This volume compares different regional perspectives on the national and democracy-building
aims of individual states. It confronts discourses about national states to regional
perspectives on the past as well as the current political and social landscape. Why are we
observing calls for national identity right now? What are the roots of this development? How
can a Central European identity be shaped when national perspectives are prevalent? The book's
first part analyses social and political processes that shaped nation-states in the Central
European region and shows divergent trends of individual states when it comes to defining a
regional approach of the Visegrád Group (Poland Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary = V4). The
second part focuses on key personalities of the 20th century history of individual V4 countries
in the light of their perception in the neighbouring states and how they shaped national states
as well as identities after the end of World War II. Similar aims and approaches implemented by
individual countries often led to anything but raising regional understanding. The book's third
part reflects upon activities of various initiatives aiming to approach this challenge from the
perspective of civil society and Central Europe's young generation. The collection brings
together leading historians of Central Europe from the V4 countries. It also offers external
perspectives on historical developments in Central Europe from the perspective of the 21st
century and on political cooperation as well as its roots. Lastly it includes practitioners of
Central European cooperation from both academia and civil society and their reflection on
their countries' political cooperation after 1989.
