Slovakia – Anti-Western, Eurosceptic and Pro-Russian Member of the European Union

Abstract

The break-up of the Eastern Bloc and the political changes of the late 1980s and early 1990s allowed for the illusion that all European societies would become a single community, whose natural path would be democratisation and liberalisation. Slovakia, perceived as being identical to the Czech Republic, was supposed to follow this path, just like Poland or Hungary. Unfortunately, the underestimated identity differences of a large group of Slovaks became the reason for accepting the emergence of a state whose economic liberalisation does not go hand in hand with democratic character. From decade to decade, Slovak Euroscepticism, questioning of Europe's fundamental values and nostalgia for a time of strong Russian influence are becoming more pronounced. The text identifies the factors shaping Slovak attitudes towards Europe and the little-noticed, in political discourse, identity of this small state, which in many aspects differs fundamentally from the Czech sense of belonging to the world of Western culture.