The main aim of the article is to describe and interpret the national aspirations of the part of Kashubian leaders. The discussions concerning the ethnic character of the community have been taking place for the last three decades. Different voices could be heard, among which there is one claiming that the Kashubs are a separate nation. In my paper, I focus on three issues. First of all, I analyze how a nation is conceptualized by them, generally. Secondly, I show how they are talking about their group of belonging, what vision of their own nation they share, how they define criteria for membership and how they construct symbolic boundaries. Thirdly, I concentrate on the process which can be named as the mechanics of construction of a nation. This concept well described in sociological and anthropological literature (i.a. A.D. Smith, R. Brubaker, C. Calhoun, T.H.Eriksen. E. Gellner, B. Anderson), still evokes some questions, especially if it is applied to rather new phenomena, as the Kashubian case. At the end, I will deliberate whether the concept of nationalism or the concept of identity politics better explains current ethnic/national processes, especially in the discussed group. The analysis of this case enable not only to show the example of national process taking place in this part of Europe, but also to formulate some general conclusions concerning ethnicity nowadays. An empirical material which will be the base of this paper comes from my field work which I have been conducting since 2008.
