Serbian History Research Articles

Globalizing the Holocaust: A Jewish “Useable Past” in Serbian Nationalism

Contrary to Anthony Smith’s view that national myth-makers derive meaning primarily from a nation’s own positive “useable past”, this article argues that the globalization and universalisation of the Jewish Holocaust has created new poles of identity for ethno-nationalists, existing outside “authentic” local conceptions of history and culture. Also contrary to Smith’s view of a positive Golden Age at the root of national mythology, I argue that negative imagery can play an equally if not more significant role in some examples of nationalism. In Serbia, viewing the self through the lens of a persecuted victim became crucial during the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. As a new “strategic site”, the Holocaust functioned as a template for re-interpreting “self” and “other”, while re-ordering history. Kosovar Albanians, Croatians and Bosnian Moslems were all targeted in this reappraisal of Serbian history.

How to Teach Serbian History Students About School Failure And Cultural Diversity

How to Teach Serbian History Students About School Failure And Cultural Diversity

The History of Serbia

The History of Serbia

Perceptions of Islamization in the Serbian national discourse

Before the period of nationalism, religious identification constituted a basis for the division of South Slavic peoples and its confines established historic borders within which particular national consciousness developed. Though none of the confessional institutions of South Slavs was strictly national, they acquired such a character through the constant struggle of religious leaderships to differentiate their flock from that of the other faith. Secular intelligentsia and political elite as chief proponents of nationalism played a very particular role in such development, adopting and employing religion and religious heritage. Therefore, religious difference is not in itself the basis of antagonism among South Slav peoples, but rather the nature and aims of national ideologies formed as parts of political culture of these peoples and their elite. An important part of such ideologies of antagonisms among all Balkan peoples is the narrative of the phenomena of religious conversions that happened in the past. In the context of religious segregation and emphasized identification of ethnic and religious identity, religious conversions evoke distrust, hate and resistance. The paper discusses the formation of mythologized consciousness about causes, course and consequences of islamicization, the most significant conversions in the Serbian history, with a special focus on the role of the Serbian historiography in the process.

Postwar Serbian Nationalism and the Limits of Invention

Serbian nationalism has rarely been the subject of theoretical analysis. For the most part, recent work on Serbian history implicitly supports the ‘modernist’ position among nationalism theorists, which holds that nationalism is a modern phenomenon that serves the interests of the politically powerful. In this article, the Serbian nationalist movement of the 1980s will be examined in light of the major theoretical approaches to nationalism (modernism, perennialism and ethno-symbolism). Using a small group of nationalist intellectuals (Dobrica Ćosi, Borislav Mihajlovi Mihiz and Mića Popović) as its subject, it concludes that the restrictive modernist approach leads to misunderstandings of the nature of modern Serbian national identity.

Folk Odysseus in History: Migration and Literature in East-Central Europe

The Serbian word seoba has several meanings: 'wandering', 'migration', 'moving to a new place'. The novel Seobe by Milos Crnjanski proves that the Serb folk Odysseus represents in the reality a 20th-century 'labyrinth existence'. Crnjanski's novel borrows its topic from the Serbian history, and it does not talk about the now universal crisis situation in the mood of the aggressive 'national epic stories' of the 20th-century. Between 1945 and 1948, the official ideology of the re-created Czechoslovakia named Slavic nations, i.e., Czechs and Slovaks, state building ones, and it aimed at eliminating the German and Hungarian ethnic minorities from the country. The fact that writing in Hungarian in Czechoslovakia was dangerous between 1945 and 1948 resulted in a rebirth of orality and the use of manuscript distribution.

Balkan identities.

Learning memory, remembering identity national memory as narrative memory - the case of Kosovo internal colonialism - nation and region in 19th-century Greece exploring memory through oral history in Turkey communal memory and Turkish Cypriot national history times past - references for the construction of local order in Albania conversions to Islam in Bulgarian historiography, fiction and film edifices of the past - war memorials and heroes in 20th-century Romania the monument in the main city square - constructing and erasing memory in contemporary Croatia nation and ancestor -reflections on Pavlos Melas and national historiography villains and symbolic pollution in the narratives of the nation - the case of Boris Sarfoff a criminal - national hero? But who else - construction of historical consciousness the case of Serbian history textbooks national memory in Romanian history - textbooks in the 1990s positivism, Romantic metaphors, institutional metaphysics - Bulgarian textbooks of literary history and the construction of national identity Greek identity - a long view encounter with modernity - modern Greek historiography in the last quarter of the 20th century the use of tradition and national identity in development debates in the Balkans.

Culture Wars: Serbian History Textbooks and the Construction of National Identity

This paper explores the development of a new form of national identity as mediated through the history curriculum in the new nation of Serbia and Montenegro. It compares the politics and ideology of creating forms of national identity in the preand post-Milosevic era. The paper illustrates how the history curriculum in Serbia and Montenegro was and remains dominated by issues focusing upon what it means to be Serbian and provides a case study example of the power of the history curriculum in creating senses of belonging

Citizens in the maelstrom of change: Individual and collective experience in Serbia in times of transformation

In analyzing any society, particularly those which, like Serbia, have undergone deep ruptures and turmoil in a short period of time, the perspective of everyday life and ordinary people's experiences is indispensable. In addition, the application of current sociological and anthropological theories of everyday life on today's Serbia, seeking to capture personalized interpretations whereby ordinary citizens make sense of all that has happened to them during the past fifteen years, can yield broader theoretical implications. For, from this perspective it is easier to identify the limited and partial nature of various theories articulated in other, stable societies. In this overview some of these theories are marked along with starting premises of the research, and key events and symbolically charged concepts of the most recent Serbian history that will be the focus of the analysis of ordinary people's narratives collected through targeted fieldwork.

Serbia under Milošević. Politics in the 1990s by Robert s> Thomas (review)

REVIEWS 573 the parts of China, Korea and Southeast Asia which Japan occupied during her imperial expansionary trajectory.There is some merit in this distinction, since Stalin'sactions in occupying the Kurils at the very end (and even after) the war were clearly a violation of the Russo-Japanese Neutrality Treaty of 13 April I94I. This position, however, ignoresthe importantsecurityvalue of the islands as a gateway to the Sea of Okhotsk, where the ballistic missile submarines of the Russian Pacific Fleet are deployed. Japan's sudden economic vulnerability,her enhanced securitylinkages to the USA and her participation in Washington's national and theatre missile defence schemes have undoubtedly diminished her capacity for successful dialogue with the Russians.This facthas surelyincreasedthe desirabilityof Russiaas a 'strategic partner'for China in the evolving securitymechanismsin Asia Pacific.Fewof these vital considerations are given adequate attention by the contributors. Most of them look upon Russia's inclusion in the economic and security machinery of the region as useful, but they don't seem to take Russia very seriously, arguing somewhat short-sightedly,that Moscow has little to offer economically or strategicallytoward the creation of such machinery for the foreseeablefuture. The essayswere writtenbefore the riseof V. V. Putinasfirst,RussianPrime Minister,and subsequentlyPresident.Indeed, most of the commentaryon the Russian economy ends in I997, when prospects seemed fairly good; that is, before the collapse of August I998 and the subsequent turnaroundin 2000. Much of the detailed analysis is, thus, at best dated, and at worst naively fixatedon unreliableofficialstatistics.Fortunately,the two Russiancommentatorsare able to set the recordstraighton a numberof these issuesand to give an alternativeperspective:for example, that the MiG-29 which Malaysia has bought and which the Malaysian contributor, K. S. Nathan, denigrates, is actuallya very good aircraft,which it certainlyis. Like the curate's egg, the book is good in parts. It offers some interesting perspectiveson how Asian scholarsview the region's securityissues and who reallycounts. Perhapsthe most universallyheldperceptionisof the continuing relevance and desirabilityof a substantialAmerican presence in the region. That is evidently something upon which Russians, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Filipinosand even Malaysiansalltend to agree, howevermuch they may vocally fulminateagainstWesterninterference.Any conceivable security architecturein the region seems to requireit. Transformation of Communist SystemsProject ROBERT F. MILLER Research School ofPacific andAsianStudies TheAustralian NationalUniversity Thomas, Robert. SerbiaUnderMilosevic.Politics in the i99os. Hurst and Company, London, I999. V+ 443 pp. Notes. Index. f 35.00; f I4.95. ONE of the firstbooks specificallydevoted to Serbian politics during the last decade, Robert Thomas' detailed overview is extremely useful to scholars interested in the nature and the longevity of the Milosevic regime. It also providesa wealth of informationon how the warsof Yugoslavsuccessionand 574 SEER, 79, 3, 2001 international peace efforts affected Serbia's domestic political scene and generates much insight into the difficulties of forging a united opposition againstthe regime in such circumstances. After four short chaptersdevoted to Serbian history, the economy, society and dissent during the Tito period and Milosevics consolidation of power in the late I 98os, the restof the book chronologicallycoversthe years stretching from Serbia'sfirstmultipartyelection in I990 to the outbreakof violence in Kosovo in spring I998. Thomas arguesthat Serbia'sdemocraticdevelopment was hampered by its longstanding ethnic, regional, historical and social divisions,which weakened state institutionsand the opposition to the regime, while strengtheningMilosevic's 'supra-political'and 'iconic' statusamong the Serbianelectorate(p. 9). He correctlynotes thatthe 'happeningofthepeople', Serbia's equivalent of the I989 revolutions in East Central Europe, was a phenomenon not only organized from above, but also the expression of Milosevic's genuine popularity as the defender of the Kosovo Serbs and national unity at the time of Yugoslavia'scollapse. In addition, he notes that the fragmentation of the political sphere took place at the same time as the 'Milo?evidrevolution' and not after the overturn of the old order, which contributedto the consolidationratherthan the demise of the Serbianregime. The book traces the progressive decline of Milosevic's popularity in the course of the I99OS and the means used to maintain his hold on power, from his 'cadrespolicy' establishingcontrolover Serbia'seconomy, institutionsand the Yugoslav army, to his various alliances with other political parties and influentialindividuals.Relying primarilyon the Serbianpress,Thomas shows the concurrentdisarrayof Serbia'smain opposition...

Publishing in Serbia

The history of Serbian publishing is inextricably tied to Serbian and Yugoslav history in general. The author discusses publishing in the territory from the beginning, concentrating on the period 1990-1999. She deals with statistics, and basic themes and problems from this period. She then compares censorship in communist Yugoslavia to that in 1990-1999. Finally, the article lists leading Serbian publishers from this recent period and their profiles.

Milošević and Marković: A Lust for Power

From the introduction: Throughout Serbia's history no leader has risen to become as powerful and celebrated as Slobodan Milosevic, or fallen as low. At the onset of the twenty-first century, he was instrumental in determining the Serb's fate, and also that of former Yugoslavia and the Balkans. And no woman throughout Serbian history (and few elsewhere) has been as influential as Milosevic's wife, Professor Mira Markovic. This book is about them, their regime, and the circumstances in which the Serbs encountered their greatest setbacks and became global pariahs. Although there have been many attempts to tell Slobodan Milosevic's story, Milosevic and Markovic is the first book to shows us the real person. Originally written in Serbo-Croatian by a Yugoslav journalist and driven underground in its native country, Milosevic and Markovic offers a first-hand account of Milosevic's life, including the recent events in Kosovo. Slavoljub Djukic sheds light on Milosevic's autocratic rule, showing how he, with his wife, Mira Markovic, has dominated Serbia's political life for the last twelve years - first as president of Serbia and later as president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). Engrossing and beautifully written, Milosevic and Markovic is both a biography and an engaging political commentary on events in Yugoslavia and Serbia over the last two decades. Avoiding the speculation and intrigue that surrounds Milosevic, Djukic provides a clear, factual commentary that shows that the results of the Milosevic/Markovic regime will be felt by the people of Yugoslavia for years to come.

‘It Takes a Serb to Know a Serb’

In this article I discuss two domains of knowledge that my Serbian informants labelled as impenetrable to Western knowledge: carousing in Gypsy bars (a practice called lumpovanje) and Serbian history. ‘This is something only Serbs can understand’ is what my friends and informants would tell me over and over again. Uncovering the realms of lived experience that inform this sense of being definitely Other, I will explore the theoretical implications of this obstinate otherness for the anthropological project.

Serbian Nationalism: Nationalism of My Own People

How can one be objective in confronting abstract nationalism without facing the nationalism of one's own people? Moreover, in the case of former Yugoslavia, to be a Serb means to face the burden of the greatest responsibility for what has happened within the country. To be a Serb, to live in Serbia nowadays, and not to be nationally obsessed, means to be accused of betraying your nation, and labelled as a 'bad' Serb. Distinctions between 'bad' and 'good' Serbs have become very important to our national mythology which is a warrior mythology, extrapolated from Serbian history, overburdened as it is with liberation wars. Through their history, Serbs have been brave soldiers, fighters for their national liberation and the liberation of their 'brother' nations of South-Slavs. They have been glorified as honest and fearless soldiers, constantly at war, suffering terrible losses, regarding themselves as the greatest victims of the 'violent cauldron' of Balkan history. Always, at some point, they come to feel 'betrayed' by their 'brother' nations during or after these wars. In truth, Serbs have certainly suffered privations in their difficult history. That, no one can deny. The current manipulation of Serbian national pride is based on tragic memory and deeply rooted fear, especially among Serbian communities in neighbouring republics. They fear becoming victims of their 'brother' nations, as has happened before in their history. Our nationalistic leaders, 'fathers of their nation', 'invented' the slogan that 'Serbs were always winning the war, but always losing the peace', in order to mobilize our people to fight for their 'national pride and historical justice'. Due to this shameless manipulation it became possible to mobilize Serbs mainly living in more or less homogeneous communities in some regions of Croatia, to start to fight for their 'national rights and liberation'. Actually, they became the first victims of the radical national policy of the Serbian leadership in Serbia. Yesterday's 'powerful national policy' became today's 'destiny', the only

History of Serbia

History of Serbia