The Czech Republic: and the ‘Significant Others’ Throughout Time

The Czech Republic is a nation where faraway history and religion do not play major key roles in the overall Czech identity. Rather, since 1918, their main identity has been constructed by their constant fight with the ‘others’, and the Czech language that has distinguished them.  While the nation of Czech is not made up of historical memories and myths; instead, the shared identity is more connected to the characteristics of a human population sharing historical territory with a common economy, legal rights, and duties for all members (Smith, 1991, p.43). They share more patriotic views, value constructive patriotism1, while still being loyal to the nation itself. 

Religion and Myths 

 Holding no value to religion becoming secularized2 in terms of the state (Vlachová, K. 2019). Now in 2026, 47.8% of the Czech population is non-religious, and 30.1% is unspecified. With low church membership and attendance and no significant ‘memory chains’ with Christianity itself (Central Intelligence Agency, 2026).  Additionally, they do not have many historical myths sept for the forefather Czech, who brought his people to Czechia (Vlachová, K. 2019, pg.1).  

Significant ‘others’ 

  Out-Groups  

The original formation of Czechoslovakia was in 1918, where Nations are the only legitimate form of power (Triandafyllidou, 1998). The unification of Czechoslovakia was politically important, for it was to protect the Slovaks from the Hungarians and the Czechs against the Germans (Furnival, Nicholal, and Katarzyna Matei. 2023, 17:44). ‘Othering’; Is the distinction between the in-group and those belonging to other communities. Czechs placed Germans with the Negative ‘other’3(other communities) and Slovaks placed as the Positive ‘others’4(in-groups) in the time of the situation (Vlachová, K. 2019). During the ‘National Awakening’ (18th – 19th Century) Language was significant to distinguish Czechs and Germans, which helped in forming their identity; this was followed by the Kŕen ‘community conflict’ in later years (1996) in response of Germany’s Nazi regime intervention of the Anglo German Navy Agreement (September 30th, 1938). This caused the Czech people to want for expulsion/ transfer of the large amount of Sudeten Germans that resided in Czech. (Dražanová, L. 2015) (Vlachová, K. 2019). Creating the 2nd Czecho-Slovak republic from 1938-1939, now not being in fear of Hungary post-Nazi regime. The ‘othering’ towards Germans in Czechia, shifted to Russians, after the Slovak Parliament proclaimed independence on March 14th, 1939 (Furnival, Nicholal, and Katarzyna Matei. 2023). 

The communist regime was known for the suppression of culture along the Eastern Bloc countries and of them being robbed of their national identity, with the events of the Yalta Conference and the new state boarders that came with it. This suppressed the German ‘othering’ to put Soviets as the new ‘significant other’ as that was the threat for Czechia identity at the time, making that shift mid-20th Century (Dražanová, L. 2015). With Soviet led invasion (1968), as Soviet soldiers and their families moved down to reside in Czech during the USSR, which caused resentment against the Russian language. This led up to the peaceful protest of the Velvet Revolution of 1989, once the Czechoslovak-Soviet Agreement was signed, 120k Soviets gradually left over one year (Vlachová, K. 2019). 

In-Group  

While the significance of the ingroup wasn’t as apparent as when the out-groups were in, doesn’t mean that there was never an underlining issue. Only about 500 Romas, gypsies with a bad connotation, live in Czechia, they are a dark-skinned nomadic people who migrated from India hundreds of centuries ago (Petra, Anna, and Sarka Hofmannova. 2011). Their relations being problematic, when Roma women were subjected to coerced sterilizations from the 1970s onwards, jeopardizing Czech accession to the EU (Gwendolyn, Marek Szzilvasi. 2024) (Dražanová, L. 2015). Plus, the implementation of the Act No. 39/1969 Coll. that defined Czech citizenship which is achieved with 5 years of residency; causing Roma people who are mainly nomadic to not qualify for citizenship during the split of Czechoslovakia (Vlachová, K. 2019). About 10 thousand Romas lived in Germany until post-WW2 leaving only 500 and killing 9.5 thousand Romas that resided in Czech, destroying many familial roots. After the Velvet revolution, they entered forced labor, living in industrial areas in bankruptcy; most lived in employment for 10-15+ years, residing in isolation and ghettos. 2001 Roma Drom was established, their mission is centered around Romani people to be integrated in Czech Society; working in Liberec, Prague, Central Bohemia, Hradec Králove, Olomouc, and Moravia-Silesia. Funded by the European social fund, the state budget of the Czech Republic, and the Roma Education Fund, helping Czechia join the EU in 2004 (Petra, Anna, and Sarka Hofmannova. 2011). 

The Czech Republic’s former partner Slovakia is a larger in-group than the Roma people but is treated more like a brother than an outcast in current days, during times of political crisis, though Slovaks had been placed as a ‘negative other’ in Czechia. After the formation of Czechoslovakia, Slovaks were only 15% of the population, while also only bringing in 9% of the income. At this time Germans were the major significant ‘other’, making up 24% of the population, until the Munich Agreement5(Furnival, Nicholal, and Katarzyna Matei. 2023. 5:15). Forming the new Czech state after the Velvet Divorce in 1993 by Václav Klaus, Czech Republic and Vladimír Mečiar, Slovak Republic. After Václav wanted to do fast economic reform after the dissolution on the USSR; knowing Slovakia would slow down the process contorting history to where it ‘was Slovaks who destroyed the state called Czechoslovakia’ (Pithart. 1993. Pg 39) (Furnival, Nicholal, and Katarzyna Matei. 2023. 20:58). While Slovaks and Czechs were against the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, forming a brotherhood after the breakup between the common people, of course some Slovaks and Czech celebrated the ending of Czechoslovakia. Now shifting their main ‘othering’ to Romanians, and smaller communities in the Czech Republic, this also forced Czech citizens to modify their national identity (Vlachová, K. 2019). 

Race  

While also joining the EU, Czechia opened its borders in 2004, their foreign population growing from 92.5k in 2005 to 228.8k in 2023. Ukrainians making up most of the foreign population, taking up 34% after the first invasion of Russia to Ukraine in 2014 and the second one following in 2016, Czech citizens now only making up 57.3% of the population (Central Intelligence Agency. 2026) (Divišová, V. 2025) (Vlachová, K. 2019). They still value their connection and hold sympathy towards Ukraine, making their situation peaceful, as they do not feel ethnically threatened by the group. When it comes to darker-skinned citizens and the sense of colonialism, and the resentment they hold as a noncolonial country, it is because of the genuine absence of black people (Divišová, V. 2025). In the situation with Czech football (Soccer) player Ondřej Kúdela after saying racist micro-aggressive comments to Finnish football player Glen Ajei at a 2021 soccer match; later that year during a rematch, Czech boys reacted to every contact Glen made with booing and insults (Divišová, V. 2025). Linking to the 1994 study where nations are an extension of the people, and after networks called Ondřej Kúdela racist they saw it as a personal attack on oneself (Max, Josh, Mae Ryan. 2018. 2:33). 

Conclusion  

Czechia is a country built off the constant fight of outside ‘others’ and the political-social way it has affected its’ people of the country. Minorities and much of the country have been with their outside ‘others’ and their concept of ‘whiteness’, which helps one understand their behavior with the darker-skinned people of the country; the ambivalent position of Czechs and Slovaks as both a racialized group and as racializing others (Herza. 2020. p, 183). This makes up their constant fight of Liberalism and Patriotism, which makes their identity of critiquing their own government. 

 

 

 

References 

Vlachová, K. (2019). Significant others and the importance of ancestry for Czech national identity. National Identities, 21(1), 57–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/14608944.2017.1362378 

Dražanová, L. (2015). National Identity and the Interplay between National Pride and Ethnic Exclusionism: The Exceptional Case of the Czech Republic. Ethnopolitics, 14(3), 235–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2014.942063. 

Furnival, Nicholal, and Katarzyna Matei.(2023). “Czechoslovakia: The Full History beyond the Velvet Divorce.” Edited by Tomasz Les and Lukasz Zielinski. YouTube, Center for Eastern Studies (OSW). youtu.be/VkzCQXlLZAs?si=tYzzdZGACZb8plff. 

Divišová, V. (2025). Racism in Czech football (1993–2023): ‘different day, same old story’. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 0(0). https://doi-org.seattleu.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/10126902251329599 

Petra, Anna, and Sarka Hofmannova.(2011). Roman in the Czech Republic.YouTube, Scoutiescout.https://youtu.be/0JpWJc3HaAI?si=sYFgfy_EJ-Emh5QJ 

Central Intelligence Agency. (2026). Czechia. The world Factbook. Czechia - The World Factbook 

Smith, A. D. (1991). National identity. University of Nevada Press. 

Gwendolyn, Marek Szzilvasi. (2024). Intersectional Discrimination of Romani Women Forcibly Sterilized in the Formwe Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic.Health and Human Rights Journal. 

Max, Josh, Mae Ryan. (2018). How Nations make up National Identities. Edited by Shane O’Neil. Youtube , The New York Times. https://youtu.be/F9qF6FvwrHI?si=1ib64snpXUIY2UgW 

Vocabulary  

1)constructive patriotism; Support of a system if the nation’s aims are in accordance with humanistic values, democratic principles, and advanced social system. Can critique government while still being loyal. (Dražanová, L. 2015) 

2) secularized; Historical process in which religion declines in social and cultural significance. (Vlachová, K. 2019). 

3) Negative ‘other’; hated or rejected, pose a big threat to the Nation of the Identity actively (Vlachová, K. 2019) 

4)Positive ‘other’; admired and/or Imitated, gives gains to the majority population. (Vlachová, K. 2019) 

5) Munich Agreement; another name for the Anglo German Navey Agreement. September 30th, 1938.