Brothers at Each Other’s Throats: Regularity of the Violent Ethnic Conflicts in the Post-Soviet Space

Brothers at Each Other’s Throats: Regularity of the Violent Ethnic Conflicts in the Post-Soviet Space illuminates how, at the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union considerably enhanced and promoted ethnic conflicts in Eurasia. The text explains how the emergence of newly independent realms caused many ethnic groups to jump at each other’s throats in an effort to claim territory and establish dominance.

Opening chapters explore the meaning of ethnicity, review principal characteristics of ethnic groups and nations, and place ethnic groups within the context of the modern world. Students learn about the reaction of ethnicity to challenging circumstances through the historical example of the Ukraine and its interactions with neighboring groups and powers. Chapters 4 and 5 examine the impact of all-sided social crises on peoples and their interactions, as well as the driving forces of ethnic conflict: ethno-political elites and charismatic leaders.

Additional chapters examine the ideology of ethnic conflicts and the cyclical pattern and typology of violent ethnic conflicts. Students review timeline-based accounts of violent ethnic conflicts in the post-Soviet space and between Russia and the Ukraine. The closing chapter covers external factors that exacerbate the conflicts, including conflict propaganda and the Eurasian debate in Russia and its impact on current Russian policy towards the Ukraine and the West.