A main cause of the war in Ukraine is the fusion of nation and government. What if this structural flaw were to be removed and untangled in Ukraine, in Russia, and worldwide? That's what this site is about: picturing a complete structural differentiation of nation (culture/nationality) and state (government/citizenship).
Just the slideshow: A Post-Nation-State Russia: The Separation of Nation and State; and Transforming the Russian Federation into a Threefold Commonwealth. From the Free Nations of PostRussia Forum III, Gdańsk, Poland, September 24th, 2022.
A 13-part video series on YouTube which explains each image in the slideshow. We explain the features of a Threefold Commonwealth, and implore the Free Nations Forum to embody itself as a Threefold Commonwealth, as a parallel threefold governance-in-exile (cultural, political, and economic) counterpoised vis-à-vis the Russian nation-state.
Book: The Gottlieb Initiative—Ending the Russo-Ukrainian War Through the Separation of Culture and State.
Available at Amazon (softcover) and as a gratis PDF.
Sample illustrations from the book:
THE GIDON A. GOTTLIEB INSTITUTE is a think tank (and “action tank") which strives to evoke a structural differentiation between national-cultural spaces and political-governancial borders, as proposed in Dr. Gidon Gottlieb's 1994 Foreign Affairs article “Nations Without States.” Gottlieb's paper is freely available through the University of Chicago's “Chicago Unbound” website: chicagounbound.uchicago.edu.
These three actions will end the conflict. And would have prevented it in the first place. And will provide a lasting, honorable, deeply healing recovery of Euro-Atlantic relations. The three actions are:
1. Internationally recognize the Ukrainian Historical Homeland and the Russian Historical Homeland, as cultural spaces which extend beyond their political-state boundaries, and which, as cultural spaces, freely overlap with each other.
2. Totally end the ongoing State-compelled Ukrainization of the Russian-speaking community, through strongly facilitating the complete structural-constitutional separation of Nation and State throughout Ukraine—in other words, a total differentiation of ethno-linguistic/cultural identity (the Nation) and governmental/political identity (the State). This includes, most importantly, the freedom of national school systems to operate across state borders.
Yes, the Russian State oppressed the Ukrainian language for centuries, but two wrongs don't make a right.
Another key feature is to culturally embody the “133 nationalities” which constitute the Ukrainian People, and the “over 193 nationalities” which make up the Russian People.
3. Wherever there are formally disputed territories (such as Crimea and the Donbas), apply a new, never-before-seen form of statecraft: the Omni-National Bi-State Condominium (ONBSC), whereby the national-cultural administration is differentiated from the political-governancial administration. The Ukrainian political governance retains a symbolic governancial presence, in the form of consular services and a kind of dual citizenship based on the Irish model. But with the de facto Russian governancial status fully stabilized, normalized, and recognized; and the Russian national-cultural organization (such as the Russian school system) also present. International maps will depict the Ukrainian and Russian political régimes as overlapping there. A Bi-State Condominium.
Culturally, the ONBSC becomes the first place in the world where all 194 civic nations in the world may offer their cultural services without hindrance, such as their national school systems and university systems. An Omni-National Condominium.
This Gottlieb Initiative can be applied at any stage of the war, no matter how much territory Russian forces occupy in the meantime, no matter what horrors have occurred, and no matter whether Russia is willing to withdraw to the pre-2022 line of control, or not.
Culturally, the concrete restoration and recognition of the ideal Historical Homeland of both nations will be experienced as a cultural salve and a victory by both. The deep historical-cultural aspirations of both nations will be fulfilled.
And politically, the preservation of 100% of Ukraine's state territory via the Bi-State Condominium will be an honorable conclusion.
It's only a matter of how much human suffering we are willing to witness, and how long we allow ourselves to remain entranced by the fusion of cultural and military power which flow through Americanism and Russianism, before we will wake up to the simple, actionable idea of the “separation of culture and state.”
Future Topics:
The Holy Land: Untangling the Nations and the State(s)
Korea: Two overlapping cultural expressions, one peninsula
Syria: Untangling the civic/cultural identities and lines of political/military control
China and Chinese Taipei: Two overlapping cultural expressions, one civilization
The Scottish Nation and the British nation-state
The Catalonian Nation and the Spanish nation-state
The Sámi Nation and the Scandinavian nation-states
The Québécois Nation and the Canadian nation-state
The Puerto Rican Nation and the U.S. nation-state
Internationally recognized Cultural Independence for the several thousand Indigenous Peoples in the Americas. Upcoming project: Traditional Territories: An Atlas of the Cultural Homelands of the First Peoples of North America.
Leadership:
President: Travis Henry
(Board currently in formation)
Contact:
We seek to present the Gottlieb Initiative through any and all venues: media and publishing outlets, governance circles, and conversations with everyday citizens. If you have an idea or proposal for a Gottlieb Institute presentation, don't hesitate to contact us:
