PRIPITOMLJAVANJE, RADIKALIZACIJA ILI PREOKRET: NAZNAKE O NACIONALIZMU U SRBIJI
DOMESTICATION, RADICALIZATION OR REVERSAL: INDICATIONS ABOUT NATIONALISM IN SERBIA

Author(s): Alpar Lošonc
Subject(s): Sociology, Recent History (1900 till today), Nationalism Studies, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Post-Communist Transformation
Published by: CEDET Centar za demokratsku tranziciju
Keywords: nation building; liberal nationalism; discursive conflicts; policy towards minorities; the fragility of the state apparatus
Summary/Abstract: Discussions about the reach of nationalism are intensifying in Serbia in view of the upcoming restructuring of the political space, primarily in view of the adoption of the Constitution. The key issue for the policy towards nationalism in Serbia is the attitude towards the past, the ethics of responsibility vis-a-vis war crimes, and the attitude towards minorities. Attention must also be paid to the discursive conflicts that played a significant role in the earlier period as well. Liberal nationalism has significant strongholds, but attention must be paid to the fact that the orientation of the same name in Serbia takes on different aspects than in the world, and is more oriented towards the narrowing of rights. It is necessary to give importance to the appearance of a certain part of the church elites who finds it appropriate to articulate the building of the nation with references to anti-Western thought. The paper gives a diagnosis of the policy towards minorities, respects the steps that can be positively evaluated, but emphasizes the fragility of the results, as well as the weakness of the entire institutional apparatus of the state that could react to everyday situations. Accordingly, the guidelines are emphasized in relation to the institutional ensemble of the state, which faces the task of implementing reforms as part of the late "transition".

• Details
• Contents