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Regional Politics and Ethnic Identity: How Silesian Identity Has Become Politicized

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2020

Anna Muś Open the ORCID record for Anna Muś [Opens in a new window]
Anna Muś*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
*
*Corresponding author. Email: anna.mus@onet.eu
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Abstract

Ethnoregionalist movements across Western Europe are gaining scholarly attention. Central European states usually have limited places in those studies. Still, in Polish Upper Silesia, ethnoregionalist movements have been present since 1989 and have stable support from the inhabitants of the region. Since at least 2002, ethnoregionalists have attempted to secure political representation among the Upper Silesians. Recently registered parties have used the ethnic identity of this minority group as the main tool to gain support in political elections in the region. This article applies social science and political science perspectives to the politicization of ethnicity. These equip the researcher to answer the question: How has Silesian ethnic identity become politicized? In responding, the researcher explores the consequences of the emergence of the ethnoregionalist movement in Upper Silesia.

Keywords

ethnoregionalismregionethnic identityUpper SilesiaSilesia
Type
Article
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 49 , Issue 5 , September 2021 , pp. 926 - 948
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Association for the Study of Nationalities

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References

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