Emily Channel-Justice's book, Without the State, explores Ukrainian self-organization from its philosophical roots in Marxism and leftism to the present. The primary focus is the revolution in Ukraine 2013–14, variously called Euromaidan and/or the Revolution of Dignity, which the author experienced directly. The book is ethnographically nuanced, theoretically sophisticated, and the text is supported by no fewer than thirty-six high quality photographs that bring the revolutionary events to life. Readers of Without the State will gain a better understanding of the significance of self-organization for the trajectory of Ukrainian politics in the past and its implications for neoliberal governance in the future. The thesis that the Euromaidan changed the way Ukrainians think about the state and politics is both compelling and vindicated by Ukrainians’ response to Russian aggressions after the book's publication.
The book begins with a clear explanation of what self-organization is, and how it is philosophically and theoretically related to leftism and socialism. Readers learn that self-organization has a far longer history than contemporary observers of Ukrainian civil society may imagine. Self-organization's remarkable fluidity has helped make it the most significant platform for political organizing and participation in Ukraine. This adaptability, however, also makes it vulnerable to being mischaracterized or misunderstood. Like many good ethnographies, the book is dense: the author has a keen eye for twists, turns, and paradoxes in the many lives and movements she follows.
In Chap. 2, readers find the stories of two very different activists. Channel-Justice demonstrates that the left is expansive enough to accommodate a variety of paths to activism and beliefs. With a deepened understanding of Leftism at top of mind, readers are well prepared to absorb the author's discussion of decommunization efforts in the third chapter. Having personally read Ukrainian newspapers in Ukraine at the time the author describes, I valued the powerful analytic tools—tools that are useful for Ukrainian politics in general—that Channel-Justice provides.
Channel-Justice supports her argument with extensive ethnographic fieldwork that included participation in some of the demonstrations she describes. Her argument about how leftism inspired self-organization and how self-organization then shaped a number of movements is not, however, limited to demonstrations. She also opens a window on the more subtle ways the events of the Maidan shaped her interviewees’ awareness as members of neighborhoods, apartment blocks, and other collectivities. A methodological strength is the longevity of the author's rapport with some of the subjects, whom we learn about over a nine-year time span. They provide the book with important throughlines in the midst of enormous change.
At the heart of the book are two chapters, one on education reform and another on feminism. In the chapter on higher education reform, the author argues that self-organization can also work within the state, an intriguing idea considering most of the book is concerned with what people are able to accomplish either without the state or, as the title indicates, in opposition to it. While Euromaidan held tremendous potential for reformulating gender roles, and women received recognition for their presence at the protests on the Maidan, Channel-Justice points out their roles still tended to be shaped by men. In the chapter on feminism, the author therefore maps the struggle to reconcile feminist projects with Ukrainian national defense. The author tracks the gradual retreat of diverse feminist voices to more segmented online platforms, reminding readers there is more than one Ukrainian feminism, and showing how European and North American observers tended fall back on emphasizing women's flower crowns when the military rubber hit the road.
At strategic junctures throughout, the author challenges readers to think critically about how volunteerist efforts may be co-opted by state bodies in ways that teach younger generations of Ukrainians to expect less of their state. As Channel-Justice explains, volunteerist efforts can be framed as a form of good citizenship instead of a critique of governance.
As a whole, the book lifts readers above a very complex political field of activity to show how citizen-state relations have changed and why leftism in particular and self-organization more broadly matter for the political processes going on in Ukraine. As an academic who writes about Ukraine, I have read many accounts of the Euromaidan. What this book delivers that no other book has offered is an intimate portrait of the activists who executed the revolution on Kyiv's potholed pavement, and the view from 30,000 feet. Channel-Justice accomplishes these objectives simultaneously within the covers of a single book.
