NATIONALIST POPULISM AND POST-COMMUNISM

I do not intend to enter into the debate about the most appropriate definition of nationalism. Nevertheless, I am aware of the fact that a strict distinction between “civic” and “ethnic” or “civic” and “cultural” nationalism is not possible. Both of these categories of nationalism are complementary rather than contradictory, and are present in every society. However, for the purpose of this text, I will operationalise nationalism as an exclusionary ideology that stresses the social cohesion of one particular group of the population by appealing to its strict differentiation from other groups using ethnic categories, even in the field of the economy. From my point of view, an essential issue here is the level of identification of particular political leaders with the superiority of their respective ethnic group over other groups. In this regard, I partly agree with K.G. Minogue’s argument that nationalism might also be considered as a political movement, which tends to reach and defend “national” integration through feelings based on animosity toward “the strangers”. 33 When the political and economic transformation of Central and Eastern Europe is taken into account, nationalism seems not to be solely an unpleasant remnant of the past, or a rhetorical phenomenon, but rather an influential factor shaping the socio-political development. Finally, one could agree with Paul Latawski who noted that besides the economic, political and social problems besetting a region after communism, nationalism stands alone as one of the most perplexing challenges to the construction of a new post-communist order, regardless of the stage of the transition. 34 2.3. Populism 2.3.1. The understanding of populism Although the definitions of populism vary from one scholar to another, it is generally agreed that it is a multifactorial phenomenon, which cannot be traced to any single cause. Some scholars consider populism to be an ideology – in their view the suffix “-ism” as such signals an ideological potentiation 35 – while others perceive it as a specific form of politics. 36 There are also different views on the democratic nature of populism. Some scholars argue that the Latin root of 33 See K. R. Minogue Nationalism. (New York: 1967). 34 P. Latawski, “What to do About Nationalism?”, P. Latawski (ed.) Contemporary Nationalism in East Central Europe . (London: Macmillan Press, 1995). 35 See F. Decker, “The Populist Challenge to Liberal Democracy”, Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft 3/2003. 36 See C. Mudde, “In the Name of the Peasantry, the Proletariat, and the People: Populism in Eastern Europe”. Y. Mény, Y. Surel (eds.) Democracies and the Populist Challenge . (New York: Palgrave 2002).

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