Unfit for the Nation: Disability and State Building in Post-Imperial Eastern Europe

Since the mid-nineteenth century, disability has shaped state building, citizenship, and everyday life across East European societies, especially as they struggled to rid themselves of imperial control and establish independent political systems. Maria Bucur and Maria Cristina Galmarini offer essays that analyze disability as both lived experience and social category inextricably connected to these political and cultural histories.

The independent governments and institutions that emerged from imperial control used disability to classify people, organize welfare systems, regulate labor, assign military service, and shape ethnic, religious, and gender identities. Chapters about Romania, Serbia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Poland, and Ukraine cross historical periods to reveal powerful and unexplored disability narratives, from deaf education and activism to religious charity and caregiving. Throughout, the authors highlight the voices and actions of disabled people, caregivers, and activists who defied marginalization to advocate for their rights and build more accessible communities.

Contributors: Isabelle Avakumovic-Pointon, Frances L. Bernstein, Maria Bucur, Radu Harald Dinu, Maria Cristina Galmarini, Galina Goncharova, John Paul Newman, Aleksandra Oniszczuk, Natalia Pamula, Sarah D. Phillips, Leyla Safta-Zecheria, Hanna Zaremba-Kosovych