Post-Imperial and Post-Socialist Legacies in Today’s Populisms in Central and Eastern Europe

Populism has become a supra-national phenomenon leading researchers to re-evaluate the positioning of national societies and regions today. The varieties of populism that can be observed in Central and Eastern Europe tend to re-establish societies with a strong emphasis on national identity and sovereignty. References to historical predecessors of the post-imperial time - who opposed to foreign infiltration into the respective nations – are made by political leaders to reconstruct the national myths and identities that emerged in the interwar period. The conference addresses to what extent populist parties and movements reinterpret historical peculiarities to restore national pride and give a new sense of direction. What influences did the different experiences of the imperial age, the collapse of the empires or the legacies of socialism and transformation after 1989 have on the various forms of populism of today?

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