Nationalism was never alien to communism. In most socialist dictatorships, nationalism presented a welcome source of ideological legitimation, especially when communist regimes were losing their appeal to the general public. For a significant part of the communist party elite and Marxist intellectuals, nationalism was an essential part of their ideological self-identification. Many of them considered themselves heirs of 19th-century national romanticism. In multinational communist states and/or socialist federations, the complicated relations between communist ideology and nationalism were particularly noticeable. The different national communisms competed or coexisted with each other and with state-supported, supranational concepts like Czechoslovak and Soviet patriotism or Yugoslavism. The interactions between the federal structures and national communism are, therefore, particularly interesting.
The preferred topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Concepts and utilizations of national communism(s) in the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia
- National communism(s) interactions with supranational concepts and socialist patriotism
- National communism versus other nationalist concepts
- National communism before the establishment of socialist dictatorships
- Afterlife of national communism after the fall of communist regimes
- Transnational exchanges and sharing experiences regarding nationalism and federalism
Proposals of 200 to 300 words, accompanied by a short bio, should be submitted by 31 May 2023 to: Adam Hudek (hudek@usd.cas.cz) and Tomaž Ivešić (Tomaz.Ivesic@scnr.si)
Applicants will be informed by the end of June 2023 of the acceptance of their proposal.
The conference will be held in Prague at the premises of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
The organizers will provide accommodation. In limited cases, the travel expenses can be also reimbursed.