Struggle over Identity

Nelly Bekus

Title: Struggle over Identity
Subtitle: The Official and the Alternative "Belarusianness"
Author: Nelly Bekus
Price: € 134,00 excl. VAT
ISBN: 9789639776685
Format: Hardback
Number of pages: 312
Language: English
Publication date: 20 - 04 - 2010
Dimensions: 15.9 x 23.4 cm
Categories
Discipline: Social and Political Sciences
Imprint: CEU Press
Also available as: eBook PDF - € 133,99
Paperback - € 56,95

Table of Contents

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Introduction

Part I. Nation in Theory

Chapter 1 Nation-Formation Strategies in Contemporary Nation-Studies

Chapter 2 State and Nation

Chapter 3 Nationalism, Capitalism, Liberalism: The East European Perspective

Chapter 4 Nationalism and Socialism: The Soviet Case

Part II. The Rise and Development of the Belarusian National Idea

Chapter 5 The First Belarusian Nationalist Movement: Between National and Class Interests

Chapter 6 Byelorussian Republic within the Soviet State

Chapter 7 Post-Soviet Conditions for Independence

Part III. Belarusian Post-Communism

Chapter 8 The Election of the First Belarusian President as a Mirror of Belarusian Preferences

Chapter 9 “Labels” of the Belarusian Regime

Chapter 10 “Triple Transformation” and Belarus

Chapter 11 Prerequisites of Democratization and Authoritarianism in Belarus

Part IV. Arguments and Paradoxes of Weak Belarusian Identity

Chapter 12 Belarus as an Example of National and Democratic Failure

Chapter 13 The Russian Factor in Belarusian Self-Perception

Chapter 14 The Paradox of “National Pride”

Chapter 15 Paradoxes of Political and Linguistic Russification

Chapter 16 Lack of Religious Basis for National Unity

Part V. The Struggle over Identity

Chapter 17 Two Ideas of “Belarusianness” in Place of “Sole” National Idea

Chapter 18 Belarusian-Specific Nature of the Public Sphere: Invisible Wall

Chapter 19 Belarusian Tradition: The Alternative and Official Historical Narrations

Chapter 20 Political Discourses of Alternative Belarusianness

Chapter 21 National Ideology of the Belarusian State as a Political Articulation of Official Belarusianness

Part VI. Cultural Manifestation versus Social Reification

Chapter 22 Two Belarusian Approaches to the Politics of Identity

Chapter 23 “The Belarusian Globe”: An Encyclopedia of What Existed before Communism

Chapter 24 Belarusian National Film Misterium Occupation: Distancing Themselves from Soviets and Russians

Chapter 25 Free Theater: Alternative Belarusianness on the Stage

Chapter 26 Independent Rock Music: Critical Reflection and Protest

Chapter 27 Medieval Reenactors: A Manifestation of Belarus’s European History

Chapter 28 The Official Politics of Identity: Social Reification Strategy

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Nelly Bekus

Struggle over Identity

The Official and the Alternative "Belarusianness"

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.

Author

Nelly Bekus

Nelly Bekus is a Belarusian social scientist and publicist, and a member of the European Cultural Parliament. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and is Assistant Professor at the University of Warsaw.