Civic and Uncivic Values in Slovakia

Table of Contents

1. Frontmatter

2. Values and the System

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 1. From the Enlightenment to the Universal Declaration to the EU Charter: Civic/Liberal Values and How They Are Reflected in Slovak Law and Practice (An Introduction)

      Sabrina P. Ramet

      Abstract

      Ever since the Enlightenment, there have been certain values recognized in much of the West as universal. The most important of these civic or liberal values are: respect for the harm principle, the rule of law, respect for the harm principle, equality, individual rights (and duties), toleration (of religious, racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities), and neutrality of the state in matters of religion. Articulated and advocated in the seventeenth century by Benedictus de Spinoza, Samuel von Pufendorf, and John Locke, these values were spelled out explicitly in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, promulgated in 1948, carried forward in the European Convention on Human Rights two years later, and confirmed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, drafted in 2000 and coming into force in 2009. These documents were supplemented in 2021 by several EU rulings affirming the equal rights of same-sex couples with heterosexual couples.

      Where Slovakia is concerned, practice has not lived up to the legal guarantees, and due to the influence of the Catholic Church, legal guarantees, for example, where same-sex couples are concerned, have not met EU standards. Taking into account also the palpable inequality of women and discrimination against local Hungarians and Roma, Slovakia must be ranked as a severely flawed democracy.

   3. Chapter 2. Values

      Jozef Zagrapan

      Abstract

      This chapter explores the transformation of values and attitudes in Slovakia since the establishment of the independent Slovak state in 1993. It places an emphasis on civic values, such as trust (social and political), respect toward diverse cultures and faiths, tolerance toward minorities (religious, national, and sexual), and political participation of citizens. The analysis relies on data from international surveys, including the European Values Study, the European Social Survey, and the International Social Survey Programme, to understand how Slovakia’s civic culture has evolved over the years. The chapter tries to shed light on the country’s progress and changes in the European context.

   4. Chapter 3. The “Stable Instability” of Slovakia’s Party System

      Elisabeth Bakke

      Abstract

      Slovakia is often presented as a country where political parties live fast and die young (Haughton & Deegan-Krause, The New Party Challenge. Changing Cycles of Party Birth and Death in Central Europe and Beyond. Oxford University Press, 2020). Most parties are leadership-dominated with few members and little or no organization below the national level—of which the most notorious is the “party” of Igor Matovič, whose specialty is to run from the bottom of the list. Among the major parties only Robert Fico’s Smer—Social Democrats has an unbroken presence in parliament since 2002. However, in the 2023 snap election two longstanding parties returned to parliament, and having won the election, Fico formed his fourth government. He thus confirmed his position as the longest-serving prime minister since the transition to democracy. Again, pundits worried about the future of democracy in Slovakia, and not only because of Smer’s government coalition with the nationalists elected on the slate of the longstanding Slovak National Party (SNS). In this chapter I will demonstrate that although Slovakia’s party system has been rather unstable, the continuity of Slovak politics is stronger than it appears at first glance, in terms of voting patterns as well as political elites. Paradoxically, the traditionally high electoral volatility arguably protects Slovakia against democratic backsliding because it makes it risky for anybody to try to follow in Viktor Orbán’s footsteps. Finally, Fico’s choice of coalition partners makes more sense once the conflict structure is taken into consideration.

   5. Chapter 4. Religion and Civic Values in Slovakia: A Secular State?

      Michaela Grančayová, Aliaksei Kazharski

      Abstract

      The chapter looks into the interplay between (un)civic values and religion in Slovakia. More specifically, it examines and compares the attitudes of the country’s two major religious organizations, namely, the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession with respect to a number of topics that polarize Slovak society, such as international migration, abortions, LGBTQIA+ rights, as well as the (non)influence of these religious organizations on policymaking. Even though, according to the Constitution, the Slovak Republic is a secular state that is not based on any religion or specific political ideology, the Roman Catholic Church in particular continues to exercise a considerable degree of influence over some of the national policies and over some of the most prominent politicians. Thus, it is important to explore how this fact is manifested in the relationship between the state and the Church and what possible implications that has for the country’s political development. Methodologically, the research relies on content analysis of the official websites of the two confessions as well as of pastoral letters that the Churches address to their respective communities. In addition, it examines the official Facebook accounts and YouTube channels run by major representatives of the two confessions. The original contribution of the study lies in a systematic comparison of the public messages that the three major confessions in Slovakia deliver on a number of polarizing topics. The study thus also examines the impact that these messages have on the country’s politics, as compared to representatives of other confessions present in Slovakia, such as the Slovak Muslim and Jewish communities.

3. Education, Media, and Culture

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 5. The Slovak Media Landscape: Continuous Discontinuity—35 Years Since the Velvet Revolution

      Ľubomír Bajaník

      Abstract

      This chapter explores the major trends and issues of the transition process related to the Slovak media system since the Velvet revolution in 1989 till nowadays. The main key word of this chapter is a permanent transformation. The chapter will examine four main issues:

      (i).

      The media landscape, its legal framework and relation to the emerging free-market difficulties, high expectations of privatization, the phenomenon of concentration and oligarchization of the private media.

       

      (ii).

      Public media in Slovakia: The first public media legislation in the former eastern bloc in May 1991 (Slovak television, Slovak radio) and what is left from the ethos of the early 1990s enthusiasm. Public media in Slovakia serve as a pattern for illustration of undergoing disputes about the concept of public service, freedom of speech, information and culture pluralism, managerial improvisations, political pressure on media, and financing. The funding of RTVS was revised in 2023. After the decades of combination of license fees, state subsidies, and commercial incomes, the public broadcaster RTVS will receive a state subsidy of 0.17% of GDP.

       

      (iii).

      The existence of media in Slovakia from the perspective of national and cultural identification of a relatively young country.

       

      (iv).

      Future developments—dangers and hopes of the postfactual era: Slovakia has tackled serious situations (e.g., the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak in 2018), the hostile environment which journalists encounter, the strong disinformation scene, and the country’s high ranking, at least until recently, among the best in the Press freedom index of the Reporters without borders (17 in 2023), not only in East Central Europe but also in comparison with some western democratic states. Why?

       

   3. Chapter 6. Reflection on Civic and Uncivic Values in Contemporary Slovakia: The Debate on History Textbooks Published After 1989

      Juraj Marusˇiak

      Abstract

      This chapter will aim to show how the post-communist value system in Slovakia is reflected in the history textbooks published after 1989. Dealing with the past is one of the areas where civic and political values are manifested. History textbooks are of particular importance here because, on the one hand, they reflect the civic or uncivic values espoused by the state and their transformations over time. Still, at the same time, they are essential for forming historical awareness and future generations' shared values. Hence, although they reflect the current expectations of the ruling elites, their effect is manifested with the passage of a few years. Therefore, the consequences of applying the chosen approach in education are long term. Slovakia, as a newly established state in Central Europe, went through debates about the nature of the regime in the 1990s, and its geopolitical orientation is the subject of internal political conflicts even today. Paradoxically, these are rather disputes of opinion, which are only minimally accompanied by a discussion of the approach to the interpretation of history. The chapter will identify how these disputes have influenced the production of history textbooks. From a thematic point of view, it will focus on such areas as the formation of practices of democratic citizenship, the process of national emancipation, the relationship to minorities, and the issue of equality in Slovakia, as well as the multi-ethnic character of the Slovak territory and Slovakia's belonging to the region of East Central Europe in a historical context. In this case, the reflection on Slovak-Hungarian and Slovak-Czech relations plays a unique role. At the same time, in history textbooks, there is practically no reflection of relations with Germans, Poles, or Ukrainians. The primary research sources are the history textbooks for primary and secondary schools published in Slovakia after 1989. The chapter also draws on official documents of Slovakia's authorities, discussions in Slovak media, secondary academic literature and other available sources.

   4. Chapter 7. “The West-East Draught”: Contemporary Novel and Its Contribution to the Value Debates in Slovak Society

      Radoslav Passia

      Abstract

      Contemporary literature contributes to the social debate on the values of Slovak society. In this chapter, I focus on interpreting two novels by well-known authors that were published after 2010. These novels received strong reviews from literary critics and aroused interest among the general public. The first is Irena Brežná’s (born 1950) Die undankbare Fremde (The Thankless Foreigner), originally written in German, and the second is Pavol Vilikovský’s (1941–2020) Pes na ceste (Dog on the Road). Both novels offer their own critical interpretation of the conflict between the individual and the ideological, political, and moral frameworks of society in the socialist and post-socialist periods. They are united by their shared belief that national identity is an important part of the complex spectrum of human identity. As well as criticising Slovak society, these novels contain motifs of self-colonisation, whereby the characters’ self-image is constructed to a certain extent in line with the expectations of a Western European audience. They also offer a ruthless analysis of the West’s relationship with Central and Eastern Europeans.

4. Gender and Civil Society

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 8. From Damage Control to Lockdown? Slovakia’s Path to (and from) Sexual Citizenship

      Conor O’Dwyer, Lenka Busˇtíková, Zdeneˇk Sloboda

      Abstract

      Our goal in this chapter is to provide an overview of the struggle of sexual minorities in Slovakia for inclusion in the political sphere since 1989. Such inclusion can be conceptualized as sexual citizenship, and it constitutes an important test of civic values. Our chapter will assess points of progress but also resistance to Slovak sexual minorities’ inclusion, and it will situate their situation vis-à-vis their counterparts in East Central Europe. We plan to examine sexual citizenship in Slovakia from three vantage points. First, we will examine comparative survey data on public attitudes both over time and crossnationally to identify trends. Second, on the basis of primary sources, previous field research, and the secondary literature, we will describe and assess the development of LGBTQ+ activism in Slovakia since 1989. Finally, we will examine the response of other actors in Slovak politics, especially the populist radical right, to attempts to expand sexual citizenship.

   3. Chapter 9. Feminisms in Slovakia

      Sharon L. Wolchik

      Abstract

      This chapter examines developments related to feminism in Slovakia from the end of communism. It includes discussion of organizations and research on feminism and gender issues. It also examines press treatment of feminism, particularly since Slovakia joined the EU.

   4. Chapter 10. Slovakia’s Challenges with Ethnic Minorities and Immigrants

      Karen Henderson

      Abstract

      After the fall of communism, in Slovakia as elsewhere in the region there was concern about a sudden upsurge of nationalism. The 10% Hungarian minority was an immediate focus in Slovakia, with Hungarians’ worries matched by the Slovak nationalists’ obsessions that viewed them as the country’s previous imperial masters, but as EU accession approached anti-Roma discrimination emerged as a greater challenge. What both debates overlooked was that if Slovaks could not cope with the otherness of their own fellow citizens, they could have huge problems dealing with the non-discrimination principles underlying the EU freedom of movement policy and with immigration from non-European third countries. From the 2015 refugee crisis onward this became a new focus for the EU’s concerns.

   5. Chapter 11. The Hungarian Minority in Slovakia: An Extraordinary Tale from the Strongest Pillars of Democratic Transition to Post-communist Normality

      Zsolt Gál

      Abstract

      The Hungarian community and its political representation played a key (positive) role in the political and economic transformation of Slovakia and its Euro-Atlantic integration process. However, it had been due to specific circumstances. In other words, it has been a positive deviation. After most of these circumstances gradually changed and the Hungarian community and its political representation became more mainstream (deeply polarized like the Slovak or Hungarian society), this exceptional positive deviation gradually evaporated. Paradoxically, this “return to normality” most recently is partially contributing to democratic backsliding in the country. At the same time the antagonism and ethnic tensions between the Slovak majority and Hungarian minority (and Slovakia and Hungary) drastically declined; Slovak and Hungarian nationalisms became more and more partners in the struggle against migration, LGBTI, Brussels, liberals, etc.

   6. Chapter 12. Roma Minority in Slovakia: Stuck Between Hatred and Ignorance

      Oľga Gyárfásˇová

      Abstract

      The Roman minority is the second largest ethnic minority in Slovakia, unofficially comprising roughly 8% of the population. Many of them live in marginalized communities in poor social and economic condition. Survey data show that the public feels socially distant from Roma, with around 80% of the majority population refusing to accept them as potential neighbors (on the Bogardus scale). Looking more closely at the public’s perception we see widespread stereotypes of Roma, with most people asserting that a significant part of the Roma population does not want to adapt to social norms and does not want to work. The crucial momentum to break the vicious cycle of generational poverty is education; however, many Roma pupils are educated under segregated conditions. As for the political representation since the beginning of democratic political pluralism in 1989 Roma minority has not had any political representation at the national level to advocate its interests (although they have representation at some local municipalities). The game changer in this respect was—paradoxically—the center-right populist anti-establishment movement Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OľaNO, later renamed the “Slovakia” movement)—in mid 2010s it started to recruit Roma representatives on its candidate list. However, even this move didn’t bring any substantial changes in how most of the marginalized Romani people live. They stayed stuck between political ignorance and the majority’s hatred. Nevertheless, despite the depressing picture, there are also some positive signs.

5. Conclusion

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 13. Civic Culture and Democratic Stability: Conclusion

      Vladimir Đorđević, Josef Smolík, Sabrina P. Ramet

      Abstract

      This chapter summarizes and contextualizes the main points arrived at in the previous chapters, indicating their relevance to our understanding of the political and societal transformation of Slovakia in the post-communist period. Additionally, the chapter identifies possible venues of future research on Slovakia with respect to filling the research gap on the topic at hand that has so far characterized the academic scholarship.

6. Backmatter