Identity and Conflict in the Balkans

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Identity and Conflict in the Balkans

• Russian 275

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Basic information

• Instructor George Gutsche
• gutscheg_at_u.arizona.edu
• http//russian.arizona.edu/courses/balkans
• Office hours TTh 1115-1230 or by appointment
• Course listserv balkans_at_listserv.arizona.edu

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Introduction to an area of the world that is

• Complicated
• Dangerous
• Rich in tradition and history
• Linguistically and culturally diverse
• Multi-national

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Balkan Familiar Faces
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People

• Rade erbedija
• Goran Vinjic
• Slobodan Miloevic

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Special characters (for Slavic)

• zhe
• C che
• C ch(ee)
• sha
• Miloevic

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What are the Balkans?

• Mountains (Stara planina)
• Peninsula

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Defining the Balkans

• Balkan
• Balkan Mountains Stara Planina (Old Mountains)
  in Bulgaria Haemus Mountains (Latin name)
• Balkan geographic zone begins south of the Sava
  R. and Danube R. to Mediterranean, Adriatic and
  Aegean Seas (but can also include Slovenia and
  Romania)

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Mountain Ranges
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The Bigger Picture
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Balkan Countries

• Albania
• Bulgaria
• Greece
• Hungary and Turkey
• Romania (Rumania)
• Yugoslavia (Croatia, Serbia-Montenegro,
  Bosnia-Hercegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia)

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Yugoslavia Now

• Croatia
• Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Serbia (plus Kosovo, Vojvodina)-Montenegro
• Kosovo protectorate (formerly part of Serbia)
• FYROM (Republic of Macedonia)
• Slovenia

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Kosova (Kosovo) (Currently a protectorate)
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General Summary

• Balkans subject to numerous influences
• Extreme linguistic diversity
• Extreme variety in belief systems
• Rich intermix of cultures and genetics

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Key Terms

• Balkanization
• Ethnicity
• Identity
• Nationality

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Balkanization

• Result of division into small often hostile units
• Historical basis in Balkan wars 1911-13
• Primarily used to refer to regions or territories
• Pejorative

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Identity

• Set of characteristics by which something is
  recognizable or known
• Set of behavioral or physical characteristics by
  which a person is recognizable as a member of a
  particular group
• Quality (or condition) of being the same as
  something else
• Set of enduring personality traits

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Constructing identity

• Abstract notion with philosophical implications
• Construction and constructing overused and
  misleading terms
• Ordinary terms (like choosing and changing
  and developing) are more precise and more
  useful
• Identities are often assigned, with or without
  your permission or awareness

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Essential Point

• Construction talk motivated by desire to
  de-emphasize identity as a given from birth
• Construction is often preceded by social
• Descriptions are not the same as constructions
  we (and others) identify ourselves differently in
  different contexts

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Ethnicity

• Condition belonging to a particular ethnic group
• Ethnic pertaining to a subgroup within a
  social-cultural system that claims or is accorded
  special status on the basis of a set of traits.
• Traits are complex and variable, and can include
  religious, linguistic, ancestral (genetic), and
  physical characteristics

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Nationality

• Status belonging to a particular nation by
  origin, birth, or naturalization
• Status having common origins or traditions
• Status considered to constitute a nation
• National character
• Status existing as a politically autonomous
  entity

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Nationalism

• Promoted in times of stress
• Divisive encourages Us/Them thinking
• Blurs distinctions what people share and what
  divides them

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Languages of the Balkans

• Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian Slavic
• Bulgarian Slovenian Macedonian Slavic
• Albanian
• Unique
• Dacian or Illyrian (speculative)
• Rumanian (Romanian) Romance
• Greek Helenic
• Turkish Turkic
• Romany Sanskrit (Indo-Iranian)

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Alphabets

• Latin
• Cyrillic
• Greek
• Latin Plus

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Important facts

• Languages dont respect national borders
• Borders often change
• Empires leave their mark

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Kaplan

• Vivid examples of Balkan violence
• Uses significant quotes by natives
• Message something special about the Balkans?
• Is it more susceptible to violence?
• Is it more extreme in its nationalism?

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Kaplans Interests

• Tendencies toward conflict strong feelings
• Historical-cultural monuments
• Journalistic-travel accounts of the 20th century
  (West, Reed)
• Jewish experiences in the Balkans

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History Channel Film

• Tito years
• Transition death of Tito to early 90s
• Rise of Milosevic
• Slovenia and Croatia
• Bosnia Sarajevo Srebenica atrocities
• European, American indecision

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Empires in Contact and Conflict

• Pre-classical and classical antiquity
• Roman
• Byzantine Empire
• Ottoman Empire
• Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Empire