"Only unity saves the Serbs" is the famous call for unity in the Serb nationalist doctrine. But even though this doctrine was ideologically adhered to by most of the Serb leaders in Croatia and Bosnia, disunity characterized Serb politics during the Yugoslav disintegration and war. Nationalism was contested and nationalist claims to homogeneity did not reflect the reality of Serb politics. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of Serb politics and challenges widespread assumptions regarding the Yugoslav conflict and war. It finds that although Slobodan Milosevic played a highly significant role, he was not always able to control the local Serb leaders. Moreover, it adds to the emerging evidence of the lack of importance of popular attitudes; hardline dominance was generally based on the control of economic and coercive resources rather than on elites successfully "playing the ethnic card." It moves beyond an assumption of automatic ethnic outbidding and thus contributes toward a better understanding of intra-ethnic rivalry in other cases such as Israel/Palestine, Northern Ireland, Nagorno-Karabakh and Rwanda.
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"Empirically, the book makes a major contribution to the study of intra-Serb relations and rivalries during the wars in Croatia and Bosnia... it constructs a new theoretical framework that will allow for more nuanced and accurate explanations of intra-ethnic competition and inter-ethnic conflicts." --Peter Viggo Jakobsen, University of Copenhagen
About the Author
Nina Caspersen received her PhD from the London School of Economics and is currently Lecturer in Peace & Conflict Studies at Lancaster University. She is the author of several journal articles on ethnic politics and intra-state conflicts in the Balkans and the Caucasus.
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Format:Hardcover
This study is based upon dozens of field interviews with those who particapted firsthand in the intra-ethnic political rivalry between Serb nationalists before, during and after the Balkan wars of the 1990's. Factional conflicts described herein undermine the myth of a unified Serb national interest, at least as represented by 90's warmongers.
Nina Caspersen has used both English and Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian langauge sources in addition to field-research to examine the effects of intra-ethnic rivalry on the political position adopted by Serb nationlists within breakaway ethnic statelets in both Bosnia and Croatia. Contested Nationalism provides the sort of behind-the-scenes snapshot of local political actors frequently omitted from the literature about these wars. It also fills some of the gap regarding the role of intra- rather than inter-ethnic competition in conflict escalation and moderation. The main theoretical contribution lies in Caspersen's challenge of the concept of ethnic 'outbidding', however the exploration of the impact an under-studied audience has on conflict-parties' actions has obvious application for practical conflict-resolution.
Highly recommended for political scientists, policy-makers & conflict-resolution practitioners.
Nina Caspersen has used both English and Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian langauge sources in addition to field-research to examine the effects of intra-ethnic rivalry on the political position adopted by Serb nationlists within breakaway ethnic statelets in both Bosnia and Croatia. Contested Nationalism provides the sort of behind-the-scenes snapshot of local political actors frequently omitted from the literature about these wars. It also fills some of the gap regarding the role of intra- rather than inter-ethnic competition in conflict escalation and moderation. The main theoretical contribution lies in Caspersen's challenge of the concept of ethnic 'outbidding', however the exploration of the impact an under-studied audience has on conflict-parties' actions has obvious application for practical conflict-resolution.
Highly recommended for political scientists, policy-makers & conflict-resolution practitioners.
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