Andrej Gogora ed. 
- Jaroslava Panáková ed.
- Jaroslava Panáková ed. Understanding Slovakia: Contemporary Approaches in Local Anthropology
Abstract
This publication represents the first instalment in the series Challenges and Directions in Slovak Ethnology and Anthropology. The book offers a comprehensive and theoretically engaged examination of contemporary issues in Slovakia through the lens of local anthropology. It brings together leading Slovak ethnologists and anthropologists to explore themes such as political polarisation, migration, religious devotion, and methodological innovation.
The volume is divided into two sections. The first focuses on contemporary challenges, analysing key sociopolitical developments, including the assassination attempt on Slovakia’s Prime Minister, the housing crisis for Ukrainian refugees, and the evolving role of Marian devotion. The second section introduces emerging methodologies, highlighting new approaches in ethnographic practice, such as sensory ethnography in environmental anthropology and the integration of artificial intelligence into archival research.
Rooted in reflexive anthropology, the book engages with global academic debates while addressing the local realities of ethnographic practice in Slovakia. It critically reassesses the role of home anthropology, challenges the constraints of disciplinary traditions, and advocates for methodological pluralism. The volume is an essential contribution to the field, relevant to scholars of Central and Eastern European anthropology, ethnology, and cultural studies.
This open-access publication is a valuable resource for academics, students, and professionals in social sciences, fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue on Slovakia’s shifting sociocultural landscape.
Content
Integrating Sensory Methodologies in Environmental Anthropology, strany: 156-195 Full text
Conclusion, strany: 228-230 Full text
Information
Publisher: Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
Book type: edited book
Edition: 1.
Edition year: 2024
Edition place: Bratislava
Pages: 230
Language: English
Keywords:
home anthropology, societal challenges, innovative methodologies, reflexivity, Slovakia
ISBN 978-80-69127-00-5 (online)
Public license:
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0
How to cite
ISO 690:
Gogora, A. - Panáková, J. ed.: Understanding Slovakia: Contemporary Approaches in Local Anthropology. 1 vyd. Bratislava : Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. 2024. pp. 230. ISBN 978-80-69127-00-5. Dostupné na: https://doi.org/10.31577/2024.9788069127005
APA:
Gogora, A., Panáková, J. ed(2024). Understanding Slovakia: Contemporary Approaches in Local Anthropology. Bratislava : Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. ISBN 978-80-69127-00-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/2024.9788069127005
Chapter details
In: Understanding Slovakia: Contemporary Approaches in Local Anthropology
Martina Wilsch 
- Miroslava Hlinčíková
- Miroslava Hlinčíková Housing as a Critical Precondition for Stability: Ukrainian Refugees in Slovakia
The fullscale invasion of Russia into Ukraine has resulted in over 120,000 displaced Ukrainians, predominantly children, women, and older adults, seeking temporary protection in Slovakia. Since the onset of this humanitarian crisis, securing adequate housing has emerged as a critical challenge for Ukrainians within Slovakia. Slovakia adopted various strategies in response to the urgent needs following February 2022. At f irst, these included adhoc solutions like sharing private accommodation, providing collective lodging options through hotels and hostels, and introducing a supportive housing subsidy to help accommodate displaced Ukrainians and enable property owners to rent vacant spaces. However, these measures have neither fully resolved the problem of poor access to housing and marginalisation of the refugees nor addressed the vulnerability of refugees stemming from the temporariness associ ated with the legal contexts of temporary protection status. Moreover, the housing allowance for Ukrainians is still uncertain and subject to (continuous) change. Even though the Housing Policy of the Slovak Republic until 2030 includes foreigners and migrants among disadvantaged groups in the housing market, foreigners (including Ukrainian refugees) are generally excluded from public (regulated) rental housing. Such unequal access to public housing connected with an unaffordable private market can lead Ukrainian refugees to unstable, precarious housing conditions and affect their social integration, community ties, and personal agency. Drawing from theoretical frameworks and concepts in the anthropology of home, affordable housing and refugee studies, this chapter reflects on housing by examining how displaced individuals and communities navigate complex social, economic, and political landscapes to secure housing and a sense of belonging. Based on ongoing ethnographic research on the implications of care in Ukrainian refugee families in Slovakia, conducted between February 2024 and August 2024 in Bratislava, this chap ter explores the effects of temporariness and the implications of housing on the life trajectories of Ukrainian refugees. The authors argue that the state, when categorizing who deserves supported housing, acts rigidly by defining vulnerability within strict boundaries. It neither bases regulations on data about potentially vulnerable groups among refugees nor allows for individual consideration of an applicant's vulnerability within the new housing allowance regulation, thereby further exacerbating social vulnerability, insecurity, and the sense of temporariness in a liminal situation.
Information
Pages: 58 - 95
Language: English
Edition year: 2024
Keywords:
Ukrainian refugees,
housing,
housing subsidy,
temporality,
Slovakia,
housing challenges
in displacement
Public license:
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0
How to cite
ISO 690:
Wilsch, M. - Hlinčíková, M.: 2024. Housing as a Critical Precondition for Stability: Ukrainian Refugees in Slovakia. In: Understanding Slovakia: Contemporary Approaches in Local Anthropology. 1. vyd. Bratislava : Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, pp.58-95. ISBN 978-80-69127-00-5. Dostupné na: https://doi.org/10.31577/2024.9788069127005.58-95
APA:
Wilsch, M., Hlinčíková, M.. (2024). Housing as a Critical Precondition for Stability: Ukrainian Refugees in Slovakia. Understanding Slovakia: Contemporary Approaches in Local Anthropology. Bratislava : Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, 58-95. ISBN 978-80-69127-00-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/2024.9788069127005.58-95