Old Slovaks, ‘Opportunist Nationalists’ and Ontic Spaces: The Role of Cultural Heritage in the New Slovak Nationalism

The article looks into Slovak national heritage in the context of New Slovak Nationalism (NSN). More specifically, it examines the role of the heritage discourse in the new Slovak nationalism and how the country’s Prime Minister (PM) Robert Fico and his selected coalition partners use it to oppose both the West and Slovakia’s alleged ‘dragging’ into the Russo-Ukrainian war. The article argues that in this respect, the politicians predominantly make use of two strategies – more specifically, (1) they instrumentalize Slovak historic heritage sites and use them to create ontic spaces as well as (2) they appropriate important Slovak historical figures. In consequence, these strategies serve as crucial tools that enable the ruling coalition to justify both their withdrawing of military aid to Ukraine and their selective anti-war and anti-Western rhetoric.