(Post-Soviet Affairs) Abstract: Based on a case study of Euromaidan Ukrainian nationalism, we argue that civic nationalism may derive more from a commitment to a particular political event than from a set of stable political ideas and principles. We concur that civic nationalism can be as exclusivist as ethnocultural nationalism, and we develop specific criteria and mechanisms of civic exclusion originating from the unique experience of participating in the Euromaidan event. Challenging the conceptual dichotomy of civic vs. ethnocultural nationalism, we suggest that these categories are still fruitful; however, they should be re-conceptualized. We try to clarify the relations between civic and ethnocultural forms of nationalism instead of simply considering them in opposition to each other. We show that a belief in the existence of a civic nation can legitimize the practices of othering, among them ethnocultural exclusion, that are undertaken in the name of a civic nation.
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Co-author: Oleg Zhuravlev
