|
Mýtus hebrejského moře: jeden s aspektů sionismu Zeeva Žabotinského
Coman, Adam ; Marková, Alena (advisor) ; Barša, Pavel (referee) ; Wein, Martin (referee)
The following dissertation studies the idea and mythologization of the "Hebrew Sea" in the writings and political activity of Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. Jabotinsky (1880-1940), the leader of the Zionist Revisionist movement, developed the concept of the "Hebrew Sea" as an ideal that was used in various fields of his Zionist activity. Within inter-Zionist politics it was utilized as a means of competing with the dominant ideological faction, labor Zionism, over contribution to the national revival and Zionist youth, and its greatest achievement was the establishment of the Civitavecchia Naval Academy in Italy. On the international-diplomatic level the "Hebrew Sea" was used in order to advance closer political relations between Revisionism and Italy - an endeavor Jabotinsky was interested in from an early stage of his Zionist career. The "Hebrew Sea" also played an important role in the development of Jabotinsky's unique ideal of national identity, which sought to depict the Jewish people as a Mediterranean, and not a desert or Middle Eastern people. This vision drew from contemporary theories about Hebrew identity, which associated the Hebrews with the Phoenician empire and not necessarily with Jewish monotheism. Finally, economically this ideal supported the socioeconomic vision of Revisionism,...
|
|
The conceptions of National Identity in Hungary and Finland in the context of the European Union.
Zaitsev, Dan Aaron Alexander ; Weiss, Tomáš (advisor) ; Ciuta, Felix (referee) ; Juhászová, Tereza (referee)
1. Abstract The European Union has transformed enormously during the last three of decades from a purely economic institution to a political project which has generated a strong nationalist backlash from several countries, especially in post-Soviet nations, such as Hungary that gained independence not long ago in 1991. However, such signs of Euroscepticism were apparent also elsewhere in Europe, including in Finland where a resurgence of nationalism happened in the form of populist parties and increased Euroscepticism among traditional conservative segments of society. This thesis will examine these phenomena through a historical analysis of Hungary and Finland with the aim of examining and highlighting important features in their national identities that are seen to be triggered through various developments in the context of the European Union, such as the 2008 Financial Crisis, the 2015 refugee crisis and other types of change that has occurred in the enlargement process of the political union that the EU is striving to further. Such developments will be discussed using a theoretical framework of nationalism and through examining different features of a nation, specifically through the ideas of Johann Gottfried Herder, Anthony Smith, and Hans Kohn among others. Hungary and Finland were chosen due to...
|
|
Redefining the Identity of Slovenia after 1989
Fišar, Jan ; Šístek, František (advisor) ; Žíla, Ondřej (referee)
National identity is an important part of not only newly created state's identification and is reflected also in its foreign policy. This diploma thesis deals with the external (re)construction of Slovenian national identity within a political discourse since 1991, when Slovenia gained its independence till 2004, when it was integrated into the EU. The subjects of interest are addresses and texts of the country's top political officials, presidents, prime ministers and ministers of foregin affairs, who were involved in a presentation of the country abroad, and documents of foregin policy. The main aim of the thesis is to answer the question how the Slovenian national identity was being constructed on the outside and what was the goal of this conctruction using the Critical discourse analysis of mentioned sources. At the beginning of 1990s Slovenes gained for the first time in history their independent state and they had to cope with many problems such as their long-standing Yugoslavian history and existence as a part of the Eastern Bloc, geographical location on the crossroad of European regions or its immediate neighbourhood of the disturbed and negatively perceived Balkans. The general agreement of the political landscape on the country's future was one of the main advantages. Tools and goals of...
|
|
Comparison of the national identity of the post-Soviet generation of Belarusians living in Belarus and Belarusians living in the Czech Republic
Kracíková, Karolína ; Svoboda, Karel (advisor) ; Kolenovská, Daniela (referee)
The diploma thesis deals with the national identity of the post-Soviet generation of Belarusians. It is a group of people that is specific in that they were born after the fall of the Soviet Union and lived almost their entire life under the rule of Alexander Lukashenko. In the presented work I will focus on the comparison of the national identity of two groups of representatives of this generation. The first is a group of Belarusians living in Belarus and the second is a group of Belarusians living in the Czech Republic. The aim of the thesis will be to find out whether the representatives of the post-Soviet generation of Belarusians living in Belarus and the representatives of Belarusians living in the Czech Republic share a uniform definition of national identity. In order to answer this research question, a qualitative research was conducted with respondents from the ranks of Belarusians living in Belarus and Belarusians living in the Czech Republic. The research is focused on the categories that are traditionally considered to be pillars of national identity. These categories include, for example, the national language, historical identity, relationship to surrounding nations or relationship to national identity presented by President Lukashenko.
|
|
The impact of national identity on Czech position towards European integration
Kim, Min Sun ; Martinková, Viera (advisor) ; Jeřábek, Martin (referee)
The Czech Republic has been regarded as a little troublemaker of the EU due to its Eurosceptic stances. This phenomenon was distinct in the 2000s regardless of the state's position, whether it was just an EU candidate or already a member state. Around the time, President Vacláv Klaus and his political party (ODS), as Czech leadership, contributed to promoting the Eurosceptic governments towards the EU. It could be seen as strange that such a trait was revealed both in the midst of preparations to join the EU and after its accession when it is the proper time to present a cooperative attitude. Thus, this thesis speculates that the skeptical national identity of the Czech Republic has been constructed throughout history, particularly about 450 years from the Bohemia Kingdom to Czechoslovakia (1525~1971), and affected then Czech domestic politics to formulate the official Eurosceptic positions towards the several EU integration matters (constitutional, security, and monetary integrations). In this context, this master's thesis aims to find an objective correlation that Czech identity had an influence on then Czech Euroscepticism. This way, this thesis expects to advance knowledge concerning Czech identity and its relevance to European politics.
|
|
Bilingualism as a conflicted form of life
Yevdokimova, Anastasiia ; Ivan, Michal (advisor) ; Gvoždiak, Vít (referee)
The work presents competing discourses around bilingualism that surround fluctuating national identity in Ukraine. The use of Ukrainian and Russian languages has been for a long time a highly sensitive issue, repeatedly taking shape as an instrument of political campaigns and overt propaganda, and continues to be a subject of debates and tensions. Crimean crisis and the war in the East of Ukraine are not merely clearly-cut results of Russian military strategy and aggression. Other poignant factors are: long-lasting unresolved language issues, artificially imposed linguistic monism, and conflicted national identity that constituted a conflicted form of life characteristic to Ukraine. They are attributable to centuries of particular historical development and bewildering post-Soviet heritage but constructed through Russian political propaganda and forced Ukrainian policies toward exclusion. This work explores national identity through the language situation in Ukraine to gain a holistic grasp of how exclusive Ukrainian language legislation influences the nation's cultural-linguistic settings. The given study claims that the development of the linguistic landscape in Ukraine climaxed in a setting of de jure monolingual, yet de facto bilingual country: the new language legislation requires all...
|
|
National Identity and Assimilation in Relation to the Social Enviromment in Plovdiv (18th - 19 th century)
Staneva, Boriana ; Moravcová, Mirjam (advisor) ; Penčev, Vladimir (referee) ; Bittnerová, Dana (referee)
Title: National identity and assimilation in relation to the social environment in Plovdiv (18th - 19th century) Abstract: The dissertation presented here arises from the perception of national identity being a kind of collective identity, which is designated by state (political) as well as non-state (cultural) nation-constituting symbols. I have tried to examine the permanence, stability and objectivity of these symbols in relation to the social environment in Plovdiv during the process of national awakening as part of Bulgarian national movement (18th - 19th century). During this period the central position in Plovdiv's social environment was held by a numerous group of people so-called Graecomen. Graecomen voluntarily renounced their Bulgarian-origin identity and exchanged it for a Greek identity. The origins of Graecomania may be found in the long-term cultural and economical co-existence of the Bulgarians and the Greeks. Since the Middle Ages there was a stable Greek community in Plovdiv, which dominated significantly the social climate. This dominance became the key motivating factor for the spread of Graecomen as Bulgarian burgers tried through the means of a favourable marriage to infiltrate the Greek community and in this way to achieve a higher social status. The highest level of intensity of...
|
|
National mythology of the world exhibition EXPO 2010 in Shanghai
Machoňová, Ivana ; Šoltys, Otakar (advisor) ; Dvořák, Tomáš (referee)
This diploma thesis deals with the national presentation of the Czech Republic at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai in terms of mythology, symbols, signs and codes. It describes the history of the World Exhibitions, attempts to highlight Czechoslovak achievements and on the basis of that to define key points of successful communication for an international, predominately Chinese audience. By comparing information on traditional Chinese symbols and values with that of Czech explains correlations between Czech and Chinese culture. This can help visitors from China identify with the Czech Republic. A mythological analysis is executed examining the exterior of the Czech pavilion, the exhibition inside, and notes narrative structures of individual exhibits and how they work to provide the preferred interpretation. Part of the overall analysis includes an overview of supporting events, which also help to strengthen the perception of Czech Republic to visitors. The information gleaned is used to summarize learnings that could be useful for the upcoming EXPO in Milan in 2015.
|
| |
|
Nation branding and public diplomacy in Estonia
Novshadyan, Ani ; Riegl, Martin (advisor) ; Doboš, Bohumil (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to discuss the concepts of public diplomacy and nation branding, find the link between them, and examine their effect on the economic development in Estonia. This thesis provides a thorough overview of relevant liter- ature on NB and PD. To dive into the practical part of nation branding it discusses the case of globally accepted, effective NB initiatives of Singapore. Moreover, it discusses Estonian's NB campaigns and four main instruments of PD and con- ducts economic analysis to examine the effects of NB and PD in Estonian economy from building credibility and international awareness points of view. To make the economic analysis more valuable and visually comprehensible, all discussed mi- croeconomic and macroeconomic indicators are captured for all three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). Both qualitative and quantitative methodolo- gies are used to answer the research question and hypotheses. The study found that NB and PD in Estonia positively affect the reaffirmation of national identity, facilitate business development, and increase international visibility which in turn ensures economic development in the country. Even though various other play- ers and factors are involved in the process of economic development, effectively designed NP and PD could...
|