Czech Militias: Motivations for Walking to the Edge

A primary objective of this thesis is to identify, understand and explain motivations that lead individuals to join the National Militia. National Militia (Národní Domobrana) is a Czech paramilitary organisation that emerged in 2015 as a reaction to migration crisis and growing fear of "Islamisation". Shortly after its establishment, in July 2016, the organisation claimed to have over 2,500 members and began to regularly organise border patrols, military-like drills, but also political manifestations, openly criticising Czech foreign and domestic policies. Utilizing ethnographic methods of inquiry, the researcher conducted 11 semi-structured interviews with members of National Militia. In the subsequent analysis, the research identifies a set of push and pull factors as being most influential in individual's decision-making process, eventually being completed by a personal factor. Secondary findings identify also elementary demographical data, shared personality traits and militiamen mindset. From academical point of view, this study provides the reader with foundational data, necessary for further research, as the phenomenon is heavily understudied in Czech context. The specific contribution of the research resides not only in identifying the motivations, but also in offering the explanation for..