The Narcissism of Minor Differences in the Context of Post-Imperial Macedonian Neighbouring
The Narcissism of Minor Differences in the Context of Post-Imperial Macedonian Neighbouring

Summary/Abstract: The conflicting relations among neighbouring nations in the Balkans may very accurately be explained by S. Freud’s theory of the Narcissism of Minor Differences. Related identities among nations and the bordering zones between countries have always been and continue to be a generator of racial, national, religious and cultural tensions. Whenever the discourse of identities is radicalized, cultural and political hegemony comes to life: identities are ranked according to worth; borders are changed according to national identity; methods of physical and metaphysical violence are used; shared places of memory are appropriated, and those not shared are negated. Perception is in crisis and, as a result, promotes a kind of conflictual mutual misrecognition. This text aims to demystify such installations of hegemony in the (North) Macedonian neighbouring region, and to articulate some principles of a post-hegemonistic paradigm.

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