Perceptions of Slovak politicians and their discursive reification at the celebrations of the Slovak National uprising in 2016

Abstract

The goal of the following article is to provide an interpretation of the 72nd anniversary celebration of the Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica (Slovakia). Our paper stands as a dramaturgical and discursive analysis of this occasion. More specifically, our effort is focused on two main lines of interpretation. The first line of interpretation is called the "organizational line". In this branch of argumentation, we attempt to present the results of a complex dramaturgical analysis of this occasion and also try to provide an example and characteristics of strategies and practices that can be utilized by state apparatuses to create their perception as the guarantor of security of the event’s observers. In the second strain (called the "production of discourse"), we attempt at analyzing the processes of (re)production of political discourse related to this public occasion and the Slovak National Uprising. In this strain, we also try to identify the main discourse that was produced or reinforced during the celebration. The main finding of our paper is based on the fact that public ceremonies can fulfill the role of medium, which in turn serves to spread the current political discourse, adoration of actual societal normative order, and the positive portrayal of state apparatuses. Our article can thus be viewed as a contribution to the debate concerning the issues of political discourse reproduction from the public's perspective.