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Abstract

Among the countries of central Europe, and particularly in Hungary, in Poland, and in the Czech Republic, the prospect of joining the European Union crystallises partisan battles in the various political arenas. The arrival on the scene of those who prefer their country to stand back, who promote a revived national identity, is in opposition to those former dissidents, now in power, who are in favour of enlargement. The new arrivals fuel anti-democratic sentiment and manipulate symbols of national history for anti-European radicalisation (the Sudeten question, the location of a memorial to displaced persons, the spectre of western colonialism coming with the EU). When the present calendar of European construction is added to the equation (free movement of workers and capital, financial issues, etc.), which is hardly likely to please public opinion in these countries, it can be asked whether the opinion polls on membership, which are still favourable, take fully into account the present unease.

Georges Mink is a Research Director at the LASP-CNRS and the Director of the Centre français de recherches en sciences sociales (CFRSS) in Prag.
Laure Neumayer is a PhD Student at the Institut d'études politiques (IEP) in Paris, attached to the CERI and the CFRSS.