Europeanization and prospects for nationalism in east-central Europe

Embarking on a new research program linking work on postsocialist nationalisms and European integration, this project asks the broader question of how Europeanization affects the politics of nationality in postcommunist states. At center stage are those countries on the geographical front lines of European integration: Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and particularly Poland. Conventional wisdom suggests that the process of joining pan-European and international organizations, a key aspect of Europeanization, should stabilize the region and diminish prospects for nationalism given the need to implement liberal-democratic reforms required for membership. Yet, the adoption of a number of liberal reforms in particular---bringing minority rights in line with European norms, opening up emerging markets for land and capital to foreigners, and shifting the EU's outer 'Schengen' border eastwards---sometimes increases the political salience of national and ethnic identity rather than to decrease it.; Existing work on postsocialist nationalisms and European integration unfortunately has not yet considered the question of Europeanization's broader effect on postsocialist identity politics, leaving these recent developments unexplained. Laying the groundwork for a more systematic analysis, this dissertation argues that a 'new' politics of nationality is emerging from a value conflict between the particular brand of liberalism international organizations are exporting to this region ('EU liberalism') and local understandings of the nation, conceptions still informed by the 20 th century drive to create ethnically homogenous states. Beyond this, the nature of the process whereby postcommunist countries adopt many liberal policies, one largely dictated by asymmetrical power politics with organizations like the EU, also affects identity politics. While an illiberally-driven liberalism can indeed provide an immediate antidote to outbreaks of nationalism thanks to the leverage these institutions have at their disposal, this process fails to provide credible ideological grounds for embracing liberal values other than the vague goal of 'returning to Europe.'; Through a focus, first, on the value conflict between EU liberalism and local understandings of the nation, and second, on the illiberal nature of the effort to export liberal values, this dissertation challenges the incorrect and potentially dangerous presumption that pan-European and international organizations play no role whatsoever in Central and East Europeans' continued attention to nationality. It suggests that institutions involved in the region reconsider both the process and the nature of the liberalism they are exporting to diminish future prospects for nationalism.