Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T07:43:35.430Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

National and ethnic identifications among the Slovak diaspora in Serbia: Stranded between state(s) and ethnicity?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2019

Svetluša Surova
Svetluša Surova*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Faculty of Philosophy, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Identity has been treated in relevant literature predominantly as a dynamic, fluid, multidimensional, and ongoing process. Currently, identity is viewed as a process, as something achieved, and as a product of social relations. Scholars have acknowledged that members of minorities and diasporas can have very complex multiple identities, which are both dependent on social context and changeable over time. This article explores the national and ethnic identifications of Slovaks living in Serbia. Its main objective is to examine how the members of the Slovak diaspora identify themselves and what kind of national and ethnic awareness and pride they hold. As well, this paper explores their opinions and attitudes on language and cultural identity. This study used a web-based survey and basic statistics. The results of the explorative study indicate that members of the Slovak diaspora living in Serbia have multiple identities that coexist, do not conflict, and vary in their importance for respondents. Distinct national and ethnic identifications are perceived in different ways and have divergent emotional intensities. This study proposes further research on the importance of civic and ethnic values and on different perceptions of identity, citizenship, length of residency, and minority rights for collective identifications of minorities and/or diasporas.

Keywords

identityidentifications of diasporanational identityethnic identitymultiple identitiesSlovak diaspora in Serbia
Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 46 , Issue 6: Special Section: The evolution of nationhood in 20th century Europe: Lessons from the Northern Adriatic borderlands , November 2018 , pp. 1081 - 1100
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ashdown, Brien K., Gibbons, Judith L., Hackathorn, Jana, and Harvey, Richard D. 2011. “The Influence of Social and Individual Variables on Ethnic Attitudes in Guatemala.” Psychology 2 (2): 78–84.Google Scholar
Bertrand, Badie, Berg-Schlosser, Dirk, and Morlino, Leonardo, eds. 2011. International Encyclopedia of Political Science. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Bade, Klaus J., Emmer, Pieter C., Lucassen, Leo, and Oltmer, Jochen. 2011. The Encyclopedia of European Migration and Minorities. From the Seventeenth Century to the Present. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bauböck, Rainer, and Faist, Thomas. 2010. Diaspora and Transnationalism. Concepts, Theories and Methods. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.Google Scholar
Bechhofer, Frank, and McCrone, David. 2007. “Being British: A Crisis of Identity?” The Political Quarterly 78 (2): 251–260.Google Scholar
Billig, Michael. 1995. Banal Nationalism. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Bollen, Kenneth, and Medrano, Juan Diez. 1998. “Who are the Spaniards? Nationalism and Identification in Spain.” Social Forces 77 (2): 587–621.Google Scholar
Brubaker, Rogers. 2005. “The “Diaspora” Diaspora.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 28 (1): 1–19.Google Scholar
Brubaker, Rogers, and Cooper, Frederick. 2000. “Beyond “Identity.”.” Theory and Society 29 (1): 1–47.Google Scholar
Burke, Peter J., and Stets, Jan E. 2009. Identity Theory. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Chandra, Kanchan. 2006. “What is Ethnic Identity and Does it Matter?” Annual Review of Political Science 9:397–424.Google Scholar
Chandra, Kanchan. 2012. Constructivist Theories of Ethnic Politics. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cohen, Robin. 2008. Global Diasporas. An Introduction. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Clifford, James. 1994. “Diasporas.” Cultural Anthropology 9 (3): 302–338.Google Scholar
eds. 2014. 2011. y [Census of population, households amd dwellings in 2011. Ethno-confessional and linguistic mosaic of Serbia]. . http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Etnomozaik.pdf.Google Scholar
Duchesne, Sophie, and Frognier, André-Paul. 2008. “National and European Identifications: A Dual Relationship.” Comparative European Politics 6 (2): 143–168.Google Scholar
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland. 2010. Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives. 3rd ed. New York: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
Esman, Milton J. 2009. Diasporas in the Contemporary World. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Fearon, James D. 1999. “What is Identity (as We Now Use the Word)?” Accessed October 19, 2017. https://web.stanford.edu/group/fearon-research/cgi-bin/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/What-is-Identity-as-we-now-use-the-word-.pdf.Google Scholar
Gibbons, Judith L. and Ashdown, Brien K., 2010. “Ethnic Identification, Attitudes, and Group Relations in Guatemala.” Psychology 1:116–127.Google Scholar
Glaser, Daryl. 1958. “Dynamics of Ethnic Identification.” American Sociological Review 23:31–40.Google Scholar
Hadler, Marcus, Tsutsui, Kiyoteru, and Chin, Lynn G. 2012. “Conflicting and Reinforcing Identities in Expanding Europe: Individual- and Country-Level Factors Shaping National and European Identities, 1995–2003.” Sociological Forum 27 (2): 392–418.Google Scholar
Howard, Judith A. 2000. “Social Psychology of Identities.” Annual Review of Sociology 26:367–393.Google Scholar
Hristova, Lidija, and Cekik, Aneta. 2016. “Hierarchy of Identities in the Macedonian Multicultural Society. Findings from a Survey of Student Population.” European Quarterly of Political Attitudes and Mentalities 5 (2): 10–23.Google Scholar
Hutchinson, John, and Smith, Anthony D. 1996. Ethnicity. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Isaacs-Martin, W. 2014. “National and Ethnic Identities: Dual and Extreme Identities among the Coloured Population of Port Elizabeth, South Africa.” Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism 14 (1): 55–73.Google Scholar
Jenkins, Richard. 2014. Social Identity (Key Ideas). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kiely, Richard, Bechhofer, Frederik, and McCrone, David. 2005a. “Birth, Blood and Belonging: Identity Claims in Post-Devolution Scotland.” The Sociological Review 53 (1): 150–171.Google Scholar
Kiely, Richard, Bechhofer, Frederik, Stewart, Robert, and McCrone, David. 2001. “The Markers and Rules of Scottish National Identity.” The Sociological Review 49 (1): 33–55.Google Scholar
Kiely, Richard, McCrone, David, and Bechhofer, Frank. 2005b. “Whither Britishness? English and Scottish People in Scotland.” Nations and Nationalism 11 (1): 65–82.Google Scholar
Koos, Agnes Katalin. 2012. “Common Origin, Common Power, or Common Life: The Changing Landscape of Nationalisms.” Open Journal of Political Science 2 (3): 45–58.Google Scholar
Kun, Paul. 2015. “European Identity between Ethnic and Civic Identities.” Journal of Identity and Migration Studies 9 (2): 2–17.Google Scholar
Kunovich, Robert M. 2009. “The Sources and Consequences of National Identification.” American Sociological Review 74 (4): 573–593.Google Scholar
Laitin, David D. 1998. Identity in Formation: The Russian-Speaking Populations in the Near Abroad. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Lawler, Steph. 2014. Identity: Sociological Perspectives. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Masella, Paolo. 2013. “National Identity and Ethnic Diversity.” Journal of Population Economics 26 (2): 437–454.Google Scholar
McCrone, David, and Bechhofer, Frank. 2015. Understanding National Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
McCrone, David, Stewart, Robert, Kiely, Richard, and Bechhofer, Frank. 1998. “Who are We? Problematizing National Identity.” The Sociological Review 46 (4): 629–652.Google Scholar
Mosley, Layna. 2013. Interview Research in Political Science. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Nagel, Joane. 1995. “American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Politics and Resurgence.” American Sociological Review 60 (6): 947–965.Google Scholar
Neuman, W. Lawrence. 1991. Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Örkény, Antal, and Székelyi, Maria. 2011. “Constructing Border Ethnic Identities along the Frontier of Central and Eastern Europe — A Research Note.” Sociologie Românească 9 (1): 14–24.Google Scholar
Parenti, Michael. 1967. Ethnic Politics and the Persistence of Ethnic Identification. American Political Science Review 61 (3): 717–726.Google Scholar
Rea, Louis M., and Parker, Richard A. 2014. Designing and Conducting Survey Research: A Comprehensive Guide. 4th ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Republika Srbija. Republički zavod za statistiku. 1993. ‘Statistički godišnjak Srbije 1992. Godina 25’ [Statistical Yearbook 1992, Year 25]. Beograd: Republika Srbija, Republički zavod za statistiku, 1993. http://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G1993/Pdf/G19932002.pdf.Google Scholar
Republika Srbija. Republički zavod za statistiku. 1995. ‘Stanovništvo i domaćinstva Republike Srbije prema popisu 1991. godine’ [Population and Household of Republic of Serbia according to census in the year 1991]. Beograd: Republika Srbija, Republički zavod za statistiku, 1995. Available at: http://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/G1995/Pdf/G19954001.pdf.Google Scholar
Republički zavod za statistiku. 2014. ‘Popisni atlas 2011. Popis stanovništva, domačinstava i stanova 2011. u Republici Srbiji’ [Census Atlas 2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia]. Beograd: Republički zavod za statistiku, 2014. http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Popisni%20atlas%202011.pdf.Google Scholar
Raševič, Mirjana. (ed.) 2002. Demografski pregled. Popis stanovništva, domaćinstva i stanova 2002. Prvi rezultati [Demographic review. Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the year 2002]. Beograd: Ministarstvo za socijalna pitanja u saradnji sa Centrom za demografska istraživanja Instituta društvenih nauka, Beograd i Društvom demografa Jugoslavije Godina 2, Broj 10/2002. https://www.minrzs.gov.rs/files/doc/porodica/Demografski%20pregled/2002/10%20Popis%20stanovnistva%20domacinstva%20i%20stanova%202002%20%E2%80%93%20prvi%20rezultati,%20god%20III,%202002.pdf.Google Scholar
Rusciano, Frank Louis. 2003. “The Construction of National Identity: A 23-Nation Study.” Political Research Quarterly 56 (3): 361–366.Google Scholar
Safran, William. 1991. “Diasporas in Modern Societies: Myths of Homeland and Return.” Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies 1 (1): 83–99.Google Scholar
Sheffer, Gabriel. (n.d.). “Diaspora.” Encyclopedia Princetoniensis: The Princeton Encyclopedia of Self-Determination. Accessed October 19, 2017. http://pesd.princeton.edu/?q=node/232.Google Scholar
Storm, Ingrid. 2011. “Ethnic Nominalism and Civic Religiosity: Christianity and National Identity in Britain.” The Sociological Review 59 (4): 828–846.Google Scholar
Surová, Svetluša. 2006a. “Analysis of Legal Regulation of the Status of National Minorities in Serbia and Montenegro after the Year 2000.” In Political and Legal Issues of International Relations 2006, 447–457. Bratislava: University of Economics in Bratislava, Faculty of International Affairs.Google Scholar
Surová, Svetluša. 2006b. “Institute of National Council of National Minorities in Serbia.” INTERPOLIS'06 conference proceedings from 3rd scientific conference of doctoral students in Banska Bystrica, 377–386. Banska Bystrica: UMB Banská Bystrica FPV a MV, Ústav vedy a výskumu.Google Scholar
Surová, Svetluša. 2007. “Model of the Constitutional and Legal Protection of National Minorities in Serbia (after the Year 2000).” Master's thesis. Comenius University, Bratislava.Google Scholar
Surová, Svetluša. 2008. “Political Participation of Slovak National Minority in Serbia (After the Year 2000).” PhD diss., Banská Bystrica.Google Scholar
Surová, Svetluša. 2012. “National Minorities and Right to Self-Government — Case of Serbia.” In Economic, Political and Legal Issues of International Relations, 453–465. Bratislava: University of Economics in Bratislava, Faculty of International Relations.Google Scholar
Surová, Svetluša. 2014. “Political Participation of Minorities in Serbia: Constitutional and Legal Model.” In Economic, Political and Legal Issues of International Relations. Bratislava: University of Economics in Bratislava, Faculty of International Relations.Google Scholar
Swayd, Samy S. 2014. “Identity, “Identology” and World Religions.” Open Journal of Philosophy 4 (1): 30–43.Google Scholar
Tölölyan, Khachig. 1991. “The Nation-State and its Others: In Lieu of a Preface.” A Journal of Transnational Studies 1 (1): 3–7.Google Scholar
Tölölyan, Khachig. 2012. “Diaspora Studies: Past, Present and Promise.” Working Paper 55. University of Oxford (Oxford, ESCR Centre on Migration, Policy and Society). Accessed March 15, 2015. http://www.imi.ox.ac.uk/pdfs/wp/wp-55-2012-diaspora-studies-past.Google Scholar
Vertovec, Steven. 2005. “The Political Importance of Diasporas.” Working Paper 05–13. University of Oxford Centre on Migration, Policy and Society. Accessed October 19, 2017. https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/files/Publications/working_papersAVP_2005/Steve.Google Scholar
Waechter, Natalia, and Samoilova, Evgenia. 2014. “European Identity and its Relationship to National and Ethnic Identities among Younger and Older Members of Ethnic Minority Groups.” Slovenská Politologická Revue 14 (2): 99–120.Google Scholar
Weber, Max. 1978. Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. Translated by Ephraim Fischoff. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar