Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe

Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe
Author: Kristen Ghodsee
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2009-07-27
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1400831350

Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe examines how gender identities were reconfigured in a Bulgarian Muslim community following the demise of Communism and an influx of international aid from the Islamic world. Kristen Ghodsee conducted extensive ethnographic research among a small population of Pomaks, Slavic Muslims living in the remote mountains of southern Bulgaria. After Communism fell in 1989, Muslim minorities in Bulgaria sought to rediscover their faith after decades of state-imposed atheism. But instead of returning to their traditionally heterodox roots, isolated groups of Pomaks embraced a distinctly foreign type of Islam, which swept into their communities on the back of Saudi-financed international aid to Balkan Muslims, and which these Pomaks believe to be a more correct interpretation of their religion. Ghodsee explores how gender relations among the Pomaks had to be renegotiated after the collapse of both Communism and the region's state-subsidized lead and zinc mines. She shows how mosques have replaced the mines as the primary site for jobless and underemployed men to express their masculinity, and how Muslim women have encouraged this as a way to combat alcoholism and domestic violence. Ghodsee demonstrates how women's embrace of this new form of Islam has led them to adopt more conservative family roles, and how the Pomaks' new religion remains deeply influenced by Bulgaria's Marxist-Leninist legacy, with its calls for morality, social justice, and human solidarity.

Central and Southeast European Politics since 1989

Central and Southeast European Politics since 1989
Author: Sabrina P. Ramet
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 600
Release: 2010-02-18
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780521716161

The only textbook to provide a complete introduction to post-1989 Central and Southeast European politics, this dynamic volume provides a comprehensive account of the collapse of communism and the massive transformation that the region has witnessed. It brings together 23 leading specialists to trace the course of the dramatic changes accompanying democratization. The text provides country-by-country coverage, identifying common themes and enabling students to see which are shared throughout the area, giving them a sense of its unity and comparability whilst strengthening understanding around its many different trajectories. The dual thematic focus on democratization and Europeanization running through the text also helps to reinforce this learning process. Each chapter contains a factual overview to give the reader context concerning the region which will be useful for specialists and newcomers to the subject alike.

Race and the Yugoslav Region

Race and the Yugoslav Region
Author: Catherine Baker
Publisher: Theory for a Global Age
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2018
Genre: Former Yugoslav republics
ISBN: 9781526126627

Describes the territories and collective identities of former Yugoslavia within the politics of race - not just ethnicity - and the history of how ideas of racialised difference have been translated globally

The Political Economy of Middle Class Politics and the Global Crisis in Eastern Europe

The Political Economy of Middle Class Politics and the Global Crisis in Eastern Europe
Author: Agnes Gagyi
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2021-08-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030769437

Contrary to dominant narratives which portray East European politics as a pendulum swing between democracy and authoritarianism, conventionally defined in terms of an ahistorical cultural geography of East vs. West, this book analyzes post-socialist transformation as part of the long downturn of the post-WWII global capitalist cycle. Based on an empirical comparison of two countries with significantly different political regimes throughout the period, Hungary and Romania, this study shows how different constellations of successive late socialist and post-socialist regimes have managed internal and external class relations throughout the same global crisis process, from very similar positions of semi-peripheral, post-socialist systemic integration. Within this context, the book follows the role of social movements since the 1970s, paying attention both to the level of differences between local integration regimes and to the level of structural similarities of global integration. The analysis maintains a special focus on movements’ class composition and inter-class relationships and the specific position of middle-class politics in movements.

Class Cultures in Post-Socialist Eastern Europe

Class Cultures in Post-Socialist Eastern Europe
Author: Dražen Cepić
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2018-10-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0429840101

This book investigates the extent to which social class has changed in Eastern Europe since the fall of communism. Based on extensive original research, the book discusses how ideas about class are viewed by both working class and middle class people. The book examines how such people’s social identities are shaped by various factors including economic success, culture and friendship networks. The present class situation in Eastern Europe is contrasted to what prevailed in Communist times, when societies were officially classless, but nevertheless had Communist party elites.

Postsocialist Pathways

Postsocialist Pathways
Author: David Stark
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 1998-02-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780521589741

This book, first published in 1998, analyzes democratization and economic change in the postsocialist societies of East Central Europe.

The Path to Democratic Reform

The Path to Democratic Reform
Author: Muzaffer Kutlay
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2024-09-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1040149499

This book offers a comparative study of minority-majority relations in post-conflict societies. Drawing on three contentious cases – Bulgaria, Croatia, and Montenegro –it explores how pluralist governance structures are established in the area of minority rights in new EU member and candidate states and how reform resilience is ensured. The author shows the importance of cooperation and moderation between political elites in democratising countries, developing a comparative analysis of three understudied cases in the Balkans region and offering a conceptual framework based on extensive field research data and archive materials. Of great interest to both scholars and practitioners alike, this book identifies transferable policy lessons of interest to a global audience and specifies under which conditions substantial reforms should be carried out. It will appeal to a broad audience of students interested in international politics, European studies, state-mandated displacement, and ethnic studies.

Politics and the Environment in Eastern Europe

Politics and the Environment in Eastern Europe
Author: Eszter Krasznai Kovacs
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2021-07-28
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1800641354

Europe remains divided between east and west, with differences caused and worsened by uneven economic and political development. Amid these divisions, the environment has become a key battleground. The condition and sustainability of environmental resources are interlinked with systems of governance and power, from local to EU levels. Key challenges in the eastern European region today include increasingly authoritarian forms of government that threaten the operations and very existence of civil society groups; the importation of locally-contested conservation and environmental programmes that were designed elsewhere; and a resurgence in cultural nationalism that prescribes and normalises exclusionary nation-building myths. This volume draws together essays by early-career academic researchers from across eastern Europe. Engaging with the critical tools of political ecology, its contributors provide a hitherto overlooked perspective on the current fate and reception of ‘environmentalism’ in the region. It asks how emergent forms of environmentalism have been received, how these movements and perspectives have redefined landscapes, and what the subtler effects of new regulatory regimes on communities and environment-dependent livelihoods have been. Arranged in three sections, with case studies from Czechia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Serbia, this collection develops anthropological views on the processes and consequences of the politicisation of the environment. It is valuable reading for human geographers, social and cultural historians, political ecologists, social movement and government scholars, political scientists, and specialists on Europe and European Union politics.

Ius Doni in International Law and EU Law

Ius Doni in International Law and EU Law
Author: Christian H. Kälin
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2019-03-27
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9004357521

In Ius Doni in International Law and EU Law, Dr. Christian H. Kälin establishes the concept of ius doni in the contemporary legal and political theorising of citizenship. Providing a comprehensive analysis of the subject, the book discusses the legal and political concepts of citizenship. It also introduces a new term for what is already an increasingly common and accepted practice of granting citizenship on the basis of substantial contributions to the State. Consisting of two main parts – law and practice – the monograph analyses the ius doni concept in both international law and EU law, further tests its application in practice and establishes best practices among states. Finally, the book discusses the conceptual and practical implications for citizenship.