White But Not Quite: Central Europe’s Illiberal Revolt

by Ivan Kalmar

Since the ‘migration crisis’ of 2016, long-simmering tensions between the Western members of the European Union and its ‘new’ Eastern members – Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary – have proven to be fertile ground for rebellion against liberal values and policies.

In this startling and original book Ivan Kalmar argues that Central European illiberalism is a misguided response to the devastating effects of global neoliberalism, which arose from the area’s brutal transition to capitalism in the 1990s.

Kalmar argues that dismissive attitudes towards ‘Eastern Europeans’ are a form of racism and explores the close relation between racism towards Central Europeans and racism by Central Europeans: a people white but not quite.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

334 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Ivana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vynikajúca kniha nie tak úplne kanadského a nie tak úplne stredoeurópskeho antropológa Ivana Kalmara. Česky vydala Utopia libri, krásny knižný design do vrecka.
Od futbalu, cez oligarchiu, reprezentáciu v grafoch, veľmi jasne a zrozumiteľne sa motá v strednej Európe, ktorá je pre niekoho východom a aj tak je súčasťou Západu. Inak než motať sa tu asi pohybovať totiž nedá. Našťastie vysvetlenia “prečo” a z čoho vychádzajú (aj nepekné) veci, ktoré vidíme, sa postupne rozvíjajú, opierajú o rôzne dáta a nielen autorove výskumy.
Ideálna kniha napríklad pre:
- ľudí, ktorí si kúpili knihu Postsedliaci a niečo od nej čakali
- poslucháčov albumu Poor but sexy od Berlin Manson
- každého, kto si chce napísať na billboard Patříme/Patríme na Západ
- ľudí sklamaných (ale nie tak úplne) zo svojej migrácie západným smerom (či už kúsok alebo ďaleko)

[terka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think a(n educated) Czech reader is the intended target audience, because SO MUCH of this book was stuff that I simply already know. This is more of an outsider’s basic info about the Visegrad four. Info for an outsider, written by an outsider.

All in all this book kind of jumps all around the place, sometimes swerving wildly off topic, sometimes asserting something as true/right or false/wrong, without explaining why - as if the author just assumes some things are general truths that the reader automatically agrees on. This book went deep in some areas but then stayed shockingly shallow in others.

Disclaimer: I did only skim through some of the parts, mostly stuff I already know by the nature of having gone through a Czech university education - I know a fair bit about our history, the German-Slavic historical tensions and whatnot.

[Jakub Kratochvil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tak toto bola dobrá jízda ale nie tak celkom. Veľmi hutne napísaná kniha s obrovským množstvom citácii o podstatných témach, ale niektoré závery sa mi zdali veľmi kŕčovito napasované autorove videnie sveta.

(A pri teme zodpovednosti strednej Európy za kolonizáciu spomenúť nejakého českého dobrodruha, ktorý sa vydá na sever zemegule objavovať nové územia pre Rakúskouhorsko je fakt srandovné. Samozrejme iné argumenty sú vážne, ale tento ich trošku znevažuje)

Každopádne, je to veľmi podnetná kniha na premýšľanie o vzťahoch, úzkosti a hneve v Európe.

[Cristian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uno de esos ensayos que te dejan una marca para ver cierto tema desde una perspectiva diferente de por vida. Está bien organizado, es muy actual y usa ejemplos muy atractivos que invitan a la reflexión. Es un libro sobre raza, pero también sobre periferialidad, sobre colonialismo, politica y geogpolitica actual y sobre historia de centro europa. Si hay una pequeña llamada en la parte de atrás de tu cabecilla por conocer el grupo de Visegrado de cerca y en perspectiva, este es un necesario.

[Tomas Kratka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mne tato kniha pomohla trochu odosobnit sa od cisto “zlovenskej” reality, ktora ma gniavi od navratu hranateho a jeho russkych poskokov v poslednych volbach. Je mierne povznasajuce vidiet iliberalisticke trendy v kontexte mijimalne V4, ale aj svetovom, trochu to lieci mindrak. Sme s manzelkou posledni zo surodencov, ktori tu ostali a aj tato kniha mi dava silu bojovat minimalne do dalsich volieb.

[Alzbeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

p. 281 (translated from czech translation lol)
However, the real, if only partial, similarities between the post-colonial, and post-communist situations allow Central Europians to understand the people of the Global South (including people coming from there), empathize with them and cultivate solidarity with them. However, so far only a handful of people have taken advantage of this opportunity.

~
Intresting aproach of the book topic, anyway if the author would leave out 50% of the literature and wrote the issue in his own words, i wouldn’t be angry.

[Albert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rather than engaging with original ideas, White, But Not Quite feels like an extended book report. The author leans heavily on discussing other texts, many of which are themselves criticized for their lack of depth. This reliance on secondary sources, paired with weak critical analysis, creates a shaky foundation for the book’s claims. It becomes difficult to discern whether the author has any unique perspective or if the entire work is simply a regurgitation of fashionable academic discourse.

[Samuel A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

uzasne nadherne strasne super ze knizka perfektne hovori to co uz dlho citim ale neviem dat do slov