MASARYK UNIVERSITY
Faculty of Social Studies
Department of Sociology
A Hero Is Coming!
The master narrative of Marián Kotleba in the Slovak regional election of
2013
Master's thesis
sociology
Alica Rétiová
Supervisor: Bernadette Nadya Jaworsky, Ph.D.
Brno 2015
I hereby declare that this thesis is entirely my own work and that, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, all other sources of information I used have been cited and
acknowledged within the text.
Brno, January 4 2015
Alica Retiova
/ would like to thank Nadya for directing my sociological imagination and being the
best supervisor I could imagine, my parents for providing me with the perfect conditions for
my studies. Also, I would like to thank Katka for all the inspiring talks (not only) about
sociology. And last but not least, I would like to thank Filipfor the help with English grammar,
for his support and love.
Abstract
This thesis deals with the victory of Marián Kotleba in the regional election of 2013. Kotleba
was elected for chairperson of the Banská Bystrica self-governing region. The analysis
presented in this thesis is focused on the pre-electoral communication between Kotleba and
his party Our Slovakia on one hand and Kotleba's supporters on the other hand. Based on
the strong program in cultural sociology and the theories of populism, the analysis reveals
the nationalist-populist master narrative of Marián Kotleba. The main goal of the analysis is
to shed some light on the meaning-making processes that occur prior to the election. The
narrative analysis is twofold. Firstly, the binary codes are examined. The protagonists and
antagonists of the narrative are determined as the bearers of the meanings in binaries.
Secondly, the plot development of the narrative - the escalation of the story conflict and
particular narrative genre - are discussed. The plot analysis reveals the particular conception
of the past and the future upon which the narrative is based. Furthermore, the nationalistpopulist
foundations of the narrative are demonstrated and discussed in relation to the
elements of narrative. The similarities between the narrative and the mechanisms of
nationalist-populist discourse are indicated. Ultimately, the analysis points out cultural
meanings as a significant tool in political power struggles.
Key words: social narrative, cultural meanings, election, populism, nationalism, binary
codes, genre
Number of characters: 161 561
Anotácia
Táto práca sa zaoberá víťazstvom Mariána Kotlebu vo voľbách do samosprávnych krajov na
Slovensku v roku 2013. Kotleba bol zvolený za predsedu Banskobystrického samosprávneho
kraja. Analýza predložená v tejto práci sa sústredí sa predvolebnú komunikáciu medzi
Kotlebom a jeho politickou stranou na jednej strane a Kotlebovými podporovateľmi na
strane druhej. Nasledujúc paradigmu kultúrnej sociológie a teórie populizmu, analýza
prichádza s nacionalisticko-populistickým master naratívom Mariána Kotlebu. Hlavným
cieľom analýzy je objasniť kultúrne významy a ich tvorbu v predvolebnom období. Analýza
naratívu prebieha na dvoch úrovniach. Najskôr sú preskúmané binárne kódy naratívu.
Protagonisti a antagonisti sú určení a teoretizovaní ako nositelia významov v binárnych
kódoch. Následne je diskutovaný vývoj deja - eskalácia konfliktu a určitý žáner naratívu.
Analýza deja odhaľuje istú koncepciu minulosti a budúcnosti, na ktorej je naratív
vybudovaný. Táto práca zároveň demonštruje nacionalisticko-populistické základy naratívu
a poukazuje na podobnosti medzi diskurzívnymi mechanizmami naratívu a nacionalistickopopulistickej
rétoriky. V závere sú kultúrne významy diskutované ako dôležitý nástroj
v politických bojoch o moc.
Kľúčové slová: sociálny naratív, kultúrne významy, voľby, populizmus, nacionalizmus,
binárne kódy, žáner
Počet znakov: 161 561
Table of contents
1. Introduction: Marián Kotleba becomes regional chairperson 7
2. Theoretical background 9
2.1 Political event as a web of meanings: the strong program in cultural sociology 9
2.2 Theories of nationalist populism 17
3. Methodology and methods 23
3.1 Analyzing a single political event: Introducing research methods 23
3.2 Reinterpreting and reconstructing meanings in language 24
3.3. Analysis of the master narrative of Marián Kotleba 27
4. The master narrative of Marián Kotleba 31
4.1 Communicating facts or telling stories? 31
4.2 Protagonists and antagonists of the nationalist-populist narrative 33
4.2.1 Social actors 34
4.2.2 Characteristics 39
4.2.3 Values 43
4.3 Plot development 46
4.3.1 The past and future of the narrative 46
4.3.2 Escalation of the conflict: A hero is coming! 49
4.4 Romantic tragedy as the story genre 53
5. Discussion and conclusion 57
References 63
Name index 70
List of tables
Table 1: Social actors of the master narrative divided into binary codes 36
Table 2: Characteristics of the protagonists and antagonists divided into binary codes 39
Table 3: Values represented by protagonists and antagonists divided into binary codes 43
Table 4: The national chauvinism illustrated in the selected part of Facebook discussion 44
Table 5: Character of the past and future of the narrative divided into binary codes 51
1. Introduction: Marián Kotleba becomes regional chairperson
On the 23r
of November 2013, the results of the regional election in Slovakia spoke
for themselves. Marián Kotleba - a politician and activist with a general reputation of a neoNazi,
ultra-nationalist, extremist, and radical - has been elected chairperson of the Banská
Bystrica self-governing region.
For over a decade Marián Kotleba has enjoyed recognition as a public figure in
Slovakia. In the past he was known to be significant participant and organizer of nationalistic
marches and rallies that celebrated the Slovak nation and especially the political order of the
first Slovak Republic (1939-1945). This particular historical period is not officially celebrated
in contemporary Slovak society as it bears stigma of institutionalized pro-Nazi state ideology
and open collaboration of the government with the war machine of the Third Reich. The
Slovak State (as the first Slovak Republic is called) was a client state of Nazi Germany whose
existence was connected with Adolf Hitler's war interests. It was the participation in
memorial celebrations of the wartime Slovak State and in symbolic marches honoring the
figure of Jozef Tiso - the president of the Slovak State - that contributed to Kotleba's
controversial image of representative of nationalistic extremism in Slovakia. In 2009 he was
charged with the offence of supporting and promoting groups directed against human rights
and freedoms. In 2003 Kotleba became the leader of the extremist association, and later the
political party, known as Slovak Unity1
. After the dissolution of the party on grounds of its
activities being in violation of constitutional law Kotleba went on to become chairperson of
Grassroots Party Our Slovakia2
. Both movements are framed by endless love of the Slovak
nation, emphasis on the supremacy of the Slovak nationality over other minorities
(especially Romany and Hungarian), promoting of the notion of a self-reliant Slovakia
(achieved via secession from EU and NATO) and a call for a renewal of traditions, and particularly
- the reinstatement of Christianity as the country's official religion.
Kotleba's election success in the regional election of 2013 stirred up intense
emotions among the Slovak public. The reaction of mainstream media - both liberal and
more conservative - was highly negative, depicting Kotleba's election as the end of
1
Author's translation from Slovak original Slovenská pospolitosť
2
Author's translation from Slovak original Ľudová strana Naše Slovensko.
7
democracy and the legitimation of political extremism in Slovakia3
. Foreign media articulated
the event in a very similar vein. Most of them referred to Kotleba as 'neo-Nazi' (BBC News
2013, The Economist 2013, Euractiv.com 2013, Arutz Sheva 2013), which evoked numerous
references to World War II4
. Slovak politicians and parties across the political spectrum
adopted a similar rhetoric of strong opposition to Kotleba and the positions he represented.
On the other hand, on social networks and generally in Internet environment many
discussions, comments and blogs on Kotleba's case have appeared. Among these a
significant part of supportive opinions emerged expressing joy of Kotleba's election success
and hope for future.
Kotleba's election was perceived by both his opponents and supporters as a
revolutionary turning point in Slovak politics and Slovak history in general. For the first time
in history of the country the politician with such a radical anti-establishment and antiminority
propaganda was elected as legitimate candidate in democratic election. Lively
debates that emerged in the public sphere after election covered questions about the future
orientation of Slovakia, freedom and human rights. The basic values of democracy were
discussed in public, political, and media domains. Majority of the utterances were
articulated emotionally - some of them with despair, others with hope. Existence of a
significant group of pro-Kotleba supporters who enabled his access to the regional politics
was unbelievable for his opponents.
This thesis deals with the pre-electoral communication between Kotleba and the
group of his supporters5
. It aims to identify the main discursive mechanisms applied by
Kotleba and the supporters to establish Kotleba's political legitimacy. Adopting the cultural-
3
For instance, Kostolný, a former editor in chief of SME - one of the main Slovak newspapers - wrote after
Kotleba's success in the first round of election: "His promotion to the second round has a symbolic value and it
justifiably raises fears. Extremists of his kind had never succeeded in modern history of Slovakia" (Kostolný
2013: 1). Similarly, Pravda - long time established Slovak newspapers - adopted the same perspective. After
Kotleba's election one of the editors declared in the front-page: "For the first time Slovakia faces the situation
that hardly anybody could imagine before. Extremism got the regional politics" (Stupňan 2013:1).
4
Kotleba was explicitly equaled with Hitler by media and politicians. Pavol Frešo, chairperson of Bratislava's
region proclaimed: "Adolf Hitler had also got to the power in democratic elections. We must unite against
extremism" (Frešo in Sme.sk 2013).
5
1 am deliberately not referring to voters. My analysis is focused on the people publicly expressing support to
Kotleba, some of them are even not from the Banská Bystrica region and therefore were not allowed to vote
for him. Moreover, I am aware of the fact that expression of support does not necessarily mean giving vote in
election. This could be the question for different research. For my analytical purposes - to examine processes of
meaning-making - the group of supporters is the target one.
8
sociological approach, the thesis reveals and examines the social master narrative of Marián
Kotleba as the primary source of meaning-making processes. Furthermore, the identified
cultural meanings are discussed in connection to nationalist populism as the framework of
Kotleba's politics. The analysis shows the immersion of Kotleba to the master narrative what
determines his image of the hero of the story. With the event of election the hero is coming
to the stage. Kotleba as a political actor is depicted in the narrative as the one and only
representative of the people - Slovak nation. The notion of the citizens of Slovakia as a
homogeneous group defined by their nationality is a key characteristic of nationalist
populism. This thesis points out the interconnectedness of theoretically set features of
nationalist populism and the elements of narrative. More specifically, it demonstrates how
the pre-electoral discourse is built upon a story-telling structure and how this structure is
filled with the nationalist-populist meanings.
2. Theoretical background
2.1 Political event as a web of meanings: the strong program in cultural sociology
As stated above, my analysis aims to reveal the mechanism of the celebrative logic of
Kotleba's election. It derives from questions similar to those raised in the public sphere after
the election: How could this happen? Why do people support him? And why is their support
so emotional and invokes broader questions about morality? Cultural sociology provides one
very important and useful theoretical framework to answer questions like these. It focuses
our attention on the culture as a realm rich with complex social narratives, icons and
symbols linked together by a web of meanings. To be more specific, the main theoretical
background of my analysis lies in the strong program of cultural sociology. Jeffrey Alexander
(2003) proposes the strong program as an alternative to sociology of culture. The main
distinctive feature he argues for is the analytical autonomy of culture. In terms of research, it
means that culture is treated as an independent variable. In other words, culture, from a
cultural-sociological perspective has explanatory power - the explanations for any social
phenomenon lie in culture itself. This is because culture "possesses a relative autonomy in
shaping actions and institutions" (Alexander 2003:12).
9
What is culture?
Culture is a very popular concept in social sciences to the point that it may sometimes
even seem vague or overused. Moreover numerous different definitions of culture can be
found in social theory. Therefore I consider it highly important to specify what cultural
sociologists mean by referring to the notion of autonomous culture: What is the object of
their studies while studying culture? First of all, the strong program in cultural sociology
theorizes culture as a system of shared symbols and meanings (Geertz 1973 in Edles 2002:
6). Meaning-making activity stands at the very center of cultural sociology (Spillman 2002:
1). Cultural sociology is not concerned with abstract values and norms, but rather with
specific processes of meaning-making in everyday life. To describe cultural-sociological study
of culture, Alexander (2003) borrowed a metaphor from Levi-Strauss that study of culture
should be like the study of geology: "analysis should account for surface variation in terms of
deeper generative principles" (Levi-Strauss 1974 in Alexander 2003: 11). The strong program
in cultural sociology is concerned with deep and unconscious structures of meanings
beneath the manifest social action or social phenomena. Similarly the analysis of Kotleba's
election endeavors to identify the inner structure of meanings upon which the logic of the
discourse is built. Its main goals are to understand, clarify and explain.
Structural hermeneutics
Alexander comes in the definition of the strong program with the term 'structural
hermeneutics'. He suggests: "...structuralism and hermeneutics can be made into fine
bedfellows. The former offers possibilities for general theory construction, prediction, and
assertion of the autonomy of culture. The latter allows analysis to capture the texture and
temper of social life" (Alexander 2003: 26). The concept of structural hermeneutics derives
from various influences from social theory Alexander draws on.
First of all, cultural sociology follows the hermeneutic project of 'thick description'6
introduced by Geertz (1973). Geertz came with the notion of culture as a text that to be
understood must be interpreted and hermeneutically reconstructed. Geertz argues: "Culture
of a people is an ensemble of texts, themselves ensembles, which the anthropologist strains
6
1 introduce the concept of 'thick description' as a particular method in the chapter 3.
10
to read over the shoulders of those to whom they properly belong" (Geertz 1973: 452).
Culture is a meaningful text providing human action with meaning and therefore it is
influential in social life: from here stems the notion of culture as webs of significance that
guide action (Alexander 2003: 22). Moreover, Alexander based his arguments about the
ambition and goals of cultural sociology on the works of Wilhelm Dilthey (2002). Alexander
argues that what Dilthey theorized as drawing the "hermeneutical circle" is basically "making
wholes out of seemingly disconnected parts" (Alexander 2010: 295) what, he suggests,
should be the main endeavor of cultural sociology. In its ambition to identify deep structures
and patterns of language and action, cultural sociologist interprets and reconstructs the
social reality in a particular way. As Alexander says to reconstruct meanings is to "find deep
underlying patterns, to trace the vectors of symbolic meaning and lines of interpretive force,
and to make causal arguments about them" (Alexander 2010: 295). This is the hermeneutical
ambition that cultural sociology should maintain. Cultural meanings are central focus of my
analysis. It presupposes that hermeneutical reconstruction of the language of Kotleba and
his supporters leads to a better understanding of the analyzed case. The meaning-making
activities of social actors (Kotleba and his sympathizers) are grasped, reinterpreted and
reconstructed by analytical tools of cultural sociology. After all the hermeneutic
reconstruction is the very aim of the analysis7
.
Secondly, Alexander (2003) adapts a structural approach to culture drawing on
theories of structuralism and poststructuralism (e. g. Barthes 1977). These moved cultural
sociology toward general theory and helped to identify specific mechanisms through which
culture works (Alexander 2003: 23). The strong program stems also from Saussure's
structural linguistics that is focused on the structure of meaning. Furthermore, it follows
social anthropology after the cultural turn in 1970's: especially important are the theories of
Douglas (1966), Turner (1974), Levi-Strauss (1963) and the already mentioned Geertz (1973).
These anthropologists followed the structural tradition and stressed the symbolic dimension
of culture, cultural codes, rituals, and myths. This branch of symbolic anthropology together
with the strong program in cultural sociology found their influence in the work of the late
Emile Durkheim (1915). One of the most influential ideas of Durkheim's work for the strong
program is the conceptual division between sacred and profane phase of life (Durkheim
7
1 discuss the reinterpretation and reconstruction of cultural meanings in the chapter 3.2. in detail.
11
1915). In his thorough study of religious life among Australian aboriginals Dürkheim
presented totemism as the elementary form of religion. He argues that the division between
sacred and profane principles is inevitable in every religion8
. While the profane phase of life
is formed by everyday common economic activities of aboriginals, the sacred phase is the
phase of gathering characterized by "an extraordinary degree of exaltation" (Dürkheim
1915: 215). Sacred and profane life phases are in opposition to each other. Sacred principles
determine different kind of morality and invoke intense emotions.
Binaries
In a similar vein, cultural sociologists theorize binary codes as respective socially
constructed categories of pure-sacred and polluted-profane (Alexander 2003, 2011). The
categories of 'pure' and 'polluted' are associated with the 'sacred' and 'profane' on the basis
of Douglas' theory of Purity and Danger (1966). While purity is related to order, pollutions
accords with disorder and danger. Purification and pollution are symbolic acts in social life:
"There is no such thing as absolute dirt: it exists in the eye of beholder" (Douglas 1966: 2). In
this thesis I use categories of 'socially pure' and 'socially polluted', since social actors
symbolically either purify or pollute different aspects of social life and they do so on the
socially-constructivist basis.
Binary codes are symbols that exist always in relation (e. g. Alexander 2006: 57; 2011:
16). They are in relation to each other to such an extent that one defines the other: category
of pure-sacred does not exist without defining the polluted-profane, as the good cannot
exist without its respective evil. Binaries are also morally charged. They are at the core of
social meanings categorizing things in moral terms (Alexander 2011: 3). Every social
narrative is built upon binary codes. They structure narratives by determining respective
moral sides of the story. When immersed in structured social narrative, a moral value is
ascribed to certain persons, things or ideas. It is to say that empirical reality is sorted and
classified in moral binary categories of the pure and polluted as long as it is interpreted and
embedded in social narrative.
This distinction is also present in every society, since according to Dürkheim the mere fact of society is the
source of religious life (Dürkheim 1915: 418).
12
However, it is important to keep in mind the socially constructed nature of the binary
classification of social world. Social reality is arbitrary sorted in the narrative, not on
"natural" basis. Moral aspects attributed to certain persons, groups of people, institutions,
events or historical epochs are socially constructed. This arbitrary and constructed nature of
social meanings makes the content of binary codes open to potential changes. "Binary moral
classification may seem static, but it is not. Its social anchoring is restless and undecided, its
interpretation dynamic and potentially explosive" (Alexander 2011: 23). In other words, the
symbolic purification of ones and pollution of others is a dynamic process that can be
bargained or brought down at any time.
The identification and interpretation of the content of binary codes in the analyzed
language is essential for the analysis of Kotleba's narrative. Binaries are considered the
building blocks of the narrative and therefore their identification is contributive in defining
the basic structural logic of the analyzed discourse. Symbolic meanings stored in binary
categories are responsible for making narratives intelligible, meaningful, and emotional. This
plays a crucial role in articulating political narratives: "The codes have an evaluative
dimension that enables them to play a key role in the determination of political outcomes"
(Alexander 2003: 124). Clear binary distinction is fundamental for political speech (and also
for any other text, story or interpretation) to be intelligible. It explains the politician's logic of
socially purified and polluted actors and values. Understanding of the political interpretation
of social reality is the basis for opinion-making process which is especially important during
political campaigns. Similarly it is supposed that the identification of the meaning structure
of the analyzed narrative will conduce to a deeper understanding of the Kotleba's support.
Moreover, binaries can facilitate the examination of nationalist and populist features of the
analyzed language. Nationalist-populist meanings and symbols can be understood as a whole
complex - a universe of meanings - when inserted in the binary categories of the pure and
polluted.
13
Narrative and genre theory
The strong program also draws on narrative and genre theory. Alexander (2003)
argues: "...narrative forms such as the morality play or melodrama, tragedy, and comedy can
be understood as "types" that carry with them particular implications for social life" (2003:
25). The concept of social narrative is key one in the cultural sociology and also in the
analysis presented in this thesis. It corresponds with the textual definition of culture.
Cultural sociologists stress social narratives as the forms of knowledge and the way of
making sense of the world (e. g. Smith 2011; 2005). Basically, stories as social narratives
together with images as social icons full of symbols and metaphors and built upon cultural
binaries is what constitutes culture from a cultural-sociological perspective.
The analysis of the pre-election language of Kotleba and his supporters is focused on
the narrative. The case of Kotleba's victory is shaped by the discourse which is supposed to
have a narrative dimension. Smith and Riley (2009) classify this type of analysis in their
handbook of cultural theory: "...people and institutions generate stories about the world in
order to make sense of it. The aim of analysis here is to map out these stories, theorize
them, and trace their implications" (2009: 184). The analysis presented in this thesis has the
same aim, that is, to identify the elements of master narrative in the analyzed discourse in
order to deepen the understanding of the analyzed case. The analysis adopts a textual
approach to culture. It is based on the premise that culture and social life is like a text and
can thus be interpreted (Smith, Riley 2009:176).
The analysis of narratives in cultural sociology derives from the structuralist poetics
of Frye (1971) and Propp (1968). Philip Smith is a cultural sociologist who works with social
narratives particularly in the realms of politics, the media and/or the public sphere9
. In his
analyses, he largely draws on structuralist poetics of Frye and the poetics of Aristotle and
relates narratives about social events to significant implications for social life. He argues that
"structuralist poetics ignores the surface detail of this story or that drama in digging for the
patterned relationships and regularities that unite particular genres of storytelling activity..."
(Smith 2005: 20).
9
E.g. Smith published case studies of recent war conflicts in Iraq, Gulf War and Suez (Smith 2005) and the
analysis of global warming as the narrative that shapes people's knowledge (2011).
14
Drawing on structuralist poetics and classical poetics of Aristotle, Smith distinguishes
three basic genres of narratives - low mimesis, tragedy/romance and apocalypse - and their
different implications for social life (2005: 23-27). The three basic genres theorized by Smith
represent the ideal types differing from one another in three aspects: motivation to action,
the character of the object of struggle and the range of powers of action. The level of moral
polarization of protagonists and antagonists in the story determines the position of the
narrative on the "genre scale" (Smith 2005: 24). Firstly, the low mimetic genre is
characterized by mundane motivation, a local object of struggle and limited powers of
action. Secondly, the tragic or romantic genre results in higher motivation for action and
elevated power of action because of greater polarization between protagonists and
antagonists and national object of struggle. Lastly, the apocalyptic mode of narrative creates
the basis for a time of war with its radical polarization between protagonists and antagonists
which contributes to extraordinary powers of action, a global object of struggle and
motivation for action grounded in ideals.
Each one of these genres of the story has different implications for the "real world"
according to expectations that each of these genres sets. Smith provides an example of this
process: "We might look to a politician with respect, empathy, or contempt depending upon
the genre through which we perceive them" (Smith 2005: 20). Ronald Jacobs (1996) adds
that the genre of a particular story about a social event influences the expected outcome,
because it constructs expectations about the conclusion and the hero of story (1996: 1267).
Similarly, it is supposed that the motivation to support Kotleba is rooted in the narrative
genre and this genre has the power to shape the event of the election in a particular way.
My analysis aims to identify and interpret the master narrative behind Kotleba's
victory. I believe that the analysis of this kind may considerably contribute to the
understanding of political preference to support Kotleba. As Wittgenstein (1967) puts it,
storytelling is not just about telling things, but also about doing them. Jacobs (1996), in this
respect, argues that "both meanings and outcomes depend on the interaction between
events and their narrative understandings..." (1996: 1267). Therefore, the narrative is not
just a commentary of the event. Rather than that, it is an ongoing and open-ended story
narrating events social life. It possesses a power of its own to create expectations about
people related to this event. This is another reason for applying the strong program to the
15
analyzed case. I consider social narrative to be not only the main reservoir of meanings, but
also a powerful tool to create particular expectations and motivations to action in order to
make those expectations come true. Electoral support is usually accompanied by
expectations and promises of hope. The analysis of Kotleba's master narrative is supposed to
be the cornerstone of a broader understanding of the establishment of Kotleba's legitimacy.
Attention to details
The endeavor of cultural sociology is to approach the people up close in order to be
able to thoroughly investigate the ways culture influences their everyday lives. As Charles
Taylor (2002) puts it, "...the way ordinary people 'imagine' their social surroundings [...] is
often not expressed in theoretical terms; it is carried in images, stories, and legends" (2002:
106)10
. Furthermore, what makes cultural-sociological analysis even more specific is its focus
on detail. The plausibility of cultural sociology lies, according to Alexander, in resolving the
issues of detail: who says what, why, and to what effect (Alexander 2003: 14). Therefore,
cultural-sociological analysis is usually focused on analyzing a specific event or case from
almost every domain of social life. The aim is to identify specific deep mechanisms that are
responsible for shaping the social life. This thesis is also focused on a specific case and
specific political actor. It brings to play the specific master narrative that is supposed to
shape the dynamics of the analyzed event.
To sum it up, the strong program in cultural sociology and its structural
hermeneutical approach provides useful conceptual tools for the analysis of the Kotleba's
case in the latest regional election. As Alexander argues: "To understand modern politics,
one must interpret and explain the structured meanings upon which political speech and
action draw" (Alexander 2010: 282). The electoral victory of Kotleba as a revolutionary event
for Slovak politics brought into light the discursive structure with its respective social-pure
and social-polluted sides: "Although the discursive structure we identify is continuously
drawn on in constructing cultural understandings from contingent political events, the
structure becomes the key foundation for public debate only in times of tension, unease,
and crisis" (Alexander 2003: 125-126). The identification of this structure of meanings can
1 0
1 consider Taylor's concept of social imaginary as expressing adequately premises of cultural sociology, even
if his theory is officially not considered to be cultural-sociological.
16
bring forth an important revelation about the social world. Furthermore, narrative and genre
analysis can shed light on the potential social and political outcomes, such as the current
political support of Kotleba. Cultural sociology as a very beneficial and inspiring point of view
can serve as a useful tool for understanding social life, actions and phenomena in a deep and
complex way.
2.2 Theories of nationalist populism
Theories of populism and, more specifically, of nationalist populism constitute the
second important part of the theoretical background of my research. Although most of the
theories on populism can be found in the field of political studies, I consider them to be of
high sociological relevance. Nationalism and populism are not only political but also social
phenomena. They embrace certain ideas and values presented in a political manner. In other
words, when we refer to a nationalist or populist statement, politician or political party, we
refer to a certain logic of doing things or speaking about them. And this exactly what the
domain of cultural sociology is.
Recently, movements with persuasive political agenda labeled as nationalist,
extremist and populist have emerged across all of Europe and USA11
. I believe that this
current alternative orientation of politics must also be thoroughly analyzed also on a
cultural-sociological level, that is, to grasp and interpret narratives, icons, symbols and
metaphors generally labelled as nationalist or populist. Only when we fully understand the
deep structure of meanings communicated by nationalism and populism we can cope with
these phenomena in the 'real world'. In the following section, I will clarify my conception of
the term nationalist populism for the purposes of labeling Kotleba's politics.
Populism
In daily life and politics, the term populism is automatically associated with negative
connotations: "Party leaders are accused of populism, proposed solutions to political
1 1
For example, the radical and anti-establishment Tea Party in USA, Five Stars Movement of Beppe Grillo in
Italy, Hungarian extreme right-wing party Jobbik and the radical politics of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor
Orban (Mounk 2014; Kovacs 2013).
17
problems are attacked by their opponents as being populist and, as such, they are summarily
rejected" (Havlík, Pinková 2012: 9). The term is often used during electoral campaigns when
an accusation of populism means an accusation of empty talk and greed for power. In the
academic field many theorists seek to formulate a proper and comprehensive definition of
populism (e. g. Mudde 2004; Laclau 2005b; Stanley 2008). However, the term 'populism' is
still being perceived as vague and lacking in satisfactory clarity for analytical purposes. My
analysis aims to disengage populist politics from its symptomatic vagueness. I will illustrate
the main features of populism proposed by theorists on a specific example. My goal is to
discuss populist features of Kotleba's discourse step by step and present them in the light of
cultural sociology - as a significant part of the Kotleba's master narrative.
Different approaches to the study of populism
There is a key dispute concerning the theories of populism regarding the character of
populism (Havlík, Pinková 2012: 19). First of all, according to Canovan (2002), populism
should be considered as an ideology because it disposes of the core concepts as 'the people',
'democracy', 'sovereignty', 'majority rule' (2002: 33). Canovan draws on Freeden in saying
that these concepts are interrelated and together constitute an ideological whole (Freeden
1996 in Canovan 2002: 33). This approach understands populism as an ideology drawing on
general political concepts but interpreting them in a specific populist manner. In contrast,
Stanley (2008) argues that "it is very difficult to translate the concepts of populism into a
coherent ideological tradition" (2008: 106). He regards populism not as a 'full-fledged'
ideology but as a 'thin' ideology that is "of limited analytical use on its own terms" (Stanley
2008. 95). Populism as a thin-centered ideology must be combined with established
ideologies in order to communicate specific political content.
Lastly, Laclau (2005a, 2005b) comes with the alternative approach to the study of
populism. He does not regard populism as an ideology of any kind. He states that there are
no strictly populist or strictly non-populist movements, but "a movement or an ideology [...]
can be more or less populistic depending on the degree to which its contents are articulated
by equivalential logics12
" (Laclau 2005a: 47). Laclau defines populism as a discourse or a
1 2
The equivalential logic is logic of the "people" against an enemy through the construction of a social frontier
(Laclau 2005a: 47).
18
certain logic of articulation. He proposes a formal concept of populism where "all of its
defining features are exclusively related to a specific mode of articulation" (Laclau 2005a:
44). In this regard populism is "a series of politico-discursive practices" (2005a: 43) that
works via discursive construction and representation.
In my thesis I do not aim to define the character of populism neither to incline to one
of the different theoretical stances. On the contrary, Kotleba's political orientation
demonstrates many particular aspects of these different theories of populism. First of all, my
analysis identifies the core concepts of populism theorized by Canovan (2002). It is mainly
the appeal to 'the people' as a unified body and the celebration of popular sovereignty and
the interests of the majority as the principles 'true democracy'. Secondly, I also follow
Laclau's argumentation about the discursive character of populism. My analysis is an analysis
of meanings in political language and Laclau's notion of populism as a discourse is
contributive in this regard. Laclau also stresses the constructivist nature of the discourse that
accords with cultural-sociological notion of socially constructed meanings. Lastly, adopting
Stanley's perspective on populism as a thin-centered ideology open to combination with
other ideologies, I frame Kotleba's politics as nationalist populism. The identified meanings
in the political communication between Kotleba and his supporters are based on the
nationalist and populist foundations that operate together as a meaningful whole.
Features of populism
Despite numerous disagreements about the character of populism and the
impossibility of stating a single definition of the term, all theories of populism refer to the
same basic populist features. Firstly, it is an appeal to 'the people' as a homogenous group
(Stanley 2008:102; Deegan-Krause, Haughton 2009: 823; Canovan 2002: 25; Abts, Rummens
2007: 418). Populists advocate 'the people' as a unity with the same demands and needs.
Second important feature, as Canovan (2002) puts it, is "claim to legitimacy that rests in the
democratic ideology of popular sovereignty and majority rule" (2002: 25). Populists stand for
an unmediated leadership befitting the sovereignty of the people (Staley 2008:102; DeeganKrause,
Haughton 2009: 823). Moreover, 'the people' as a unity express a general will
against the homogenized conception of the elite - an antagonistic relationship between 'the
people' and 'the elite' is constructed by populist politicians (Stanley 2008: 102; Deegan-
19
Krause, Haughton 2009: 823; Laclau 2005a: 40). In this regard, Stanley (2008: 102)
introduces the notion of positive valorization of 'the people' and denigration of 'the elite'.
Lastly, the common feature of populist movements is their rejection of compromise or
cooperation (Stanley 2008:102; Deegan-Krause, Haughton 2009: 823; Canovan 1999: 6).
These key elements of populism play a significant role in my analysis of Kotleba's
populist politics. As Deegan-Krause and Haughton (2009) argue "disassembling populism into
clearer, more defined subcategories both reduces the tendency toward normative
assessments and improves our understanding of the ways in which populism's core elements
hang together" (2009: 823). Moreover, the populist features are discussed in connection to
the binary codes, plot and genre - the main mechanisms of meaning-making in the master
narrative. The construction of enemies - the homogenized group of the decent 'people'
standing against the homogenized and denigrated 'elite' - is examined as the construction of
social-pure and social-polluted categories. The logic of the narrative also serves to explain
the populist celebration of popular sovereignty and the rejection of compromise and
cooperation. The analysis identifies all of the mentioned populist elements in Kotleba's
political language and explains them by their immersion into the master narrative.
Nationalist populism
The populist politics of Kotleba stands on a nationalist foundation. Many populist
parties are equated with nationalist parties and this "increases the relevance of populism as
a topic of research into radicalism and extremism" (Havlík, Pinková 2012: 18). For instance
Stanley (2011) writes about Slovak nationalist and populist politics:
The upsurge in Slovak nationalism was accompanied by a resurgence in populist rhetoric. The
emphases placed by populism on the majoritarian principle and on notions of popular authenticity are
compatible with nationalist arguments that stress the primacy of the ethnically 'legitimate' majority
against an illegitimate, usurping minority and its disloyal advocates amongst the political elite (Stanley
2011: 260).
The intertwining of populist and nationalist politics has also been reflected in academic
theories. These, however, lack the consensus about the term necessary in order to use it to
label this political orientation. Books on this topic include terms such as: extreme right, far
right, radical right, radical right-wing populism, national populism, populist nationalism, etc.
(Mudde2007: 11-12).
20
Regardless of this terminological fragmentation I have decided to conceptualize the
analyzed political discourse as nationalist populism. First of all, I consider references to the
political 'right' to be inadequate with respect to the analyzed case. Kotleba's party Our
Slovakia has nothing in common with other right-wing oriented political parties in Slovakia.
Labelling Kotleba's political orientation as far/extreme 'right' evokes a connection with other
right-wing politicians or parties which I would like to avoid. Secondly, I find 'extremism' and
'radicalism' to be vague concepts without any reference to any kind of values or ideas.
However, the adjective 'nationalist' specifies the type of analyzed populism by bringing with
itself the key notion of the nation. The romanticized myth of a homogenous nation lies at the
core of populist ultra-nationalism (Minkenberg, Schain 2003: 162-163). The nationalist
concept of 'the nation' and the populist concept of 'the people' are blended together in
nationalist-populist discourse. Similarly, other populist features mentioned above are
shaped by nationalistic logic of argumentation13
.
Kotleba largely operates with the concept of nation. Following the logic of
nationalism, he draws a line between the 'legitimate' (the core group of white, our, Slovak
people) and the 'illegitimate' (members of Romany minority) citizens of the country.
Moreover, he establishes antagonistic relations between these two groups of people.
Kotleba refers to Romany people as being unfairly favored at the expense of poor our people
(Kotleba 2013c: 2)1 4
. In addition, elite politicians are often criticized by Kotleba for their
'disloyalty' to the nation, which is another instance of blending nationalist and populist logic
of argumentation.
In Kotleba's politics, populism and nationalism (in the form of populist and nationalist
discourse) are intertwined to a great extent and together they constitute the main
framework of the discourse. The master narrative articulated by Kotleba and his supporters
is a narrative about the Slovak nation in decline. The ethnically15
framed category of 'the
nation' corresponds to the populist category of 'the people' as a privileged group. This
1 3
I demonstrate the interconnectedness of nationalist and populist principles more in detail in the analysis
presented in the chapter 4.
1 4
1 discuss Kotleba's references to Romany minority on the basis of culturally constructed binary codes more in
detail in the analysis presented in the chapter 4.
1 5
Kotleba refers to white people, our people and these create core of the society (Kotleba 2013b: 1, 2013c: 2).
Supporters articulate the essentialist character of the nation in terms of the common bloodlines and
brotherhood (Kmet'2013, Migas 2013).
21
blended nationalist and populist rhetoric constitutes a specific and complex web of
meanings - the specific culture rich in cultural meanings in the form of narratives, icons,
symbols and metaphors16
.
I consider nationalist populism as a united conceptual framework suitable for
analyzing of Kotleba's politics. As I show in the analytical chapter of this thesis, the meanings
articulated in language of the analyzed political communication are loaded with both
nationalist and populist values and principles. Analytically disentangling populism from
nationalism could reduce the relevance of my analysis. The category of nation is hardly
separable from the category of 'the people'. The appeal to the 'decent people of Slovak
nation' is characteristic of Kotleba's politics and this category communicates solid meanings
of both nationalist and populist nature.
In a nutshell, the strong program in cultural sociology and the theories of nationalist
populism constitute the theoretical background of the analysis of Kotleba's victory.
Together, they serve to illustrate, on the example of Kotleba's communication with his
supporters, the way cultural narratives, symbols and socially constructed meanings form an
important tool in political struggles for power. Following these theories I reveal the
nationalist-populist master narrative communicated by Kotleba and further interpreted by
his supporters. This narrative is supposed to be central to mobilizing the people and getting
the representative to power (Stanley 2008: 98). One of the main goals of my analysis is to
establish connection between the two theoretical sources by pointing out the similarities
between the structural mechanisms of the narrative and the main features of the rhetoric of
nationalist populism.
My analysis does not encompass this culture as a comprehensive whole, but it is strictly focused on the
language and discursive structures applied by Kotleba and the supporters. There is also another important
domain of the analyzed culture: social icons as the visual and material bearers of cultural meanings. The
analysis of the nationalist-populist icons could be a guideline for further research.
22
3. Methodology and methods
3.1 Analyzing a single political event: Introducing research methods
The analysis presented in this thesis employs qualitative methods. This generally
means that it is focused on qualities, processes and meanings that cannot be measured in
terms of amount, intensity, frequency or quantity (Denzin, Lincoln 2011: 8). It can be argued
that the aspects of the social reality I examine in this paper cannot be measured or
experimentally tested at all. Rather than focused on measurement my analysis is of an
interpretive nature. It aims to deeply examine processes of meaning making and the
underlying principles of a particular political logic of argumentation. The outcome of such
analysis is always a particular interpretation and reconstruction of this logic.
According to Denzin and Lincoln (2011) "qualitative research, as a set of interpretive
activities, privileges no single methodological practice over another [...] It has no theory or
paradigm that is distinctively its own" (2011: 6). The paradigm I adopt is mostly defined by
the strong program in cultural sociology. The theoretical framing of the analysis, as a
perspective of looking at social reality, determines the potential methods. Based on the
premise of analytical autonomy of a cultural realm my analysis seeks the cultural dimension
of the political struggle for power. This cultural dimension is basically constituted by the
master social narrative with binary structure. The identification of this narrative, its genre,
content of binary codes, protagonists and antagonists, plot and story line is the primary aim
of my research.
As other qualitative methods, my analysis also stands on the notion of the socially
constructed nature of reality and it seeks to answer the questions that ask how social
experience is created and imbued with meaning17
(Denzin, Lincoln 2011: 8). Because this aim
of the analysis requires deep examination of the processes of meaning-making, the research
works with a limited range of data. A careful consideration of the data sample is therefore
very important to qualitative methods. Unlike the quantitative method, the qualitative
approach does not aim to generalize the research findings and is inevitably problematic in
questions of representation. However, even if the analysis of the case of Marián Kotleba
cannot be generalized with respect to all political power struggles, it brings the important
1 7
1 discuss social constructionism and its inherent pitfalls later in this chapter.
23
evidence about the discursive logic of generating political support. The focus on a single
event or a single case opens space for in-depth examination of the cultural realm via
description of narratives, symbols, metaphors and codes in play. After all, following the
arguments of cultural sociology, particular cultural realm can be identified behind every
political event and every political struggle for power (Alexander 2003, 2010). This thesis
illustrates this premise on the analysis Kotleba's victory. Moreover, a profound analysis of
cultural meanings can contribute to identifying the characteristics of nationalist-populism
and their discursive establishment.
The careful examination of the language of Kotleba and his supporters sheds light on
the particular discursive strategy - the particular interpretation of the event of Kotleba's
victory. The detailed analysis of this pre-electoral language and its main focus on nationalistpopulist
meanings can provide us with more complex understanding of the mechanisms of
Kotleba's and supporters' logic of argumentation. This can be highly important for a better
understanding of this significant event in Slovak public sphere. As Alexander puts it: only if
we make room for genuinely cultural sociology (and this involves the restriction of range of
data sample and analyzed cases mentioned above), we will be able to avoid the numerous
mistakes and confusions of reductionist approaches in social sciences (Alexander 2003: 26).
3.2 Reinterpreting and reconstructing meanings in language
Language presents the object of my analysis. According to Berger and Luckmann
"understanding of language is [...] essential for any understanding of the reality of everyday
life" (Berger, Luckmann 1966: 51-52). Language provides a portal to the sphere of culture
and meaning-making processes. The aim of my analysis is framed by "hermeneutics as an
area [...] concerned with issues of meaning and mutual understanding" (Smith, Riley 2009:
188). Moreover, language also constitutes an environment for social actions. It is "capable of
becoming the objective repository of vast accumulations of meaning and experience"
(Berger, Luckmann 1966: 52). As a system of meanings, language exists regardless of
concrete social actors and, what is more, it has external influence on them. That is to say,
there is no absolutely free use of language as a tool of expression. Every formulation stems
24
from already existing concepts with a more or less clear meaning, "...concepts provide the
surroundings with meaning - not the reverse" (Koselleck 2004 in Andersen 2003: 36).
To identify relevant narrative in the analyzed language, my research follows the
method of Geertzian thick description. Geertz pushed forward the notion of thick description
that should be, according to him, the method for social scientists. Basing his arguments on
the premise that "man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun"
(Geertz 1973: 5), Geertz understood culture as presenting those webs. According to Geertz,
culture has textual qualities. It can be read as a complex text. For this reason culture requires
rich description in detail in order to search for significant meanings and their structure.
Geertz goes as far as to say that "cultural analysis is intrinsically incomplete and [...] the
more deeply it goes the less complete it is" (Geertz 1973: 29). It is especially due to the great
complexity and richness of culture: of cultural symbols, codes, metaphors and meanings in
play.
The strong program in cultural sociology also calls for thick description as the
fundamental approach to the study of culture. In his Performance of Politics (2010)
Alexander insists on thick description to "closely approximate actual thinking and speech"
(Alexander 2010: 292). Thick description proposed by Geertz is the way to in-depth
examination of cultural realm that Alexander argues for. Geertz's thick description
constitutes very important source of methodological tools for my analysis. It constantly turns
the researcher's attention to the analyzed text and makes them focus on every detail of the
analyzed material. Thick description, as Geertz introduced it, is a highly contributive method
of identifying the complex processes of meaning-making in social and political life.
Based on structural-hermeneutical premises my analysis aims to reinterpret and
reconstruct the meanings in case of Kotleba's election. By identifying narratives and
corresponding binary codes behind the political communication I offer a new interpretation
of the analyzed case. As anthropologist Clifford (1986) argues, culture is not a scientific
object that can be simply described (1986: 18-19). Alexander adopts the same perspective
by saying that "reality is too complex to be simply mirrored, it must be refracted and
interpreted" (Alexander 2010: 275). However, it is not just its complexity and richness that
makes culture impossible to describe as such. Culture is historically produced and actively
contested:
25
If "culture" is not an object to be described, neither is it a unified corpus of symbols and meanings that
can be definitively interpreted. Culture is contested, temporal, and emergent. Representation and
explanation - both of insiders and outsiders - is implicated in this emergence. The specification of
discourse I have been tracing is this more than a matter of making carefully limited claims. It is
thoroughly historicist and self-reflexive (Clifford 1986:19).
Therefore it is important to keep these limitations of the analysis of cultural
meanings in mind. This kind of analysis is always a construction from the language and the
actions of social actors. This construction is a double process. First of all, there is the process
of cultural construction of social phenomena and their relevant meanings by social actors
themselves. The concepts are imbued with meanings and these are negotiated in semantic
struggles (Koselleck 2004). Subsequently, people naturalize this cultural construction by
taking the constructed meanings for granted: "There is a strong predilection for societies to
naturalize their processes of cultural construction. This provides anxious human beings with
a sense of ontological security and legitimates existing social arrangements, obscuring the
arbitrary and constructed nature of social categories" (Bartmanski, Alexander 2012: 2).
Secondly, when social researchers step in to the cultural realm and analyze it, the
outcome of their research is in fact a secondary construction of cultural meanings: "...what
we call our data are really our own constructions of other people's constructions" (Geertz
1973: 9). Max Weber in his considerations of the question of objectivity in social sciences
states that the social researches use always ideal-typical concepts to grasp complex and
tangled social reality. These concepts are constructed as abstract mental images with an aim
to serve as a means to better understanding (Weber 1998: 52). The outcome of my analysis
is a construction of the second order and I am aware of all the aforementioned limitations
related to the interpretive research of social reality.
It is important to state clear that the reconstruction of the meanings in the language
of Kotleba and his supporters is only one particular interpretation of the analyzed discourse.
Other different potential interpretations of the same political communication can be made.
In other words, there is no single interpretive truth (Denzin, Lincoln 2011:15). Interpretation
of the analyzed case is, as every understanding of social reality of culture, the understanding
from specific point of view (Weber 1998: 36). The interpretation presented in this thesis is
constructed from my particular perspective within particular paradigm and with help of
particular ideal-typical concepts as a means to a better understanding of the social reality.
These are analytical tools of theory and methodology that the research employs.
26
The thesis presents the reconstruction of Kotleba's case based on the ideal-typical
concepts of cultural sociology (narrative, binary codes, genre) and theories of nationalist
populism (the populist, the nationalist, the people, the elite, antagonism). Even if the
interpretation of political communication between Kotleba and his supporters is necessarily
selective and reductive, it can contribute to a more in-depth understanding of the meaningmaking
process in politics. After all, in Alexander's words, the severe reduction of empirical
complexity and extraordinary selectivity are inevitable (Alexander 2010: 294) for better
understanding of the social reality by means of scientific analytical concepts.
3.3. Analysis of the master narrative of Marián Kotleba
Research questions
The analysis presented in this thesis seeks the answers how the political legitimacy of
Marián Kotleba is established through cultural meanings as discursive mechanisms. More
specifically, what logic does the master narrative behind the pro-Kotleba support follow.
What are the meanings the narrative communicates and how are these meanings
structured. In other words, the analysis aims to chart the logic of argumentation for the
promotion of Kotleba as a legitimate candidate in the election. Secondly, my inquiry stems
from the question of whether there is any connection between the logic of the master
narrative and features of nationalist populism. If yes, how can the logic of the narrative
contribute to explaining Kotleba's nationalist-populist political orientation. These analytical
goals stem from the generally raised question after the election: Why was Marián Kotleba
largely supported in the regional election of 2013?18
I consider these questions to be highly relevant especially in the current democratic
regimes. In a democracy, as we experience it today, public support for a particular politician
can lead to his or her establishment as the legitimized executor of power. Likewise the ideas
I am aware of the fact that Kotleba's victory can be attributed to many different factors, including, the
people's disappointment with the official governmental politics in Slovakia, the political inactivity in solving
societal issues related to Romany minorities, distrust towards Vladimír Manka, Kotleba's rival electoral
candidate in the election, etc. In spite of the presumable complexity of the reasons of Kotleba's victory, the
messages he sent to his supporters before election are of high relevance as well. Similarly the understanding of
the logic of Kotleba's support contributes to the understanding of Kotleba's success in general.
27
and values he or she represents can be legitimized as the dominant ones. The victory of
Kotleba in the regional election undoubtedly represents the legitimization of political
extremism - in term of ideas and values - in Slovakia. The examination of the discursive
character of this legitimization - the cultural meanings expressed by implementing certain
language categories and narrative logic - can be very contributive in identifying the roots of
the motivation to support Kotleba and the values he represents. In the end, the analysis
seeking cultural meanings can reveal how tools of power are embedded in the political
language.
Research data
The regional chairpersons election of 2013 was held in two rounds. In the first round
the regional deputies and two counter-candidates for the chairpersons were elected. In the
second round these rival candidates met and one of them was definitely elected. My analysis
of political communication between Kotleba and his supporters is mostly framed by these
two rounds of election1 9
- from November 9 to November 23 of 2013. During this time
period their communication was the most intense. Before the results of the first round of
election were released, there was hardly any debate about Kotleba's legitimacy as the future
chairperson of Banská Bystrica region. After Kotleba passed to the second round of election
together with the former chairperson of the region Vladimír Manka2 0
the public debates
about Kotleba's political legitimacy 'exploded'. My analysis is interested in this pre-electoral
period when Kotleba was working to convince people about his legitimacy and when people
were expressing and rationalizing their support of Kotleba. In other words, my research
interest concentrates on the logic of argumentation - the processes of meaning-making before
the election.
The data for my analysis were collected from four different sources - the first two of
them are data from Kotleba and his party and another two are from the supporters. Firstly,
the Kotleba's and his party members' claims and utterances were collected from the
1 9
The analysis of the newspaper Our Slovakia is an exception from this temporal framing. I also analyzed the
October review, because of its electoral orientation. Since Kotleba did not organize an official electoral
campaign, these newspapers constituted the main source of communication between him and his supporters.
2 0
Manka is a long-term established politician. He was chairperson of Banská Bystrica region since 2009. He was
also a mayor of the city of Zvolen from 1999 to 2005.
28
newspapers Our Slovakia with the subheading The newspapers of the political party of
Marián Kotleba. I analyze the October and November issues of the newspaper due to their
considerable electoral orientation. It is a 4-page monthly newspapers. However, the
November issue was extended and four election-themed special issues were published for
the regions of Bratislava, Banská Bystrica, Košice and Prešov. Despite their regional
character, many articles in these special editions were directed to promote Kotleba and
basically presented the same logic of articulation21
. Our Slovakia - the political party of
Marián Kotleba is a small party strongly united by a small set of core ideas and values and
oriented against all other establishment parties. Moreover, all of the electoral special
editions included Kotleba's preface on the front page titled "On regional election" (Kotleba
2013b: 1). The special issues also bore the 'seal' of Marián Kotleba and were aimed to
communicate the electoral items and principles he articulated. I analyzed the articles
published by other members of Kotleba's party also due to the lack of Kotleba's own
speeches or published utterances before the election22
. Moreover, the newspapers are
published online on the web page of Kotleba's political party and also regional issues were
accessible to everyone. All together the newspapers provided 16 articles for the analysis.
Secondly, the press conference held by Kotleba on 18th of November was transcribed
and analyzed. It was the one and only Kotleba's press conference before the second round
of the election. He insisted on a live broadcast of the conference. During the conference he
justified this decision and answered the questions of journalists and the public. At the end
he also gave the official speech to his supporters - the last one before the second round of
the election.
Thirdly, the data from supporters were collected mostly from the official fan page of
Marián Kotleba on Facebook. During the period of time between the first and the second
round of the election there were 18 posts released on Facebook fan page under the
Kotleba's name with hundreds of respective comments made by people - to a large extent
2 1
I want to state clearly again that my analysis is not focused on Kotleba's voters. I focus on the pro-Kotleba
logic of argumentation as a symbolic intelligible universe of cultural meanings. This was carried in other regions
as well. Moreover, the case of Kotleba' electoral victory was discussed in Slovakia not just as a regional issue,
but as the countrywide turning point in Slovak politics.
2 2
Kotleba refused to take part in any political discussion that was not broadcasted live. He neither published
other pre-electoral handouts except the newspapers. He based his image on the notion of ordinary person in
contrast to the costly electoral campaigns of other politicians.
29
supportive ones. After reading all of these posts and comments, I have selected six of the
page administrator's posts for an in-depth analysis23
. Facebook constituted the main channel
for the recruitment of supporters due to the lack of an official electoral campaign and the
negative image of Kotleba in the official media. The comments and discussions on Facebook
contain mostly spontaneous reactions and expressions of supports. For this reason, the
Facebook fan page is an important source of data - it groups the pro-Kotleba supporters and
provides them with freely available space for expression.
Lastly, I analyzed three web blogs by Kotleba supporters with the titles: "Didn't want
to mention Kotleba ... But the media made me" (anonymous 2013); "What exactly are we
afraid of?" (Koval'ova 2013); "Marián Kotleba - the menace of journalists and politicians"
(Orlický 2013). All of them are articles on the topic of Kotleba's success in the election with
common aim to justify the choice to support Kotleba. The analyzed blogs were collected
from different blog portals and were selected due to their high readership ratings24
. The
blogs supplement the Facebook data by justifying the opinion stance more in-depth. I am
aware of the fact that the web blogs and Facebook discussions allow me to analyze just
published statements. The people expressing their political preferences publicly on the
Internet constitute the special group of supporters (maybe more passionate and convinced
about supporting Kotleba). On the other hand they bring to light the supportive arguments
before the official announcement of Kotleba's victory. The strong point of these data
materials is that they are inserted in the specific time of election from which the past and
the possible future - "what if Kotleba was elected" - were interpreted. This is especially
important to the analysis of the plot development and the narrative genre.
Actual method of analysis
The analysis was conducted on three levels. Firstly, I identified the binary codes in the
analyzed discourse. These were considered the main bearers of cultural meanings. In other
This selection was made due to the large range of data (after the transcription from Facebook the material
for analysis posed over 100 norm pages). The number of posts was narrowed down by following the most
discussed posts communicating the messages with broader meanings to the public (e. g. posts expressing
thanks for the support were deliberately eliminated from the analysis).
2 4
E. g. the blog of anonymous writer reached 98 869 views by the date of December 14 2014.
30
words, the language meanings were structured in the binary relation of socially constructed
social-pure and social-polluted category. I constructed several tables illustrating the
respective binaries25
. According to the specific meanings in binaries the protagonists and
antagonists of the story were identified. Secondly, I focused on the time line of the narrative
- the interpretation of the past and future articulated by Kotleba, the members of Our
Slovakia, and the group of supporters. The aim here was to get to the specific point of view
of pro-Kotleba devotees. The identification of the binaries and the time line lead me to the
analysis of Kotleba as the hero character of the narrative who is coming onto the stage by
way of the event of the election. The metaphor of Kotleba as the hero is the result of the
immersion of Kotleba as a social actor into the master narrative. Thirdly, the features of
nationalist populism were identified in the narrative and discussed in relation to the binary
codes, plot development, and genre. I present the outcomes and findings of the analysis in
the following chapter.
4. The master narrative of Marián Kotleba
4.1 Communicating facts or telling stories?
Pre-electoral campaigns communicate numbers of social narratives. In this chapter I
aim to identify and interpret the narrative which presents itself in Kotleba's discourse and in
his communication with his supporters. Many politicians struggle hard (and this holds true
not just in electoral campaigns) to convince people about the "truth" and to point out 'what
the "facts" are'. Nevertheless, what is omitted in political discourses (as well as in everyday
life) is that those "facts" and "truths" always depend on a particular perspective and
interpretation. What political speeches represent is not reality, but a perception of reality:
"In themselves, social facts do not speak. It is representations of social facts that do the
talking" (Alexander 2011: 3). Especially before an election, the various perceptions of
sociopolitical reality are represented by different political candidates. Pre-electoral struggles
are when candidates compete to make their perception and interpretation of reality the
For binaries see the tables 1, 2, and 3.
31
dominant one. This interpretation of political actors is always and necessarily very selective,
reductive and tied to the values and ideas that a politician or party represents.
In the analyzed case I focus on the narrative aspect of the representation of reality
articulated by Kotleba and interpreted by his supporters. Understanding Kotleba's
perception of reality requires one to immerse themselves into the social narrative he
proposes - the story about Slovakia and the lives of its citizens (their troubles, hopes, and
struggles). The social narrative is a vast space filled with meanings and emotions that makes
everyday life (and also political speech and action) intelligible. This narrative is not visible nor
is it easy to grasp, but it constitutes an essential part of the people's imagination and
understanding. "Narrative does not show, does not imitate; the passion which may excite us
in reading a novel is not that of a 'vision' (in actual fact, we do not 'see' anything). Rather it is
that of meaning, that of higher order of relation which also has its emotions, its hopes, its
dangers, its triumphs" (Barthes 1977:124).
Narratives organize information and represent it as a coherent picture (Edles 2002:
200). Political and social narratives, just like literary novels, are located in time and space
and follow the chronological course of the events. Narrative is always selective in events that
are retold. The story events are represented dramatically creating a plot. Most importantly,
the characters are cast and given pre-determined moral sides. This enables narratives to be
classified into genres such as tragedy, romance, comedy, irony or morality play26
. As Edles
(2002) sums it up, information embedded in social narratives is chronologically ordered
within their plot, depending on which events are chosen for narration, on characters cast
into heroic and anti-hero roles of the story, and on its genre (2002: 200).
In the analyzed political communication between Kotleba and his supporters the
master narrative about the Slovak nation (hereinafter referred to as Kotleba's narrative) was
identified. Mast (2011) conceptualizes the storytelling aspects of the pre-electoral discourses
in the following quote:
Campaigns work through theatrical and narrative means to impose a particular dramatic structure on
an electoral competition. They seek to define the event's protagonists, emplot them into a world
characterized by the centrality of particular issues facing the voting community, and dramatize the
consequences of audiences' potential voting actions. Put another way, campaigns are in the business
of character development and plot construction (Mast 2011: 643).
2 6
1 discuss the romantic and tragic genres more fully in the chapter 4.4.
32
The main aim of my analysis is to identify and examine these narrative features - character
development and plot construction - to gain a better understanding of the logic that Kotleba
and his supporters follow in addressing the problems of the country and the people and
formulating solutions for them. All of the identified narrative features are linked to the
theoretically defined features of nationalist populism.
4.2 Protagonists and antagonists of the nationalist-populist narrative
In what follows, I will elaborate the first important feature of the narrative:
characters and their immersion in respective moral binaries of the socially constructed pure
and polluted category. The analysis of narrative characters brings to light also the main
features of nationalist populism. The narrative and its binary codes constitute the shape of
meanings but nationalist populism determines their content by the selection of events which
are retold, selection of a genre, development of a plot, and most importantly by determining
the content of binary categories. Therefore I consider the narrative to be a
nationalist-populist one.
Alexander argues that "...the best way to understand the political culture is to
understand its symbolic codes" (Alexander 2003: 154). Moral binary codes are personified in
form of characters of the story. As Barthes (1977) aptly remarks "there is not a single
narrative in the world without 'characters'..." (Barthes 1977: 105). Characters are bearers of
the structured meanings and agents of the narrative. The Kotleba's narrative is built upon
binary relation between the protagonists - the decent Slovak people, Kotleba and his party
Our Slovakia - who stand against the antagonists - corrupted politicians and "gypsy"27
parasites (Kotleba 2013b: 1, 2013c: 2), the media, and police. While the group of
protagonists is socially purified, the antagonists are socially polluted. All attributes ascribed
to the protagonists and antagonists stand also in binary relation to each other and paint the
respective moral sides with more specific colors. The following analysis presents binary
Kotleba deliberately refers to Romany people as to "gypsies". While the word "Romany" is official and
political correct, word "gypsy" has negative connotation and is used with offensive intention. Kotleba was the
first politicians who started to use the word "gypsy" publicly.
33
codes implied in the master narrative of Kotleba. The binaries were sorted into three
dimensions: social actors, their characteristics, and values they represent.
4.2.1 Social actors
The main protagonists of the Kotleba's narrative are generally addressed as the
people. During his only press conference held before the election, Kotleba proclaimed: "The
people are suffering and we must deal with it" (Kotleba 2013d). The people stand at the
center of Kotleba's attention also in his election program. He presents his improvement
proposals as based on the will to work for the people (Kotleba 2013b: 1) and to help them
(Kotleba 2013c: 2). The people form a privileged group in the narrative. They are embedded
in the social-pure category. The people are a collective protagonist of the story - a group to
whom Kotleba speaks and who constitute the focal point of the narrative.
The appeal to 'the people' as a monolithic group is the main feature of political
populism. Populist politics conceives people as a homogeneous group with the same
collective needs that the populist politician promises to fulfill (Canovan 2002; Laclau 2005b;
Havlík, Pinková 2012). Kotleba identifies three main spheres of people's problems employment,
housing and security - and propose solutions to them:
Nowadays people are forced to go into debt for entire decades just to purchase an apartment (Kotleba
2013c: 2).
I will increase employment and enhance the living conditions and housing situation of decent families
(Kotleba 2013c: 2).
I will also improve the security situation in the outlying districts of Banská Bystrica region (Kotleba
2013c: 2).
Many social scientists argue that the common feature of all populist politicians and
parties is referring to the people as a privileged group and defining them in terms of some
true natural popular identity (Abts, Rummens 2007). The people - the citizens of Slovakia are
homogenized in the narrative and presented as a single protagonist with the same
characteristics and needs. The heterogeneous character of the people as a whole is omitted
and replaced by the notion of the people as a collectivity with the same attributes.
34
In addition Kotleba's narrative also homogenizes the ruling elite . The people and
the elite as two irreconcilable homogeneous groups constitute the core of Kotleba's
narrative. Populists discursively construct a conflict between "them" - the powerful and the
evil - against the rest of "us" - the innocent silent majority (Canovan; 1999; Mude 2004;
Taggart 2000). This simplified antagonistic relationship is an essential characteristic of
populism. It is carried out by activating the binary structure of the narrative. The people and
the elite are presented as two monolithic actors enveloped in language of the social pure
and polluted. In other words, the people are glorified whereas the representatives of the
elite are denigrated29
.
The antagonistic structure of the narrative is twofold. The narrative puts the people
in opposition to the elite as well as to the Romany minority. The antagonism between the
people and the Romany minority lies again in the binary structure of the narrative. The
people are conceived of as the popular majority in Slovakia and their character is defined in
opposition to the minority. Abts and Rummens remark that the twofold antagonism is
another common structure of populist politicians: the people versus elite and "the people
versus all those at the supposed bottom of the society" (Abts, Rummens 2007: 418). The
Romany minority is also homogenized in the narrative and is depicted as underserving of any
political concern in contrast to the deserving people. The homogenization is again carried
out by applying some basic attributes to the group of Romany citizens of Slovakia.
The antagonism of the narrative is strengthened by the notion of collaboration
between the elite politicians and the Romany people. The main argument of the narrative is
that the government favors Romany minority at the expense of the people. Kotleba and his
political party aim to reverse this discrimination and favor the people instead of the Romany
minority. Kotleba blames the government for paying out extremely high cash benefits and
purchasing Romany votes before election. The collaboration between the two antagonists
weakens the already miserable position of the people standing alone against all the powerful
and polluted in the country. The first item on Kotleba's election program goes: "I will
This homogenization is carried out by applying the same set of attributes to every politician and political
party (Our Slovakia is depicted as the only exception). The homogenization is explained in the following chapter
4.2.2. on the basis of these characteristics.
2 9
I explain this glorification and denigration in the chapter 4.2.2 on the basis of the characteristics of the
people and the elite.
35
eliminate the unfair favoritism of not only the gypsy parasites before decent people"
(Kotleba 2013c: 2). Financial collaboration between the elite and the "gypsies" is expressed
in the following quotes from Kotleba's newspapers:
The mafia of politicians will leave nothing to chance in the second round. 60 000 gypsy votes are too
strong a temptation for them to resist (Kotleba 2013b: 1).
When struggling against the illegal gypsy village, we started to look for support among politicians.
None of the addressed "big" political parties expressed any interest in helping us. After all, I
understand why - they see gypsies as potential voters, and this is true, because if you give gypsies a
few coins they would even vote for the devil (Szaniszló 2013: 2).
Lastly, the police force is another social actor standing in opposition to the people.
Kotleba's narrative states that citizens can no longer rely on police forces and therefore they
have to take matters into their own hands. Just as the politicians, the police are represented
as collaborating with the undeserving Romany minority. The police are depicted in the
narrative as being weak and corrupt in the struggle against the real criminals30
, but brutal
against innocent citizens: "Innocent students chased by police" (Naše Slovensko 2013a: 4).
The antagonistic relation between the people on one hand and the elite, Romany
people, and the police on the other is constructed discursively - by implementing a symbolic
language of binary codes. The populist category of 'the people' is always a construct: "the
people can only be constituted in the terrain of the relations of representation" (Laclau
2005a: 48). Pelinka (2013) adds that this is how the illusion of 'natural' borders between 'us'
(the majority group of the people) and 'them' (state elite and ethnic minorities) is created
(2013: 5). The construction of enemies is according to Laclau (2005: 39) the essence of
populism. The master narrative divides the social actors it concerns into the binary codes.
This division is illustrated in Table 1.
Table 1: Social actors of the master narrative divided into binary codes
Social-pure Social-polluted
The people The elite
The Romany minority
Police
Our Slovakia & Kotleba Other politicians
Media
Here Kotleba is referring again to Romany people. For more on the depiction of the Romany as the criminals
see chapter 4.2.2.
36
Table 1 illustrates also the binary opposition between Kotleba and his party Our
Slovakia on one hand and politicians from the government and media on the other.
Politicians from Our Slovakia with Kotleba in the lead are shown in the narrative as
representatives of the people: "That guy speaks out loud about things that others only think
of" (Kovalová 2013). A personal leader in populist politics is portrayed as a representative of
the silent majority - a person who, if elected, can serve the neglected interests of them
(Mounk 2014). Moreover, the leader as a political candidate is represented as directly
chosen by the people as their delegate and defender. "Voters are periodically attracted by
the populist dream of combining transparency and empowerment by entrusting their
interests to a personal leader who is directly chosen by the people and who continues to
defer to, and consult, them" (Westlind 1996 in Canovan 2002: 29). Kotleba's supporters also
articulate the notion of the leader-Kotleba as the direct representative of the people's will: "I
am glad that there is someone concerned about Slovakia and the working nation. I read his
program. Marián, I root for you!!" (Kunova 2013).
Kotleba is a charismatic personal leader of the people and is represented as one of
them: "Finally a normal and ordinary citizen of the Slovak Republic won the election"
(Marenčák 2013). Due to this fact, he as a particular social actor is also inserted in the socialpure
category of the story. Laclau (2005a) remarks that the name of the leader rounds off
the homogenizing of the people (2005a: 40). Marián Kotleba is a pure name that brings
together in itself all the characteristics of the people3 1
. Kotleba is glorified in the story the
same way the people are and is celebrated as a hero capable of helping them. For this
reason he has a special position among the protagonists of the narrative. Kotleba is the main
protagonist of the story - the hero - the only person capable of facing and defeating the
socially polluted antagonists of the story.
Likewise the people are defined in opposition to the elite, Kotleba and Our Slovakia
as the representatives of these people also adapt this antagonism. The antagonists of
Kotleba and his party consist of all the other politicians who, in the narrative, are trying to
prevent Kotleba's election. Kotleba and Our Slovakia stand alone against the powerful
politicians in the government and must face them in order to exert in practice their political
will to help the people. Kotleba and Our Slovakia outright reject any kind of cooperation with
E. g. decent, innocent, ordinary, white, normal (for more see the following chapter 4.2.2).
37
other politicians. Neither they are willing to seek a compromise (Deegan-Krause, Haughton
2009: 825). The protagonists and antagonists are depicted as irreconcilable.
The politics of Kotleba is the politics of one man and one party against all. Kotleba is
depicted as a lone warrior against moral wrong and the one and only savior of the country.
"Kotleba is congenial because despite all the problems with the government and police he
faced, he still goes his own way" (Orlický 2013). This also emphasizes his opposition to the
elite collaborating with the undeserving Roma minority. Kotleba is equated with the people
as their representative and the voice of the silent majority. Therefore, the people are seen to
stand behind Kotleba in his fight against the polluted powerful agents in the country.
Mainstream media are presented as being in opposition to Kotleba and engaged in a
fierce anti-campaign against him. Kotleba's supporters also articulate their negative opinion
about media. The authors of all three analyzed blogs engage in discussing the topic of
hateful media running an anti-campaign against Kotleba: "The media are engaged in a
spiteful anti-campaign against Kotleba, the one and only campaign of this type in history [...]
They denigrate, offend and vilify him" (anonymous 2013).
Kotleba's party is opposed to all politicians and official media. This antagonism in
Kotleba's politics contributes to its anti-establishment character, which is another common
aspect of populist politicians (Mounk 2014; Canovan 1999). As Canovan remarks, populist
politics is directed against political and economic establishment, power-holders, the media
and broader values of the elites3 2
(1999: 3). Following this logic Kotleba is depicted as
standing alone against a powerful menace - the politicians of the establishment and the
official media. After all, the title of an article published in Kotleba's newspapers says it
clearly enough: "All against Kotleba or Slovak democracy in practice" (Pospíšilová 2013: 3).
Kotleba's supporters also articulate this notion: "It would be a miracle if Kotleba won the
election. All political parties and media stand against him, plus all gypsies will massively vote
for Manka" (Majerík 2013).
To sum it up, the collaboration among the main antagonists - the ruling elite and the
Romany minority - is topped by bitter journalists and other media staff who fight against
Kotleba. They all stand against the protagonists - the people and Our Slovakia with Kotleba.
The polluted values are discussed in detail in the chapter 4.2.3.
38
The protagonists and antagonists are organized in the universe of meanings structured by
binary logic - socially-purified against socially-polluted. The discursively constructed enemies
create an impression that Kotleba and the people stand powerless against all. This is the
basic protagonist-antagonist structure of the narrative.
4.2.2 Characteristics
As I already implied the category of 'the people' does not include all the citizens of
Slovakia. Rather than so, the people are defined by several attributes. The bearers of this
attributes are subsequently sorted out into the morally charged binaries. When integrated
into the structured narrative, the social actors are ascribed moral characteristics. Pelinka
(2013) states that populism often lacks a clear understanding of 'the people' as a given
factor: who is part of it and who is not (2013: 3). However, the binary logic of Kotleba's
narrative does shed light on the category of the people. The people in the Kotleba's
narrative are defined as ours, decent, innocent, white, ordinary, poor, peaceful, dutiful, and
normal. These characteristics are ascribed to them by their opposition to debauched, sinful,
corrupt, and rich elite and extremist, savage, lazy, and parasitizing Romany minority. Table 2
illustrates these characteristics sorted into the social-pure and social-polluted categories.
Table 2: Characteristics of the protagonists and antagonists divided into binary codes
Social-pure Social-polluted
Our Foreign
White Gypsy
Decent Debauched
Innocent Sinful
Ordinary Elite
Selfless Selfish (Financial profit)
Courage Cowardice
Poor Rich
Deserving Undeserving
Normal Extremist
Civilized Savage
Dutiful Parasitizing
Industrious Lazy
First of all, the people to whom Kotleba and members of Our Slovakia refer are
labelled 'our people'. After all, the attribute 'our' is already expressed in the name of
39
Kotleba's party - Our Slovakia. It refers to the nationalist character of the narrative. 'Our
people' are defined in terms of nationality as belonging to Slovakia as a whole and also in
terms of region. In Kotleba's narrative there are many references to 'our people', 'our
region' and 'our country' (e. g. Kotleba 2013b: 1). The 'our' people are inserted in the socialpure
category constituting the group of decent and good citizens. They deserve, according to
Kotleba, extra attention and special treatment:
I am interested in decent people, our people. And I want to reserve the most money possible for a
regional budged precisely for them" (Kotleba 2013c: 2).
I will support our region, our people (Klein 2013: 2).
Moreover, Kotleba refers to the people in explicit ethnic terms labeling them the
'white people' (Klein 2013: 2; Kotleba 2013b: 1, 2013c: 2; Kurovský 2013: 4). For instance in
the newspapers Kotleba states: "Decent white man has next to no chance of getting a rental
apartment" (Kotleba 2013c: 2). Some of the supporters wrote on Facebook that "they want
to have a white Christmas". This expression refers to this Kotleba's promise to privilege
'white people' over others:
I keep fingers crossed and hope that finally the peace and white Christmas will come (Budweiser 2013)
Let's fight for white Christmas!!! (Bona 2013).
Do you want white Christmas? Vote for Marián Kotleba (Krempaská 2013).
Statements like these refer to the ethnicity conceived as consanguineous kin - the
'jus sanguinis' principle of inclusion to the core group. Some of Kotleba's supporters referred
to the principle of blood as the motivation to support Kotleba, that is to say, to fight for the
nation, the essence they share with other Slovaks33
:
...I have Slovak blood in my body and I want to fight for it and I will do it [...] We should pull ourselves
together and fight for the few of us that remain (Migas 2013).
Brother won't deceive brother (Kmeť 2013).
Populist and nationalist features of Kotleba's politics are intertwined to such an
extent that it is impossible to separate them. The people that Kotleba calls upon are the
decent people, 'our' people and white people. In other words, the populist category of the
3 3
It can be assumed that Kotleba and Our Slovakia invoke the nationality and ethnicity as the attributes of the
people in order to mobilize them to collective action - to vote for Kotleba. Kotleba's conception of ethnicity and
nationality ('white and our people') points out the politics of identity. Furthermore, the supporters interpret
Kotleba's politics as based on the kin conception of the Slovaks. This collective identity-building aspect of
Kotleba's narrative constitutes potential direction for further research.
40
people is framed by a nationalist mode of inclusion in the 'group of the people'. Populism
and nationalism simultaneously empower one another in Kotleba's narrative and together
create a coherent logic of argumentation - the nationalist-populist narrative about the
Slovak nation (the people). "Populism, like nationalism, focuses on the 'who' of politics; it is
an ideology dedicated to identifying the people as the privileged subject of politics and
justifying their place on the pedestal" (Stanley 2008:102).
Moreover, the ordinary and decent people need to be mobilized, as Canovan argues,
against an 'unordinary, privileged, corrupted and cosmopolitan elite' (1999: 5). In the
analyzed case the elite - the entire current government - is polluted. The politicians are
depicted as corrupt, materialistic and debauched and interested solely in their own profit.
Moreover, Kotleba uses the expression 'mafia of politicians' to emphasize the evil character
of the ruling elite. This expression stresses the debauched and corrupt character of the
politicians and contributes to the homogenization of the political elite by pointing out the
links of corruption among all politicians - both from the coalition and opposition and of leftwing
and right-wing political orientation. In Laclau's words, the power is 'totalized and
opposed to the equivalential chain of demands that constitutes popular will' (Laclau 2005a:
39).
Mafia of politicians liquidates our nation (Kotleba 2013b: 1).
High politics is the most highly organized criminal profession (Naše Slovensko 2013b: 3).
Corruption and hypocrisy of the current political scene... (Pospíšilová 2013: 3).
Famous snobbism of politicians... (Naše Slovensko 2013a: 4).
Money - the most powerful bond - put together age-old ideological rivals (Belička 2013: 4).
Politicians are depicted in the narrative as selfish (driven by their own financial
interests) and too cowardly to face problems of the people. In other words, the narrative
shows them as not doing their job - not caring for ordinary citizens: "Populists maintain that
citizens are not represented by the elites voted into power. These are seen as defending
their own interests from a station distant from the common people" (Havlík, Pinková 2012:
22). According to Kotleba, politicians as those in charge of helping people failed at their
primary task: "Our rulers lack political will to help people" (Kotleba 2013c: 2). Kotleba
defines himself and his party in opposition to the elite politicians - they are depicted as
selfless, caring for the decent people who get discriminated against: "In our list of candidates
41
you won't find privatizers, cheaters and euro-deputies. We have neither expensive billboards
nor advertisements on buses. But what we do have is courage to call problems by their true
name and not to cover our eyes before them" (Kotleba 2013a: 1).
The characteristics of the people derive also from the characteristics of the Romany
minority as their binary opposition. While the decent people are depicted as dutiful and
hardworking (or at least eager to work and unable to find a job), members of the Romany
minority are shown as lazy and taking advantage of the state's social system. As mentioned
above, in Kotleba's narrative, the undesirable minorities, particularly the Romany people,
are labelled as "gypsy parasites" (Kotleba 2013c: 2). Ethnicity, class, and criminality are
blended in this category.
First of all, the narrative differentiates between 'white people' and 'gypsies'. Kotleba
and his party refer to the 'white" people' only because there are also 'gypsies' in Slovakia.
Only when the meanings of these two categories are considered in mutual binary relation,
they become intelligible. Secondly, the narrative depicts Romany people as 'parasites' due to
the general poverty among the Romany minority and their common dependence on social
subsidy: "the government builds apartments exclusively for gypsy parasites" (Kotleba 2013c:
2). In addition, Romany people are also depicted as dangerous criminals against whom the
people must protect themselves. They are called 'extremists', and represented as not
civilized enough and incapable to adapt to the way of life of the majority population:
Due to their location and the numerous settlements of gypsy parasites, some parts of Banská Bystrica
region are literally inappropriate places to live for normal decent man (Kotleba 2013c: 2).
Terror of gypsy extremists affects desperate villages and towns (Naše Slovensko 2013: 4).
The right for decent life is intensively denied us by gypsy extremists whose insolence and impudence
grows literally day by day (Čarná 2013: 4).
The 'extremist' label was at first applied to Kotleba by the media and politicians.
Subsequently, Kotleba and Our Slovakia started using it for Romany minority. This dispute
over the 'extremist' label expressed the antagonism between media and the people with
Kotleba. According to Kotleba and his party, the media made up the label to refer to Kotleba
only to defame him. The attribute 'extremist' as the binary opposite to 'normal' is
negotiated in the narrative. Kotleba labels Romany people as 'extremists' due to their
42
'savage' character and 'inadaptability' to the social norms and to 'normal' majoritarian
society of the people:
We sort normal people from those who do not accept social norms - these are the extremists, do you
understand? Extremist is not a person who got to the second round of election by virtue of the
people's votes (Kotleba 2013d).
Socially pure and polluted attributes of the main narrative characters stress the
antagonism in the narrative. Moreover, they define more clearly the nature of the category
of the people. Binary codes shed light on the principle of inclusion to the group of the people
- Kotleba's politics is not directed at all citizens of Slovakia, but just those 'good' ones. These
are in sense of Kotleba's narrative ours, white, decent, innocent, dutiful, normal, and
ordinary. Meanwhile, the antagonists - the politicians and Romany minority - are bearers of
binary-opposite characteristics: foreign, gypsy, debauched, sinful, lazy, extremist, and elite.
4.2.3 Values
The antagonism between the main characters of the narrative is expressed by the
values in binary codes. The bearers of the antagonism between binary values are on one
hand Our Slovakia and Kotleba (social-pure values) and the elite politicians and media
(social-polluted values) on the other. The following Table 3 serves to illustrate the basic
values implied in the analyzed narrative:
Table 3: Values represented by protagonists and antagonists divided into binary codes
Social-pure Social-polluted
Democratic Anti-democratic
Slovak Anti-Slovak
Truth Lies
Facts Fabrications
Patriot Traitor
Traditional values Elite values
Christian Pagan, Anti-Christian
Heterosexuality Homosexuality
Cosmopolitan Rural
Firstly, media and the ruling elite are presented in the narrative as maintaining antidemocratic
values. In the narrative, the government implements restrictions of democracy
by financial load and discrimination of small parties: "Government approved another
43
restriction of democracy" (Schlosár 2013: 2). Media are declared anti-democratic for not
treating both candidates equally before the second round and not giving good account of
Kotleba34
. One of the supporters of Kotleba writes in his blog: "Democracy is admissible just
in case when people vote for the "right" opinions [...] "Watch dogs of democracy" (as
journalists and media are generally referred to) have decided not to give place for Kotleba"
(Orlický 2013). Secondly, Kotleba's narrative also blames media for not being factual enough
and presenting untrue information to the people:
This is a claim of the media. I lean upon facts (Kotleba 2013d).
As you know, I am interested in facts, not in some fabrications and wrong attributes of media...
(Kotleba 2013d).
The media and politicians are portrayed also as anti-Slovak: "Anti-Slovak media react
hysterically" (Pospíšilová 2013: 3). Elite politicians are anti-Slovak in the narrative for their
'anti-national lobby'. This stance accords with the national chauvinism that is according to
Mounk (2014) a type of populism based on the claim that political elites are insufficiently
proud of their country and/or cooperate with minorities. Politicians are in the narrative
represented as traitors of the nation and liquidators of the country as such. This can be seen,
for instance, in the short part of the Facebook discussion cited in Table 4:
Table 4: The national chauvinism illustrated in the selected part of Facebook discussion
November 11 2013 "Marián Kotleba":
What kind of a man is our prime minister when he does not respect the decision of the
citizens of Slovak republic??35
(Page administrator: 2013a)
A man who does not care about them... (Pagáčová 2013).
It is the man who robs people and pretends to be helping (Raffay 2013).
He sucks as all Slovakia sucks. I hope for change at last, because it is indeed impossible to
live here (Neupauer 2013).
He is the man who sells his ancestors, his blood, just to feather his own nest! He is the
shame of SLOVAKIA! (Podhorská 2013).
For example, as mentioned above, Kotleba was labelled an „extremist" by the mainstream media.
This post refers to the strong critique of Kotleba's politics by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
44
Other value represented in the narrative is traditionalism - celebration of traditional
values and attitudes. According to Mounk (2014), populist traditionalism is represented by
nationalist and xenophobic tendencies and emphasizing "the preservation of conventional
lifestyles that most citizens supposedly favor" (Mounk 2014). Furthermore, intellectuals and
homosexuals are also target for populists attacks and also, in Mounk's words, "anyone else
too elitist to partake in the homespun, innocent pursuits of ordinary folks" (2014). Kotleba's
political program is framed by Christianity as a traditional Slovak religion. In this regard,
homosexuality is refused and symbolically polluted:
We consider as matrimony only the union of a man and woman. We will support decent families with
interest-free loan and create possibilities for them to acquire a rental apartment. We refuse registered
partnerships, children adoption by homosexuals and propagation of sexual deviations (Naše Slovensko
2013b: 3).
Both right-wing and left-wing politicians are connected by financial cooperation and a homosexual
lobby (Belička 2013:4).
The Slovak electoral system is rigged to keep in power the same political parties that have served antiSlovak
and anti-Christian interests for decades (Schlosár 2013: 2).
Lastly, Kotleba's narrative is directed against cosmopolitanism. The contrast between
the elite and the ordinary people also manifests in the contrast between the capital city of
Bratislava and the rural areas. The "real Slovakia" and "real problems" are according to
Kotleba located in the local towns and villages. This is another feature of anti-establishment
populism, asserts Mounk (2014).
The Banská Bystrica region also comprises the areas of Jelšava, Detva, Rimavská Sobota, Lučenec,
Brezno, Revúca, life in which is for some people I must say, akin to punishment. This is my problem
and I want to find a solution for it (Kotleba 2013d).
Some people from Bratislava, and I stress the fact that they are from Bratislava post alarming statuses
about Kotleba, fascism, racism, Nazism and I don't know what else. And these people have neither
problems with living a decent life nor any financial problems. However they criticize Kotleba from a
distance and in the warm and calm living rooms of their newly built houses. They get nervous when
somebody drills into the wall during the Sunday let alone when somebody walks in their yards stealing
hens and potatoes from the ground, eating their dogs and beating up old ladies over 5 euros3 6
(Kovalová 2013).
To sum it up, populist politics constructs a protagonist and antagonist and these are
structured by the binary logic of the narrative according to the characteristics and values
they represent. Moreover, Kotleba and Our Slovakia style themselves as the true
3 6
This second part of the statement describes how generally people imagine basic problems in rural parts of
Slovakia.
45
representatives of the protagonists, as part of the decent people. They are establishing their
political legitimacy based on this logic. In other words, the main characters of the narrative
also represent the core values and concerns of Kotleba and the politicians for Our Slovakia.
The identification of the binary codes in three dimensions - social actors, characteristics,
values - reveal the target group of the Kotleba's politics (the people as protagonists) and the
core values (interest for the nation, democracy, traditionalism, Christianity, anticosmopolitanism).
Moreover the 'enemies' are constructed (the elite politicians, Romany
minority and media) and blamed for the problems of the people. In this regard Mounk
(2014) argues that all populist parties are linked not by a shared set of core concerns, but by
"a language of outrage against the status quo and the political elites who maintain it". The
construction of enemies is essential for both the storytelling aspect of the politics and also
for nationalist populism as a specific type of politics. As Ernesto Laclau (2005) remarks:
"There is no populism without discursive construction of an enemy" (2005a: 39).
4.3 Plot development
In the previous chapter I examined the construction of the narrative enemies via
language categories. However, so far I presented the characters of the master narrative as
static - just standing in opposition one to another. In what follows, I aim to delineate the
dynamic aspect of the narrative - the chronological time line of the narrative and the
escalation of the conflict between characters in time. The meaning that social actors gain by
their immersion in the pure or polluted category is activated by the plot development rooting
of the narrative in certain interpretation of the past and its direction to certain
perspective of future. Only if characters are integrated in the level of narration they find
their meaning and narrative gains intelligibility (Barthes 1977:109).
4.3.1 The past and future of the narrative
The decent people as protagonists of the narrative are depicted as the suffering
group. The "corrupted politicians" and "parasitizing gypsies" are represented as responsible
for their suffering. This central conflict of the narrative is expressed in statements as
following:
46
Gypsy parasites are unfairly favored and privileged before decent people (Kotleba 2013c: 2).
Dutiful and poor people are robbed by government: "We have to honestly pay high taxes and levies
[...] whereas the government wastes our money with impunity and its members treat themselves to
luxury (Naše Slovensko 2013a: 4).
The decent people are humiliated and they live in misery and decline (Pospíšilová 2013: 3).
This conflict between protagonists and antagonists is not the instant one. It is
interpreted as a persistent and ongoing process of decline and deterioration of the country's
condition. The narrative chronologically organizes the information and events it
encompasses. Laura Edles (2002) argues that "it is this organization that drives a text
forward. It is the narrative that powerfully attracts and holds our attention, that compels us
to finish even a lousy book or film" (2002: 200). As the binary codes are important to
distinguish protagonists from antagonists, the chronological development of the plot plays a
significant role in keeping people's attention to the story.
First of all, the narrative is rooted in the past. It reconstructs the past of the country
and provides us with the particular understanding of the past events. However, the
references to the past events in the narrative are not references to one and only objectified
and authentic past. Rather these are representations constructed in the present time.
Kotleba's narrative refers exclusively no the past of the nation. It constructs a national myth
about the extensive decline of the Slovak nation and the country. Kotleba and politicians of
Our Slovakia retell the past as the continuous decline and decadence of Slovakia, nation, life
of the citizens and core values. They state that this decline is caused by the antagonists of
the narrative - politicians and Roma minority. Furthermore, the particular perspective on
future is constructed upon this representation of the past. The future is interpreted as being
determined by the present event - the election. There are two possible scenarios for the
future of Slovakia: either tragic one or triumphant one depending on the Kotleba's potential
defeat or victory in the election37
. The Kotleba's narrative interlinks the past with future via
narrating the present event of election. The present time is narrated as a turning point in the
history - the plot twist of the master narrative:
Our region goes from bad to worse [...] Therefore it is the highest time to vote for new people in
Banská Bystrica, and not for those people who hand in hand got the region into this poverty (Belička
2013:4).
For more on these conceptions of future see the chapter 4.4. about narrative genre.
47
The pressure on our land can cause its death. I am not going to wait until time when the worst
scenarios will come up! (Carna 2013: 4).
We have been sleeping for 23 years and we will be recovering from this thieving for another 20 years
(Kulina 2013).
Jason Mast (2011) articulates the political construction of the past and future of the
narrative in the following excerpt:
Political plots diagnose the past, current, and future states of the nation. They identify broad
discursive domains like the economy or the moral status of the collectivity, and within these domains
they construct problems and solutions. Each character becomes subject to the plots' narrative
demands, and each character tries to position oneself within these symbolic formations in the most
advantageous way possible (2011: 659).
The past and future are retold in the current light, in other words, by applying the current
binary codes to the past events. The past is polluted in the narrative as the epoch of the
current ruling elite. The Kotleba's narrative is the story developed around the past
liquidation of the Slovak nation by government and minority, and its potential future
salvation by Our Slovakia and Kotleba. The past interpreted in the Kotleba's narrative is
mobilized for actual purposes - to provoke action or accent something that should not be
forgotten in future. The interpreted past corresponds with contemporary aims and goals of
politicians - motivate people to vote for them in order to stop the constant deterioration.
For instance the last message from Kotleba to his supporters before the second round of
election went: "So tomorrow we are going to fight38
! (Do not forget that in past people
struggled hard for us to have a possibility to vote today. So let's go for it with pride, dear
friends)" (page administrator 2013c).
Every understanding of the world and its consequent interpretation is historically
determined. The conception of the past and future is always grasped in the present time
(Koselleck 2004). And simultaneously our projection of past and future constitutes lived
present. It gives rise to the meanings of the current events by their insertion into the
historical context. The narrative retold by a particular politician is always his or her vision of
how things are. This vision derives from the past and is directed to the future. However
these are also reflections of the particular depiction of the past and future world - how
things were and will be. "Therefore politicians are less describing world out-there than
aiming to bring the world into the people's imagination" (Alexander 2010: 286).
The "fight" as a metaphor for election is discussed more in detail in the following chapter 4.3.2.
48
4.3.2 Escalation of the conflict: A hero is coming!
The conflict escalates as the time of the election approaches. By the time of election
when the conflict is the most intense, a hero - Marián Kotleba - comes to the scene. The
hero as a representative of the long-term oppressed protagonists is here with simple and
strict solutions to all problems that afflict the people. The Kotleba's narrative is a narration
about national decline and resurrection - the same type of narrative that Alexander points
out as narrative energizing a revolution (Alexander 2011: 25). The current Slovakia is
narrated as the worst of all times and this situation must and can be changed by a single
person - the hero. Populist politics is in Taggart's words always accompanied with crisis,
challenge and change, since the populist politicians react to a sense of extreme crisis in the
country (2002: 69). After the first round of election, when Kotleba was elected for deputy of
the regional government so far, he proclaimed on the front page of the newspapers:
My election for the deputy of Banská Bystrica autonomous region and my promotion to the second
round in the struggle for the chairperson position is a big challenge for me. It is the challenge to not
throw away a historical opportunity to save Slovakia. It is the challenge to prove that not all politicians
are bribable and corruptible. It is the challenge to stand up against mafia of politicians that, since the
theatrical revolution in November '89, mercilessly and persistently liquidate not just our people, but
also our state (Kotleba 2013b: 1).
As Mast (2011) points out "election plots include both a hero figure capable of
righting the discursively constructed sociopolitical wrong, and a particular plan by which the
wrong will be righted" (2011: 643). Solutions to the people's problems that Kotleba proposes
are very simple. This is again, according to Canovan (1999: 6) a populist tendency. The
corrupt elite and Romany minority are blamed in the narrative of people's bad situation unemployment,
zero security and housing problems. Only the fact that Kotleba faces all
other politicians should amend the people's situation and solve some of their problems. The
high social benefits of unemployed Romany people and corruption in the establishment
politics are declared to be the main reasons of the financial problems of Slovakia. Therefore,
following the logic of Kotleba's narrative, a potential rupture of the collaboration between
the elite and Romany minority would mean lower social benefits for Romany people and
lower support of the corrupt establishment. Kotleba promises to employ tens and hundreds
of people in the road reparation works. He believes that the machine work should be
replaced by the human physical labor - this would secure the jobs for the people willing to
work. Moreover Kotleba claims that corrupt politicians often purchase too expensive
49
technology via fellow companies just to make their own profit. The employment of the
people instead of the technology would prevent according to Kotleba this kind of corruption
cases (Kotleba 2013d). Kotleba stated some of his intended solutions on the press
conference:
Instead of using two machines, I will offer jobs to tens maybe hundreds of people. This is important for
me, right? (Kotleba 2013d).
This is the corruption or cronyism interlaced through the entire region. And I am sure that it is
important to slash the tentacles of the octopus of the interest groups and then the rational solutions
will come themselves (Kotleba 2013d).
We often hear that we lack of money in schools, we can't do something and don't have enough money
for this and that. I say: We have enough money! There is money. But unfortunately, it doesn't end up
in the right place (Kotleba 2013d).
It39
does not require some instant miracles. It requires only a common sense. To sit down and say:
here are some mistakes, this is what we have to repair, we will gain money via this, and the gained
money we will invest here and there (Kotleba 2013d).
However, the application of these solutions in practice depends on Kotleba's support
of the people. If the support of Kotleba won't be sufficient to defeat his counter-candidate,
the hero is powerless. The people therefore must be activated to support and vote for their
hero. Moreover, the event of election is presented as an opportunity for the people to stand
up against the elite and change their miserable situation: "Election gives the power to our
hands, the power to decide how our region should look like. Election [...] poses an
opportunity for those who want to, by their own endeavor, change life in the region for the
better" (Kotleba 2013a: 1). Popular sovereignty as a power of the people to make important
decisions is celebrated in the narrative. Kotleba proclaims that with election finally comes
the moment when long time discriminated decent people can take power into own hands:
"Every election is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to show those above us what do we
think about them. It is an opportunity to affect public affairs, affairs that immediately
concern us as citizens of the state" (Kotleba 2013a: 1).
Celebration of the people as politically sovereign group is another mark of populism.
It stands on the concept of us - the people being a source of political authority (Canovan
2005: 128). The populist politicians claim that the people no longer have the power to make
decision about their lives due to the corrupt ruling elite. Therefore they declare to return
power 'to the people' (Havlík, Pinková 2012: 24). Election are according this logic the unique
3 9
By "it" Kotleba referred to the problems of the people he identified (unemployment, security and housing).
50
chance for people to express their disdain for all polluted actors in the story. One of the
Kotleba's supporters writes: "Election is [...] a possibility to kick the crotch of all liars who
think they have a patent for all wisdom and democracy, all arrogant Bolsheviks, all thieves
and puppets following other interests" (Orlický 2013).
The narration of the event of election inserted in the broader historical context brings
to play another set of binary codes. Generally, social-polluted category here represents the
past as the epoch of the polluted government. The perspective on future with Kotleba as a
chairperson is embedded in social-pure category. Kotleba is depicted in the narrative as the
bearer of all social-pure characteristics. Possible election of Kotleba is interpreted as a
moment of the plot twist. It is the moment when everything can be changed for better.
Kotleba's election means the arrival of the hero who will implement remedies to improve
the whole declined system.
More specifically, the perspective on future with Kotleba's lead is narrated as the
epoch of the change for the establishment social justice and final relief from suffering.
Moreover, Kotleba uses the metaphor of 'tidying up the mess' in the country to refer to the
application of his solutions for people's problems. He writes in the newspapers: "Hysteria
that aroused among mafia of politicians after publishing the results of the first round made
me sure that the time for thorough tidying up had come" (Kotleba 2013b: 1). By "tidying up"
Kotleba means the fight against the politicians of the establishment to eliminate the
corruption and establish law, order and higher values. The meanings concerned by the past,
future and possible election of Kotleba are illustrated by table 5:
Table 5: Character of the past and future of the narrative divided into binary codes
Social-pure Social-polluted
Future Past
Change Stagnation
Relief Suffering
Justice Injustice
Order/ tidiness Chaos
To fight To be passive
To wake up To sleep
Activity Apathy
51
As in every revivalist movement the activity is celebrated and passivity and apathy
polluted. The activity is demanded just in voting and voting for the right man - the hero. The
voting in election for Kotleba is articulated by using symbol of 'a fight' and 'waking up':
Slovakia, wake up! (Kurovský 2013: 4, Naše Slovensko 201a: 4).
Slovakia is slowly waking from the apathy (Pospíšilová 2013: 3).
In spite of smearing and restricting my freedom by the ruling machinery I will not stop fighting for
justice until the identical standards are applied to all. I call on you, all decent citizens of Slovakia to join
this fight. Fight of decent people for rights, justice and decent life! (Szaniszló 2013: 2).
The supporters articulate the event of election by the same symbolic language of 'fight' and
'wake up':
I keep fingers crossed. Hopefully the nation is waking (Springo 2013).
This is not a fan club; these are the people who started to fight with Ing. Mgr. Kotleba (Page
Administrator 2013b).
This is a slap in the face of the thieving system and I hope it is not the last one. Non intelligent man
wants to keep watching how this country is being plundered... (Drugda 2013).
Dynamic social narrative is an engine of the event of election. The binary structure of
the narrative and its direction from the past to the future make the present narrative and
also the narrated event intelligible and emotional. Therefore the narrative reflecting the
particular interpretation of the empirical event can serve as a strong motivation for action.
In the analyzed case the Kotleba's narrative articulated by both Kotleba and the supporters
can serve as a motivation to vote for him. Kotleba as a hero who is coming to stage links the
past and future - he is the one capable of transforming the misery past into the bright future.
Kotleba embedded in the social narrative is a symbolic agent of all important storytelling
aspects: the representative of the protagonists, the symbol of the fight against the socially
polluted agents, and the bearer of the propelling force of the narrative. With heroic Kotleba
on scene the narrative becomes attractive. It is because the coming hero poses a chance and
hope for happy ending.
52
4.4 Romantic tragedy as the story genre
The social narrative as any other literary narrative demonstrates characteristics of a
particular story genre. The genre is determined by the specific content of binary codes,
organization of the plot and the conception of the past and specific perspective on future.
Genre is a frame of looking on the retold event. Smith (2011) argues that a specific structure
and form of storytelling have specific consequences for human action (2011:747). The story
genre markedly determines the interpretation of the narrated event. The genre is the last
feature of the narrative this thesis examines. Smith adds that genres as frames of looking
distributed "over nations, over time, or over constituencies and interest groups in a civil
discourse indirectly shapes political outcomes as well as their timing" (2011: 748). Therefore
the identification of the genre of the analyzed narrative is extremely important. It
contributes to the understanding of the massive support of Kotleba in the election. This
chapter sums up the most of the arguments already stated in the previous sections of the
thesis. The characters of the narrative, plot development, the narration of the past and
perspective on future all together contribute to the formation of the narrative genre.
The identified genre of the narrative is a romantic tragedy. In the genre scale from
emotionally flat low-mimetic genre to highly polarized apocalypse, romance and tragedy
stand in the middle40
. They both trigger powerful sentiments that serve as motivation for
action. Tragedy and romance operate on the national level and are generally developed
around the good confronting evil theme. Likewise, the Kotleba's narrative is nationally
framed and is developed around the central conflict between the purified protagonists and
polluted antagonists. The main difference between tragedy and romance is that while the
former is concerned with suffering of innocent victim, the latter draws on triumph of the
hero and chance for the better (Smith 2011: 25-26). The Kotleba's narrative associates both
these central themes. On one hand, it is a tragedy about decline of Slovakia and suffering
Slovak nation. On the other hand, the narrative delineates the possibility of the chance for
the better and introduces Kotleba as a heroic character with whom the hope for suffering
nation is coming.
For genre scale see the chapter 2.1., section Narrative and genre theory.
53
The national past is narrated in the tragic sense - the suffering and despair of the
protagonists. Kotleba points out the continuous decline and decadence of Slovakia rooted in
the distant past and escalated in the present. Smith remarks that the tragedy is
characteristic with plot development in terms of descent and amplified awareness of
suffering (2011: 25). The characters are clearly defined in terms their moral status in the
tragedy41
and the story is marked by strong sense of pathos:
Those who promise SOCIAL SECURITIES and with a smile on their face lie to troubled people in valleys
of poverty are responsible for this situation. And people, full of worries of future, fear to raise their
voice against them and keep bending to them (Mizik 2013: 4, italics added).
European Union is on side of gypsy parasites against despairing villages and towns (Naše Slovensko
2013a: 4, italics added).
The statements like these reflect the tragic aspect of the narrative. The story about
decline is dramatized to the greatest extent to generate sentiments of identification with the
suffering innocent people. The dramatization of the narrative - the conflict escalation - also
elevates the motivation to act against those who are showed to be responsible for this
suffering. According to Smith (2005) "tragedy is particularly effective in generating
sentiments of identification" (2005: 25). The people as nation constitute the object of
struggle between the hero and socially polluted forces. The object was passive in the past,
but now (at the moment of election) it has to activate itself as a single uniform agent and
raise the hero to the political function. Moreover, the country as the homeland of the people
is also the object of struggle on the narrative. The following statement illustrates the
polarization of the pure and polluted characters and the nation and county as objects of
struggle:
When I think about my native region, the first thing that comes to my mind is Slovak karst, Slovak
Paradise42
, the vast number of cultural and historical monuments or indescribably beautiful places.
However, it is also high unemployment, misery, and omnipresent gypsy problem what come to my
mind [...] I feel despair and anger when I see gypsy extremists destroying our country and the people
who has the right to live here (Kušnier 2013: 4).
The romantic frame of the narrative is created around the hero character Marián
Kotleba. He represents a hope for better tomorrow and is a bearer of the possibility of the
narrative happy ending. The romance is in contrast to tragedy an optimistic genre. In Smith's
4 1
In this regard see the chapter 4.2.
4 2
Mountain ranges in the central Slovakia.
54
(2005) words it is the genre "marked by the belief that actions can make a difference and
that change for the better is in the air. In romance the hero is motivated by high ideals and
overcomes a series of obstacles, challenges, and enemies associated with powers deemed
evil" (2005: 26). The chance for better future approaches with the conflict escalation in the
narrative. The suffering victimized Slovak nation activates - 'wakes up' - to empower its hero
Kotleba:
Nowadays a change is closer than ever before. Citizens of Banská Bystrica region have unique
opportunity to start up a process of national and spiritual renaissance. People from central Slovakia,
take the advantage of the chance! Every single vote is important in the second round! Go to vote!"
(Pospíšilová 2013: 3).
A hope for Gemer4 3
is still alive! The hope consists in independent critical thinking and responsible
decision making of each one of us. And in the election we can express like that. So let's take the
advantage of this chance! (Mizik 2013: 4).
The election is a possibility for hope and rebirth of Slovakia. The only thing that must
be done is to vote for Kotleba. Just voting can make this dream of happy ending come true.
"Romantic narratives can be highly effective in generating collective action, support for
ambitious political programs, and solidaristic collective effervescence in Durkheim's sense"
(Smith 2005: 26). This collective solidarity based on the identification with the innocent
victim from the tragic past and present form the basis of people's motivation for action. It is
a motivation to stand for a hero who can defeat the evil. In other words, it is a motivation to
support a charismatic political leader in his way to power. The Kotleba's narrative is an open
ended story. The narrative introduces possibility of either triumphal or catastrophic ending.
For this reason the motivation and emotions story generates are elevated to the maximum.
In this regard, the Internet discussions before election started to resemble a revivalist
emotional movement:
Let's go together to vote for Kotleba! (Benko 2013).
Every true citizen of Banská Bystrica self-governing region votes for Kotleba. Together for better
Slovakia! (Krajíc 2013).
You for us, we for you...! We for nation, you for nation...! (Gemer 2013).
The grassroots enthusiasm for a charismatic leader is typical according to Canovan (1999) for
populist politics. The thrilling populist story about the long-term vast decline and a great
4 3
Gemer is the area of Banská Bystrica region.
55
chance for resurrection makes the event very emotional. Canovan (1999) remarks: "this
extra emotional ingredient can turn politics into a campaign to save the country or to bring
about a great renewal" (1999: 6). The following statement illustrates the culmination of the
contrast between the innocent protagonist and antagonists. The last question the author
raises is explicit appeal on the people to stimulate their identification with the suffering
innocent protagonists:
White children are afraid of going to school, because gypsy children beat them and, I would say,
literally tyrannize and bully. The case of little Lucy4 4
who one gypsy child wanted to stone and burn to
death was not solved yet. What would you do if the gypsy child would try to burn your child to death?!
(Kušnier2013: 4).
Smith adds that particular genre of the narrative organizes the retold information
into the more coherent picture and provides it with significance (2011: 747). The romantictragic
genre of the analyzed narrative provides us with the intelligible and coherent notion of
the event of election. The romantic-tragic aspect is ascribed to the Kotleba's narrative on the
basis of several characteristics. First of all, the protagonists and antagonists of the story are
polarized in terms of their characteristics and values they represent. Secondly, the conflict is
set on the national level. Thirdly, the conception of the past depicts the long-term suffering
victim - Slovak nation and Slovak country. Lastly, the narrative shows the hero - Marián
Kotleba - who is coming to the scene by the event of election. The hero represents the
perspective on bright future and the end of long-term suffering. For very last this reason the
narrative can serve as motivation for action. Only intelligible story can motivate social actors
for action and serve as a basis for opinion-making.
14 years old Lucy was bullied by her classmates in April 2011. She was hospitalized after the attack. However,
the media does not state that the aggressors were Romany children (e.g. topky.sk 2011).
56
5. Discussion and conclusion
The conducted analysis aimed to point out the interconnectedness of the cultural and
political realm. The analytical separation of the culture in the pre-electoral discourse brought
to light the master narrative behind the event of election. Drawing on theories of populism I
identified this narrative as nationalist-populist one. I showed how the basic features of
nationalist populism are embedded in the horizon of meaning and emotions by their
immersion into the social narrative.
The analysis presented in this thesis sought answer of the question: How is the
political legitimacy of Marián Kotleba established through the cultural meanings as
discursive mechanisms? It can be concluded that establishment of Kotleba's political
legitimacy is carried out in the form of social narrative. The main elements of narrative morally
charged binary codes, plot, story line and genre - were identified in the
communication between Kotleba and his supporters. The meanings ascribed to Kotleba as
the regional chairperson are immersed in the structured master narrative. The analysis
classified the binary codes into three dimensions: socially pure and socially polluted social
actors, characteristics, and values. According to this classification protagonists and
antagonists of the narrative are determined: the decent people and Our Slovakia with
Kotleba in the lead as protagonists and the ruling elite politicians, Romany minority and
media as antagonists. In addition, the plot development was examined what revealed
another set of binaries: While the past of the nation is polluted as suffering epoch, the
perspective on future with Kotleba as the chairperson is inserted in the social-pure category.
The narrative binary codes contribute to the intelligibility and emotionality of the narrative.
Secondly, the plot is organized around the suffering of the people and blaming the elite
politicians and Romany people for this. In the narrative Kotleba is depicted as the hero who
is coming to the scene by the event of election. He is the heroic character of narrative - the
direct representative of the people who supposed to defeat the polluted forces of the
narrative. This is supposed to lead to the relief from suffering of the people. The narrative is
organized in the romantic-tragic genre. The characters are polarized, the object of struggle is
nationally framed and there is the suffering victim - Slovak nation - and the hero as a bearer
57
of possibility of happy ending. The ongoing and dramatized master narrative sets the
motivation to support Kotleba in the election.
The analysis also brought answer for the question about the connection between the
logic of the master narrative and features of nationalist populism. The analysis of the
narrative - binaries, plot and genre - brought to light the nationalist-populist features. Most
importantly, 'the people' inserted in social-pure category and 'the elite' in social-polluted
presented the basic dichotomy ushered by populist politicians - the homogenization of the
group of people and the elite politicians while the firsts are glorified and the latters
denigrated. In addition, the conception of the people in terms of their ethnicity ('white') and
nationality (Slovaks) and definition of the Romany minority in terms of 'parasites' and
'extremists' all together create the nationalist framing of the populist narrative. The
examination of the plot development brings to play other features of nationalist-populism:
celebration of the popular sovereignty, simple political solutions and, most importantly, the
personal charismatic leadership. Kotleba is depicted as the direct representative of the
suffering nation, eager to help them and capable of saving them. It was showed how the
logic of narrative can be highly contributive in explaining the nationalist-populist political
orientation. The identification of binaries storing the meanings contributed to clearer
definition of 'the people' as the target group of Kotleba's politics: our, white, decent,
innocent, ordinary, normal and dutiful Slovak citizens. The nationalistic framing of Kotleba's
politics was also explained by the logic of binaries. Lastly, the analysis of the narrative was
contributive in understanding the motivation to support Kotleba: intelligible, emotional and
meaningful narrative operating on the national level sets the motivation to support Kotleba
as the representative of purified symbols and bearer of the possibility of happy-ending.
It could be concluded that the role of culture, in terms of cultural narratives, symbols
and metaphors, is immense in politics and especially pre-electoral struggle for power. Jeffrey
Alexander (2010) writes that "meaning making is at the center of the struggle for power in
democratic societies" (2010: 275). The intelligible narrative built upon the morally charged
binaries is central manufacture of meanings and emotions. Kotleba's and supporters' logic of
argumentation is the logic that follows the universe of culturally constructed meanings. The
meanings are negotiated inside this symbolic universe and subsequently assigned to persons
58
or groups as characteristics or values they represent. The cultural meanings constitute the
core of political argumentation and communication with supporters.
Therefore the culturally constructed meanings can markedly determine electoral
outcomes and politics in general. Election campaigns are not strictly about promising
benefits to people as so as people are not just rationally calculating possible advantages and
disadvantaged of voting for this or that politicians. Pre-electoral struggles are also, and to a
great extent, about constructing and interpreting meaningful stories. These are the stories
that connect past, present and future into the intelligible whole and provide people with the
understanding of the world and their position within it. Cultural-sociological interpretation
of particular political orientation can contribute to its better understanding or estimate its
success or failure to some degree. Similarly this thesis aimed to come with deeper and more
complex understanding of the nationalist-populism of Marián Kotleba. It points out the
interconnectedness of cultural and political realm also by the combination of culturalsociological
approach and approach to nationalist populism generally theorized in political
sciences.
The analysis of the single political event illustrates the general theories on the
specific example and sheds light on the mechanisms of the political discourse. Further
sociological research can also benefit from the conducted analysis of Kotleba's victory.
Firstly, the analysis shows that cultural meanings have significance in struggles for political
power. Secondly, the similarities between the strong program in cultural sociology and
theories of populism are pointed out. Moreover the analysis implies issues for further
research such as the examination of the question of collective identity building within the
narrative. In addition, the analysis is focused exclusively on the pre-electoral discourse. The
understanding of the case of Kotleba would also benefit from the further analysis of iconic
representation of Kotleba on social networks and in the media sphere. The analysis of this
kind could reveal other cultural meanings and deepen the understanding of the analyzed
case.
The in depth analyses of cultural realm should be given a prominence especially in
present-day democratic societies where the successful struggles for power are those winning
the hearts of the most sympathizers. As it was showed, nationalist and populist discourse
can also serve as tools applied in democratic struggles for power. Moreover if we think
59
about democracy as about sovereign rule of the people, the questions about mutual
relationship between populist and democratic principles could be raised (Abts, Rummens
2007: 405). However the main difference between democracy and populism is that while
democracy stands on the notion of diverse citizens, populism obscures this diversity by
referring to the people as a homogeneous unity. This difference is related to the populist
definition of the people as an exclusivist collectivity based on the principles of ethnicity.
Democracy, on the other hand, stresses the openness and inclusion (Abts, Rummens 2007:
414-416).
Kotleba's narrative brings into play also the question of civility. Alexander (2006)
theoretically defines the binary codes of the civil society. These are the ideal-typical
categories of the social-pure and social-polluted in civil society45
. The binaries of civil and
anti-civil principles reflect the normative notion of how the democratic civil society should
work nowadays. Kotleba's narrative shows the ambiguous character in respect to
Alexander's principles of civil society.
On one hand, the binary structure of the narrative accords with some principles
defined as 'civil' by Alexander (2006), but on the other hand many 'anti-civil' principles and
meanings can by identified in the analyzed narrative. For instance, activity and autonomy as
sacred-pure civil principles (over passivity and dependence as profane-polluted anti-civil
principles) are articulated in the analyzed narrative. However, Kotleba's notion of
institutions stands on the principles of exclusivity, bounds of loyalty and personal leadership
which are defined by Alexander as anti-civil standing in opposition to civil inclusive
institutions based on contracts and administrated by impersonal office (2006: 59). What is
more, Kotleba's narrative celebrates anti-civil antagonistic relations instead of friendly civil
relations. The nationalist-populist logic is directed against Roma minority and stirs up
passionate hateful reactions appealing to the essentialist principles of inclusion46
. The
narrative accuses Roma people of being undeservingly over-privileged and blames them for
Alexander defines civil society in three dimensions: motivations, relations and institutions. He identifies
binary codes in all of these domains. It allows us to speak about civil and anti-civil motivations, relation, and
institutions (2006: 57-59). All of these are ideal types which can serve as a comparative tool to determine the
degree of 'civility' of particular political party, civic association, etc.
4 6
These are the references to 'Slovak blood' and 'brotherhood' and the appeal to the 'white people'.
60
other people's problems and inconveniences. Yascha Mounk (2014) summarizes this menace
of populism in the following statement:
Supposedly privileged ethnic minorities lag behind the majority in terms of income, life expectancy,
and a host of other social indicators, in good part because, as sociological studies have consistently
shown, they face serious discrimination in education, the workplace, and the housing market. Given
this mismatch between rhetoric and reality, if populists win greater power, they are likely to
compound existing injustices and inequalities by giving more to the discontented majority and by
taking from minorities that already have less, in both material and social terms, than they deserve
(2014).
The binary boundaries between civil and anti-civil meanings are blurred in the
nationalistic populism of Kotleba. It is because the position of nationalistic populism within
the democratic regime is still being negotiated by social actors - by politicians, supporters
and opponents. In spite of the fact that Kotleba's narrative celebrates democracy as the one
of the highest principles in nowadays societies47
the central meanings demonstrate strong
anti-civil tendencies. And for this reason the meaning-making process in politics should be
constantly monitored and reflected by social scientists. In depth analysis of language
categories can reveal anti-civil core of the seemingly noble civil-democratic discourse. As
Alexander (2003) argues political actors often "tar each other with the brush of the counterdemocratic
code while attempting to shield themselves behind the discourse of democracy"
(2003: 124-125). The ambiguous character of both democracy and populism and their
common appeal to the popular sovereignty makes it difficult to identify anti-civility in
politics. After all, as Margaret Canovan writes "...populism is a shadow cast by democracy
itself" (1999: 3).
According to Mounk (2014) we are experiencing a populist turn nowadays that stem
from the crises of national identity and general stagnation of living standards. Consideration
and reflection of the cultural realm in political discourses constitutes one way how to
analytically disentangle the populist and other anti-civil principles within the discourse of
democracy. Furthermore cultural-sociological reconstruction based on the analysis of
meanings implied in the language categories can lead us to understand these principles and
The media are polluted due to their 'anti-democratic activities' before election and supports invoke the true
democracy by supporting Kotleba as a direct candidate chosen by the people. Democratic principles such as the
freedom of speech and free election are considered to be in accordance with civil principles of 'open relations'
and 'institutions of equality' (Alexander 2006: 58-59).
61
face them eventually. Lastly, the character of democracy itself can be investigated through
reflection of various political perspectives and discourses that it gives a raise to. After all also
reflection of Kotleba's nationalist-populist narrative contributes to understanding of
complex character of Slovak democracy.
62
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69
Name index
Abts, Rummens, 19, 34, 35, 59
Alexander, 9,10,11,12,13,16, 23, 24, 25,
26, 31, 33, 48, 49, 58, 59, 60, 61
Andersen, 24
Barthes, 11, 33, 46
Bartmanski, Alexander, 26
Berger, Luckmann, 24
Canovan, 18,19, 34, 36, 38, 40, 49, 50, 55,
61
Clifford, 25
Deegan-Krause, Haughton, 19, 37
Denzin, Lincoln, 22, 23, 26
Dilthey, 11
Douglas, 11,12
Durkheim, 11,12, 55
Edles, 10, 32, 47
Freeden, 18
Frye, 14, 63
Geertz, 10,11, 24, 25, 26
Havlik, Pinkova, 17,18, 20, 34, 41, 50
Jacobs, 15
Koselleck, 24, 26, 48
Kovacs, 17
Laclau, 17, 18, 19, 34, 36, 37, 41, 46
Levi-Strauss, 10,11
Mast, 32, 47, 49
Minkenberg, Schain, 21
Mounk, 17, 36, 38, 44, 45, 60, 61
Mudde, 17, 20
Pelinka, 36, 39
Propp, 14
Smith, 14,15, 24, 52, 53, 54, 56
Smith, Riley, 14
Spillman, 10
Stanley, 17,18,19, 20, 22, 40
Taggart, 34, 49
Taylor, 16
Turner, 11
Weber, 26
Westlind, 36
Wittgenstein, 15
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