Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Nationalism – Slovakia'

This thesis is about the construction of a nationalised public Catholic culture in Slovakia from 1985 to 1993. At the core of this culture was the assumption that the Catholic Church had always been an integral part of the Slovak nation, her past, her present and her future. The thesis seeks to answer the question of who created this culture during the 1980s and 1990s and how and why they did so. To answer these questions this thesis adopts a cultural approach and explores how this culture was created utilising the concepts of collective memory, symbols and events as its main analytical tools. The data for this analysis include, but are not restricted to, materials produced in relation to various commemorative events and pilgrimages, especially those related to the leading national Catholic symbols: the National Patroness Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows and Saints Cyril and Methodius. The thesis argues that this culture was deliberately constructed from the point of view of many actors. Before 1989 these included the official Catholic hierarchy, underground Catholic Church communities, the pope and nationalist Communists. After 1989 these actors continued to construct this culture even as their positions of power changed. Most notably, underground Catholics became part of current ecclesiastical and political elite, and communist nationalists dissociated themselves from the Communist Party but retained their position within the cultural and political elite. The thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter looks at how the nationalised public Catholic culture started in the mid-1980s with underground Catholic communities that focused on culture and grassroots mobilisation. The second chapter looks at how the nationalist Communists and the official church hierarchy became involved in construction of parts of this culture and how their involvement resonated with the underground Catholic communities. Chapter Three examines how this culture continued to develop in the early 1990s in a new political context, and how it contributed to a broader cultural legitimisation of Slovak independence.

This thesis constitutes an inquiry into the relationship between nationalism and democracy in a particular setting - the postcommunist newly independent democracies. The purpose is to seek an answer to two related questions about what is the role of nationalism in the democratisation process and under which conditions is nationalism more or less compatible with democracy. Nationalism’s capacity to threaten minorities, fragment states and complicate interstate relations has been amply demonstrated and documented. This study takes a different approach to nationalism. Its starting point is the democratisation process as a factor contributing to the importance of nationalism in the political life. It revolves around a theoretical and empirical exploration of the relationship between nationalism and democracy. The empirical side is underpinned by the investigation into politics of Slovakia and Slovenia as two newly independent postcommunist states that emerged as a result of democratisation. The comparative aspect of the thesis leads to the conclusion that the role of nationalism in the democratisation process cannot be generalised and constitutes a complex process in itself, conditioned by the political context of the society undergoing the transition. The following factors are explored: the stage of national development, the conditions and circumstances surrounding the achievement of independent statehood, the previous regime and the period prior to that, the formation of transitional elites and the stage in the transition, the ethnic composition and the historically predetermined ethnic harmony within the state. This thesis presents a number of new arguments. Firstly, it proposes that nationalism in new postcommunist democracies contains civic and ethnic demands at the same time which consequently gives postcommunist nationalism a different character from classical nationalism. Secondly, the thesis seeks the correlation between the progress of the transition and nationalism in the priority given to either nation-building or state-building. Thirdly, it proposes that whilst nationalism might have a positive role at the beginning of the democratisation process, its capacity to sustain that process is limited.

This study focuses on nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe. Anchored in theories that this region historically has been characterized by a nationalism that is based on the ethnic group rather than on liberal or civic concepts, it is the purpose of this study to explore whether these theories still apply in recent times when the region has been liberalized, for example manifested in the entry to the European Union. The research question has been tested through analysis of the constitutions of a number of Central and Eastern European countries in order to investigate what type of nationalism that the states have codified in their basic political documents. The results show that some of the states give expression to the historical ethnic nationalism in their constitutions, which indicates that the theories still are relevant.

This thesis explores whether and to what extent civil society within the framework of post-communist transition, provides a bulwark against the resurgence of exclusivist nationalism, in four countries: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. In that respect minorities' and especially Roma's rights are extensively examined. Related to these issues is to what extent the third sector has been able to develop a democratic political culture among the populations of the respective countries. During the course of the research, the concept of political culture was perceived relatively strong, considering the short period of post-communist transition. However, it is worth looking into whether civil society has managed to develop attitudes consistent with what a democratic political culture demands. Non-governmental organisations have been selected as agents of civil society, capable of articulating the demands in the new post-communist era. Particular consideration is given to the theoretical relation between civil society, nationalism and democracy both before and after the fall of communism. The same topics are briefly presentedfo r eachc ountry individually. The empirical section examines three different methods of appraising NGOs: firstly NGOs are assessed according to basic criteria namely, founding members, financial resources, co-operation with local authorities etc. Secondly, their direct impact on legislation and institutional development is analysed. Thirdly, their impact on the development of a democratic political culture is examined. Finally, all factors are evaluated and concluding comparative remarks are made

À l'occasion de l'élargissement de l'Union européenne à dix pays en 2004, il s'est avéré nécessaire d'approfondir le dialogue interculturel entre les pays membres. Les instituts culturels nationaux à l’étranger font partie des structures étatiques susceptibles de porter ce dialogue. En effet, présentant la culture de leur pays à l’extérieur de leurs frontières, ces institutions se prêtent – et c’est là leur spécificité et l’une de leur raison d’être – à la rencontre et l’échange direct entre des représentants de différentes cultures. Cependant les critiques à l’encontre de ces institutions ne manquent pas à l’aube du vingt et unième siècle. La Pologne, la Slovaquie, la République tchèque et la Hongrie ont fait le choix, après la remise en cause du principe même d'une politique culturelle étrangère au début des années 1990, de conserver les instituts culturels qu’ils avaient dans les capitales française et allemande et, le cas échéant, d’en créer. Dans quelle mesure les instituts culturels polonais, slovaques, tchèques et hongrois à Paris et à Berlin s’attachent-ils, dans les années précédant et suivant l’entrée de leur pays dans l’Union européenne, à se positionner comme lieu de dialogue interculturel – ce qui leur permettrait de jour un rôle moteur dans le processus d'intégration européenne ? L’analyse repose sur une étude empirique jusqu’alors non existante des objectifs, de la mise en œuvre et de la réception par le public de la programmation de ces institutions entre 2000 et 2008. À partir des résultats, ce travail propose des pistes de réflexion sur l'orientation future de ces institutions
The enlargement of the European Union to include an additional ten countries in 2004 required a deepening of the intercultural dialogue among member states. National cultural institutes abroad are part of the public structures able to carry up this dialogue. Presenting abroad the culture of their country, these institutions are indeed well suited – it is their specificity and essential purpose – for encounter and direct exchange between representatives of various cultures. Nonetheless, these institutions face many critics in the early 21st century. After questioning the principle of a foreign cultural policy itself in the early 1990’s, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary have chosen to keep the cultural institutes they had in the French and German capitals and, if needed, to create some more. To what extent did Polish, Slovak, Czech and Hungarian cultural institutes in Paris and Berlin, position themselves as a place of intercultural dialogue in the years preceding and following the accession of these countries to the European Union, thus allowing them to be a driving force in the European integration process? The analysis relies on a previously unavailable empirical study of objectives, implementation and reception by the audience of the program of these institutions between 2000 and 2008. Building on the results, this work suggests lines of enquiry regarding the future orientation of these institutions

Cette thèse intitulée : Les Forces alliées et associées en Extrême-Orient, 1918-1920 - Les soldats austro-hongrois, concerne un épisode fort méconnu de la Première Guerre mondiale, terminée par le décret du 24 octobre 1919. « Quiconque, écrit M. George F. Kennan, tente de donner, sous un petit format, une idée valable des origines de l'intervention alliée en Sibérie, s'impose une tâche presque impossible » . Le retour en 1920 d'un soldat austro-hongrois italophone, en provenance de Chine, a généré cette thèse, il interpelle et interroge. Que sont allées faire les Forces alliées et associées en Russie en 1918 ? Les raisons de l'intervention se définissaient dans la reconstitution d'un front oriental pour soulager le front occidental, le soutien aux Armées blanches luttant contre les Armées rouges, le rapatriement des Légionnaires tchéco-slovaques. Mais il n'en fut rien. Dans ce conflit, le nationalisme utilisé et galvaudé servit à Masaryk pour fonder la première République tchéco-slovaque, le 28 octobre 1918. Les pays de l'Entente et les États-Unis qui l'ont soutenu dans cette démarche n'ont poursuivi qu'un objectif, le démantèlement de l'Empire austro-hongrois. Outre la fin des Habsbourg, l'Entente ainsi que celles et ceux qui détenaient le pouvoir décisionnel voulaient la disparition des monarchies, excepté celle de l'Empire britannique. Tandis que les soldats des corps expéditionnaires français, britannique et italien, aidés des Légionnaires tchéco-slovaques, combattaient les bolcheviks, Alliés et associés négociaient avec le pouvoir de Lénine. Le refus de l'Occident de reconnaître le gouvernement de l'amiral Koltchak, le fit échouer. Trahi, livré aux maximalistes d'Irkoutsk par les Tchèques, il fut exécuté le 7 février 1920. L'intervention des Forces alliées et associées en Extrême-Orient ciblait un objectif politico-économique. À la fin de 1919, le Conseil supérieur interallié (C.S.I.) rapatria d'abord les corps expéditionnaires, et seulement ensuite les prisonniers. À leur retour, les détenus austro-hongrois italophones connurent de douloureuses difficultés en Italie
The title of my thesis: The Allied and Associated Forces in the Far East, 1918 to 1920, The Austro-Hungarian Soldiers, is about a greatly ignored event of the First World War which was ended by a decree on October 24, 1919. “Whoever, writes Mr. George F. Kennan, attempts to describe in a brief manner, a valid idea of the beginning of the Allied intervention in Siberia, is taking on an almost impossible task”.The return in 1920 of an Italian speaking Austro-Hungarian soldier, coming from China, generated this thesis as he challenges and questions. What were the Allied and Associated Forces going to do in Russia in 1918? The reasons for the intervention were explained as: the reorganization of the Eastern Front to bring some relief to the Western Front, the support of the White Armies against the Red Armies and the sending of the Czechoslovakian Legionnaires back to their home. But none of this happened.In this conflict, the employed and misused nationalism helped Masaryk establish the first Czechoslovakian Republic on October 28, 1918. The countries of the Entente and the United States which supported him in this endeavor had only one objective in mind, the dismantling of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Besides the end of the Hapsburgs, the Entente as well as those who held decisive power wanted the disappearance of monarchies except the one of the British Empire. While the French, British and Italian Expeditionary Forces helped the Czechoslovakian Legionnaires fight the soldiers of the Red Army, the Allied and Associated Forces negotiated with Lenin. The refusal of the West to recognize Admiral Koltchak's government led to his fall. Betrayed and turned over to the Bolsheviks of Irkutsk by the Czechs, he was executed February 7, 1920.The objective of the intervention by the Allied and Associated Forces in the Far East was essentially political and economic. At the end of 1919, the Interallied Superior Counsel (C.S.I.) first sent home the Expeditionary Forces and only later the prisoners. Upon their return, the Italian speaking Austro-Hungarian detainees were confronted with many painful obstacles and difficulties in Italy

Defence date: 17 January 2003
Examining board: Prof. Stefano Bartolini (EUI - co-supervisor) ; Prof. Richard Breen (EUI/Nuffield College, Oxford - supervisor) ; Prof. Geoffrey Evans (Nuffield College Oxford) ; Prof. Michael Keating (EUI)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017

The thesis deals with the Czechoslovak communist politician Gustáv Husák in connection with the cause of the Slovak bourgeois nationalism. It is structured chronologically, sometimes interspersed with thematic areas. It draws from a wide variety of sources. The prevailing approach is positivistic and analytical. The aim is to explain the emergence of the cause of the Slovak bourgeois nationalism and the way in which Husák was incorporated into it. The work points to a pivotal link with the international context and reveals poor relations between leading Party officials. Furthermore, the thesis raises issues of Husák's political fall, fabricated charges, imprisonment and subsequently the complexity of the rehabilitation process, at the end of which Husák's Communist Party membership was restored and a further political career remained a possibility. Additionally, the text tries to consider to a large extent the social relations between different participants and understand their motives of behavior. All of this is also put into perspective with respect to Czech-Slovak relations, which were significantly influenced by the aforementioned cause. The intention of the work deliberately exceeds the biographical theme.

1.1 ABSTRACT This dissertation focuses on the role that the mass produced image (e.g. lithographs, photographs, and cinema) played in the creation and solidification of Slovak national and ethnic identity not only among Slovaks living in Slovakia, but also Slovaks living abroad in America from the 19th to the mid-20th centuries. Given the problems inherent in using the written Slovak language to form a sense of national and ethnic unity, Slovak culture drew widely on visual sources that could be rapidly reproduced, easily transmitted in Slovakia and abroad, and were affordable to a wide variety of social and economic classes. This dissertation also focuses on some of the problems of this approach which will require further study and examination. Keywords: Slovakia, Slovak nationalism, ethnic identity, photography, lithography, cinema, ethnography, mass media,

This diploma thesis clarifies the issue of Triadic nexus among Slovakia, Hungary and the Hungarian minority concerning education and economic access to areas inhabited by the Hungarian minority, which affect the graduates of minority schools in the Slovak labor market. At the same time it aspires to refer to this relationship as one of the factors that may impact on reduction in the number of members of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. The main focus is on the trilateral approach to the issue of education in the Slovak minority schools in Hungarian language in case of teaching the state language. The consequences of the different trilateral relation approach to minority education can lead to inefficiency of minority schools teaching Slovak language, which can, in conjunction with the current economic approach of Slovakia to the areas inhabited by the Hungarian minority, lead to migratory pressures on graduates of minority schools as for the choice of university studies and their employability. The lack of language skills reduces their competitiveness and flexibility compared to linguistically better equipped individuals. The statistical data in education, employment and population movements that will be analyzed and compared, are freely available, and confirm this hypothesis.

This master's diploma thesis discusses the mechanisms by which the Slovak public television talent show Zem spieva (2017) creates the concept of folklore perfor- mance as a means of building and expressing national identity. This thesis also discusses the mechanisms by which the show creates a platform for negotiating the criteria of high standard folklore performance which should present a consistent reconstruction of tradition. These two effects of the show Zem spieva are in this thesis perceived as conceptually conflicting: on the one hand, there are essentialist ideas about the genetic predisposition of members of the Slovak nation for folklore performance; on the other hand, there are doctrines focused on the reconstruction of the tradition on the folklore stage. These doctrines are followed by an expert jury composed of prominent members of the folklore community. This thesis argues that the concept of performing folklore on stage perceived as an intellectual problem of the reconstruction of tradition is in the show subversive and therefore gradually replaced by emotionally and patriotically defined criteria of high quality folklore performance. This preferred measure preserves cultural cohesion in terms of sa- tisfying the needs of the mass audience. Following the conflict of the mentioned...

The presented dissertation focuses on the large-scale privatization in Czechoslovakia in the early 1990's, on how it was pushed through and why. It analyses the political conflicts over its eventual form and means of realization, and reconstructs the contemporary expectations concerning the future development. It also pays attention to the roots of the 1990's conflicts in the relevant economic disputes of the previous decades. The dissertation identifies an establishment of a new type of liberal political language as a key moment for the implementation of a large-scale privatization. For the new political language, which can be labelled as "market without adjectives" (or "attributes"), the privatization was a flagship policy and it encompassed its key ideas. The language of market without adjectives was defined in a strong opposition to the principles of the so-called "economic democracy", which had been popular among the members of the Czechoslovak dissent, the numerous supporters of workers' self- governing bodies and some economic experts. The attempts to implement the principles of market without adjectives occurred during several political conflicts the dissertation tries to analyse. The delimitation of space for democratic decision making was one of them, with the liberal economists arguing...

Bibliographic record: Michal MACHÁČEK: Gustáv Husák. A Political Biography with Special Emphasis on Czech-Slovak Relations in 20th Century, PhD. thesis, The Faculty of Arts at Charles University 2017, 476pp. [784 standard pages]. Abstract The dissertation thesis discusses public activities, thoughts and the political life of JUDr. Gustáv Husák, CSc. (1913-1991), who was involved in the Czech-Slovak public space for sixty years with a significant footprint even today. The text is based on a thorough research and is chronologically structured, intertwined with thematic areas, however an analytical approach prevails. The first chapter focuses on Husák's youth, the factors that led him to the communist movement, and his early activism. This is followed by a portrayal of the Husák's activities during the Second World War, his role in the resistance, participation in a propaganda trip to the Nazi conquered Ukraine, and his vision of Slovakia as a republic of the Soviet Union. His later involvement in the Slovak National Uprising provided the legitimacy of his later political career in the post-war era, when he successfully led the struggle for the communist monopoly of political power in Czechoslovakia and attempts to present the Communist Party of Slovakia as a national party. Next two chapters show the origins...

Dissertation thesis deals with the construction of the identity of Slovak art modernism in the period of the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938) within the context of the official ideology of Czechoslovakism and in relation to Czech modern art. For many artists, theorists, and art historians in Slovakia, who, as part of the intelligentsia, felt obliged in the newly formed state to create and confirm a national identity through art, the search for Slovakness in art was crucial. This search was influenced by the nature of Czech - Slovak cultural relations, mutual misunderstandings, and stereotypes. The forms of Slovak modernism were formed in close connection with Czech modernism and at the same time as resistance to it. In this sense, we can consider the emphasis on Slovakness in the fine arts as an attempt not to merge artistically with the current of Czech art modernism. This study thus examines how national identity is constructed through the visual arts and what role plays its broader cultural and political background.