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Wawrzyniec Konarski Jagiellonian University in Cracow , Poland w_konarski@op.pl

Wawrzyniec Konarski Jagiellonian University in Cracow , Poland w_konarski@op.pl. Ethnicity and Politics in Central Europe: selected aspects Lecture prepared for the Visegrad Winter Seminar , Széchenyi István Egyetem , Györ , February 24-28, 2014. Ethnicity and Politics.

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Wawrzyniec Konarski Jagiellonian University in Cracow , Poland w_konarski@op.pl

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  1. Wawrzyniec KonarskiJagiellonianUniversityinCracow, Polandw_konarski@op.pl Ethnicity and Politics in Central Europe: selectedaspects Lectureprepared for theVisegrad Winter Seminar, SzéchenyiIstvánEgyetem, Györ, February 24-28, 2014

  2. Ethnicity and Politics 1. KEY TERMS: • Ethnicity - the termderivesfromthe Greek ethnikos, theadj. of ethnos, whatrefers to a company, peopleornation. • The category of ethnicity was introduced into sociology and political science by David Riesman in 1953. Nathan Glazer and Daniel P. Moynihan defined it as „(...) a tendency by people to insist on the significance of their distinctiveness and identity and on the rights that derive from this group character”.

  3. Ethnicity and Politics • In most casesthe term ethnicityisequivalent for ethnic group. Thelatterremains a long-lastingobject for researchanalysis. • Max Weber in his classicapproachrefers to an ethnic group as a human collectivity based on an assumption of common origin, real or imagined.

  4. Ethnicity and Politics • EllisCashmoredefinesit as self-consciouscollection of people united, orcloselyrelated, by sharedexperiences. • Thusthe elements of vital importance for an ethnic group areusually: culture, especially language and religion; genealogy, including race and origin; special personality features and occupied territory (Antonina Kłoskowska; Ewa Nowicka; Ronald A. Reminick).

  5. Ethnicity and Politics Politics - an activity which makes it possible to reconcile the interests of various social groups living at an area subject to one power, by granting them the access to the power proportionally to their importance for survival and well-being of the whole community (Bernard Crick).

  6. Ethnicity and Politics • However, suchliberal-democraticapproachnarrows down the historically verified meaning of the term politics and omitsthefactthat the history of mankind has shown very clearly that politics in the form of war is also politics(Carl P.G. von Clausevitz). • Effectivepolitics depends on the own goals fulfilment both by political and military means, with the possibility of changing the allies (lord Palmerston).

  7. Ethnicity and Politics Ethnopoliticsisunderstood as a conceptthatrefers to alltypes of politicsinvolvingethnicentities (RasmaKarklins) or as a process of ethnicity’stranslationintopoliticalspace (Joseph Rothschild). EthnopoliticsmayhaveIanus-likeimage: constructive and destructive one, for itmaylegitimate and delegitimatepolitical systems of states, and stabilizeoruderminetheirregimes and governments.

  8. Ethnicity and Politics • Thisambigousimageisconfirmed by John T. Ishiyama and MarijkeBreuning by saying thatalthough ethnopolitics can be conflictual, it can also be cooperative.Theyalsoclaimthatthe organizational expression of ethnopolitics is the ethnopolitical party. However, not only. As manifoldexemplesconfirmparamilitaryaspectcannot be neglectedhere, to remind IRA, ETA, Hlinkova garda, MagyarGárda and many others.

  9. Ethnicity and Politics • The term ethnicity remains in close connection with the national identity. In political terms the national identity is pursued by the term nationalism perceived in double, but referring to each other notion as ideology (integrative one) and socio-political attitude. Nationalismgoes back to theEuropeanEnlightenment time and its first appearancesometimesiscoincidedwith 1798? (Bertier de Sauvigny).

  10. Ethnicity and Politics • Nationalismistheideology of nation. Thelatter term is an elasticconcept, which - due to theEuropeanintellectualtraditionsacknowledged by Jean Jacques Rousseau and Johann Gotfried Herder - refers to twobasicdimensions: thepolitical and ethnocultural, hencetheadopteddivision on political and ethnicnations. Thistypologyshould be perceived as a result of problemsarisingfromthedivergence of state and ethnicboundarieswithintheEuropeanrealities.

  11. Ethnicity and Politics • Wherethereis a long tradition of a state based on a particularnation, likeEngland, France orDenmark, whoseidentity and independence was almostneverquestioned, nationhood, althoughbased on an ethnicidentity (eg. language), acquiredmoreor less political (equalrights on certainterritory) overtones. Thustheconcept of politicalnationrefersin most cases to thoseentitieswithstrong and long lastingtradition of independent statehoodeveninitsdynasticunderstanding.

  12. Ethnicity and Politics • Wherethetradition of a state was interrupted (either as a result of foreign conquestsuch as inBulgaria, Hungary, Poland or Serbia, or as a result of politicalfragmentation, such as in Germany and Italy), theawareness of a twofolddimension of nationalitypolitical and ethnic – remainedmorealive. Thustheconcept of ethnicnationrefersin most cases to thoseentitieswithstrong and long lastingtradition of separatecultureexistence, namely a language and/orreligion(despitethelack of statehood).

  13. Ethnicity and Politics Europe's most important geographical distinction is that no point is very far from an arm of the ocean. This has been a key to its development, for it has given Europeans easy access to the rest of the world.Due to someinterpretations there are five basic regions of Europe: 1) Western Europe; 2) Eastern Europe (& Central as itssub-region, oftenperceived as an amalgamation of bothterms); 3) Southern Europe; 4) Northern Europe; 5) British Isles.

  14. Ethnicity and Politics • Literarythe term Eastern Europe – untiltheend of WW I – referred to theEuropeanterritoriescontrolled by Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and tsarist Russia. • Themultinationalpowers’ politicaldominationoverpeopleslivinginthe region was reflected by: Turkish and Russiandespotism, Austrianautocracy, and Prussianmilitarism (withreference to part of former - first - Polish Commonwealth partitioned by Prussia).

  15. Ethnicity and Politics • In most casestheCentral Europe iscurrently (after 1989) identifiedwithfourcountries, namely Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Howevertherearesomespeculationswhether to includeCroatia and Lithuaniaintothisspace (Janusz Stefanowicz).

  16. Ethnicity and Politics 2. ETHNICITY as a POINT of REFERENCE for SELECTED POLITICAL PARTIES in CENTRAL EUROPE: Poland Ethnicaspect s inhistoricalparties’ profile: • National Democracy(Narodowa Demokracja, ND) of Roman Dmowski, est. 1887 – Poland as ethnonationallyhomogeneous state, pro-Russian, anti-Semitic & anti-German + itsextremewing - National-RadicalCamp (Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny, ONR), est. 1934 – extremelyanti-Semitic & fascinatedwithfascism.

  17. Ethnicity and Politics • Sanification(Sanacja) orPiłsudskities (Piłsudczycy) orthe Józef Piłsudski camp, formedin 1926 - initially Poland as multiculturalfederation, but anti-minoritiesimagefurthermore, anti-Russian & anti-Soviet; • National minorities’ parties – anti-Polish state orientationfrom German & Ukrainianminoritiesinparticular.

  18. Ethnicity and Politics • WithinthelargestPolishpoliticalpartiestodaybothleadingtraditions, namelynationalist of ND and Piłsudskitiesarecombined by Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość) party of Jarosław Kaczyński, est. in 2001. • Untilrecentlythis profile was maintained by League of PolishFamilies(Liga Polskich Rodzin, LPR)- a moderateversion of former ND, est. in 2001, but currentlyindecline.

  19. Ethnicity and Politics EthnicaspectsinothercurrentPolishparties: • National Movement(Ruch Narodowy, RN)et al., est. in 2012 as a commoninitiative of radicalnationalismcamp, close to thepre-war ONR – anti-German, panslavic (but anti-Russian imperial stance) & anti-EU. • Movement for theAutonomy of Silesia (Ruch Autonomii Śląska, RAŚ), est. in 1990 - ethnoregionalistic, anti-centralisationorientation & for regionalautonomy.

  20. Ethnicity and Politics Czech Republic Twoleadingpoliticalcompetitors & concepts in newesthistory : • TomášGarrigue Masaryk - politicalrationalist, leader of Progressive Party (ČeskáStranaPokroková), 1900-1918& president od Czechoslovakiain 1918-1935 - attitude of enmitytowardsHungarians & Poles, conciliatorytowardsGermans. • Karel Kramař – panslavist, leader of Czechoslovak National Democracy(Československánárodní demokracie), 1919 -1938 – pro-state right-wing party.

  21. Ethnicity and Politics Theethnicaspectsin minor Czech partiestoday: • In theyearsafter 1989 thehatredtowards Roma (and someotherminorities, eg. Poles) remainsinuseespecially by fourpoliticalparties: 1/ Republicans of Miroslav Sladek(Republikáni Miroslava Sladká) & 2/ National Party (Národní strana) – bothactiveuntilappr. 2010, 3/ Workers’ Party (Dělnickástrana), 4/ Dawn of DirectDemocracy (Úsvitpřímé demokracie – 6,9 % in 2013) of senator TomioOkamura – raciallyinspiredpopulist.

  22. Ethnicity and Politics Slovakia Historicaltraditionsinparties’ profile: • Slovak National Party (Slovenskánárodnástrana),1871-1938 – conservative and legalistic. • SlovakPeople’s Party (Slovenskáľudovástrana), 1906-1945 – under changingnames - of rev. AndrejHlinka – nationalist, anti-Hungarian and anti-Czechoslovak.

  23. Ethnicity and Politics Thefrequentethnonationalissueswithinthehistory of Slovakiasince 1918: • Reluctance/hostilitytowardsbothCzechoslovakias; • Fear of Hungarianrevisionismintheinterwar period; • Anti-semitism of Slovak state during WWII; • Deeplyrootedinterethniccleavages, especiallywiththerespect to theHungarianminority and the Roma peoplesince 1993 (Minton F. Goldman).

  24. Ethnicity and Politics EthnicaspectsinSlovakparties’ profile since 1993: • People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (Ľudovástrana – Hnutie za demokratickéSlovensko), 1991-2014 - conservative, nationalistic & populist, anti-Hungarian & anti-Roma; • Slovak National Party, reest. 1989 - populistradicalright, anti-Hungarian & anti-Roma; • People’s Party OurSlovakia(Ľudová strana Naše Slovensko), est. 2000, linked to theSlovakBrotherhood (Slovenskápospolitosť) - far-right , xenophobic, anti-Hungarian, anti-Roma & anti-NATO.

  25. Ethnicity and Politics Hungary Leadingthesis: • Recollections of Hungary’spositionduringtheAustro-Hungarian period + authoritarian-like system of governance of Miklós Horthy remained a basis for interwarHungarian state revisionism and a hostile, ethnonationallymotivatedattitudetowardsneighbouringstates.

  26. Ethnicity and Politics • Most transparent representative of ethnopoliticalextremisminHungarianhistory was theArrow Cross Party (NyilaskeresztesPárt – HungaristaMozgalom), est. in 1935 as Party of National Will, reconstr. in 1937 – extremelynationalistic, anti-Communist & anti-Semitic; • Revisionism was hibernatedduringtheCommunistruleafter WW II, and revitalisedtemporarilyduringthepremiership of Jozsef Antall (1990-1993).

  27. Ethnicity and Politics • Thelattertendency was continuedduringthe first (1998-2002) and second(since 2010) premiership of Viktor Orbán, leader of Fidesz – HungarianCitizens’ Union (Fidesz – MagyarPolgáriSzövetség), nameadoptedin 2003, and formerly – since 1988 - Fidesz – HungarianCitizens’ Party (Fidesz - MagyarPolgáriPárt) – conservative, nationalistic, populist & anti-Roma.

  28. Ethnicity and Politics • More extremepolitical profile than Fidesz representsJobbiktheMovement for a BetterHungary (JobbikMagyarországértMozgalom), est. in 2002 as the Right-Wing Youth Association (JobboldaliIfjúságiKözösség – thusJOBBIK) – radicalnationalist, especiallyanti-Roma, ani-Semitic, calledalsohomophobic, racist and/orneo-nazi, led by Gabor Vona.

  29. Ethnicity and Politics Shortconclusion: • Thelinkagebetweenethnicity and politicsin Central Europe stillkeepsitspositionalthoughinpoliticallydiversifiedshape. Itdependsa.o. on thecombinationbetweentheethnonationalstructure of societies and historicalexperiences of fourstatesidentifiedwiththis region. TheabovefactormattersmostlyinHungary and Slovakia, whereasithasmoderate influence in Poland and Czech Republic.

  30. Thankyou for yourkindattention!

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