Le nationalisme minoritaire: le cas de la Tchécoslovaquie

Abstract

Minority nationalism: the case of CzechoslovakiaThere exists a type of nationalism which has been manifesting itself more and more in recent years, namely the nationalism of minority national groups who do not necessarily seek to destroy the multi-national state in which they live, but merely seek to restructure it so as to be better able to pursue national goals compatible with their life in the state. Using Slovak minority nationalism as a case-study, the author shows how through two regimes, a democratic and a communist one, Slovak leaders have fought for autonomy, an asymmetrical model, and finally a symmetrical federation. From the study of the political and constitutional programs, the battles fought around them and the eventual solution, it becomes evident that two conditions must exist in order to have minority nationalism: (1) the existence of one or more political parties who articulate the political and constitutional demands for the re-structuring of the multinational state and (2) opposition or refusal to implement these demands by the central government. The author adds three elements which enable the measurement of minority nationalism:(1) the strength and electoral success of the nationalist parties; (2) the degree of opposition by the central government – the greater the opposition, the greater the minority nationalism; (3) international support.