Detalls del llibre

Valery Tishkov is a well-known Russian historian and anthropologist, and former Minister of Nationalities in Yeltsin's government. His account of ethnicity, nationalism, and conflict in the territory of the former Soviet Union draws on inside knowledge of major events and extensive primary research. Challenging established interpretations of ethnic factors, Tishkov argues that ethnicity has a multifaceted role: it is the most accessible basis for political mobilization; a means of controlling power and resources in a transforming society; and therapy for the great trauma suffered by individuals and groups under previous regimes. This complexity helps explain the contradictory nature and outcomes of public ethnic policies based on a doctrine of ethnonationalism. Tishkov concludes that the Soviet and post-Soviet nations, as well as the current violent ethno-politics, stem from decrepit doctrinal projects, from elitist efforts to build a state on ethnic principles and a society on exclusivist identities, and from political malfunctioning.