National Identity in Poland, Russia, Germany : Discourse Analysis of New Year's Addresses by the Presidents of Poland, Russia, Germany
Abstract
The study describes images of the nation and country conveyed by heads of state of Poland, Germany and Russia in their New Year's speeches. We subjected the New Year's speeches of Presidents Bronisław Komorowski and Andrzej Duda for Poland (2011-2020), Joachim Gauck and Frank-Walter Steinmeier for Germany (2015-2020) and Vladimir Putin for Russia (2014-2021) to a linguistic discourse analysis.
The analysis allowed for the formulation of the Polish, German and Russian images of one's own nation and country - the understanding of their own national identity. Various aspects of national identity are differentiated in the specialist literature - an ethnic, a cultural, and a political-civic aspect of national identity.
These aspects are clearly present in the presidential images of their nation and country. The image of the German national identity is based - in addition to some ethno-cultural aspects - above all on values and basic attitudes that are ascribed to the civic concept of nationality.
Structurally, the speeches convey the image of an open society, in which there is a high level of self-confidence in the abilities of the community, in which solidarity is a core value. The image of the Polish nation and country includes a mixture of ethnocultural and civic aspects of national identity.
Structurally, Polish society is presented as a rather closed society that defines itself primarily through its own tradition and history, through its own cultural heritage. Both German and Polish speeches convey an understanding of national identity that is based on democratic, constitutional and liberal values.
The Russian national self-image, on the other hand, is based on values and basic attitudes that are attributed to the ethnic concept of national identity. Core values are Russia, homeland, fatherland, family, tradition, honor, dignity.
Democratic values are completely absent from this concept. Structurally, the image of the Russian nation is that of a closed society dominated by patriotic, pro-nation values.
With regard to the function of national self-images, the study comes to the conclusion that they primarily have identity-forming and orientation functions and thus stabilize the social community. They form the backbone of a society's worldview, they formulate the core of what makes up the social community.