“This Country Is Not for Anyone”: Explanations of Low National Pride in the Czech Republic

• Published in: Nationalities papers Vol. 47; no. 6; pp. 1000 - 1012
• Main Author: Vlachová, Klára
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Cambridge University Press 01.11.2019
• Subjects: Beauty; Citizenship; Culture; Czech language; Debates; Democracy; Democratization; Emotions; Friendship; Group identity; Happiness; Military history; Morality; Nation building; Nation states; National identity; Nationalism; Personal relationships; Personality traits; Political development; Politics; Polls & surveys; Propaganda; Respondents; Satisfaction; Self esteem; Social desirability; Sovereignty; Values; Czech Republic; Czechoslovakia
• ISSN: 0090-5992; 1465-3923
• DOI: 10.1017/nps.2018.22

Abstract National pride is a group-based and sometimes collective emotion that people feel toward their nation-state. It is often measured by the general national pride item in cross-national surveys. Czechs are among those nations whose members express low levels of general national pride in comparison with those of other nations in the European Union. Scholars debate the extent to which general national pride is influenced by social desirability or other identifiable reasons. The goal of this article is to identify the specific reasons that influence general national pride in the Czech Republic. Using data from the October 2015 round of the survey Naše společnost, I examine what makes Czechs proud of their country. Among frequently mentioned reasons for national pride are the country’s beauty, nature, cities, and history, as well as respondents’ family and friends. Results of an ordinal regression analysis based on the European Values Study 2008 data confirm that general national pride is significantly influenced by political interest, confidence in government and satisfaction with the development of democracy, happiness, and social trust.