Overview

Social Values and Identities in the Black Sea Region focuses on the nexus between geopolitical challenges and cultural framework in the Black Sea region. Building on the path-dependency approach, the volume goes beyond the classical cultural blocks’ paradigm, showing how the common inheritance interferes with different religious and political institutional backgrounds, fostering the formation of a particular cultural area. The interdisciplinary approach combines contributions from the domains of sociology, political science, international relations, and security studies and employs qualitative and quantitative analyses, the last ones relying on large-scale survey evidence coming from the World Values Survey, the European Values Study, and the European Social Survey. The analysis of the empirical data allows contributors to examine the change of social values and identities over the past three decades. Although there is no declared common social identity, the comprehensive investigation of social, political, moral, and religious values, identities, and beliefs concludes the presence of shared domains and trends that provide reasoning to consider the Black Sea region a cultural area. The matter is of great importance, especially in the context of the open military conflict in Ukraine and other frozen conflicts in the region. Common culture, relying not only on the shared values or strong identities, but also in customs, material objects, or daily life practices and strategies may help in finding peaceful solutions to the existing conflicts.

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9781666918250

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Reviews

"""This exciting book fills in a conclusive way a gap in the value literature, the study of social values and identities in the Black Sea region. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach to unveil different economic, cultural, and societal similarities but also cross-country differences in the region. It is an excellent and invaluable resource for students and scholars alike studying culture, identity, and values."" -- Eldad Davidov, University of Cologne"

"""Social Values and Identities in the Black Sea Region offers a new set of lenses to help us understand complex dynamics in a strategically important region. The authors delve into the development of a shared cultural space and social identity in the region. The book makes an important contribution to our understanding the Black Sea region by taking a bottom-up approach to issues of cooperation and shedding light on the interconnectedness of politics, economics, and culture. This should be the go-to source for anyone looking to gain a greater understanding of how the people in this region see their future.""--Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, University of Pittsburgh ""The fine scholars contributing to this timely volume explore everything from populism to gender norms in the Black Sea region. Comparing and contrasting these disparate countries--from Ukraine in the north to Turkey in the south, and from Romania in the west to Georgia in the east--helps us to think about what constitutes a cultural area, how values emerge and change, and where current trends may lead. The work is both original and accessible: an unusual combination.""--David Voas, University College London ""The Black Sea Area is currently geopolitical ground zero. This book is a must read for understanding the region and its vital importance!""--Michael O. Slobodchikoff, Troy University ""This exciting book fills in a conclusive way a gap in the value literature, the study of social values and identities in the Black Sea region. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach to unveil different economic, cultural, and societal similarities but also cross-country differences in the region. It is an excellent and invaluable resource for students and scholars alike studying culture, identity, and values.""--Eldad Davidov, University of Cologne"

Author Information

Malina Voicu is research professor at the Romanian Academy and lecturer at the University of Bucharest. Kseniya Kizilova is vice-director at the Institute for Comparative Survey Research (Austria). Marian Zulean is professor and co-director of the Black Sea Area Program at the University of Bucharest.

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