Bílí, ale ne tak docela

Where does illiberalism, strong racism and Islamophobia, homophobia and a hardened misunderstanding of the effects of colonialism come from in Central Europe? Conversely, how did discriminatory and racist attitudes towards people from Central and Eastern Europe develop in the West? How are these questions related? On our journey through the traces of Central European illiberalism, we meet not only Viktor Orbán, Václav Klaus, Miloš Zeman and the Polish PiS, but also Dracula, James Bond, Mozart, the horror film Slunovrat or the scandals of Czech football.

Central European illiberalism can be understood as a misguided reaction to the devastating effects of global neoliberalism that marked the brutal transition of post-communist countries to capitalism in the 1990s. This period also saw the birth of rejectionist attitudes towards 'Eastern Europeans', which constitute a specific form of racism. The book also explores the links between racism against Central Europeans and racism of Central Europeans themselves: white, but not quite. 

Czech edition