Erika Harris

Focusing on the People’s Party Our Slovakia (ĽSNS), the article systematically explores the political environment in Slovakia in order to best explain the parliamentary breakthrough of this extreme right party that is hostile to representative democracy and is ideologically rooted in wartime authoritarianism. It is argued that the success of the ĽSNS ought to be viewed from the perspective of persistent ethno-nationalist trend in Slovak politics which runs through Slovakia’s national development from precommunist times to the present. While migration crisis was an additional catalyst, ethno-centricism and illiberalism have a longer tradition in post-1989 Slovakia than the ĽSNS.

While comparisons and connections between the Balkans and the Middle East are often invoked, the authors in this symposium are putting them at the heart of their analysis to explore the relationship between identity and war. The comparison is interesting for two reasons. Firstly, both regions share a history as post-Ottoman territories. Secondly, while the Balkans experienced violent ethnic and nationalist conflict in the 1990s, Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, Iraq, and Yemen are in the midst of wars with a strong sectarian dimension. By providing suggestions and ideas for connections or comparisons we seek to draw out lessons that the Balkan cases may hold for post-war peacebuilding and reconstruction in the Middle East.

The paper focuses on transborder regions of eastern and central Europe which emerged following the establishment of successor nation-states on the territories of the former communist multinational federations of Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. These regions span two or more states and contain a number of ethnic groups with varied legacies of statehood and/or minority status, and divergent levels of European integration; their populations exist with multiple identities and diverse territorial allegiances. Given that these regions possess a limited capacity to address people’s interests, the focus of this paper is on the re-examination of the concept of self-determination so
that it can be applied to transborder regions. Drawing on various examples, I analyse the historical and political context within which these regions emerged, as well as resulting dynamics between groups and states that encapsulate them. This analysis shows that these regions do not seek self-determination in terms of territorial rule, but on the basis of a more formal recognition of people’s experience and their (hybrid) identity. The preliminary conclusion argues that such a reformulation of self-determination directed at peoples living in transborder territories would require the EU to address issues connected to citizenship legislation, visa regimes, access to labour markets, language laws and multilingual education, etc. in view of regional dynamics across a whole region, not piecemeal state by state.

This article’s point of departure is that the national self-determination doctrine remains one of the most paradoxical, contested, but successful doctrines which has largely contributed to the shape of our existing international system of nation-states. It argues that the doctrine which is intended to safeguard peace and human dignity is and always has been at the heart of many conflicts. Starting with the tension between the universality of the national self-determination doctrine and the particularity of the national group whose interests it promotes, the article explores other paradoxes contained within this doctrine. They range from political and legitimacy challenges to the very nation-state it creates, through the violations of human rights contrary to its very meaning, to the fact that national self-determination doctrine, far from being a national issue, is actually an international affair. While not rejecting the doctrine, the paper concludes with the final (ninth) paradox that perhaps the success of this doctrine should not be measured by how many states it can produce, but how it can make the existing states a safe home for more self-differentiating national groups.

The conclusion is organised in three parts: First, conclusions relating to the case studies. Second, conclusions relating to theoretical and conceptual implications of the study. Third, conclusions relating to'Europeanisation'and its role in establishing a new form of polity for ...

Exploring the relationship between nationalism and democracy generally and specifically in newly independent post-Communist democracies, this book sheds new light on transition from Communism to democracy by magnifying one major element of the transition: the nation and its identity.

9 Slovakia since 1989 ERIKA HARRIS Introduction: from nationhood to statehood The story of post-communist Slovakia tends to be a story of political turmoil, ethnic mobilization, and a cautiously declared success. Slovakia has been a difficult case of post-communist transition, always ...

... Galbreath treads a similar ground by exploring the nationalising policies of Estonia and Latvia in the wake of their restoration of independence from the Soviet Union. ... European Integration and National Political Systems(London: Frank Cass & Co., 2001). ...

The article's main theme is national identity and its questionable role in establishing identity of a European political community. It is argued that political integration within the European Union requires a normative and conceptual re-examination of the concept of national identity. ' ...

The conclusion is organised in three parts: First, conclusions relating to the case studies. Second, conclusions relating to theoretical and conceptual implications of the study. Third, conclusions relating to'Europeanisation'and its role in establishing a new form of polity for ...

Focusing on the character of post-communist extreme nationalist parties, the meaning of “the nation” and the role of historical memory in Central and Eastern Europe, the article defends the notion of “Eastern” nationalism with an aim to suggest a more fruitful research into ethnic politics in the region. It argues that the contemporary “Eastern” nationalism has its own dynamic; it encompasses a number of themes and developments some of which confirm that the Eastern part of the continent is more ethnic, but yet others which negate it and are perhaps showing a way forward in Europe of the future. 

Published Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 18:3, 337-357, August 2012

The implications from its findings are relevant for contemporary politics everywhere precisely because it appears that the global belief in democracy has so far failed to diminish the relevance of nationalism. The book provides a brand new theory of nationalism in transition and ...

... This stage of 'Europeanization' — institutional adaptation prior to membership in the EU — logically shifts foreign policy goals (relating ... to the Hungarian elections (71%) and much higher than in the Czech Republic and Poland (58 and ... E. Harris Europeanization of Slovakia 192 ...

This introduction to the ideological foundations of nationalism traces a range of theories back to their historical roots, situating them within the context of contemporary world politics. This allows students to reconsider these theories in light of current political developments, ...