The Relentless Pursuit of the National State: Reflections on Soviet and Post-Soviet Experiences

Abstract

Argues that one of the most dramatic developments in Eurasian politics in recent years has been a massive shift at both elite & mass levels toward state-seeking attitudes & behaviors. Since the breakup of the USSR in 1989, state-seeking activities have expanded across the broad range of ethnic groups in this region, & it is suggested that this is closely connected to the emergence of a generalized crisis of the state in the USSR in which fundamental questions of sovereignty were raised. This condition was accompanied by a remaking of national consciousness in which groups previously denied access to the state began to clamor for change. State-seeking behaviors are also connected to the particular regional legacy of state-building & empire-building. It is concluded that the state-seeking behavior produced by these conditions is likely to make the long-term creation of stable polities difficult. 3 Figures. D. M. Smith