Ukraine
The Search for a National Identity
Published on 23. November 1999
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-0-8476-9345-0 (ISBN)
Description
This comprehensive book focuses on the challenges facing Ukraine as a newly emerged state after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Like all countries with no recent history of independence, Ukraine had to invent or recreate effective political institutions, reintroduce a market economy, and reorient its foreign policy. These tasks were impossible to accomplish without resolving the question of national identity. In this balanced and clear-eyed assessment, a team of U.S. and Ukrainian specialists explores the external and internal dimensions of national identity and statehood, providing a wealth of information previously unavailable to Western scholars. Arguing that the search for national identity is a multidimensional process, the authors show that it reflects the realities of the dawning twenty-first century. Paradoxically, this quest must cope with the both the weakening of state boundaries caused by globalization and the strengthening of the national model as new countries emerge from the disintegration of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. After providing the historical context of UkraineOs international debut, the book analyzes the complexities of constructing a national identity. The authors explore questions of ethnic relations and regionalism, the development of political values and attitudes, mass-elite relations, the cultural background of economic strategies, gender issues, and the threat of organized crime to emergent civil society.
Reviews / Votes
If someone were to look for a concise and comprehensive book on contemporary Ukraine, this edited volume would be a contender number one. The articles are well-researched and solidly argumented, and the book overall conveys an evenly strong impression. The book makes an excellent reading overall. The editors did an admirable work of securing contributions from recognised authorities in the field, fitting these contributions together and emphasising those points that had to be emphasised. The book will become a valuable working tool for both scholars and policy makers involved with transitional societies of Eastern Europe and Eurasia. -- Mikhail A. Molchanov, University of Victoria, Canada * Ethnic and Racial Studies * This volume is a useful area studies introduction to Ukraine. * International Affairs * Fifteen well-written and informed essays. . . . For general readers, undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers. * CHOICE * In this balanced assessment, a team of specialists explores the external and internal dimensions of national identity and statehood, arguing that the creation of a post-Soviet Ukrainian national identity is a multidimensional process. . . . An excellent collection. . . . Well-argued and well-written. * Slavic Review * The book provides a good, general review of Ukraine's domestic and foreign politics. * Canadian Slavonic Papers * An excellent volume that skillfully illuminates contemporary Ukraine in light of national identity formation. The authors-who hail from the United States and Ukraine-reveal how Ukraine's multiple identities and divided loyalties affect a broad range of internal and external problem areas. The articles are theoretically sophisticated, empirically grounded, and of relevance to scholars and policymakers alike. -- Alexander J. Motyl, Rutgers University-Newark It is an important addition to any library's steadily expanding Ukrainian Studies shelf. * Seer *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Lanham, MD
United States
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
567 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8476-9345-0 (9780847693450)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Sharon Wolchik is professor of political science and international affairs at the George Washington University. Volodymyr Zviglyanich is senior fellow at the Institute of Philosophy in Kyiv and adjunct professor and research associate at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at the George Washington University.
Content
Part 1 Emergent Ukraine Chapter 2 Introduction: The Ambiguities of National Identity: The Case of Ukraine Chapter 3 Nation-Building and Foreign Policy Chapter 4 Ukraine: Towards a Viable National Ethos Chapter 5 The Political Economy of Delayed Reform in Ukraine Chapter 6 Ukraine as a Military Power Chapter 7 Ukraine's Russian Dilemma and Europe's Evolving Geography Chapter 8 Establishing Independence in an Interdependent World Chapter 9 U.S.-Ukranian Relations, 1991-97: A View from Washington Chapter 10 Ukraine's Relations with the Visegrad Countries Part 11 Problems of Domestic Nation Building Chapter 12 Ethnic Relations and Regional Problems in Independent Ukraine Chapter 13 Regionalism: An Underestimated Dimension of State-Building Chapter 14 Popular Social and Political Attitudes in Ukraine Chapter 15 Establishing Representation: Mass and Elite Political Attitudes in the Ukraine Chapter 16 The State and Economic Reform in the Ukraine: Ideas, Models, Solutions Chapter 17 Women's Organizations in Independent Ukraine, 1990-98 Chapter 18 Ukranian and Russian Organized Crime: A Threat to Emerging Civil Society Chapter 19 About the Contributors