Ecology, Space, and Identity in the Eurasian Region

This book brings together the postcolonial and postsocialist conditions of the post-Soviet space and the Indian subcontinent through the study of human–nature relationships. These two regions are not only geographically entangled through Eurasia but are also characterized by hybrid modernization trajectories shaped by diverse socio-political responses to Western modernity and the blending of Western and non-Western ideas. Contemporary environmental debates, practices, and discourses beyond the Western liberal model are explored, with a focus on local resistance and adaptation, state interventions, and resource exploitation in the Eurasian space.

The chapters in this volume examine grassroots responses to environmental disruptions caused by modernizing legacies and ongoing extractive practices. It is demonstrated that ways of relating to the natural environment and space in the Eurasian region are deeply intertwined with questions of identity, which, in turn, reshape social life and communities’ political engagement with the state. The transformative role of ecology, space, and identity in reshaping the social and political arenas in these regions is tracked, offering insights into the complex interplay between modernization, environmental change, and human agency.

This book is an essential read for students and scholars of environmental studies, postcolonial studies, postsocialist studies, geography, anthropology, and political science. It is also relevant to interdisciplinary researchers interested in human–nature relationships, identity politics, and the socio-political dynamics of the Eurasian region.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Globalizations.