Nationalism: an Elusive Subject

Abstract

The author considers nationalism an elusive subject because this concept refers to a great variety of political and ideological phenomena. Research into nationalism is further complicated by the pejorative connotations that the very term has in everyday language. This enables those who use these connotations to de-legitimize some political projects. Addressing the difference between the Russian and Eastern European contexts, the author argues that-during the period of the radical societal transformations at the turn of the 1980-1990s-the vectors of nationalism and democratization in Eastern Europe coincided, while in Russia, on the contrary, they diverged. For the Eastern Europeans the collapse of the communist regimes meant an opportunity to emancipate from authoritarian Moscow and to move toward the democratic West; hence nationalists and democrats were allies in these countries. Contrary to that-for the Russians- democratization as westernization meant renouncing the tradition of a national statehood which has been authoritarian throughout history. Whereas Russian nationalism in its ethnic form always has been and remains marginal, the statist form of Russian nationalism is gaining momentum. Mass frustration generated by the loss of the former sense of belonging to a great power proved to be a significant factor of political mobilization. It was successfully used by the Kremlin to shape a "Crimea consensus". Paradoxically, since the middle of 2010s, Russia has joined the same ideological trend which appeared in many Eastern European countries, especially in Hungary and Poland. This trend is characterized by a demonstrative distance from (Western) liberalism for the sake of preserving national identity. However, the anti-liberal turn in Eastern Europe, in contrast to Russia, was inspired primarily by socio-economic factors. Further, in the first part of the paper, the author addresses the surprises on the ideological field caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, both at national and global levels. The second part of the paper provides a brief overview of the articles included in this issue.