Being a State and States of Being in Highland Georgia [Hardcover]

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.

Once he has laid the historical and geographical groundwork, M?hlfrieds ethnography excels& M?hlfrieds historical overview of Tushetians relationship to the state is indispensable. This is essential reading for scholars of the Caucasus as well as those interested in Soviet and post-Soviet citizenship. M?hlfrieds discussion of religiosity as forming a spiritual border entwined with the state is compelling and worth pursuing in future studies.? American Ethnologist

&the book gives a fresh and highly interesting point of view on what it means to be a citizen (or subject) in an entity (or state) that tends to have a century of perestroikas. The new look at what the concept and practice of citizenship encapsulates will be useful for both theoreticians and practical policy-makers.? Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

&the book is pioneering in its depiction of highland Georgiaan area that has so far received little attention in English-language academic publications particularly in relation to the role and importance of shrinelS°