The national and ethnic identifications among Slovak diaspora in Serbia: stranded in between state and ethnicity?

Identity has been regarded in relevant literature predominantly as dynamic, fluid, multidimensional and ongoing process. Currently identity is viewed as a process of identification, something achieved and as product of social relations. Scholars have acknowledge that members of minorities and diasporas can have very complex, multiple identities, which are dependent on social context and which are changeable over the time. This article explores national and ethnic identifications of Slovaks living in Serbia. The main objective is to examine how the members of Slovak diaspora identify themselves, what kind of national and ethnic awareness and pride they hold. As well, paper explores opinions and attitudes on language and cultural identity.

The research design used here is quantitative. Quantitative research method includes a web-based survey. The results of explorative study indicates, that members of Slovak diaspora living in Serbia have multiple identities, which coexists in non-conflictual way and vary in their importance for respondents. Distinct national and ethnic identifications are perceived in different way and have divergent emotional intensity. This study propose further research on the importance of a civic and ethnic values, different perceptions of identity, citizenship, length of residency and minority rights for collective identifications of minorities and/or diasporas.

Bad neighbours? Roma diaspora and radical right electoral performance in Central Eastern Europe

By applying both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, our research explores the link between the share of Roma diasporas and radical right electoral performance in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In other words, the present study investigates whether geographical proximity to Romani communities can influence far-right voting in post-socialist countries. Based on theoretical models developed by social psychologists, we assumed that the presence of Roma people will affect electoral behavior the same way as immigrant populations do in Western societies. Quite surprisingly, our analysis revealed a highly controversial pattern. While in the cross-national context, we found clear indications for a positive association, the individual level analysis has failed to prove that Romani communities would influence radical right voting in either way. By conducting nineteen semi-structured interviews with far-right supporters, we were expecting to clarify the theoretical link between minorities, prejudices and extreme right support across the post-communist region. In short, our study found that individual perception on the number of Roma might be a key factor to understand radical right electoral behavior in CEE countries.

Social Exclusion, Ethnicity and Older People in Macedonia, Research Highlights