Publication Details
Štúr and Havlíček: Two Views on Slavism (On the Comparison of Political Concepts of Nation)
Abstract
The paper offers a comparison of two political concepts of nation: those of Havlíček and Štúr. Whereas Havlíček emphasises the national element (on the background of the collaboration of equal Slavic nations, in Štúr there still prevails the dialectic relation between the Slavic and the Slovak elements, between tribalism (nationality) and the Slavic (spiritual) unity of higher level. They both were concerned in the future of their own nation and in the mutuality of Slavic nations. But whereas Havlíček accepted the realistic pragmatic position of austroslavism, Štúr ended in mesianistic panslavism based on uncritical admiration for Slavs and Russians. Nevertheless, they both tried to defend the identity and the future of their own national communities on the background of broader Slavic solidarity and collaboration.