Strategies of Integration/Distancing in the Context of Czech-Slovak Relations, the Case of Slovak Students in Prague

The current Czech-Slovak relations can be defined as being between past and future. There is both continuity as a consequence of the once common history and discontinuity as people have lived in different states. The interest of this paper of Marek Canek is to understand the phenomenon of integration/distancing of Slovak students in the new context of Czech-Slovak relations. The question of closeness and/or distancing of Czechs and Slovaks following the separation of the two states is at stake. The changes following the split of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992 and the resulting unclear contours of today´s state of Czech-Slovak relations are analysed taking the situation of Slovaks coming to study at university in the Czech Republic and their integration in to Czech society.

Marek Canek is the Migration Online coordinator at the Multicultural Center Prague. He can be contacted at mise(AT)mkc.cz