The Battle for Slovenia’s National Imaginary: Attacks on the Arts and Cultural Sphere As Tools of Democratic Backsliding

This paper analyses the cultural and ideological strategies employed by Slovenia’s 14th government, led by Janez Janša (2020–2022), to shift the national cultural sphere towards the (far) right. Under the guise of a "state of emergency" during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government adopted increasingly authoritarian measures aimed at neutralising perceived threats from left-leaning cultural and intellectual actors. These interventions included replacing the directors of major cultural institutions, defunding progressive artistic projects, and publicly attacking, devaluing, and criticising artists and curators. In parallel, the government sought to erase socialist and left-wing legacies by removing public artworks and discrediting critical cultural institutions.

Our study constructs a timeline of these measures and pivotal events, identifying key pressure points where the government attempted to take over the cultural sphere and impose a nationalist, conservative agenda. The analysis focuses on the effectiveness of these efforts and the resistance they provoked from the cultural workers, civil society, and progressive movements. By tracking the overlap between these interventions and the increasingly illiberal "state of emergency" governance, the paper highlights how the Janša government manipulated both public health and cultural crises to further its ideological aims.

Situating this case within the broader trend of far-right cultural strategies across Europe, especially in Central Europe, the paper demonstrates how Janša’s government sought to reshape Slovenia’s national imaginary not just through political power, but by redefining the cultural symbols, narratives, and institutions. It further examines how these tactics mirror the far right’s increasing focus on culture as a battlefield for ideological dominance, offering insights into the potential for resistance and counteraction.