The purpose of this paper is to understand the manner through which identity has developed in the years following the end of communism in Eastern Europe. Through the use of ISSP survey data and case studies, this the pathways of identity development in these nations from 1991-2013, using data from surveys conducted from 1995-2013. The primary directive of this paper is to conclude whether or not national identities for citizens within Slovenia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic have become either more nationalistic or cosmopolitan in their national ideologies. This thesis hypothesizes that in reaction to globalization and increased international interconnectivity, national identities within post-communist Eastern European states have maintained the same level or increased their levels of nationalism since the fall of communism in 1989 and the beginning of their independent governance after the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the USSR in 1991-1992. Taking into account the historical narratives of nationalism inherent in the creation of these newly-formed countries, as well as the economic and political circumstances of their development, this thesis concludes that a growth in nationalism has occurred in all three cases since independence was achieved in 1990s. To confirm this conclusion, the analytical use of public opinion survey data was used to determine levels of national pride, feelings of attachment, and the perception of one’s nation within the over the last two decades. Essentially, this thesis argues that in spite of cosmopolitan development in the years following the end of communism, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic have maintained nationalistic identities since their inception as independent nations in the early to mid-1990s.
- Understanding the Post-Communist Perspective: An Analysis of Identity Development in Slovenia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic from 1995 to 2013
- Kristin Costantini
- Lucy Goodhart (Advisor)
- Brandeis University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; Master of Arts (MA)
- Master of Arts (MA), Brandeis University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- Brandeis University
- Brandeis University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- 10192/33876; 9923879976101921
- Copyright by Kristin Costantini 2017
- Interdepartmental Program in International and Global Studies
- English
- Thesis