Backdoor Nationalism

Abstract

Contrary to expectations, the EU’s eastward expansion in 2004 did not sound the death knoll of nationalism in the region; rather, it signalled its reinvention and, in some respects, reinvigoration. In this paper, we examine three ways in which nationalism has been redefined in Hungary and Poland in the context of EU enlargement. First, consensus on the desirability of European unification has lessened the importance of left/right party divisions; in its place, the “nation” has provided a fulcrum for inter-party contestation. Second, EU integration has provided nationalists in the region with a backdoor for realising old nationalist ambitions of national reunification across the porous borders of the EU. Third, we examine the way radical nationalist organisations in Hungary and Poland increasingly define themselves in opposition to the EU.

Populist Memory Politics and the Performance of Victimhood: Analysing the Political Exploitation of Historical Injustice in Central Europe

“…The EU is depicted as an actor that has treated the new member states unfairly through overly strict accession conditions. In the context of these constraints, victimhood ideas could re-emerge as a convenient fulcrum for a politics of moral resistance against power loss (Fox and Vermeersch 2010).…”

The Limits of Operational Representations

“…This seriously diminished the candidate states' room for maneuvering, particularly when it came to prominent socioeconomic and institutional reform agendas. 8 Fox and Vermeersch (2010) have argued that, under these conditions, a culturalization of East Central European politics took place that led to the renewal and reinforcement of nationalism, including the reemergence of Romaphobia, anti-Semitism and homophobia. In other words, indirectly the EU has to some extent contributed to what Fox and Vermeersch (2010) call 'backdoor nationalism', a counter-politics of identity that, in tandem with the Roma-related politics of recognition, has led to a highly problematic emphasis on now racialized difference.…”

Κοινωνικός Και Εκπαιδευτικός Αποκλεισμός Στην Κοινότητα Των Ελληνόφωνων Τσιγγάνων Της Χαλκίδας

“…είηε πξνζαξκφδνληαο ηελ εζληθηζηηθή ηνπο αηδέληα θαηά ηξφπν πνπ ζα κπνξνχζε λα παξνπζηάδεηαη σο «επξσπατθή». Απηφ θαηέζηε δπλαηφ κε ηνπο αθφινπζνπο ηξφπνπο (Fox & Vermeersch, 2010) : α) Ζ εμαζθάιηζε ζπλαίλεζεο σο πξνο ηε ζθνπηκφηεηα ηεο έληαμεο έθεξε ηηο ππνςήθηεο ρψξεο αληηκέησπεο κε ζπγθεθξηκέλνπο φξνπο φπσο άλνηγκα ησλ αγνξψλ, κείσζε ησλ δεκφζησλ επελδχζεσλ, ζθηρηή δεκνζηνλνκηθή πνιηηηθή. Ζ ζεψξεζε ησλ φξσλ απηψλ σο απαξάβαησλ θαη ε απνπζία θξηηηθήο ακθηζβήηεζεο ησλ λενθηιειεχζεξσλ ηδενινγηθψλ ζεκειίσλ ηεο Δ.Δ.…”