Das „Schweigen der Lämmer“ und andere Ver(w)irrungen in den 1990er Jahren
The “Silence of the Lambs” and Other Aberrations and Confusions

Summary/Abstract: Abstract. The author focuses on the following paradox: while on the one hand there was an urgent need for expertise to explain the events in Yugoslavia, on the other hand the institutionalized knowledge of Yugoslavia was actually reduced. As a result the German public was left with the opinions of self-proclaimed Yugoslavia experts in the media. In general, a relevant part of the scientific community shared the conviction regarding the end of nations and the nation-state and claimed that they were merely discursive constructions. But at the same time, it was assumed that in Yugoslavia it was primarily national collectives that fought each other. Finally, consciousness about nations as “imagined communities” did not lead to a better understanding of the violence. On the contrary, the author argues that after organizational foundations for research were cut, critiques of the essentialist concepts that were used to explain the events became rare.

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