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- Convenors:
-
Ieva Garda-Rozenberga
(Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art, University of Latvia)
Ilze Boldāne-Zeļenka (Institute of Latvian History, Faculty of Humanities, University of Latvia)
Maarja Kaaristo (Manchester Metropolitan University)
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- Format:
- Panel
Short Abstract:
After World War II, Europe witnessed environmental changes caused by military activities, economic intensification, industrialisation, and state-driven initiatives. This panel will explore the relationships between authority, society, and the environment under socialist and capitalist systems.
Long Abstract:
The post-World War II period brought profound changes to Europe's environment. The Eastern Bloc's military, economic, and industrial policies led to the extensive reorganisation of rural and urban landscapes. From collectivising agricultural lands and draining wetlands to modernising road systems and building high-rise urban residential areas, the USSR’s environmental interventions reshaped the lives of its citizens and also contributed to the emergence of eco-nationalist ideas. Simultaneously, Western Europe faced its own landscape transformations driven by industrialisation, modernisation, and reconstruction efforts after the war, altering both natural and built environments. This session aims to expand the narrative of European environmental history by integrating experiences of both Eastern and Western Europe, exploring how authority and societal forces shaped landscapes on both sides of the Iron Curtain. We welcome papers analysing different kinds of data (qualitative or quantitative) and personal narratives to understand better environmental changes, human interactions with these shifts, and the political forces that shaped them. The panel aims to bring together researchers from different fields of humanities, social sciences, and environmental studies to reflect on key issues such as the dynamics between power, society, and the environment under socialist and capitalist systems; the legacy of post-war landscape changes across Europe; environmental activism; emerging ideas of eco-nationalism; the intersection of environment and public health; and the methodological challenges in studying the environmental legacies of post-war Europe. This broader geographical scope seeks to foster new insights into the environmental transformations that shaped the continent in the second half of the 20th century.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Paper Short Abstract:
In my paper I propose to follow closely personal and local narratives to identify past potentialities that compose some of the currently dwelt-in Eastern-European landscapes, brim with halted visions of modernity and reclaimed or relinquished moments.
Paper Abstract:
Images, visions and stories of changing landscapes and accompanying changes in political, economic, social and cultural environments are some of the most often encountered elements of personal and local histories as told by older generations in Eastern Europe. My research experiences in changing and emptying (cf. Dzenovska and Knight 2020) landscapes in Transylvania point to seamless, self-evident meeting and departing points between the different dimensions that scientific writing and rewriting processes attempt to so neatly disentangle. Politics, ecology, affective realms, culture, and economy merge, fade and emerge in stories. Despite unique trajectories in different landscapes, personal and community narratives are, thus, somewhat similar in following lines (of whatever sorts; cf. Ingold 2007), intertwining with waves of different lengths (Barad 2010). They transition from the growth pattern of trees and the grass to mining project proposals and their feasibility, further on to memories of a childhood event, from which they slide to current economic policies, power regimes and their position vis-a-vis systems and flows in the most vulnerable or most empowered moment of their (hi)stories (or her-stories). In my paper I propose to closely follow such a line in narratives of my interlocutors to identify past potentialities that compose some of the Eastern-European landscapes, which are brim with halted visions of modernity (such as closed mines and abandoned socialist industrial projects) and reclaimed or relinquished moments (in form of activism, lost traditions, heritagisation etc.) in face of powerful global or national dynamics.
Paper Short Abstract:
Eco-nationalism in Latvia links national identity with environmental protection, where territorial belonging and cultural landscapes play key roles. Historical movements, such as protests against infrastructure projects, highlight the connection between place identity and environmental activism.
Paper Abstract:
The origins of eco-nationalism are closely linked to nation-building processes, especially when national, territorial, and ecological concerns intersect. National identity, alongside ethnic or cultural belonging, is often shaped by a deep connection to a specific territory. The relationship between land and nation has historically fueled debates about ethnicity, location, and national autonomy. Over time, environmental protection has become an increasingly important aspect of national policy. Moreover, the frequency with which nationalist ideas have been closely linked to ecological and environmental issues worldwide, from ethnic eco-nationalist movements in Germany to civic eco-nationalist movements in post-Soviet Russia, raises a compelling question: why?
The synthesis of environmental protection and nationalism, approaching eco-nationalism ideas, is not new also in Latvia. Beyond the 1970s beech tree liberation movement initiated by writer Imants Ziedonis, other protests against threats to Latvia’s cultural landscape in the 1980s, including opposition to dams and metro projects, meant concerns over large-scale infrastructure and migration. Since 1987, when the Environmental Protection Club and its divisions were founded, the synthesis of environmentalism and nationalism has also been seen in the neighborhoods of Riga. Why do people in these neighborhoods engage in environmental activities? Is it merely about protecting the environment?
Biographical interviews reveal that many understand their personal lives in the context of significant political, social, and environmental change. In studying eco-nationalism, it is crucial to recognize why people stand up for their environment and living space. A key factor is place identity, a vital element of eco-nationalism in Latvia’s landscape of identities.
Paper Short Abstract:
This paper explores the enduring legacy of socialist modernist architecture in Cluj-Napoca, with a focus on the Gheorgheni and Mărăști districts. It examines how the architectural and urban planning approaches shaped community dynamics, environmental perceptions, and the aesthetic identity of the city.
Paper Abstract:
Cluj-Napoca’s urban landscape bears the imprint of extensive socialist modernist interventions, particularly visible in districts such as Gheorgheni and Mărăști.
Constructed primarily between the 1960s and 1980s, Gheorgheni district embodies the socialist ideal of functional, collective living spaces surrounded by greenery. Featuring high-rise apartment blocks, open green spaces, and modernist commercial and educational buildings, Gheorgheni aimed to balance urban density with the socialist vision of communal well-being. Yet, these architectural transformations also disrupted traditional urban forms, altering social interactions and local identity.
This presentation delves into the dual legacy of these developments: while they provided much-needed housing and public services, issues like inconsistent maintenance, unsupervised renovations, and architectural improvisations have eroded their visual and functional coherence. The presentation will also explore how these spaces have adapted (or failed to adapt) to post-socialist transformations, becoming sites of contested heritage and eco-social debates.
Another significant socialist modernist district in Cluj-Napoca is the Mărăști neighborhood, built on the site of the Hóstát district. This area, likely inhabited by German settlers, served as the city’s vegetable gardens before ten-story apartment blocks mushroomed across the landscape.
By situating Cluj-Napoca’s case within broader post-war European urbanism, the presentation highlights the dynamics between authority, societal forces, and the built environment, enriching the comparative discourse on socialist and capitalist urban transformations. The research underscores the importance of integrating architectural, sociological, and environmental perspectives to understand the legacies of 20th-century urban planning.
Paper Short Abstract:
The focus of this presentation are the more recent stages of the evolution of the political forest, after 1990s and the dissolution of Yugoslavia, with special reference to the dissonance detected during fieldwork, the dissonance some of the informants expressed between their “ecological loyalty” to the eco-system of the forest and the extractivist demands put on them by their jobs and the habitus of scientific forestry, which views the forest exclusively as a resource.
Paper Abstract:
This presentation is based on a long-term ethnographic research in the village of Drežnica in central Croatia. Situated in a densely forested region, the village is and was deeply reliant on the forest. During WWII, it provided refuge and shelter from offensives and a home to the partisan hospital, which required the mobilization of local knowledge of the forest. After WWII, here, as well as elsewhere in the young and war-torn country – socialist Yugoslavia - wood was extracted as one of the most important resources of post-war reconstruction. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, ownership of the majority of the forested areas was taken over by Hrvatske šume (Croatian forests), a limited liability company. This presentation continues my previous research on work and the political forest in Drežnica (Grgurinović 2023). Here I want to focus on the later stages of the evolution of the political forest (Peluso and Vandergeest 2001, 2011; Vandergeest and Peluso 2006), after 1990s and the dissolution of Yugoslavia, with special reference to the dissonance detected with some of my informants – forestry workers - between their “ecological loyalty” to the forest as an eco-system and the extractivist demands put on them by their jobs and the habitus of scientific forestry, which views the forest exclusively as a resource. This dissonance is the space of a social conflict born out of challenging the hegemony of the state and scientific forestry over the forest ecosystem.
Paper Short Abstract:
By analyzing the case of the Agricultural Combine Belgrade in socialist Yugoslavia, I argue that the triadic relationship of working people, material constraints, and the landscape was central in attempts to shape social relations and subjectivity in socialism.
Paper Abstract:
The Agricultural Combine Belgrade (ACB) was a major food producer in socialist Yugoslavia, located in the Pančevo Marshes in the Belgrade metropolitan area. ACB’s growth and development, which combined utilitarian goals (rapidly growing industrial food production) and broader political goals (transforming Yugoslav workers into true socialist self-managing subjects), had profound consequences for human-environment relations in the Pančevo Marshes, a wetland area that was undergoing a profound infrastructural transformation in this period. In this paper, I discuss a gradual shift in emphasis on different aspects of development planning in the Marshes by identifying three periods. In the early days of ACB, the relationship toward the environment emphasized the struggle to overcome “natural” aspects of the sparsely inhabited and inhospitable area. It was being transformed through the labor of workers using extremely limited means of production and who were supposed to be reshaped through their work. Later, the built environment became more important in that relationship, as the workers grew their company and their own standard of living within particular financial constraints. Finally, the idea of an environment that was managed and beautified through the residents’ labor in ACB and in their neighborhoods became prevalent. This case shows that the triadic relationship of working people, material constraints, and the landscape was central in attempts to shape social relations and subjectivity in socialism.
Paper Short Abstract:
Under Soviet occupation the Latvian rural landscape underwent notable changes, with kolkhozes’ infrastructure and villages replacing national homesteads. The paper deals with the objectives of the Soviet authorities, along with society’s reaction to the transformations in the environment and lifestyle.
Paper Abstract:
Significant changes occurred in Latvia's rural landscape during the Soviet occupation, which linked to the authorities’ attempts to industrialize agriculture, to destroy the enemies of the regime and to erase the memories about the Republic of Latvia, including values, traditional lifestyle, and customs. The most important steps taken by the occupying power to accomplish its objectives were the migration of rural residents (emigration, deportations, and immigration, including from Soviet republics), the eradication of private property, the cultivation and reclamation of collective farm fields, and the establishment of new kolkhozes’ villages. Departure or indifference were obvious responses of rural inhabitants to the obstacles that the occupation authorities brought about. A third—active participation—was also present. Immigrants and newcomers had no ties with the site. They made their own one, inspired by the Soviet slogan of building a modern world, which spread via efforts Soviet propagandists and educational institutions. Their fight with nature over the harvest resulted in the loss of farmsteads and orchards, as well as the modification of riverbeds. They built collective farm infrastructure buildings (many of which are now slums) to fulfill their planned duties, and adjacent collective farm villages to increase the productivity of collective farmers by reducing the time spent traveling from home to work. The purpose of the paper is to reflect on the dynamics of power and societal relations in the context of landscape change, using available historical sources, including materials acquired during ethnographic expeditions.
Paper Short Abstract:
The Finnish peatscape has partly been shaped by the political relations between East and West due to the energy production. Securing energy self-sufficiency through the green transition will extend the impacts from peatlands to forests and fields. The Iron Curtain, now invisible, still transforms landscape.
Paper Abstract:
Peatlands are an important habitat type in the Finnish landscape, as almost a third of Finland's land area is peatland. In 2015, the year of the Paris Agreement, Finland was the world's leading peat producer. About 90% of the production was energy peat and 10% growth peat. The production volume was almost double that of Ireland and several times that of Russia and Belarus.
The study sheds light on the far-reaching impacts of global energy policy decisions on local nature, landscape and human life. It will also contribute to understanding the future implications of current energy policy decisions.
The data, collected using research methods of environmental humanities, has been analysed using actor network theory. The local knowledge at the heart of the research data sheds light on the landscape impacts of the invisible Iron Curtain that extended to the peatlands of Finland.
The analysis has identified the role of energy-related technology as a landscape-shaping actor. While the first two energy transitions have primarily affected communities and the environment linked to the peat industry, the third, the green transition, affects the entire Finnish environment and communities.
Industrial peat production in Finland was triggered by events preceding the construction of the Iron Curtain. The post-oil crisis energy landscape was shaped by Soviet machinery and engineering. The ongoing green transition is being accelerated by Russia's war against Ukraine. So, in a way, the Iron Curtain is still shaping the Finnish landscape, even though it was dismantled more than 30 years ago.