands is an important addition to the post-Soviet bookshelf.' Slavonic and East European ReviewMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
7 Maps; 1 Halftones, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
503 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-59968-9 (9780521599689)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Graham Smith is Professor of Politics at the University of Westminster and Founding Chair of the Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies (KNOCA). He is a leading authority on participatory and deliberative democracy, citizens' assemblies and climate governance and has been recognized as one of the top 100 most influential academics in government.
Author
University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
University of London
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Columbia University, New York
Content
1. Post-colonialism and borderland identities; Part I. Rediscovering National Histories: 2. National history and national identity in Ukraine and Belarus; 3. National identity and myths of ethnogenesis in Transcaucasia; 4. History and group identity in Central Asia; Part II. Ethnopolitics and the Construction of Group Boundaries: 5. Nation re-building and political discourses of identity politics in the Baltic states; 6. Redefining ethnic and linguistic boundaries in Ukraine: indigenes, settlers and Russophone Ukrainians; 7. The Central Asian states as nationalising regimes; Part III. Language and Nation-Building: 8. Language myths and the discourse of nation-building in Georgia; 9. Language policy and ethnic relations in Uzbekistan.