Annotation
Ethnic relations in multinational states (those with significantly multiethnic population and some degree of territorial autonomy of ethnic groups) have had important implications not only for political landscape of Europe but also for everyday life of people. In some places, disagreements inside these states have led to changes of borders, involuntary migrations, long-term resistance movements and terrorism and even full-scale armed conflicts. In those multinational states that have survived, the issue of organisation of the state keeps holding top positions in the public discourse up to these days, despite relatively recent optimism related to the potential of EU integration to significantly alleviate nationalism and especially separatism. It is therefore possible to say that nationalism in Europe has been able to flourish under socialism and capitalism, authoritarian and democratic regimes, better and worse economic conditions. It turns out to be a highly persistent phenomenon that is not disappearing, despite simultaneous efforts to integrate various ethnic groups into larger political entities. To have a better understanding of the current situation in the European multinational states and in the regions where they existed up to recently, it is necessary to keep in mind the course of events of, at least, the past decades.
On this background, the course will focus on evolution of constitutional and territorial organisation, on self-identification of ethnic groups and their mutual relations, as well as on discursive and ideological aspects of nationalism, separatism and hegemonism. The course will also address possible reasons for specific developments, including historical, economic and cultural factors. These will be used to identify similarities and differences across the countries. Questions will be raised on why the Eastern European multiethnic federations of USSR, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia have broken up while the Western multinational states have not and what integrative forces have been holding the latter ones together. Relevant theories of nationalism and hypotheses on dynamics of multinational states as appearing in literature will be involved.
The course will combine lectures, presentations by students, group discussions informed by knowledge of the recommended literature and work in teams.
Students of history, political science, sociology and related fields are welcome.
Aims of the course
• To strengthen understanding of ethnic relations, national and ethnic identification and separatism in European multinational states after 1945,
• To involve comparative approach, including searching for patterns common for different places and times,
• To understand relevant theories and critically assess them in light of the historical events,
• To encourage independent critical thinking of the students through their own reflections of the topics and of the literature,
• To let students present and discuss issues on which they previously gain knowledge.
Requirements to pass the course
• Write an essay on a topic fitting into the scope of the course, previously approved by the lecturer and discussed in a class, in the length of ca 5-7 pages. The essay has to cite at least 5 academic sources (journal articles or book chapters).
• Make a presentation (including own critical assessment) of an academic paper out of the reading list.
• Read the below listed literature, participate actively in the classes, with absence not exceeding four of them.
All of these requirements must be met in order to pass.
The grade will be based on assessment of the essay.
Schedule of the classes with reading lists (the literature is accessible from online databases open to students or will be provided)
Week 1: Organisation of the course. Definitions and typology of multinational states with application on Europe since 1945
Week 2: Theories of ethnicity and nationalism. The role of economy, culture, ideology and the media.
Gellner, Ernst. Social entropy and equality in industrial society. In: Nations and nationalism. Oxford, 1983, pp. 63-87.
Smith, A.D. Ethno-symbolism. In: Nationalism and Modernism. London, 1998/2003, pp. 170-198.
Week 3: Yugoslavia: From brotherhood and unity to a full-scale armed conflict
Jović, Dejan. The Disintegration of Yugoslavia. A Critical Review of Explanatory Approaches. European Journal of Social Theory 4, 1 (2001) pp. 101–120.
Week 4: Bosnia and Herzegovina: The troubled orphan of Yugoslavia
Žíla, O. The War Conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Phenomenon of Ethnic Cleansing. Czech Journal of Contemporary History III, 3 (2015), pp. 157-188.
Week 5: Czechoslovakia: The gradual emancipation of the „younger brother“
Bakke, E. The principle of national self-determination in Czechoslovak constitutions 1920–1992. (2002). Available online at: https://folk.uio.no/stveb1/Czechoslovak_constitutions.pdf
Rychlík, J. The Velvet split of Czekoslovakia 1989–1992. Politeja, 58, 6 (2018), pp. 169–187.
Week 6: USSR: Highly asymmetric equality
Beissinger, M. Nationalism and the collapse of the Soviet communism. Contemporary European History, 18, 3 (2009), pp. 331–347.
Vujacic, V. Stalinism and Russian Nationalism: A Reconceptualization. Post-Soviet Affairs, 23, 2 (2013), pp. 156-183.
Week 7: UK: The Scottish question
Paul, D. E. The “Civic” Road to Secession: Political Ideology as an Ethnic Boundary Marker in Contemporary Scotland. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 26, 2 (2020), pp. 167–182.
Wellings, B. Brexit, nationalism and disintegration in the European Union and the United Kingdom. Journal of Contemporary European Studies 29, 3 (2021), pp. 1–13.
Week 8: Belgium: Decades of decentralising reforms
Gérard, M. Economic aspects of constitutional change: the case of Belgium. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 30, 2 (2014), pp. 257–276.
Lecours, A. Political Institutions, Elites, and Territorial Identity Formation in Belgium. National Identities, 3,1 (2001), pp. 52-68.
Week 9: Spain: The two restless regions
Branchadell, A. One Nation, One (Common) Language? Language and Nationalism in 21st Century Catalonia. RECODE Working Papers, nr. 10 (2010), pp. 1-12.
Cetrà, D. Nationalism in Catalonia and Flanders. Nationalism, Liberalism and Language in Catalonia and Flanders. In: Nationalism, Liberalism and Language in Catalonia and Flanders (2019), pp. 55–86.
Week 10: Switzerland: A multilingual nation doesn't go with the flow?
Boser, L., Brühwiler, I. Languages, script and national identity: struggles over linguistic heterogeneity in Switzerland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. History of Education, Journal of the History of Education Society, 46, 3 (2017) pp. 306-323.
Week 11: Similarities and differences across Europe – group and plenary class discussions
Week 12: European Union, globalization and nationalism
Sabanadze, N. Nationalism Resurgent: Central Paradox of the Global Era? In: Globalization and Nationalism. Budapest, 2010, pp. 15-34.
Wodak, R., Boukala, S. European identities and the revival of nationalism in the European Union. Journal of Language and Politics 1, 1 (2015), pp. 87-109.
Week 13: Final test.