Being a State and States of Being in Highland Georgia

Florian Mühlfried, Florian Mühlfried

• Publisher: Berghahn Books
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781782382966
• eBook ISBN: 9781782382973
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Russian History
• Index: History

The highland region of the republic of Georgia, one of the former Soviet Socialist Republics, has long been legendary for its beauty. It is often assumed that the state has only made partial inroads into this region, and is mostly perceived as alien. Taking a fresh look at the Georgian highlands allows the author to consider perennial questions of citizenship, belonging, and mobility in a context that has otherwise been known only for its folkloric dimensions. Scrutinizing forms of identification with the state at its margins, as well as local encounters with the erratic Soviet and post-Soviet state, the author argues that citizenship is both a sought-after means of entitlement and a way of guarding against the state. This book not only challenges theories in the study of citizenship but also the axioms of integration in Western social sciences in general.

Table of contents

• Title page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Maps
• Tables
• Acknowledgements
• Note on Transcription
• Introduction
• 1 A Mobile Field
• 2 Hidden Treasures in the Mountains and a State that Comes and Goes
• 3 Reborn Citizens in a Post-Soviet Landscape
• 4 Three Ways to Be a State
• 5 Triple Winning and Simple Losing
• Conclusion
• Appendix
• Bibliography
• Index