Nature Protests: The End of Ecology in Slovakia (Culture, Place, and Nature) [Hardcover]

Edward Snajdr (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 029598855X | ISBN-13: 978-0295988559 | Publication Date: November 30, 2008

As societies around the world are challenged to respond to ever growing environmental crises, it has become increasingly important for activists, policy makers, and environmental practitioners to understand the dynamic relationship between environmental movements and the state. In communist Eastern Europe, environmental activism fuelled the rise of democratic movements and the overthrow of totalitarianism. Yet, as this study of environmentalism in Slovakia shows, concern for the environment declined during the post-communist period, an ironic victim of its own earlier success.In "Nature Protests", Edward Snajdr demonstrates how concerns about ecology generated a social movement that led to political dialogue about freedom, ethnicity, and power. He connects the role that green dissidents played in communism's collapse with the forces in Slovak society that replaced them. Through ethnographic interviews and archival materials, he explains why Slovakia's ecology movement, so strong under socialism, fell apart so rapidly despite the persistence of serious ecological maladies in the region.Synthesizing theory in anthropology and political ecology, he suggests that the fate of environmentalism in Slovakia marks the beginning of a global post-ecological age, where nature is culturally maginalized in new ways. In addition to its significance for policy makers, this book will be a valuable resource for anthropologists, sociologists, political ecologists, and scholars of East European and post-Soviet studies. Edward Snajdr is associate professor of anthropology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. This title is part of "Culture, Place, and Nature Series".

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Nature Protests is a vivid examination of the transition to post-socialist politics in the late twentieth century. The case is Slovakia, and the question is: why does environmental politics expand and shrink so rapidly as communist government comes to an end in Eastern Europe? Ed Snajdr's answer contributes an excellent addition to anthropological studies of the politics of nature as the iron curtain falls away." K. Sivaramakrishnan, Professor of Anthropology, Yale University "This book tells two important stories-about ecological activism and about the tumultuous transformation to democracy and market in Eastern Europe-from the point of view of a small country that is not much studied but that is, in fact, a keystone for the region." Andrzej W. Tymowski, Director of International Programs, American Council of Learned Societies

From the Publisher

"Nature Protests is a vivid examination of the transition to post-socialist politics in the late twentieth century. The case is Slovakia, and the question is: why does environmental politics expand and shrink so rapidly as communist government comes to an end in Eastern Europe? Ed Snajdr's answer contributes an excellent addition to anthropological studies of the politics of nature as the iron curtain falls away." - K. Sivaramakrishnan, Professor of Anthropology, Yale University

"This book tells two important stories - about ecological activism and about the tumultuous transformation to democracy and market in Eastern Europe - from the point of view of a small country that is not much studied but that is, in fact, a keystone for the region." - Andrzej W. Tymowski, Director of International Programs, American Council of Learned Societies

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 242 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Washington Pr (November 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 029598855X
• ISBN-13: 978-0295988559
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,145,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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