Petőcz Kálmán (szerk.): National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006-2009 (Somorja, 2009)
Peter Učen: Approaching National Populism
Approaching National Populism makes an enlightening distinction between: (1) nationalizing nationalism of previously marginalised nations which “seeks to use state power to consolidate its ‘ownership’ of the state”; (2) homeland nationalism of the kin-state which “seeks to protect and support the interests of its co-nationals who are marginalized minority within another (usually neighbouring) state”; and (3) minority nationalism “in which marginalized groups demand state recognition and certain cultural and political rights on the basis of their nationhood”.8 Inspired by the relational approach, Deegan-Krause identifies several types of nationalism among Slovaks after 1989. Even though not including the nationalism of Slovak Magyars, his enumeration is worth quoting in full: “Peripheral nationalism against a domestic majority: Czechs. Some Slovaks viewed the position of Slovaks within the common Czechoslovak state as peripheral and subordinate to the position of Czechs. Some of these Slovaks sought a formal renegotiation of the relationship between the two republics or even the dissolution of the common Czechoslovak state. Peripheral nationalism against regional or global institutions: the West. Some Slovaks believed that Slovakia’s territorial and cultural integrity stood at risk in the face of closely interrelated threats from the European Union, NATO, and their member states as well as by their foreign economic actors. Peripheral nationalism against a foreign state: Hungary. Some Slovaks sought to combat what they perceived to be a threat of Hungarianization faced by Slovaks in the Hungarianmajority areas near the country’s southern border and by Slovaks still living in Hungary. State-building nationalism against a homeland minority: Hungarians. Some Slovaks supported state-building efforts to expand the use of Slovak as an official language in the realms of administration, education, and culture primarily at the expense of offerings in the Hungarian language. State-building nationalism against a non-homeland minority: Roma. Some Slovaks saw the country’s large Roma population as a barrier to an integrated Slovak state. Proposed solutions ranged from the assimilation of Roma into Slovak society through language and cultural instruction to the formal dissimilation of Roma and their isolation away from Slovaks and other groups. 21
