Nacionalna država - zašto ne?
Why not a nation-state?

Summary/Abstract: This paper draws attention to certain features of the processes that shaped the Bosniac nation at the end of the twentieth century, and in particular its attitude to the notion of the state, specifically the nation-state, and to the notion of ethnicity in national identity. The emphasis is on the position of the Bosniac elite, both religious and secular, in the dissolution of Yugoslavia, and its response to the historic opportunities that this gave rise to. Fundamental among these opportunities was the establishment of a Bosniac nation-state. This presentation is in the form of a working paper, constituting the outline of the author’s current research and forthcoming book, and as such has no pretensions to setting out a final theory. Given the lack of local studies and relevant sources for lasting conclusions on the subject of research, final judggment has yet to be passed. The key words are: Bosniac elite, nation-state, Islam, Bosnia, Bosniac nationhood, and Muslim identity. The study will deal with two contemporary, compatible and parallel Bosniac social processes. The first is the encounter of the Bosnian Muslims with the opportunity to create a nation-state, and the impact of this, which remains an open question, on the nature of their national identity in the future. The second is the renaming of the nation, with the adoption of the name Bosniac instead of Muslim as the name of the nation, as part of the process of converting confessional nationalism into ethnic nationalism.

• Details
• Contents