Frames of the Slovak national identity construction

The paper analyses the underlying frames of current Slovak national identity discussions. It suggests that they are the following: the prevailing liberalism and its doubts about the legitimacy of subordination of individuals to collectivity (community), and its understanding the construction of collective identity as a potential limitation of individual freedom; the fear of nationalism as well as of being labelled a nationalist; the economic transformation and the increase of class differences. The authors stress the need to overcome the common understanding of constructivism as a fabrication and point out the political benefits of deliberative constructivist approach to collective (national) identity. The benefits are the liberation of the determinism of essentialist (romanticist) approach from the issue of national identity and the increased opportunity to choose identity as well as the future (either collective or individual).