Mitteilungsblatt des Instituts für soziale Bewegungen Heft 33
Rolf Wörsdörfer: Soziale Bewegungen, Politische Linke und Nationale Frage der Slowenen (1848-1991)
The author scrutinizes the relations between social movements and the national question as
they developed in the Slovene-speaking regions during a period of 150 years, starting with
the revolution of 1848 and ending with the declaration of independence in 1991. The geographical
framework being rather narrow, a perspective of longue durée has been chosen. The
contacts between the movements within the society, the political programs and the cultural
practice on the one hand and the search for a national identity and an international role on
the other are investigated. An attempt is made to explain why the idea of an independent state
– despite the growing integration in the European Union – has achieved such a strong consensus
in the Slovene society, invoking some of the political programs which had mobilized a
large part of the population during the last two centuries.