The Virtual and the Imaginary: The Role of Diasphoric New Media in the Construction of a National Identity during the Break-up of Yugoslavia

Abstract

In the conflicts of the last decade within ex-Yugoslavia, diasphoric communities have played a significant role, on the practical level of providing remittances, arms and often even fighters in the various conflicts, and on a cultural and ideological level in helping to (re)construct a national narrative amongst the various ethnic groups and in helping to spread the viewpoints of these groups into a wider international sphere. New media, particularly the Internet, video and satellite television have transformed the way diasphoric communities relate to their "homelands". These new media make possible a dramatic increase in information flows both to and from the homeland. This in turn helps to increase the fluidity of identity construction and conceptions of collective identity, among diasporas and to a lesser extent among those remaining in the homeland. This article examines the impact of these new information flows on constructions of "the other" within national narratives at a theoretical level and more generally the role of diasporas in participating in the national discourse, despite the distance between them and the homeland. At an empirical level, we focus on the use of videotape among the Croatian community in Australia and the use of the Internet by Croatian and Kosovar Albanian communities around the world.