Struggle over Identity : The Official and the Alternative “Belarusianness” /
Bekus, Nelly
Struggle over Identity : The Official and the Alternative “Belarusianness” / Nelly Bekus. - Budapest : Central European University Press, 2013. - 312 p.
Ebook
Rejecting the cliché about “weak identity and underdeveloped nationalism,” Bekus argues for the co-existence of two parallel concepts of Belarusianness—the official and the alternative one—which mirrors the current state of the Belarusian people more accurately and allows for a different interpretation of the interconnection between the democratization and nationalization of Belarusian society. The book describes how the ethno-symbolic nation of the Belarusian nationalists, based on the cultural capital of the Golden Age of the Belarusian past (17th century) competes with the “nation” institutionalized and reified by the numerous civic rituals and social practices under the auspices of the actual Belarusian state. Comparing the two concepts not only provides understanding of the logic that dominates Belarusian society’s self-description models, but also enables us to evaluate the chances of alternative Belarusianness to win this unequal struggle over identity.
OpenEdition Books License
978-615-5211-84-3
Political Science Public Admin. & Development
Cultural studies
Belarus
Soviet Union
post-communism
political ideologies
socialism
nationalism
capitalism
liberalism
democracy
identity
Belarusian regime
authoritarianism
bolshevism
linguistic russification
Struggle over Identity : The Official and the Alternative “Belarusianness” / Nelly Bekus. - Budapest : Central European University Press, 2013. - 312 p.
Ebook
Rejecting the cliché about “weak identity and underdeveloped nationalism,” Bekus argues for the co-existence of two parallel concepts of Belarusianness—the official and the alternative one—which mirrors the current state of the Belarusian people more accurately and allows for a different interpretation of the interconnection between the democratization and nationalization of Belarusian society. The book describes how the ethno-symbolic nation of the Belarusian nationalists, based on the cultural capital of the Golden Age of the Belarusian past (17th century) competes with the “nation” institutionalized and reified by the numerous civic rituals and social practices under the auspices of the actual Belarusian state. Comparing the two concepts not only provides understanding of the logic that dominates Belarusian society’s self-description models, but also enables us to evaluate the chances of alternative Belarusianness to win this unequal struggle over identity.
OpenEdition Books License
978-615-5211-84-3
Political Science Public Admin. & Development
Cultural studies
Belarus
Soviet Union
post-communism
political ideologies
socialism
nationalism
capitalism
liberalism
democracy
identity
Belarusian regime
authoritarianism
bolshevism
linguistic russification
