Nation, Region and History in Post-Communist Transitions

Nation, Region and History in Post-Communist Transitions PDF Author: Peter W Rodgers
Publisher: ibidem-Verlag / ibidem Press
ISBN: 3838259033
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Since independence in 1991, issues of nation and identity have become highly debated topics in Ukraine. This monograph explores not only how national identity is being (re)constructed by the Ukrainian state, but also the processes by which it is negotiated through society. The central argument of this work is that too much attention, concerning identity in Ukraine, has focused on markers of ethnicity and language. Instead, the author advocates a regional approach, engaging with the issue of how Ukraine’s regional differences affect nation-building processes. Following the tumultuous events of the ‘Orange Revolution’, the view of Ukraine as a country inherently ‘divided’ between ‘East’ and ‘West’ has (re)emerged to become a popular explanation for political events. The study outlines the necessity for academics, policymakers and indeed politicians to veer away from this simplistic ‘West versus East’ divide. The book advocates an analysis of Ukraine’s unique brand of regionalism not in terms of divisions, but in terms of regional differences and diversity. The author deconstructs the concept of ‘Eastern Ukraine’ by focusing on three Ukrainian localities, all adjacent to the Ukrainian-Russian border. The study examines how individuals provide ‘their’ own understanding of the place of their region within the wider processes of nation building across Ukraine. In doing so, the book develops a ‘regional’ approach to the study of identity politics in Ukraine.

Nation, Region and History in Post-Communist Transitions

Nation, Region and History in Post-Communist Transitions PDF Author: Peter W Rodgers
Publisher: ibidem-Verlag / ibidem Press
ISBN: 3838259033
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since independence in 1991, issues of nation and identity have become highly debated topics in Ukraine. This monograph explores not only how national identity is being (re)constructed by the Ukrainian state, but also the processes by which it is negotiated through society. The central argument of this work is that too much attention, concerning identity in Ukraine, has focused on markers of ethnicity and language. Instead, the author advocates a regional approach, engaging with the issue of how Ukraine’s regional differences affect nation-building processes. Following the tumultuous events of the ‘Orange Revolution’, the view of Ukraine as a country inherently ‘divided’ between ‘East’ and ‘West’ has (re)emerged to become a popular explanation for political events. The study outlines the necessity for academics, policymakers and indeed politicians to veer away from this simplistic ‘West versus East’ divide. The book advocates an analysis of Ukraine’s unique brand of regionalism not in terms of divisions, but in terms of regional differences and diversity. The author deconstructs the concept of ‘Eastern Ukraine’ by focusing on three Ukrainian localities, all adjacent to the Ukrainian-Russian border. The study examines how individuals provide ‘their’ own understanding of the place of their region within the wider processes of nation building across Ukraine. In doing so, the book develops a ‘regional’ approach to the study of identity politics in Ukraine.

Trust and Democratic Transition in Post-communist Europe

Trust and Democratic Transition in Post-communist Europe PDF Author: Ivana Marková
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780191734922
Category : Europe
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
A collection of essays concerned with theoretical and empirical analyses of trust and distrust in post-communist Europe which show that, while political and economic changes can have rapid effects, cultural and psychological changes may linger and influence political trust and representations of democracy.

Communism's Shadow

Communism's Shadow PDF Author: Grigore Pop-Eleches
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400887828
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
It has long been assumed that the historical legacy of Soviet Communism would have an important effect on post-communist states. However, prior research has focused primarily on the institutional legacy of communism. Communism's Shadow instead turns the focus to the individuals who inhabit post-communist countries, presenting a rigorous assessment of the legacy of communism on political attitudes. Post-communist citizens hold political, economic, and social opinions that consistently differ from individuals in other countries. Grigore Pop-Eleches and Joshua Tucker introduce two distinct frameworks to explain these differences, the first of which focuses on the effects of living in a post-communist country, and the second on living through communism. Drawing on large-scale research encompassing post-communist states and other countries around the globe, the authors demonstrate that living through communism has a clear, consistent influence on why citizens in post-communist countries are, on average, less supportive of democracy and markets and more supportive of state-provided social welfare. The longer citizens have lived through communism, especially as adults, the greater their support for beliefs associated with communist ideology—the one exception being opinions regarding gender equality. A thorough and nuanced examination of communist legacies' lasting influence on public opinion, Communism's Shadow highlights the ways in which political beliefs can outlast institutional regimes.

Meandering in Transition

Meandering in Transition PDF Author: Ostap Kushnir
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1793650756
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 423

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Book Description
This edited collection addresses the dynamics of the post-Communist transition in Central Eastern Europe. Its contributors present a detailed analysis of the events unfolding during the last three decades in the region, focusing in particular on identity-building processes and reforms in Belarus, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The contributors outline reasons why some of these states accomplished a decisive break with the Communist past and became members of European and transatlantic structures, while some opted for pseudo-transition and fostered hybrid political regimes, jeopardizing their genuine integration with the West. A group of states which decided to preserve their Communist legacy is also explained. The collection describes and scrutinizes the formation of geopolitical affiliations and the evolution of discourses of belonging. It also traces the fluctuating dynamics of national decision-making and institution-building, as many of the post-Communist states reconsider and re-elaborate their initial ideas and visions of Europe today. Finally, the collection brings to light the rapidly changing perceptions of the region by the major global actors—the European Union, People’s Republic of China, Russian Federation, and others.

Media Transformations in the Post-communist World

Media Transformations in the Post-communist World PDF Author: Peter Gross
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0739174940
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Media Transformations in the Post-Communist World: Eastern Europe's Tortured Path to Change, edited by Peter Gross and Karol Jakubowicz, is a collection of analyses of Eastern European media by some of the most distinguished scholars in the field. This in-depth exploration shows how despite positive changes after the fall of Communism, the transformations of societal institutions, including the mass media, have turned out to be slow, uncertain, and unsatisfying to many when measured against the admittedly ambiguous and overly Panglossian expectations. This collection offers readers a different view of post-Communist media by examining the mass media's evolution in the region from a more holistic perspective. The contributors to this volume respond to essential questions, including: Is the post-Communist transition and transformation over? When can it be considered over? Each chapter contributes to our understanding of these questions by offering theoretical overviews and country-specific studies. This collection serves as an affirmation that the study of mass media is essential to understanding the nature and workings of democracy in the long-suffering nations of Central and Eastern Europe, with international applications. Media Transformations in the Post-Communist World is an indispensable contribution to the study of Eastern Europe after Communism, and the transformations of mass media in the region.

Changing Values and Identities in the Post-Communist World

Changing Values and Identities in the Post-Communist World PDF Author: Nadezhda Lebedeva
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319726161
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
This book offers a comparative analysis of value and identity changes in several post-Soviet countries. In light of the tremendous economic, social and political changes in former communist states, the authors compare the values, attitudes and identities of different generations and cultural groups. Based on extensive empirical data, using quantitative and qualitative methods to study complex social identities, this book examines how intergenerational value and identity changes are linked to socio-economic and political development. Topics include the rise of nationalist sentiments, identity formation of ethnic and religious groups and minorities, youth identity formation and intergenerational value conflicts.

Taking Stock of Shock

Taking Stock of Shock PDF Author: Kristen Ghodsee
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197549233
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
Introduction: Transition from communism - qualified success or utter catastrophe? -- The plan for a J-curve transition -- Plan meets reality -- Modifying the framework -- Counter-narratives of catastrophe -- Where have all the people gone? -- The mortality crisis -- Collapse in fertility -- Outmigration crisis -- Disappointment with transition -- Public opinion of winners and losers -- Evaluations shift over time -- Towards a new social contract? -- Portraits of desperation -- Resistance is futile -- Return to the past -- The patriotism of despair -- Conclusion: Towards an inclusive prosperity.

Income, Inequality, and Poverty During the Transition from Planned to Market Economy

Income, Inequality, and Poverty During the Transition from Planned to Market Economy PDF Author: Branko Milanovi?
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 9780821339947
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
World Bank Technical Paper No. 394. Joint Forest Management (JFM) has emerged as an important intervention in the management of Indias forest resources. This report sets out an analytical method for examining the costs and benefits of JFM arrangements. Two pilot case studies in which the method was used demonstrate interesting outcomes regarding incentives for various groups to participate. The main objective of this study is to develop a better understanding of the incentives for communities to participate in JFM.

Preparing Liberty in Central Europe

Preparing Liberty in Central Europe PDF Author: Josette Baer
Publisher: ibidem-Verlag / ibidem Press
ISBN: 3838255461
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
The often turbulent history of the Czechs and Slovaks in the 20th Century, leading from the Czechoslovak Republic to four decades of communist rule, ended with the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The independent Czech and Slovak democracies achieved EU membership in 2004. While their political histories under Austrian and Hungarian rule in 19th Century has been widely researched, their intellectual history is still largely unknown, mainly due to a lack of English translations. Preparing Liberty in Central Europe provides a collection of newly translated texts by Czech and Slovak intellectuals and political thinkers, covering the period of time from the Spring of Nations in 1848 to the Spring of Prague in 1968. The collection includes Ján Kollár’s On literary reciprocity, T.G. Masaryk’s The difficulties of Democracy and the debate about the Czech Fate between Václav Havel and Milan Kundera in 1968/9. The volume addresses students of history, philosophy, political science and Slavic Studies, interested in issues such as Slavonic national revival, Panslavism, Austroslavism, liberalism and Human Rights. Additional comments on text and author guide the reader through one hundred and thirty years of Czech and Slovak political thought. A large selected bibliography and index complement the volume.

Kharkov/Kharkiv

Kharkov/Kharkiv PDF Author: Volodymyr Kravchenko
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1800738986
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second largest city and its former capital. Situated within 40 km of the Ukrainian-Russian border it is one of those East-Central European “liminal” cities which became a center of modernization and pluralization in the borderland area, playing a prominent role in the process of nation building. Volodymyr Kravchenko’s expanded edition of Kharkov/Kharkiv, now in the English-language and including a new chapter on the reconfiguration of the Ukrainian-Russian borderland during and after the watershed Euromaidan event, uniquely uncovers the city’s long history, from the 17th century to today. Addressing issues of regional and national identities, Ukrainian-Russian relations, mental mapping, historical narratives and the ensuing de/reconstruction of national mythologies, this book, fills a unique gap in the literature on Kharkiv.