New book on ethnopolitics in Latvia and Kazakstan
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Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 16:41:16 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: New book on ethnopolitics in Latvia and Kazakstan
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Original sender: Pal Kolsto <[email protected]>
New book on ethnopolitics in Latvia and Kazakstan
Westview press has released a new book on ethnopolitics in Latvia and
Kazakstan:
Pal Kolsto, (editor) Nation-Building and Ethnic Integration in
Post-Soviet Societies. An investigation of Latvia and Kazakhstan,
(Boulder: Colorado, Westview press: 1999), 344 pages. Please find
below the publisher's presentatation of the book as it appears on the
flip cover, as well as the table of content.
P�l Kolst�
University of Oslo
"Of all the states of the former Soviet Union, it is in Latvia and in
Kazakstan that the titular nation represents the lowest share of the
total population: as of 1997, approximately 57% in Latvia and 50% in
Kazakstan. In such a situation it is difficult to see how the
'national' or 'titular' culture (Latvian, Kazak) can serve as a
consolidating element in the nation-building project. Quite the
contrary: any ethnic-based nation-building, one would assume, could
easily lead to increased tension between members of the titular group
and 'outsiders'. And yet, in both these states nation-building is
following the same general post-Soviet pattern: the traditions and
symbols of the titular nations form the basis, while the remainder of
the population, no matter how strong it may be, gets treated as ethnic
'minorities' and are deprived of political influence. While the means
employed differ somewhat, it seems fair to say that Latvian
nation-building is geared towards the latvification of the Latvian
state and in Kazakstan kazakification is a desired goal.
But is this at all possible? Is half of the population supposed to be
'integrated' into the other half - and, if so, what will be the
result? Obviously, the answer to these questions will not be the same
in both counties. Latvia is a small European country, the size of
Ireland, while Kazakstan, straddling the European-Asian boundary,
covers a territory as large as Western Europe. However, precisely the
combina-tion of important similarities and dissimilarities between the
two cases is what makes a comparison of Latvia and Kazakstan a
fruitful endeavor.
Several bipolar states of the world, such as Rwanda, Burundi, and Sri
Lanka, have experienced savage bloodshed and even to the total
collapse of state order. By contrast, Latvia and Kazakhstan have so
far to a remarkably high degree been spared the kind of communal
violence which has erupted in many other Soviet successor states. This
book explores the reasons for this tranquil outcome and argues that
the legacy of Soviet nationalities policy provides part of the
explanation."
TABLE OF CONTENT:
1 STATING THE TASK, Pal Kolsto 1
1.1 Levels of analysis 4
2 BIPOLAR SOCIETIES? Pal Kolsto 11
2.1 The case for fragmented societies 12
2.2 Cross-cutting cleavages among the major cultural groups. The case
for continuous societies 23
2.3 Shared experiences. The case for homogeneous societies 32
2.4 A question of identities 35
3 NATION-BUILDING AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION THEORY, Pal Kolsto 38
3.1 Nation-building 38
3.2 Social integration 42
3.3 The applicability of nation-building/integration theory to
post-colonial realities 48
3.4 Nations and nation-building in Eastern Europe 50
3.5 The applicability of nation-building/integration theory to
post-Communist realities 53
4 NATION-BUILDING AND ETHNIC INTEGRATION IN LATVIA, Aina Antane and
Boris Tsilevich 57
4.1 Background 57
4.2 Demographic dynamics after the restoration of independence 62
4.3 Integration on the political level 75
4.4 The Political Rhetorics of nation-building 81
4.5 The citizenship problem 87
4.6 Political representation and participation 101
4.7 The language situation 111
4.8 Language in education 123
4.9 Ethnic 'division of labour' and socio-economic stratification 137
4.10 Integration on the mental level 142
4.11 Conclusions 147
5 POLITICAL INTEGRATION IN KAZAKSTAN, Jorn Holm-Hansen 151
5.1 The demographic situation 155
5.2 Nation-building
5.3 Ethnicity and legislation 169
5.4 Political institutions and integration 181
5.5 Non-state organizations 210
5.6 Conclusions 221
6 ATTITUDINAL AND LINGUISTIC INTEGRATION IN KAZAKSTAN AND LATVIA,
Irina Malkova, Pal Kolsto and Hans O.Melberg 225
6.1 Social Integration 226
6.2 Social stratification 229
6.3 Political identities and allegiances 234
6.4 Cultural identities and forecasts 242
6.5 Problems and solutions 266
6.6. Conclusions 272
7 COMPARISONS AND CONCLUSIONS, Pal Kolsto 277
7.1 Cultural diversity, stability and democracy 277
7.2 Consociationalism 280
7.3 Stability through domination 285
7.4 Stability through de-bipolarization 295
7.5 What the future holds. A few glimpses into the crystal ball 306
For ordering information, see Westview Press website
(http://www.westviewpress.com/order.html).
Professor Pal Kolsto
Dept. of East European and Oriental Studies
University of Oslo
Box 1030, Blindern
N-0315 Oslo, Norway
tel (+47) 22 85 67 99/22 85 67 97
fax (+47)22 85 41 40
home address: Ramsvig 50 g, N-4015 Stavanger, Norway
tel/fax home (+47) 51 56 20 82
e-mail [email protected]
homepage: http://www.uio.no/~palk/home/
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