Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Khazanov, Anatoly M

Titel

AFTER THE USSR: ETHNICITY, NATIONALISM, AND POLITICS IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES

Erscheinungsjahr

1995

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Sociological Abstracts

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• This book offers an analysis of ethnic nationalism & its pivotal role in the collapse of the Soviet empire, & an attempt to demonstrate the applicability of modern, Western, & non-Marxist schools of thought on nationalism, modernization, democracy, & civil society to the Soviet & post-Soviet situation. Assessments of ethnic & political strife in various parts of the former USSR illuminate the interconnections between nationalism, ethnic relations, social structures, & political process in the waning days of the USSR & in the new independent states. The Soviet nationality policy & its failure to satisfy national aspirations are explored to demonstrate the fatal flaws of totalitarian rule & the impossibility of reforming it. It is cautioned that the liberal democratic direction of current transformations in the former USSR should not be taken for granted, because for most of the independent states, departing from totalitarianism requires creation of a civil society for the first time in their history. It is argued that the state's partial retreat from the public sphere leaves a dangerous institutional vacuum in which nationalism is emerging as the dominant ideology. It is concluded that this new, posttotalitarian society is still a far cry from a genuine liberal democracy &, despite its inherent instability, may turn out to be a long-lasting phenomenon. A Preface & a Conclusion accompany the 8 Chpts. (1) The Collapse of the Soviet Union: Nationalism during Perestroika and Afterwards (1985-Summer 1992). (2) The Verse and Prose of Post-Totalitarianism (The ex-Soviet Union in 1992-1994). (3) Ethnic Minorities, Totalitarianism, and Democracy. (4) Central Asia on a Path from the Second to the Third World. (5) Ethnic Stratification and Ethnic Competition in Kazakhstan. (6) Yakutian Nationalism in a Search for Identities. (7) People with Nowhere to Go: The Plight of the Meskhetian Turks. (8) A Last-Minute Postscript: The Chechen Crisis (as of May 21, 1995). Also included is an Appendix: Ethnic Composition of the Soviet Union, by 1989. 18 Tables, 5 Figures, 5 Maps, 596 References. V. Rios, Jr.