A Tribal State

This originally appeared in both Czech and English in Britské listy on 11 March 1998, and a few days later in the Czech daily Slovo. It's important to note that Germany reformed its nationality law in 1999, making it a bit easier for people to claim citizenship based on birthplace.

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Before his flight to Poland, Czech President Václav Havel made several interesting comments in front of reporters, and his most intriguing words concerned Czech racism and EU entry. The country had to decide, he said, whether it wanted a "tribal state" or if it wanted to choose a democratic path which respected the rights of minorities. According to Havel, only the latter would bring the Czech Republic in line with the EU.

It would be nice if this were true, but in reality, the EU is far from a paradise of racial and ethnic harmony. Leaving aside the more bloody examples of Northern Ireland and the Basque region for the moment, it is clear that many countries in the EU have serious problems with racism not only in society at large but also in their legal systems. Germany is a perfect example.

Ladislav Holý, The Little Czech and the Great Czech Nation

This is a book review I wrote early in 1997 for what was then the "Britské listy" section of Neviditelný pes, together really the original online news and comment outlet in Czech. (Britské listy parted ways with Neviditelný pes not long after.) I was amazed at the feedback this piece received -- obviously the article had touched a nerve among Czechs, who weren't too keen to examine their nationalism very deeply. Looking back on it, I would say that I was very lucky to meet Ladislav Holý just after this was published and only a short time before he died. He probably taught me more about the nature of Czech identity than anyone, helping me crystalise the muddle of thoughts I had about the place and its people after years of living there.

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Češi mají sami na sebe značně paradoxní názor. Zeptáte-li se jich, co si myslí o jiných Češích, budou je charakterizovat výrazy jako závistivost, konformnost, úzkoprsost a nesnášenlivost (str. 76). Požádejte je však, aby charakterizovali český národ, a uslyšíte slova jako: vysoce kulturní, hluboce demokratický, čistý.

Vysvětlit tento paradox je jedním z hlavních témat nové knihy Ladislava Holého The Little Czech and the Great Czech Nation.