What's in a Name? Identity Politics in "Czechia": The Challenge of Identity Politics: How Can a Nation Define Itself If Its State Lacks a Concrete Geographical Name or Geopolitical Identity?

Beginning of article

The Czech Republic's name contributes to creating distorted and confused perceptions of Czech people and their culture from abroad.

Media Distortion of Identity Before we begin, the following discussion necessitates that we first differentiate between "countries" and "states." While it is possible to distance oneself from the international reputation of a government/ state, an individual's relationship to his or her country is intrinsic--the term country refers to a nation's specific identity as a unique cultural group. A country's reputation is therefore derived from how its people represent themselves abroad and how the nation is represented in foreign media.

Every single day hoards of famous individuals--especially politicians, political subjects, and political parties--loudly complain about their portrayal or image in the media. The real victim of the media is, however, the Czech Republic. The media has permanently distorted the country's identity abroad, and it has no means of defense. To make matters worse, the media's misrepresentation threatens to damage the country's moral reputation on the international stage.

Over the past seven months, the European media has spun a rather deformed and unpleasant image of the Czech Republic based on its performance at the helm of the European Union. But perhaps the greater pity, is that the media's image of the country is oft en seemingly validated and substantiated by the controversial contributions that …