The Celebrations of the Slovak National Uprising as a Platform for the Creation of Enemies of Slovakia
- Vladimír Naxera
, - Petr Krčál
Abstract
The focus of this study lies in the instrumental use of history as a tool for
the legitimization of political claims. Our paper is related to the Slovak
National Uprising, which plays a crucial role in the national mythology of
Slovakia. This role is a reason why the annual celebrations of this historical
event are one of the most important political occasions in the country.
Many politicians use the celebrations as an opportunity to highlight many
political issues and address a broad audience. Using semi-participant
observation, we analysed five anniversary celebrations of the event (2015–
2019) and the securitization strategies inherited in the speeches of
politicians at the celebrations. We showed that not only topics related to the
legacy of the anti-fascist uprising (e.g. contemporary right-wing extremism)
are securitized or serve as objects of the creation of moral panic during
these events. Some other, unrelated actors/phenomena are securitized or
labelled as a threat as well – especially immigration and the politics of the
EU. This fact notwithstanding, the legacy of the SNU was always used for
the legitimization of securitization/creation of moral panic.
Keywords
Slovak National Uprising, use of history, public events, securitization, moral panic, immigration, Slovak politics
Author Biography
Vladimír Naxera
Vladimír Naxera is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Politics and
International Relations, the University of West Bohemia. His current field of
interest lies in the research of political populism, anti-immigrant and anti-corruption rhetorics of political actors, the instrumental use of history, and
field research of public ceremonies and their political consequences.
Petr Krčál
Petr Krčál is a lecturer and researcher at the Department of Politics and
International Relations, the University of West Bohemia. His main research
interest lies in the research of political populism, performance of politics and the instrumental use of history.