Egbert Jahn

Nationalism in Late and Post-Communist Europe Egbert Jahn

The breakdown of the Communist party rule was accompanied by an unexpected renaissance of nationalism and secessionism. Of the nine Communist states, only five nation states have survived. Whereas the German Democratic Republic became unified with the Federal Republic of Germany, the three multinational states dissolved into 16 hybrid ethno-national states and two states of federated nations. The latter remain imperiled in their territorial integrity. In all countries, state and ethnic nationalism combine in peculiar ways, which leaves room for sub-national stateness and various other forms of ethnic and national heterogeneity. In this volume, experts describe the unfolding of nationalism in each of the post-Communist states during the period of upheaval from 1985 to 1995. First, the relationship of the titular ethnic group with its own ethnic nationalism is discussed, as well as the nationalism that refers to the whole state including the minorities. This relationship influences the way the states treat the minorities, which often aim for sub-stateness or at least for representation through a political party organization.