Beyond Ideology

Reassessing the Threat of Belarusian Opposition in Interwar Poland

Bibliographic Data

ID11047456
AuthorsDaniel Fedorowycz (0000-0003-4525-3397, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume49
Issue5
Pages893-910
Publication date2021-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNationalities Papers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-5992 • E-ISSN: 1465-3923
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/nps.2020.44
OpenAlexW3093914475
LanguageEN
References cited27

The historical literature on interwar Polish policy on Belarusians and other minorities focuses primarily on the relationship between the regime in power and minority groups as a single block, failing to note instances in which regime policies toward specific organizations have not been uniform. Despite the fact that Belarusian ethnic identity was ambiguous and national consciousness low, no fewer than 13 political organizations in interwar Poland claimed to represent the minority. The most influential organization was the Belarusian Peasants’ and Workers’ Union Hromada. Less than two years after the organization’s inception, it was banned in 1927. This article examines why an organization like Hromada, which did not resort to violence and in fact took pains to operate within the legal framework of the Polish constitution, was shuttered by the state, while other organizations with similar profiles were allowed to operate. The article reveals that Hromada was not banned strictly due to what the government considered its radical ideology or because it was an antisystem party, but rather it was banned for its ability to suppress organizational pluralism among Belarusian organizations. The article advances the existing literature by (a) shifting away from analyzing the dynamics between a state and an ethnic group as a whole, by disaggregating the level of analysis to focus on minority political organizations, and by (b) going beyond ideology as the main explanatory variable dictating state policies toward minorities

Consolidation (business · Constitution · Economics · Ethnic group · Ideology · Opposition (politics · Pluralism (philosophy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · Eastern European Communism and Reforms · Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics · Law · Soviet and Russian History

Tools

Open DOI