Without the State: Self-Organization and Political Activism in Ukraine

“Anchored in events in Kyiv in 2013–2014, Without the State offers insights relevant for other societies that were once part of the Soviet Union and that may be currently engaged in their own efforts to extricate themselves from Moscow’s grasp. This book sheds needed light on the ideational struggles of people worldwide seeking participatory alternatives to the neoliberal economic order.” Jessica Pisano, New School for Social Research, The Russian Review

“This book is of interest to anyone who studies protest or civil society, providing valuable insight into how activists navigate diverse and sometimes hostile spaces, adapt their tactics, and make pragmatic decisions about engaging with actors and ideologies they disagree with. It also offers an excellent example of how to write an ethnography of a protest movement: it is rigorously researched, remains compelling to read, and centers the voices of those it studies.” Emma Mateo, Columbia University, American Ethnologist

"Compelling, well-represented, and engagingly written, Without the State is an important work of scholarship that presents fresh research on a topic of great contemporary interest and (geo)political significance. Based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork with left-oriented activists, as well as Emily Channell-Justice’s own participation in the protest events of Maidan, this book offers a rich and nuanced account of the protests and their implications for contemporary Ukrainian politics."

Julie Hemment, Chair and Professor of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

"This is a wonderfully animated ethnographic study of efforts to forge new forms of political activism during an acute political crisis. Emily Channell-Justice presents emerging political actors, who seek to pioneer new methods of 'self-organization' to introduce sweeping and lasting political change. Without the State has echoes far beyond Ukraine, or even the post-Soviet space, and illustrates the spectrum of possible responses to political polarization and state dysfunction."

Catherine Wanner, Professor of History, Anthropology, and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania State University and author of Everyday Religiosity and the Politics of Belonging in Ukraine