Seeing each other

Abstract

The article examines the role of the Orientalist and Balkanist discourse in the Former Yugoslavia with a particular focus on Albanians. Western Orientalist and Balkanist stereotypes in the Yugoslavia are examined arguing that the Orientalism and Balkanism of peoples living in the Yugoslavia was and is viewed differently from Western standards and by the peoples living in the Yugoslavia in the way how they perceive each other. In addition, this article analyzes the perceptions of Albanians living in the Yugoslavia, both in the sense of how they defined themselves and how they were viewed by the South Slavic majority. Methodologically, the article relies on three seminal works Edward Said’s “Orientalism”, Milica Bakic-Hayden’s theories on “nesting Orientalisms” in the Balkans, and Maria Todorova’s analysis of the external practices of representation of the Balkans. It is argued that these authors provide a useful theoretical framework for exploring the distribution of the Orientalist and Balkanist discourses in Yugoslavia.