The article considers the emergence of nationalisms during the period of the downfall of socialist regimes in Eastern Europe and concentrates on the formation of Slovene nationalism through the spyglass of historic narration. The Slovene case may provide some general lessons as to how, in national narrations, history is retroactively homogenized: all significant landmarks of Slovene history that now form the core of the narrative presented at the time the major breaks with the then standards of Slovene national identity.
Essay by
Mladen Dolar
December 11, 2023
In most post-communist countries after the breakdown of the USSR, memory legislation often aimed at constructing an identity of suffering under Nazism and the totalitarian Soviet regime, which relativized itself according to a cosmopolitan understanding of victimhood centered on the Holocaust memory. Regulations of memory, in this sense, were considered an indicator of democratic transition and an entry ticket to the European Union.
Essay by
Cagla Demirel
June 22, 2022
This essay examines Swedish heritage politics from the 1920s up to the present by studying official inquiries during this period. Through a critical, historical and empirical discussion, it reveals how the meaning of the word kulturarv (heritage) has been adjusted to correspond to wider changes in Swedish politics. It shows how a relatively neutral understanding of the word kulturarv has been turned into an ambiguity. In this essay I suggest from the material at hand that this trajectory of change results from the development of global capitalism, which turned identity into a commodity. This essay concludes that in a post-heritage future we therefore need a new understanding of identity, an open identity, and that we need to take existential responsibility for our lives.
Essay by
Johan Hegardt
April 21, 2021
The protestors and officials in Belarus use different national flags. Why is the massive state-run propaganda against peaceful protests focusing on the white-red-white flag and the history of World War II? Referring to the white-red-white flag the official propaganda described the leaders of opposition as inheritors of the pro-Nazi collaborators. The fact that under this flag Belarus proclaimed its independence in 1918 and again in 1991 has been muted. In a study of political symbols of Belarus the author contributes to a more detailed understanding of the ongoing situation in the country.
By
Andrej Kotljarchuk
September 14, 2020
Kristina Jõekalda and Linda Kaljundi in a conversation with Joep Leerssen on past and present nationalism in Europe and beyond. Joep Leerssen, Professor of European Studies at the University of Amsterdam, is one of the leading scholars of nationalism, having initiated several innovative projects and produced influential texts in the field.
By
Linda Kaljundi and Kristina Jõekalda
February 26, 2020
The concept of nation is not only, as is often assumed, related to states but to the people who feel that they belong to a community based on a common identity, wherein language and culture are often emphasized as something that knit people together. History, as well as contemporary experience, reveal the notion that state nationalism tends to oppress local languages and cultures. However, in a cultural nation interpretation, all national minorities, while being citizens of their state of domicile, are per definition not members of the majority nationality.
Essay by
Thomas Lundén
February 20, 2020
In the period between the two world wars, Swedish interest in the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania was in general extremely limited, whereas from the other side Sweden was seen as a geopolitically inactive power and consequently as a possible source of support and an ally against the Baltic states’ two greater neighbors, the Soviet Union and Germany.
Essay by
Thomas Lundén
June 18, 2019
There is a significant discrepancy between the political potential of the EU and its actual position and role in the future development of Europe. In practice, the member states have maintained their power monopoly in the most essential policy areas.
Essay by
Bjarne Lindström
March 7, 2019
Two distinct cases of kin-state relations are examined: that of Russians living in states neighboring Russia and that of Magyars living in states around Hungary. The question of kin-state relations is put at the forefront of European minority issues.
By
Kjetil Duvold
May 12, 2015
The nationally organized camp Seliger All-Russia Youth Forum gathers tens of thousands of young Russians every year. Here a report from the inside of the camp, observations in contemporary nation-building.
By
Kristiina Silvan
October 18, 2014