1st Edition

Religious Failure, Geopolitics, and Forced Displacement in Russia, Eastern Europe, and the South Caucasus

By Lucian N. Leustean Copyright 2026
316 Pages
by Central European University Press

What happens when states fail to provide support to populations in need? What are the mechanisms of religious and political engagement with populations affected by organized violence, displacement, and resettlement? The book argues that when state structures fail to respond to violence, religious institutions are often among the first actors to assist and empower forcibly displaced populations.... Read more

Abbreviations

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: Religious Failure, Geopolitics, and Forced Displacement in the Eastern Christian World

Chapter 2: Russia’s Orthodox Exceptionalism, Geopolitics, and Forced Displacement

Chapter 3: Autocephaly, War, Humanitarian Structures, and Forced Displacement in Ukraine

Chapter 4: Orthodoxy, Humanitarian Entrepreneurship, and the Refugee Crisis in Serbia

Chapter 5: Orthodox Conservatism and the Refugee Crisis in Bulgaria and Moldova

Chapter 6: Religious Mobilization, Ethnic Identity, and Forced Displacement in Georgia and Armenia

Conclusion: Is Eastern Christianity a Failed Religion?

References

Index

Biography

Lucian N. Leustean is a Reader in Politics and International Relations at Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom. His publications include, as editor, The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Europe (with Grace Davie, 2021), Eastern Christianity and Politics in the Twenty-First Century (2014) and Representing Religion in the European Union: Does God Matter? (2012).