Authors

Celia Donert⁵; Elisabeth Bakke⁴; Mary Heimann³; Michal Kopeček²; Adam Hudek¹;  ¹ Institute of History, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia;  ² Institute of Contemporary History, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic;  ³ Cardiff University, UK;  ⁴ University of Oslo, Norway;  ⁵ University of Cambridge, UK

Discussion

The roundtable is based on the edited volume Czechoslovakism, published in Routledge in September 2021. Czechoslovakism was a foundational concept of the interwar Czechoslovak Republic and retained its ideological, political and cultural importance throughout the 20th century. It was not only a political project and ideologeme, but also as a multifaceted historical phenomenon that eludes purely political and ideological definitions. Czechoslovakism, together with Yugoslavism, Scandinavism, the ideas of British and Soviet nations, share a common basis - the merging of multiple nations into a higher supranational whole, thereby creating a new type of nation. All these concepts are future-oriented, they tend to speak to a desired future rather than precisely characterize the present situation. Although, Czechoslovakism was never able to assert itself to the dominating ethnic identities, it has shaped Czech, Slovak but also Central European history in ways that continue to unfold into present. The aim of the roundtable is thus to discuss Czechoslovakism in broader context of historical memory, mentality, and political thought. Our aim is to examine the social-historical background of this phenomenon. Last but not least we want to look at this “projective concept” referring “to what should be” vis-à-vis current political and social trends.