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Is there a concept of the enemy? To what discursive sphere would it belong? Or, if there is no concept of the enemy, what are the factors that could have prevented its articulation? Following the reflections of Carl Schmitt and Jacques Derrida on the theologico-political, and reading canonical texts from the Western philosophical, political, and religious traditions, the author seeks to account for the absence of a history of the enemy.The question of the enemy emerges in this book as contingent on the way Europe has related to both Jew and Arab as concrete enemies. Moreover, the author provocatively argues that the Jew and the Arab constitute the condition of religion and politics. Among the many strengths of the book is the timeliness of its profound study of contemporary actuality: the volume provides a basis for a philosophical understanding of the forces at work that produced and kindled current conflicts in Europe, the U.S., and the Middle East.
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I am very pleased that this collection of my papers, edited by Obrad Savic, is appearing in Belgrade. Work of this kind positively calls out for translation and publication in a new context. I hope that the fact that I come at familiar questions from an unfamiliar angle might be helpful to some readers. And even more, I hope that the reactions to and criticisms of this highly partial work will eventually help me to think about these matters more effectively. I think of this publication as one move in an ongoing exchange, which I hope we will one day be able to continue through meetings and other publications. I am of course aware of the difficult times and struggles which Serbian society is now going through, and I know that the experience of those who are working there for democracy and human rights, however dismaying to them, will have something to say to all of us. (Charles Taylor, Introduction)
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October 2000 political changeover did not produce the fundamental break with Milosevic's policy. There are numerous examples thereof, notably as regards Republika Srpska, Kosovo and Montenegro. Insistence on that orientation in the face of factual defeat had a negative impact on status of inter-ethnic relations in Serbia proper. National policy aiming at creating an ethnically pure Serb state ended with a catastrophic balance: hundreds of thousands of dead, several million displaced persons and refugees. In the past decade minorities, notably Croats (during the war in Croatia), Bosniaks (during the war in B&H) and Albanians (during the whole decade) bore the brunt of "ethnic-cleansing" policy. By extension, relations between the majority people and some minorities were exacerbated. In the meantime minorities have radicalised their stands and are waiting for resolution of their problems by dint of international community brokerage. Most conspicuous example of the aforementioned was South Serbia, in which the danger of conflict spill-over was great for a while. But thanks to NATO and other international organisations actions and efforts tension has eased and cooperation and revival of economy have been initiated owing to enormous political and financial support of the West. Serbia has entered the period of facing up to difficult and long-term consequences of nationalistic and war policy of the former regime. The entire society has been devastated, and institutions of system destroyed. Long wars, international isolation and bombardment campaign have impacted the general social mood, which is marked by high intolerance, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and emergence of neo-Nazi groups. This is all due to the political vacuum and absence of vision of Serbia's future. Such a general atmosphere affects national minorities, who feel increasingly threatened. The last census, according to unofficial information, indicates that Serbia remains a markedly multi-ethnic country. This may be explained by massive emigration or brain-drain of young and educated Serbs. About 400,000 refugees from Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, contrary to some expectations, have not to a larger extent changed the demographic structure of the country. Despite emigration of minorities, their percentage remained the same, in view of de-assimilation of Vlahs and Romany (they stopped identifying with Serbs). This means that the minority issue would remain the hot issue, notably if the nationalistic block continues to persist on realisation of ethnically pure state. Some ethnic communities have been territorially homogenised, hence some of them, in some areas constitute the majority population. Some national minorities, notably Albanians, Bulgarians, Croats, Hungarians, Bosniaks/Muslims, and Romanians inhabit border areas. Thus their territorial homogenisation is a complex political fact. Despite current authorities efforts to fine-tune national minorities-related domestic legislation to the European standards, situation in that regard is slowly changing because of badly impaired inter-ethnic relations in the last decade. Ethnic distance had been increased, but as of late it started dwindling, but not everywhere and not with respect to all minorities.
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Pred vama su tekstovi koje je Vladimir Gligorov napisao za Peščanik, Blic, NIN, Helsinšku povelju, Ekonomist, Politiku, Danas, časopis Banka i Cord Magazine. Tekstovi su nastali između dva septembra, 2006. i 2010. godine. Na kraju knjige je izbor od devet eseja prevedenih na odličan British engleski, ljubaznošću The Bosnian Institute iz Londona i našeg prevodioca Ivice Pavlovića iz Novoga Sada. Naslov knjige je preuzet iz teksta Talog, napisanog u aprilu 2009, u kojem se analizira koliko rasizma i mržnje prema Albancima staje u jednu rečenicu Dobrice Ćosića.Ovo je knjiga sa poukom. Ona dokazuje da su ekonomija i politika povezane. Da društvo obilja naseljavaju slobodni ljudi. Najzabavniji deo su citati kojima autor počinje neke od tekstova. Tajno središte knjige je u eseju Identitet. Učite i uživajte: It is the thought, the smile, and the sound of the piano that matter.
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Sense of nationality continues to be extremely powerful, and in today's globalized world, is getting even stronger. At first glance, the most obvious sign of the nation's community are language and origin, but too many nations seem to have no common ancestry, or even using only one language. Moreover, the most violent clashes burst out between people, professing the same religion and belonging more or less to the same culture. What makes most people to anticipate their national affiliations as an integral element of his/her own "I", and to invent their own past to find "worthy" place for their community? What can cause an ethno-national community or at least its elite to deny their relationship with another nation and to claim themselves as belonging to a completely different community, deliberately ignoring the "uncomfortable" facts? The purpose of this book is to make a critical review of some deep-rooted cliches and generally accepted axioms. The Bulgarian, Balkan and Slavic national passions are considered in the context of ethnogenesis and the formation of European nations and the world.
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The purpose of this research was to identify common and distinct factors of resilience or vulnerability to violent extremism in Bosnian communities as well as the influence of key actors on those factors. Cantons selected as case studies had the highest number of parajamaats and foreign fighter departures, such as Sarajevo Canton (SC) and Zenica-Doboj Canton (ZDC), or had no parajamaats or departures, such as Bosnian-Podrinje Canton (BPC). The research sought to answer three main questions: 1) What are key factors of community resilience or vulnerability, and what factors are linked to the development of violent extremist beliefs by individuals and groups and the choice to join foreign violent extremist groups? 2) Which key actors influence community vulnerability or resilience to violent extremism, and how do they shape such dynamics? 3) What is the impact of existing PVE programmes and initiatives in BiH on factors of community vulnerability or resilience to violent extremism? Researchers also wanted to determine: What are the primary entry points for PVE programming and response in BiH? And what crossover exists between PVE activities and peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts in BiH? This research identified several factors and actors that contribute to the degree to which certain communities in BiH have been affected or unaffected by radicalisation. The history of the 1992–1995 war has especially played a decisive role in shaping post-conflict radicalisation processes. This is true both in terms of how wartime actors and activities sowed the seeds of the Salafist movement in BiH and how wartime networks in certain communities increased the likelihood of investment by specific foreign actors in the post-war period. While researchers found that all these communities share some characteristics, including a lack of trust in institutions and a sense of uncertainty about the future, the main differences between affected and unaffected communities are linked to the war.
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This study is based on long-term in-depth research in the south-east of Kosovo (part of a broader area known as the Kosovsko Pomoravlje or Morava river basin), in the areas of the Gornja (Upper) and Donja (Lower) Morava (in the town of Gnjilane – the regional centre, and in the surrounding villages of Šilovo, Gornji Livoč, Gornje Kusce, Parteš and Pasjane; in the township of Vitina and the surrounding villages of Vrbovac, Grnčar, Binač, Mogila and Klokot; and also in the villages of Letnica and Draganac because of their religious significance). I also conducted research among displaced people from this region in few towns in Serbia: Smederevo, Vranje and Vranjska Banja. The research was carried out between 2003 and 2006, but I remained in contact with some of the interlocutors and continued to keep track of community dynamics within the region for a number of years subsequently. The fieldwork was conceived as multi-sited (Marcus 1995), because it was about a migratory situation. The terrain was defined as a network of localities (Hannerz 2003a; Hannerz 2003b). The aim of the research was to study the relationship between ethnicity and other forms of identification (religious, regional, local, gender) of the Serbian community of south-east Kosovo in a profoundly changed post-war situation following the establishment of the international administration in Kosovo, in 1999. My intention was to make an empirical and analytical contribution to our understanding of the complexity of social interaction from different perspectives “from below”, in a specific frontier and post-conflict region such as Kosovo. In the last decades of the 20th century, the identities of Kosovo became homogenized and acquired fixed boundaries, ethnic identification becoming more relevant than other forms of belong ing. Ethnic identity, as shown in numerous studies, gains in importance in unclear situations, in periods of change and crisis, when conditions are in place for the experience of threatened boundaries (Eriksen 2002: 68, 99). Kosovo is a prime example of how political and other interest groups construct and mobilise, direct and exploit ethnic identities. Since 1999, Kosovo has been inhabited almost exclusively by Albanians. The Serbs are a minority, ghettoized into small enclaves and rural environments. Many other ethnic, religious and/or linguistic groups have been displaced or assimilated. War provokes great social disruption and change; a constituent element of this is migration. The experience of war and forced migration of one part of the community changes the ways of both self-identification and the identification of the other, thus re-defining intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic relations and boundaries. As much research indicates, armed conflict is preceded by processes of homogenization within communities, the strengthening of boundaries and the assimilation of various types of identification into the ethnic. In a post-war context, with radical changes in the ethnic and social landscape, processes of articulation and re-articulation of identity have opened up in the Serbian community, rendering problematic its differing aspects. This research aims to extend our understanding of such processes. The study is divided into seven chapters. The first two establish the theoretical, methodological and analytical framework of the research. The third chapter, “Kosovo – a frontier region” aims to place the researched community in context. Processes of identification in frontier areas are specific in several respects. The results of many studies show that in the frontier and peripheral areas, group boundaries are less well-defined and more fluid, and identities – not only ethnic, but religious and others – are undetermined, situational, ambivalent and multiple (in contrast to those in central areas) (Duijzings 2000: 13, 24; Wilson, Donnan 1998: 13). In these areas, changing identity and/or recourse to various forms of mimicry may be the only way to survive in certain political and social circumstances. Kosovo is a paradigm of these processes and solutions. This chapter also deals with the history of Kosovo, paying particular attention to the period of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the escalation of the conflict and the introduction of an international administration. Special attention is paid to the connection of the Serbian Orthodox Church with Kosovo. Next, the basic characteristics of the community are outlined: dense social network, the meaning and importance of internal boundaries, linguistic practice, etc. The fourth chapter, “Living in a post-war region” examines everyday life, family and gender relations, identity discourse on traditional female costume and wedding. This chapter deepens the analysis of the connection between ethnic and religious identification of the researched community (hybrid cultural practice, particularly in the sphere of religion, the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the post-conflict period, pronounced traditionalism, etc.). The Serbian Orthodox Church has great influence as the only Serbian institution that remained in Kosovo after the withdrawal of the Yugoslav and Serbian military and police in June 1999. For the Serbian community in Kosovo, the Church has much greater significance than simply as a religious institution; it is seen as the only institution that did not abandon the community in hard times. The members of the Serbian community of south-east Kosovo primarily thematize ethnicity with religious rituals and markings. Religious and ethnic identification become blended in such a way that the religious is in function of the ethnic. Finally, this chapter gives a detailed analysis of the paroxysm in the ethnisization of reality. The next chapter is devoted to intra-ethnic relations and boundaries. Even though “externally” and/or from the “top down”, the Serbian community of Kosovo is defined as homogenous, its members within their own community, identify sub-group distinctions which cause tension. In the post-war context of evident ethnic homogenization, solidification and boundary closure, intra-ethnic categorization and the accompanying tensions it remain current and, in relation between Kosovo Serbs and Serbs from Serbia, gain new dimensions. For this reason, it is necessary to take a flexible approach to ethnicity which neither assumes a priori intra-ethnic homogeneity nor inter-ethnic heterogeneity (Talai 1986: 252, 266). Inter-group perceptions between the old inhabitants and the colonists are also addressed in this chapter as well as their implications. Then the analysis of the external definition – categorization of the so-called ‘Serbian Gypsies’ ensures (the term ‘Serbian Gypsies’ [Srpski Cigani] is used tentatively, since it is an exonym) and the long road this group have traveled from inter-ethnic towards intraethnic other (Zlatanović 2017). In the light of the post-war migrations, attention is paid to discourse and practice in relations between the displaced people of Kosovo and the population in Serbia. The sixth chapter explores inter-ethnic relations and boundaries. First, attention is given to the discursive construction of the Kosovo Croats are defined in discourse, and the over-coming of religious boundaries. Next, the focus is on the most important, most complex and most ambivalent other – the Albanians (analysis of the basic characteristics of the discourse on the Albanians, the problem of naming, overcoming of boundaries – through cooperation, friendship, religion, and insight into the consistency of boundaries – mixed marriages were almost unheard of). The relations between members of the Serbian and Albanian communities are also considered beyond ethnicity, since there are many shared elements of identification that connect them. The final chapter offers some concluding remarks on the relation between ethnicity and other forms of collective identification of researched community.
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Although each of these stories relates to different experiences and misfortunes, the stories of Serb refugees from Dalmatia are not very different from the destiny of the Serb population, who were forced to leave their homes during the last war. New environment and people gave them just enough to stop fearing for their lives. But as the time passed, the feeling of not belonging to the new environment would not leave them. The feeling of longing for their ancestral homes and a piece of land they could call their own with certainty kept attracting them towards a new beginning.
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Hate speech in right wing media, angry shouting at stadiums and hate graffiti in the streets, public gatherings of Ustasha supporters as well as discriminatory and revisionist statements by senior state officials, became a part of political reality in Croatia in 2016. What is truly wor¬rying for the security of certain individuals and groups, and especially for representatives and members of the Serb community, is that the number of verbal and physical attacks against them rose last year and that hatred against Serbs and other individuals and groups of liberal and leftist orientation became more intense.
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This book comes from a large research endeavour of the European Union’s 6th Framework Programme, called ‘Microcon’, standing for the micro-foundations of violent conflict. In its entirety, Microcon consists of 28 component projects undertaken by 22 research centres across Europe, under the coordination of Sussex University. The Microcon website (www.microconflict.eu) gives a full account of participants, objectives and results. The project runs from 2007 to 2011.This book addresses the greatest source of societal tensions and violent conflict in contemporary Europe, involving people from minority groups of Muslim culture. Six country case studies – on Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Russia and the United Kingdom – give a comprehensive account of Islam-related tensions and violence, from the jihadist terrorist acts seen in Europe in the aftermath of 9/11 in the US, through to the urban riots of the type seen in France in 2005. These events are analyzed with a common typology together with detailed accounts of the social context in each country. Also included is an interpretation of the fundamental nature of the Islamist terrorism in Europe, with the outline of a strategy to repel it. The book is a unique source for those seeking to understand the nature of ethno-religious violence in contemporary Europe.
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A series of political assassinations in June in Ethiopia exacerbated ethnic tensions in a country organised under a model of ethnic federalism. The growth of ethnic nationalism has become a major challenge for reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Continuation of the current trend risks halting the democratisation of the public sphere, economic integration of the Horn of Africa, and a failure of EU policies towards the region.
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Seria zamachów politycznych w Etiopii 22 czerwca br. unaoczniła rosnące napięcia w państwie zbudowanym według modelu federalizmu etnicznego. Nacjonalizmy stają się głównym wyzwaniem dla jedności państwa i reformatorskiego premiera Abyi Ahmeda. Ich dalszy wzrost grozi wstrzymaniem procesu demokratyzacji państwa i integracji gospodarczej Rogu Afryki oraz niepowodzeniem polityki UE w regionie.
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The Western Balkans (WB) have come into the international spotlight as an arena for big power competition. In their foreign policy orientation, the region’s six countries — Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia — all share Euro-Atlantic affiliations, although the degree of affiliation varies. Internally, functional and structural weaknesses — whether Albania’s legacy of an isolationist communist dictatorship or the consequence of the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia in the other countries—open doors for hostile foreign actors to project their influence. The environment is rife with ethnic tension, border disputes, and neighbourly disagreements. All of these countries are developing democracies that have yet to fully recover from the aftermath of the Yugoslav wars. Their Euro-Atlantic orientation is currently a matter of tense debate. While Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia have become NATO members, Serbia oscillates between East and West, its EU candidate status notwithstanding. Although EU membership is still uncertain for the Western Balkan countries, all six have expressed their willingness to join the Union but are advancing down this path at different speeds.
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The Polish national minority school system in Belarus was created from scratch in the 1990swith financial support from Warsaw and an organisational effort of the Polish minority in Belarus. Although in its first years it developed relatively smoothly, since 2005 Polish schools have been under constant pressure from the local and central authorities. The goal of this pressure is unchanging – it involves the Russification (or, less frequently, Belarusianisation) of the young generation of ethnic Poles living in Belarus. In addition, hostile actions were carried out during spells of the political thaw in Polish-Belarusian relations (most recently in 2016–2020), which saw a major development of economic and investment cooperation and numerous high-level visits. However, the most severe blow to the Polish school network occurred in March 2021. This should be viewed both in the broader context – as an element of the wave of repression against civil society following the 2020 presidential election, and in a narrower context – as another blow to the Polish minority. One manifestation of this has been the arrest of the leaders of the Union of Poles in Belarus (UPB) and of the principal of a Polish community school in Brest. Alongside this, the prosecutor’s office has launched a series of inspections in other Polish minority organisations across Belarus and in privately-owned schools offering Polish language courses. This campaign suggests that a plan approved by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is being implemented to undermine independent Polish organisations in Belarus and ultimately destroy the Polish national minority school system.
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