National Identity and the Interplay between National Pride and Ethnic Exclusionism: The Exceptional Case of the Czech Republic

Abstract

This article focuses on national identity in post-communist Czech Republic. It empirically analyses attitudes of national pride and ethnic exclusionism and their interrelations in the years 1995 and 2003. Comparative studies dealing with national identity usually refer to the Czech Republic as an exceptional case. By focusing on the Czech case, this study contributes to a better understanding of local variations of concepts such as national pride and ethnic exclusionism. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to establish the multidimensionality of national pride and ethnic exclusionism in the Czech Republic at two time points. The interrelationships between different dimensions of national pride and of ethnic exclusionism are analysed using structural equation modelling. Data are drawn from the International Social Survey Programme National Identity Modules 1995 and 2003. Following empirical results, the paper suggests more valid dimensions for the concepts of national pride and ethnic exclusionism in the distinctive Czech context and discusses their mutual relationships.