ETHNIC IDENTITY, ETHNO-NATIONALISM AND GLOBALIZATION (THE CASE OF FORMER YUGOSLAVIA)
ETHNIC IDENTITY, ETHNO-NATIONALISM AND GLOBALIZATION (THE CASE OF FORMER YUGOSLAVIA)

Summary/Abstract: Socialism which in many elements represented a totalitarian political system, based on the supreme authority of the party, relying on crude collectivism, tried to erase all the differences among social groups. The two primary sources of identity: nation and religion, which were suppressed during the socialism, rose to the surface during the period of transition. Marxist ideology had a generally negative attitude towards religion, which led to weakening the religious identity among the population of former Yugoslavia. On the other hand, the idea of “brotherhood and unity”, and the creation of a “Yugoslav nation” (during the 1971 Census, the citizens of Yugoslavia were allowed to declare themselves as Yugoslavs) obstructed to a great extent the development of the ethnic identity as well. The collapse of socialism was followed by a crisis of identity among the population which lived in the territory of former Yugoslavia. Different ethnic groups felt a need for an identity which will distinguish them from others. The search for an identity raises the following questions: Who am I? Where do I come from? Who I belong to? and the like. In response to these questions, the individual seeks to find out what are his/her specific features and what is it that differentiates him/her from the others. Identity is closely connected with the feeling of security, trust and belonging to a particular group. But the efforts to “win” and keep this identity impel people in certain situations to act irrationally and sometimes violently.

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