Archive of geopolitical imagination in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The geopolitical perception of the Czech Republic as ‘small nation’ is widespread in the country and its history. Politicians and citizens alike reflect on their role in international relations with self-depracation but also defiance. Smallness might be seen as disadvantageous, yet is also the source for creative counter-activities. Geopolitical conceptions such as the notion of ‘smallness’ have been established historically through continuous repetition. They have been instrumentalized as nation-building components or identifiers contrasting a foreign other. The Czech Republic provides an interesting case for studying how geopolitical thought repeatedly emerges over time in different political contexts. Historical experiences are claimed to have ingrained the feeling of smallness in national mythology. Thus, this contribution operates with this understanding, disclosing how the geopolitical perception was shaped in different historical and contemporary discourses.

The need to look at historical framings to fully understand the contexts in which narratives have been established is highlighted as important task in current critical geopolitical scholarship. Reuber identifies archives of geopolitical imaginations, which contain hegemonic discourses, but also emphasize adaptations or disruptions of geopolitical discourses over time. Therefore, the key components of the Czech geopolitical archive, which has been established over decades and influences discourses in the Czech Republic to this day, will be studied along the narrative of the small nation. It does so through looking at Christmas/New Year speeches by Czech Presidents and additional material before the formation of the First Republic. Further, other geopolitical practitioners and reactions to the war in Ukraine will be incorporated. This broad historical scope is a unique approach to the topic. The general advantage of enabling a deeper examination of textual and other sources makes qualitative research a viable approach in this matter. Thus, the contexts of the re-emerging small nation narrative, e.g., how it was partly shaped by and as a response to foreign conceptions, are examined.