Ethnic Conflict and Conciliation in Central Europe Today

Abstract

Having clarified the relevant theoretical issues concerning nations, nation-building and national identity in Chapter 1, and examined some of the pitfalls encountered by the post-Versailles state system in the relevant area, this chapter seeks to familiarise the reader with elements of the debate on national and ethnic identity in contemporary Central Europe. The intentions of the author are threefold: first, to familiarise the reader with the general contours of the debate in each of the four countries under consideration; secondly, to highlight indicative salient themes and issues concerning identity in the geopolitical area together with official policy toward indigenous ethnic minorities; and finally, to provide the reader with an appreciation of the sometimes amorphous nature of identity (in Central Europe), so that she or he is better equipped to understand the nature of identity both in the region as a whole and within Silesia in particular. Given that today Silesia itself lies almost wholly within Poland, it is appropriate that we commence with an examination of that country.