Left of Maidan: Self-Organization and the Ukrainian State on the Edge of Europe

City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 9-2016 Left of Maidan: Self-Organization and the Ukrainian State on the Edge of Europe Emily S. Channell-Justice The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1403 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Graduate Works by Year: Dissertations, Theses, Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects and Capstone Projects 9-30-2016 Left of Maidan: Self-Organization and the Ukrainian State on the Edge of Europe Emily S. Channell-Justice How does access to this work benefit you? Let us know! Follow this and additional works at: http://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds Part of the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons This Dissertation is brought to you by CUNY Academic Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Works by Year: Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of CUNY Academic Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LEFT OF MAIDAN: SELF-ORGANIZATION AND THE UKRAINIAN STATE ON THE EDGE OF EUROPE by EMILY S. CHANNELL-JUSTICE A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2016 i © 2016 EMILY S. CHANNELL-JUSTICE All Rights Reserved ii Left of Maidan: Self-Organization and the Ukrainian State on the Edge of Europe by Emily S. Channell-Justice This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. __________________ ____________________________________________ Date Katherine Verdery Chair of Examining Committee __________________ ____________________________________________ Date Gerald Creed Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Katherine Verdery Gerald Creed Dána-Ain Davis Sarah Phillips THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Left of Maidan: Self-Organization and the Ukrainian State on the Edge of Europe by Emily S. Channell-Justice Advisor: Katherine Verdery This dissertation examines the intersection of processes of Europeanization and decommunization in Ukraine during a time of war and upheaval. Through the lens of leftist and feminist activists, it explores how political action was renegotiated during and after the mass mobilizations of 2013- 2014, known as Euromaidan or Maidan. I use the concept of “self-organization” to consider ways these activists have engaged with a dominant national ideology, which draws from specific political ideas about Europe and communism. I trace how self-organization has roots within socialist-era political forms, how it was enacted during the Maidan mobilizations, and its path since the end of the protests and the onset of war in Ukraine’s eastern regions. In the dissertation, I consider the relationship between self-organization and neoliberalism, as this latter force has permeated activist discourses. I use three specific ethnographic examples from participant observation with leftist and feminist activists to make these arguments. During the Maidan period and after, I consider the ways leftist activists organized volunteer-based initiatives in order to engage during the protests without using violence and without supporting right-wing national ideologies. Second, I use the example of education-based activism to understand how the leftist student population made criticisms of state institutions that they integrated into the broader anti-state protests of Maidan. Finally, I examine how feminist activists’ views of Europe widely diverged from those of the iv majority of protesters on Maidan, and I follow how these feminists—like leftists—reconfigured their own participation through self-organization. Together, these elements provide both an ethnographic analysis of this significant moment of disorder and a lens onto a more complex understanding of the relationship between the state and political action. More specifically, examining how marginalized groups participated in this form of collective political action has led me to determine that these protests have reformulated people’s expectations of their governing regimes and their notions of what political participation can and should achieve. I conclude, ultimately, that this reformulation has great bearing on the future of Ukraine’s relationship with its more dominant neighbors—namely, Russia and the European Union. v Acknowledgments This dissertation could not have been completed without the support of a wide group of people. At the Graduate Center, I drastically changed my research interests after two years in the program, and I was both surprised and grateful for the support of faculty on whom I called to put this new project into motion. Katherine Verdery has far exceeded my expectations of an advisor. She has encouraged my academic development over many years, and she supported my transition to studying Ukraine and my intention to study student activism. She helped me work through the many challenges I faced during my research and has guided me in making sense of the experience and turning it into an analytical thesis. Gerald Creed has always given a unique perspective on my research and writing, and he has provided some of the most resonant advice through the various trials of grant-writing, research preparation, and dissertation organization. Dána-Ain Davis has been my feminist guidepost, not only in contributions to my scholarly work but also in thinking about myself as a researcher and my long-term goals. I am also grateful to Sarah Phillips for committing her time to this project after just one brief but fruitful meeting. Outside of my committee, Janet Johnson has been a positive figure and collaborator in negotiating research in a region that is not always friendly to the people with whom we wish to work. Julie Skurski has read many versions of many chapters of this dissertation, always generating insightful discussions and positive support during the challenging writing phase. Avram Bornstein has volunteered to read portions of my work over many years, providing fruitful discussions, commentaries, and criticisms. Kirk Dombrowski offered me my first research position, creating the opportunity for invaluable experience in developing a research project, in research methodology, and in writing academic papers. His efforts to build a collaborative multidisciplinary research environment were a crucial part of my scholarly development. Jessica Pisano offered creative solutions to the ongoing challenges I faced while in Ukraine. Last, but vi certainly not least, Ellen DeRiso has helped me navigate through the Anthropology program and the Graduate Center these last seven years, and she provided much appreciated moral support during my time in Ukraine. My colleagues at the GC have further played an essential role in the completion of this dissertation and in engaging with the academic world. Andrew Hernann, Fabio Mattioli, Estefania Ponti, and Jose Vasquez have all read many chapters of my work and shared portions of their own, aside from many other forms of support. Margarite Whitten and Mohamad Junaid have been great friends as well as colleagues since our first days of coursework. Outside of the GC, Martha Kebalo’s enthusiasm for my interest in Ukraine and the Ukrainian language has been incomparable. Anastasia Tkach, Ali Kinsella, and Kathryn Zehr have helped me think through many problems of my research and academic aspirations. Katherine McLean has been a companion through many iterations of my research, and she has allayed many fears over many years of study, writing, and career planning. Kara Newhouse constantly reminds me why I studied anthropology and keeps me grounded in all aspects of life. I was able to complete research in Ukraine thanks to a Fulbright-IIE grant. The support of the Fulbright program, and specifically Marta Kolomayets and Inna Barysh in Kyiv, during such a challenging moment was invaluable. Katie Hiatt Mattila provided incomparable moral support in Ukraine, from sharing living spaces to translating Russian terms during our self-defense classes. I am also indebted to the faculty and staff at the Ukrainian Catholic University’s Summer Language Program, which I attended thanks to the Graduate Center’s Doctoral Student Research Grant. Mar’iana Burak confirmed my dedication to the Ukrainian language; Nadia Khomanchuk and Marta Panas helped me grasp a conversational level of the language very quickly and have supported my work in Ukraine throughout this research. Lesia Sidlovych’s patience was also vii crucial to my confidence. In New York, Yuri Shevchuk is an unparalleled language instructor who has also shaped many of my views of language politics. I have grown to appreciate his toughness in teaching Ukrainian, as it has drastically improved my communication skills and my appreciation for language study. In Ukraine, I am most indebted to many activists who helped me discover a complex political scene, although I cannot name every person who has helped me along the way to the completion of this research. Most importantly,

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