Between Patriotism and Far-Right Extremism: A Case of Youth Activism in Matica slovenská

This case study discusses a youth branch of Matica slovenská, a pro-Slovak culture organization. It is based on in-depth research of the structure of the organization and it focuses on basic characteristics of functioning of this social movement such as funding, membership base, political orientation, civic engagement, patriotic activities and also the causes of negative media presentation. Presented material pointed to a thin boundary between the perception of positive manifestations of patriotism and at the same time negative (even extremist) connotations of such manifestations in Slovak society. This duplicate perception of patriotic activities is reflected not only in polarization of opinion in society but also on the level of political, media and public communication. Thus, the article is a small probe from the scene of youth activism with an ambition to point out to such a diverse perception of patriotic organizations/activities in present-day Slovak society.