
American Latvians
Politics of a Refugee Community
Ieva Zake(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 15. August 2010
Book
Hardback
226 pages
978-1-4128-1451-5 (ISBN)
Description
This book analyzes the political experience of a small and unique American ethnic group-American Latvians. This community was constituted by post-World War II political refugees, who fled Communism and arrived in the United States seeking safety and protection. For decades, they insisted on preserving their ethnic identity and therefore did not call themselves Latvian Americans. Instead, they formed a distinctive double identity, that is, they blended into the American society economically and socially, but refused to become assimilated culturally and politically. The book offers a detailed look into the life of this community of political refugees, which also provides a novel perspective on the Cold War as experienced by certain ethnic groups.
From a theoretical point of view, the book makes two major contributions. First, it reasserts the need to understand the generalized category of "white Americans" or "white ethnics" with more nuance and attention to differences, and, second, it strengthens the so-called realist claim that refugees are not like other immigrants. In order to achieve these goals, the book provides compelling descriptions and interpretations of the most politically relevant moments in the experience of American Latvians in the period between the 1950s and the 1990s. Concretely, the book deals with topics as the American Latvians' anti-communist activism, the impact of the hunt for Nazis on Latvian emigres, the Soviet Union's anti-emigre propaganda campaigns and the exiled Latvians' involvement in the politics of national liberation in Latvia.
The author strives to reveal the complexity of the refugee experience in the United States during the Cold War and its aftermath. Since such aspects of the life of ethnic groups in the United States have not been sufficiently studied, this book makes a substantial contribution to a fuller understanding of American immigration history and sociology of ethnic groups. It is well written, expertly organized, and will be of interest to a large readership at many levels of academia.
From a theoretical point of view, the book makes two major contributions. First, it reasserts the need to understand the generalized category of "white Americans" or "white ethnics" with more nuance and attention to differences, and, second, it strengthens the so-called realist claim that refugees are not like other immigrants. In order to achieve these goals, the book provides compelling descriptions and interpretations of the most politically relevant moments in the experience of American Latvians in the period between the 1950s and the 1990s. Concretely, the book deals with topics as the American Latvians' anti-communist activism, the impact of the hunt for Nazis on Latvian emigres, the Soviet Union's anti-emigre propaganda campaigns and the exiled Latvians' involvement in the politics of national liberation in Latvia.
The author strives to reveal the complexity of the refugee experience in the United States during the Cold War and its aftermath. Since such aspects of the life of ethnic groups in the United States have not been sufficiently studied, this book makes a substantial contribution to a fuller understanding of American immigration history and sociology of ethnic groups. It is well written, expertly organized, and will be of interest to a large readership at many levels of academia.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Inc
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
580 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4128-1451-5 (9781412814515)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2017
Routledge
€60.49
Available for download

E-Book
09/2017
Routledge
€60.49
Available for download
Person
Ieva Zake is an associate professor in the Sociology Department at Rowan University. She is author of two books: Anti-Communist Minorities in the US and Nineteenth-Century Nationalism and Twentieth-Century Anti-democratic Ideals: The Case of Latvia, 1840s to 1908s.
Content
Preface
Introduction
1 Into Exile
2 American Latvians as Ethnic Anticommunists
3 Ghosts from the Past
4 Surviving the Soviet Pressure
5 The End of Exile
Conclusion
Index
Introduction
1 Into Exile
2 American Latvians as Ethnic Anticommunists
3 Ghosts from the Past
4 Surviving the Soviet Pressure
5 The End of Exile
Conclusion
Index