The Celebrations of the Slovak National Uprising as a Platform for the Creation of Enemies of Slovakia

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.