Taste for Oppression - A Political Ethnography of Everyday Life in Belarus

Belarus has emerged from communism in a unique manner as an authoritarian regime. The author, who has lived in Belarus for several years, highlights several mechanisms of tyranny, beyond the regime's ability to control and repress, which should not be underestimated. The book immerses the reader in the depths of the Belarusian countryside, among the kolkhozes and rural communities at the heart of this authoritarian regime under Alexander Lukashenko, and offers vivid descriptions of the everyday life of Belarusians. It sheds light on the reasons why part of the population supports Lukashenko and takes a fresh look at the functioning of what has been called 'the last dictatorship in Europe'.

List of contents

Acknowledgements

Notes on Text

Introduction

Chapter 1. Government of Rural Areas

Chapter 2. A Discrete Ethnography

Chapter 3. Authorized Resources

Chapter 4. Illegalisms

Chapter 5. Interdependencies

Chapter 6. Life Horizons

Chapter 7. Solidarity

Chapter 8. Dignity

Chapter 9. The Fragility of the World

Chapter 10. Levels of Social Order

Conclusion

References

Index

About the author

Ronan Hervouet is Professor of sociology at the University of Bordeaux and a member of the Centre Émile Durkheim. He has previously published a book on Belarus, entitled Datcha Blues. Existences ordinaires et dictature en Biélorussie (Belin, 2009).

Product details

• Authors: Ronan Hervouet
• Publisher: BERGHAHN BOOKS, INC
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 03.03.2021
• EAN: 9781800730250
• ISBN: 978-1-80073-025-0
• No. of pages: 270
• Series: Anthropology of Europe
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Freedom, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / Rural, Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography, Belarus, Social and cultural anthropology, Political control and freedoms, Political Control & Freedoms, Belarus (Belorussia)