An unwelcome national identity, or what to do about ‘nationalism’ in the post‐communist countries?

Abstract

This critical essay is addressed to those Western intellectuals who draw the conclusion that contemporary development in post-communist countries is dominated primarily by the growth of irrational and destructive nationalism. A number of terminological and methodological misunderstandings are pointed out. Nation-forming has occurred in the form of national movements, a type which started from a non-dominant ethnic group and not from an Early—Modern state-nation. Such development towards a modern nation was prevalent in Central and Eastern Europe, although it is also found in Western and Northern parts of Europe. This type of nation-forming resulted in some permanent characteristics and stereotypes which developed typically in the members of ‘small nations’. It is necessary to discriminate in the use of the term, nationalism: we must recognize that national identity is different from nationalism. Ideas about real or partially imagined national interests accompany the existence of every (and hence also East European) nation. The process of education toward a European identity cannot ignore the existence of nations as a sociological fact with regard to the post-communist countries. The decision about the inclusion of these countries in the European identity does not only depend on the members of these nations, but also on whether the West will cease to perceive the small post-communist countries as mere accidental foci of ‘nationalism’ and the recipients of economic aid.