Tomasz Kamusella Language in Central Europe`s History and

Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Tomasz Kamusella
Language in Central Europe’s History and Politics
Central Europe, as other sections of the continent, used to be multilingual and
multiscriptural. In the modern age, nationalism and centralizing etatism did away
with this multiplicity of languages and scriptures in Western Europe. In the eastern half of the continent, especially in Central Europe, this multiplicity fared better,
though, paradoxically, due to the fact that language and writing were made there into
the main instrument of politics, and also of nationhood and statehood legitimization. The multitude of ethnolinguistic nation-states that were spawned in the twentieth century by the marriage of language and state ensured that almost as many
languages were created and/or elevated to the status of official languages as many
polities were fashioned in the region. This article sketches the story of the gradually
politicized multilingualism of Central Europe.
Key words: Central Europe, politicized multilingualism, ethnolinguistics
Język w dziejach i polityce Europy Środkowej
W Europie Środkowej, jak i gdzie indziej na kontynencie europejskim, wielojęzyczność i używanie wielu systemów pisma było normą w przeszłości. Zmieniło się
to w okresie nowożytnym, kiedy nacjonalizm i centralizujący etatyzm zlikwidowały tę wielość języków i pism na zachodzie Europy. Za to na wschodzie kontynentu,
a szczególnie w Europie Środkowej, owa wielojęzyczność przetrwała, co zakrawa na
paradoks, dzięki uczynieniu z języka i pisma naczelnego instrumentu uprawiania
polityki oraz podstawy legitymizacji państwowości i istnienia narodów. Normatywne powiązanie języka z państwowością spowodowało, że w XX stuleciu ogromna
większość państw utworzonych w tym regionie to państwa etnojęzyczne. Tym sposobem, przynajmniej tak wiele języków zostało wyniesionych do statusu języków
oficjalnych, jak wiele powstało tego rodzaju państw. Niniejszy artykuł szkicuje historię stopniowej polityzacji wielojęzyczności w Europie Środkowej.
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Grażyna Szwat–Gyłybow
The Lonely Sceptic. Bulgarian culture in the trap
of its neo-Manichaean tradition
The article attempts to synthesize how the Bulgarian national medieval heresy is adapted to the needs of the Bulgarian national discourse. Advocates of the Enlightenment utopia of
progress made it one of the foundation myths of Bulgarian national ideology, seeing Bogomils as precursors to progressive movements across Europe. Over two centuries, the semantic
flexibility of Bogomilism led to multiple ideological appropriations from such diverse or contradictory schools of thought as Marxism, freemasonry, occultism or Theosophic spiritualism. In relying on the Bogomil heritage, all those schools were invisibly tied together by the
idea of progress, an idea which they shared (even if they all interpreted it in different ways).
At the same time, fascination with Bogomilsm on the Bulgarian ground seems to be a sign of
the longings for transcendence, and a proof of an unfinished modernization. Modernization
with its attendant phenomenon of secularization remains very much an incomplete project
as exemplified by the “semi-modern man.” Further research will discover the strategies as to
how to endow life with a meaning—in such a sense as Horkheimer and Adorno see it, as well
as a role of the post-colonial complex in this reality.
Key words: Bulgarian identity and culture, Bogomilism, myths, national discourse
Samotność sceptyka.
Kultura bułgarska wobec własnej tradycji neomanichejskiej
Artykuł stanowi próbę syntetycznej prezentacji procesu adaptacji do potrzeb bułgarskiego dyskursu narodowego średniowiecznej herezji bogomilskiej. Rzecznicy oświeceniowej
utopii postępu uczynili z niej jeden z fundatorskich mitów bułgarskiej ideologii narodowej,
uznając bogomiłów za prekursorów postępowych ruchów w Europie. Elastyczna semantyka bogomilstwa przyzwalała na rozmaite warianty ideologicznych zawłaszczeń, które dokonywane były na przestrzeni dwóch stuleci przez bardzo różne, a nawet skłócone światopoglądy (marksizm, wolnomularstwo, teozoficzny spirytualizm), w niewidoczny sposób
spajane przez różnie rozumianą ideę postępu. Równocześnie jednak, na gruncie bułgarskim
fascynacja bogomilstwem zdaje się być przejawem nieugaszonej przez sekularyzację tęsknoty
za transcendencją, a co za tym, idzie – dowodem wciąż niedokończonej modernizacji. Stan
„połowicznego oświecenia” de facto oznacza niepewność światopoglądową, która nie potrafi
się obyć bez mitu, godzącego kulturowe i aksjologiczne sprzeczności. Dalsze badania nad tą
problematyką pozwolą odsłonić strategie „usensowniania” rzeczywistości przez społeczność
„na poły nowoczesną” (w sensie jaki nadali temu pojęciu Horkheimer i Adorno), a zarazem
obciążoną swoiście rozumianym kompleksem postkolonialnym.
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Denise Deutschlander
Immigration as a Perceived Threat to National Identity:
An Austrian Case Study
This article is the case study of one nation, Austria, reacting to the challenges
of the globalized world, specifically immigration. To determine how Austrians perceive immigration, data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) in
1995 and 2004 were compared. The investigated hypothesis assumed that the increased immigration resulting from EU integration and globalization would lead
to increased xenophobia as Austrians attempt to defend their national identity. The
crosstabulation analysis of ISSP data revealed that Austrians became more hostile
toward immigration between 1995 and 2004. The events between 1995 and 2004 indicate that this increase in anti-immigration sentiment is likely due to both political
campaigns targeting Austrians already uneasy about immigration and insecurity
arising from increased immigration.
Keywords: immigration, Austria nationalism, globalization, identity.
Imigracja jako potencjalne zagrożenie dla tożsamości narodowej –
– na przykładzie Austrii
Na przykładzie Austrii artykuł ukazuje reakcję mieszkańców tego kraju na wyzwania stwarzane przez globalizujący się świat, a konkretnie przez zjawisko imigracji. Ażeby ustalić, jak Austriacy postrzegają imigrację do swego kraju, autorka
porównawczo zestawiła dane z dwóch międzynarodowych sondaży International
Social Survey Programme (ISSP), uzyskane w roku 1995 i 2004. Przyjęta przez nią
hipoteza badawcza zakładała, że wzrost liczby imigrantów, będący efektem dokonującej się we Wspólnocie Europejskiej integracji, jak też globalizacja to są czynniki,
które spowodują narastanie ksenofobii, gdy Austriacy okażą wolę obrony własnej
tożsamości narodowej. Z analizy przeprowadzonej na podstawie danych z sondaży
ISSP wynika, że w okresie od 1994 do 2004 roku niechęć Austriaków do imigrantów
wzrosła. Wydarzenia z lat 1995-2004 zdają się świadczyć o tym, że ów wzrost nastrojów antyimigracyjnych może być powodowany zarówno przez kampanie polityczne skierowane do tych Austriaków, którzy już wcześniej żywili zastrzeżenia wobec
imigracji, jak też może wynikać z poczucia niepewności wywoływanego coraz większym napływem przybyszy do ich kraju.
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Elżbieta Pałka, Tomasz Szyszlak
The Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate in the Czech Republic:
The Ruthenian, Slovakian, Czech and Ukrainian Churches
The article investigates the contemporary Greek Catholic Church in the Czech
Republic. The Greek Catholic communities both in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia commonly refer to the cyrilomethodian tradition, the origins of which are best
viewed from their genesis in the act of Uzhhorod Union in 1646. The Greek Catholic
Church in the Czech territory did not take on an institutionalized form, however,
until the interwar period when many Slovaks and Ruthenians (Ukrainians) from the
Subcarpathian Rus, now known as Carpathian Ruthenia, as well as Ukrainians from
Galicia and Russians, started to settle in Prague and other main urban centers.
The Greek Catholic Church in the Czech and Slovak territories not only satisfied
the religious needs of its worshippers, it also performed an important role in shaping and strengthening cultural and national identity of its members, especially those
of Ruthenian nationality. The negative consequence of this fact was both using the
Church to manipulate the nation-building processes and its liquidation after WWII
in the aftermath of the struggle against all manifestations of Ruthenism / Ruthenian
national identity. On the other hand, the Church proved it was able to preserve its
multicultural character. The authors advance a thesis that acknowledges that the
Greek Catholic Church in the Czech Republic has a multicultural character, that is
also Ruthenian, Slovakian, Czech and Ukrainian, as is reflected in the second part
of the title of the article.
Key words: Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate, the Czech Republic, national
identity
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Magdalena Kwiecińska
Petty gentry in Galicia: between Polish
and Ukrainian National Movements
In the Ukrainian part of the lower Carpathians there are villages inhabited by
gentry without estates who tilled their own land (zaścianki szlacheckie), and whose
origins can be traced to the 14th century. Members of these communities, who came
to eastern frontiers of the Polish Commonwealth, became responsible for guarding
them, and over time received landed properties and coats of arms.
The later Austrian domination, however, changed the existing order. Emperor
Joseph II’s reforms reorganized the landed gentry so as to unify them with the rest of
the Habsburg Empire. The next significant development in Eastern Galicia was the
national movements which influenced the identity of Ruthenian-Ukrainians. The
term gente Rutheni natione Poloni describing members of the gentry thus began losing its meaning. The emerging elites of the Ukrainian nation wished to find specific
traditions of, and historical identity for, the gente Rutheni. At the same time, they
sought to break away from natione Poloni which was depriving them of their historical roots. The Polish side tried to hold on to the societal unity of pre-Partitioned
Poland, and treated the Ukrainian movement as a social rather than a nationalistic
problem.
Very important for the status of the petty gentry was the foundation of The
Society of Ruthenian Gentry in Galicia in 1907. Its members focused on defending
their own interests and maintaining the national tradition of neutrality amongst
those communities. However, in the aftermath of WWI their work weakened and
was stopped with the creation of The Union of Farming Gentry (Związek Szlachty
Zagrodowej) in 1937. The lesser gentry thus fell under strong influence from the Polish government and lost much autonomy.
Keywords: petty gentry, eastern Galicia, Ruthens-Ukrainians, Ukrainian national
identity
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Agnieszka Gucka
Serb-Croat rivalry over leadership in the unification movement
of South Slavs in the first half of the 20th century
The first half of the 20th century witnessed a complex process leading to the
birth of a state unit which united south Slav peoples for the first time in history, i.e.,
the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians. Although the political idea of creating
the Yugoslavian state originated simultaneously in the Croat and Serb lands, their
respective plans as to how to create a common statehood were diverse. Both Serbs
and Croatians were convinced of the superiority of their respective cultures as well
as of their historic rights to guide and speak for the rest of the south Slavs and intended to lead the unifying movement. The major integrating element as well as area
of conflict for political and spiritual leadership was, in their opinion, the language.
This is why they argued about the ‘superiority’ of different dialects of the Serbo-Croatian language. The author also discusses the Polish participation in the unifying
project, namely that of the Lambert Hotel and the envoys of Prince Adam Czartoryski. A key role in this rivalry was played by Bosnia. Finally, though, the emerging
Yugoslav idea was to face a sharp confrontation with the emergence of Croat and
Serb nationalisms.
Key words: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, South Slavs, unification, state
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Dominika Mikucka-Wójtowicz
The situation of the serbian minority in the Republic of Croatia:
between normative regulations and practice
The article deals with the situation of the Serbian minority in the Republic of
Croatia since the 1990s through to 2006. It focuses on the one hand on the legal solutions, mostly those rights that have been guaranteed to minorities in the Constitution and in the Charter Relating to the Rights of National minorities, with its novels,
as well as in other detailed acts regulating this matter. On the other hand, it takes
into consideration the actual execution of these rights in practice. The author pays
some attention also to the influence of the international community on the improvement of the situation of the Serbian minority in Croatia.
This particular minority has been chosen here for consideration, from among
more than twenty minorities living in Croatia, because the author is convinced that
it can serve as the best evidence of how democracy in this country is working. Indeed, Croatian-Serbian relations bear the burden of numerous historical sentiments
and animosities. Thus, only when we find out that the established rights of the Serbian minority are respected in practice, can we say that the democratic standards in
the sphere of the protection of minority rights are respected in reality in the Republic of Croatia.
Key words: Croatia, Serbian minority, minority rights
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Marcin Dębicki
“Grunwald again!” or national topics in football
The paper examines the nature of contemporary football: does it play any function beyond the scope of just sheer entertainment? According to the author of the article, the answer is “yes” – and that is why a variety of national and political dimensions of football matches were presented here. References in the paper cite dramatic
events (e.g., the war in former Yugoslavia) as well as seemingly unimportant manifestations, such as people painting their faces with national colors – all with football
in the background. In the first case, we have an example of ethnic hatred that can be
traced back to football stadiums. In the second case, however, there is a clear reference to Michael Billig’s conception of banal nationalism, accounting for many everyday gestures, which although performed unconsciously and with no chauvinistic
intensions, usually point at the real significance of national feelings in one’s life.
Although on the margins of mainstream discussions, a couple of observations
on the idea of national characteristics in football styles of particular teams (e.g., Polish, Italian, etc.) were presented in the text. Some attention was also paid to Lukas
Podolski – a Polish born German footballer who may embody the inability to determine one’s national identity. Podolski was called here “a man of borderland,” which
is a reference to its individualistic-cultural dimension.
Key words: football, (banal) nationalism, politics, national characteristics
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Piotr Majewski
Changes in The Ethnic Map of Warsaw in light
of Poland’s Migration Policy
Nowadays, almost in the blink of the eye, multiculturalism in Warsaw is gaining a new character, but this new character has older, pre-war roots. Today we witness a process in which the “old” minorities, especially Jews, are replaced by other
migrants, mostly Vietnamese. Warsaw attracts, with its economic and social growth,
not only people from other parts of Poland but also ethnically varied groups of migrants. Unfortunately, the Polish public sphere is ruled by diversionary issues and
policies. One may have an impression then that we have entered an era of political
correctness but this has been done without the proper debate concerning its postulates or even attempts to define fuzzy borders between what we can consider as only
“our” (or “theirs”) and what is truly universal. If we do not engage in this debate, it is
possible that one day the multiculturalists dream of “difference” and ethno-nationalists will become the reality. This means that we will wake up in a state in which
alienated individuals (both “true Poles” and migrants) will be individually described
only in the frames of fundamentalism with universal aspirations or ethnic ghettos,
which are also artificially created with the help of national pop culture.
Key words: migrants, migration management, minorities, multiculturalism, tolerance, invented tradition
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Natalia Rzucidło
Kashubians in the Internet
The article first describes the present situation of the Kashubian language in
Poland, its legal status and the population which speaks Kashubian in everyday life,
as well as the strategies of development of major institutions and associations which
take care of the Kashubian tradition and language. Second, the article examines the
portrayal of some Kashubian language media in Poland, such as newspapers, radio
stations and TV programmes. It also focuses on the Internet activities, such as the
Kashubian portals and forums. Given some issues with translation, the author deals
with major ways in which computers can be adapted to the Kashubian language
through special keyboards and software for the Linux operating system.
In many ways, promoting the Kashubian language through new technology
proves that young people are involved in the maintenance of Kashubian identity.
Thus, modern mass media, especially the Internet, can be successfully used as a vehicle for the ethnic heritage, tradition and language. Modern media vehicles can actually support ethnic groups rather than present a major threat for them.
Key words: Kashubians, the Internet, ethnic heritage
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Maciej Kurcz
Juba – a centre of culture and conflict: transformation of ethnicity
in post-war south Sudan
Juba, the capital of autonomous South Sudan, is becoming a regional metropolis. After the civil war ended in 2005, there was a flood of migration into the city.
Juba is already a city of various cultures, as well as numerous conflicts in which ethnic groups are often involved, but is now involved in a kind of experimental urban
ground for interrelationships between different ethnicities in post-war South Sudan.
This article presents the complex processes of transformations of identity in this
part of Africa as seen from the perspective of the municipal, religious and trade
centres. Moreover, the author attempts to analyze in detail what happens to ethnicity when this transition took place in Juba. The presented material comes from the
author’s field work done in South Sudan in 2007 and 2008, financed with the grant
obtained from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
Key words: South Sudan, Juba, migration, ethnicity
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Jacek Falski
Post-socialist social heritage in Romania
The article briefly reviews the conclusions from the recent sociological research
on post-socialist social heritage in Romania. Its results are bitter. Socialism left behind—in a societal sense—deformed and injured beings and human minds, it embodied irrationality, and promoted a “senile mentality” in this country.
Since 1989, when the former regime collapsed, multidimensional social changes
have occurred: the polarization of lifestyles, impoverishment of the people, moral
crisis and distrust in public institutions. The “new” Romanian society is characterized by such features as the struggle for survival, “mini-development,” leftist conservatism, apparent democracy (“for display”), minimal citizen activity, lack of interest
in the public life, distrust of the state’s effectiveness, full subjugation to the state and
its organs. After 1989, numerous research institutions with the aim of investigating
the recent past of the Romanian state have been founded. However, they are strictly
politically oriented and are instrumentally used by the politicians.
Key words: Romania, post-socialist heritage, society, change
Sprawy Narodowościowe. Seria nowa, 34 – Abstracts
Anna Jawor
Samuel Huntington’s apocalypse?
Will the Biblical Apocalypse come true? Do some of the civilizations proposed
by Samuel Huntington correspond to the seven seals from the Book of Revelation?
If this is true, does it tell us any more about the identity of the Antichrist and future
Battles of Armageddon? According to Huntington, religion is the most important
factor in the future of the world and is the main dividing line between the Islamic
and Western worlds. The United States plays a leading role but Islamic civilization
does not want to be directed by it. Muslims are generally afraid of the Western culture and they largely perceive it as depraved and unfaithful. On the other hand, however, the USA is also one of the most religious countries in the world, but in its own
way. The two civilizations, for the most part, do not understand each other and have
different interpretations as to what is good and what is wrong—this is why the dialogue is so important. Dialogue will help us to avoid stereotypes and ethnocentrism
which was one of Huntington’s sins.
America has led a unipolar world since 1991. However, we can also observe “the
rise of the rest”—the growing role of other global actors. Surveys of world public
opinion show that in fact people wish the world was more multi-polar. The problem,
however, is that the only great power whose leadership is widely supported is the European Union (EU) and the EU does not seem to want to play the role of the global
leader. The EU has numerous unsolved problems with its own identity and the world
is only changing largely through American led direction. However as globalization
advances, the world is becoming increasingly multi-polar and will be led by many
people from many different civilizations.
Key words: Samuel Huntington, Apocalypse, globalization, leadership