New Lithuania in Old Hands: Effects and Outcomes of Europeanization in Rural Lithuania

Based on detailed ethnographic material, “New Lithuania in Old Hands” analyzes the impact that European Union accession has had upon the country’s aging smallscale farmers, and describes how the reality of Lithuania’s EU membership has been a far cry from the scenarios of wealth and overabundance once promised. The text reveals that, in many instances, membership has resulted in a return to subsistence production, increased insecurity and a reinforcement of kinship obligations. Thus instead of treating the European Union as an elite project and voicing the support of various other segments of the population, this volume shows how broad parts of the rural population have been affected by and engaged in processes of change following Lithuania’s accession – changes that threaten to have a large impact upon the future of the country’s family structures and its farming demographic.

“'[An] enlightening account of the interplay of the Soviet and European Unions in the Lithuanian countryside. [...This] study successfully challenges the official narrative of "New Lithuania" and the view of an integrated European Union in which each member state effectively mirrors every other in terms of policies and their implementation.' -Anton Masterovoy, 'Anthropology of East Europe Review'”

Ida Harboe Knudsen is a postdoctoral fellow at Aarhus University, Denmark, and an affiliated researcher at Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania.

Based on detailed ethnographic material, "New Lithuania in Old Hands" analyzes the impact that European Union accession has had upon the country's aging smallscale farmers, and describes how the reality of Lithuania's EU membership has been a far cry from the scenarios of wealth and overabundance once promised. The text reveals that, in many instances, membership has resulted in a return to subsistence production, increased insecurity and a reinforcement of kinship obligations. Thus instead of treating the European Union as an elite project and voicing the support of various other segments of the population, this volume shows how broad parts of the rural population have been affected by and engaged in processes of change following Lithuania's accession - changes that threaten to have a large impact upon the future of the country's family structures and its farming demographic.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.