A Review of Hana Horáková, Andrea Boscoboinik, Robin Smith (eds.), Utopia and Neoliberalism: Ethnographies of Rural Spaces. Berlin: Lit-Verlag, 2018, 256 pр.

Abstract

The reviewed collection of articles constitutes an intriguing attempt to understand the modern processes taking place in rural areas in terms of their relationship with utopian ideas and positions of neoliberalism. Using field materials from Central and Eastern Europe and China, researchers demonstrate a wide range of scenarios and practices related to imagining the rural world and rural lifestyles emerging in the context of globalization, industrialization, information technology development, and neoliberal politics. The similarity of the authors' methodological approaches and the general theoretical framework ensure the structural and substantive integrity of the collection, which allows the reader to engage in discussions about economic, social, cultural and other changes that are characteristic of most modern rural areas.