Reviews
"All studies in the volume combine in-depth analysis and precise language with a broad, synthetic approach. They bring survey results of unquestionable value into the academic conversation. Another strong point is bibliographical comprehensiveness. Unlike many publications on such themes, the volume includes not only chapters by Western academics or the Ukrainian scholars best known in the West; researchers from academic centres across Ukraine are also represented. Yaroslav Hrytsak writes in this volume that 'the more is known about regionalism, the more pertinent and sophisticated are the questions that have to be formulated.' The reviewed book is good proof of this guideline."—Grzegorz Skrukwa, Canadian Slavonic Papers
"The book is far more than a collection of thematic contributions; it is united by a single research design and based on the results of the international collaborative project Region, Nation and Beyond, hosted by the University of St. Gallen. The main findings of the research project (probably one of the last ones that include Crimea and Donbas) sheds light on Ukrainian society on the eve of the Euromaidan and thus helps to relativize the deterministic discourse of Ukraine as a regionally-divided country deemed to be disintegrating. The picture of Ukrainian society thus appears as much more complex, with regional patterns being complemented by generational, socio-economic, and gender differences. Last but not least, the book is generously illustrated with highly instructive tables, diagrams, and maps."—Tatiana Zhurzhenko, Slavic Review
"The authors have woven a very interesting stand-alone narrative that demonstrates the complexities of Ukraine's historical development. Readers will need to decide for themselves whether cross-regional differences (and nuances) actually tell us something that we really need to know in order to better understand the challenges to Ukraine's nation-building project—the importance of which cannot be underestimated and is not in dispute—and whether these sub-macroregional differences are in fact more important than the broader regional divide that separates the 'Two Ukraines', each with their easily discernible and contrasting ideological visions for Ukraine's future."
https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2021.1977042—Roman Solchanyk, Europe-Asia Studies
"The desire to affirm Ukraine's national unity might be highly commendable but the recurrent attempts to dismiss the significance of multiple cleavages and contradictions can hardly be analytically productive. It leads ultimately to the conclusion that 'regionalism as a defining phenomenon of Ukraine is more prominent than the regions themselves'—a compelling formula for the book's title but not a very comprehensive explanation of what 'regions' and 'regionalism' in Ukraine are all about."
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/840710—Mykola Riabchuk, Region
Endorsements
"'Regional division' is one of the most popular and conventional metaphors to label post-Soviet Ukraine. Its reductionist tone usually neglects complexity, numerous entanglements and contradictions of extremely fascinating Ukrainian case that still lacks analytical language to be described. Regionalism without Regions introduces the results of two surveys of 6,000 respondents conducted in Ukraine in 2013 and 2015, and presents a truly interdisciplinary research panorama of sociological, linguistic, economical, geographical findings. The authors strive to capture the dynamics and transformations of Ukraine's identifications and identities, and their data and conclusions make this book an essential departing point for further research."—Andrii Portnov
