Serbian nationalism today
I’ve asked Milan Marinković, who lives in Niš, to begin writing on the Balkans for peacefare.net. His name should be familiar to you from some of the perceptive comments he has submitted over recent months. Here is a first piece, to which I’ve contributed a bit as well:
Many in Serbia tend to equate nationalism with patriotism. It would be more accurate to say that they confuse the two.
Patriotism is devotion to a country. A patriot seeks to make it more prosperous, more modern, more stable and secure. In fewer words: into a generally better place to live.
Nationalism regards the nation as a group under permanent threat from others. The group is thus forced to defend itself repeatedly, sometimes against nonexistent or fairly harmless enemies. The most prominent among these “enemies” in Serbia today is none other than Angelina Jolie. Her film on the war in Bosnia, In the Land of Blood and Honey, is regarded as an attack on Serbs and Serbia.
Regardless of who is perceived as the dangerous “anti-Serbian element” at a given time, several political parties readily accept and exploit nationalism. Election campaigns–the parliamentary election is to be held in May–intensify nationalist sentiments. Serbian politicians find it useful in gaining votes to manipulate and exploit fear.
Those who play the nationalist card are not uniform. At least three types of nationalists exist in Serbia: militant, conservative, and moderate.
Militants and conservatives both believe Serbs should avoid integration into the Western world in order to preserve their religion, tradition and customs as vital aspects of national identity and culture. Where they differ is in means. Militants are prepared to use violence.
The best recent example is the violence in Belgrade during the Gay Pride parade in 2010, when several thousand members of ultranationalist groups–including football (soccer) hooligans–rioted for hours, leaving more than a hundred injured policemen, who had been ordered to abstain from using force. Also, in 2008, during demonstrations against Kosovo’s declaration of independence, militant nationalists stormed and set ablaze the U.S. embassy. On a smaller scale, street attacks on LGBT activists, Roma, journalists and others take place on a weekly basis in Serbia, especially in multiethnic Vojvodina in the north.
Conservatives do not publicly advocate the use of violence, though they may sometimes support it tacitly. Former Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica is a conservative nationalist.
Moderate nationalists agree with their conservative counterparts on the importance of national identity and tradition, but believe that Serbia nevertheless needs to be more flexible if it is to achieve its somewhat contradictory goals, which include EU membership. This requires never-ending attempts to strike a balance between East and West, leading to chronic indecision. The two most notable moderate nationalists on Serbia’s political scene today are President Tadić (Democratic Party) and his main political rival, Tomislav Nikolić of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Some believe that Tadić’s most influential coalition partner, Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, also belongs to this group, though others would regard him as a chameleon who adapts to whatever the environment requires.
What all the nationalist factions have in common is the assumption that Serbia and Serbs, being the largest among former Yugoslav republics and peoples respectively, are destined to dominate the region, either through territorial expansion (the creation of so-called “greater Serbia”) or by more subtle methods. Anything that interferes with this ambition is regarded as a threat.
The last time this idea served as the foundation of Serbia’s national policy, wars left many thousands dead. Armed conflict today is far less likely—the Serbian armed forces are just not up for it, the moderate nationalist politicians don’t want it, and the international community is watching more carefully than in the 1990s. But it is not clear whether a moderately nationalist Serbia will fit a European Union suit tailored to patriots rather than nationalists.
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Thank you both for this article.
Sometimes I think Serbia needs a real left,i.e. socialist government in order to overcome that nationalist attitude. But since Milošević combined socialism and nationalism there is no real alternative. In my opinion the Serbian people is caught in a mixture of dumb myths and paranoid nationalism. And so are the politicians.
And there is no relevant civic and peaceful subculture. Though I know students and teachers at Serbian universities with an intellectual perception, I also know students and even promotional students suffering this dumb nationalism. Even arguments won’t help… Strange.
@Milan Marinkovic: I wouldn’t have those doubts, if the EU suit fits Croatia, it may suit moderately nationalist Serbia too.
From the few contacts I had in that part of the world, I noticed maybe less nationalism – for sure more sense of humor – among Serbs than among Croats. I may be biased and of course that’s nothing that can compare with your knowledge and experience. Nevertheless I came to the conclusion that it is a great mistake to consider Serbia a very special case, isolated from the broader Balkan context.
The topic of this article is not a comparison between Serb(ian) and other nationalisms (including Croat), but Serbian nationalism alone. Therefore, with all due respect, I do not see the point of your remark, nor have I ever denied the existence of Croatian nationalism (as Amer wrote: “As for nationalism, it’s not just Serbia or the Balkans).
Also, given that, in some way, the piece was written jointly by Mr. Serwer and me, I think it would be unfair to respond to readers’ comments in the name of both, especially when it comes to particular details.
The entry ends wondering “whether a moderately nationalist Serbia will fit a European Union suit tailored to patriots rather than nationalists.” Shortly said my point is that, since Croatia is fitting this suit, I don’t see any problem for actual Serbia.
This contradiction between patriotism and nationalism is completely artificial. What happens when your country really is under attack and your react? Is that nationalism or patriotism? If it still could be patriotism then the only difference would be a discussion about whether an attack is real.
“What all the nationalist factions have in common is the assumption that Serbia and Serbs […] are destined to dominate the region”
Seems to me like nonsense. There are enough Serbian “nationalists” who don’t care about domination but who – seeing the thousands of Serb refugees from Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo – genuinely believe that Serbs are under threat.
This is the problem with democracy – in order to get elected, politicians have to tell people what they want to hear and then find themselves unable to act as the country needs them to, if they even recognize what that is. It helps if there are traditions or shared beliefs, perhaps religious, that can be used to persuade people that what they currently want (in the case of the U.S., to treat certain groups as second-class citizens)is not in line with their core beliefs, and it helps if previous government have not convinced people of untruths (for example, that the country has not in fact won a war, but lost it). The problems are of course greater where traditional beliefs conflict with a new reality.
As for nationalism, it’s not just Serbia or the Balkans. In part it may be demographics, people feeling under siege in their own country due to the changing composition of the population or an actual decline in numbers. In part it’s the economic climate, of course – problems with “false asylum-seekers” and Muslims in Europe and “illegal aliens” in the U.S. who are threatening to “steal” jobs (the ones the natives won’t do, usually). Fear has a corrosive effect on generosity, magnanimity, or even rationality.
Two after-dinner toasts illustrating the difference between nationalism/jingoism and patriotism:
“Our Country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but right or wrong, our country!”
“My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.”
(I apologize for my bad English) but after reading this text , i simply had to react on some statements mentioned in the text above.
First
“Many in Serbia tend to equate nationalism with patriotism.”
Even though its not the same ,its not much different either …
So yes, because we have so much Washington cronies who call themselves “Patriots” but fail to act as Serbian politicians and to work for for the benefit of Serbia ,instead they just implement the “wishes and demands” that come from abroad.
Heck,our President in one interview on Russia Today stated that he is “Pro-Serbian”, i mean common ?!
(watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ila8lYy7TWQ at {6:14} )
I never heard for American president being “Pro-American” ,or any other in that case.So yeah we have a puppet “patriot” and those things don’t go well together … And you call him “flexible and a moderate nationalist” Bahaha …
Second
“Serbia and Serbs, being the largest among former Yugoslav republics and peoples respectively, are destined to dominate the region, either through territorial expansion (the creation of so-called “greater Serbia””)”
This is the most interesting part , since we cleared out that our current president is a puppet,the question raises itself:
How can a puppet president fight for any “goals” like the one mentioned above ?
Answer is simple he cant, and a plan like that does not exist.
Idea,however does exist and its “uniting all Serb ethnic territories into one single Serbian state” ,but its somewhat Utopian ,and even in the 90’s,no one wanted to implement it instead Serbs were fighting to preserve Yugoslavia …
Albanians on the other hand nearly realized their plan of creating “Greater Albania”,and i fail to see anyone on the west complaining?
So yeah ,western double standards , win the day … again … Hypocrits
Scaring people ,by shouting ,”if you help Serbs in anyway they’ll create “Greater Serbia” “,while actively helping to create something even worse within the Balkans. (Picture)
http://www.marxists.de/imperial/plavsic/gralban.jpg
Third ( Conclusion )
Serbia is currently dissolving and obviously Kosovo will not be the last “state” to “secede(cough ,to be taken away)”.Now we’r just an EU/US colony fulfilling every and all demands that come from either Brussels or Washington.
So the only Patriots are the ones who Defend! their state.The ones who lie their fellow Serbs about “more prosperous, more modern, more stable and secure.”-Serbia are not “moderate” nor “patriots” ,they are nothing more than puppets who lie to their nation pretending to be “Leaders”.
First, I don’t see on the basis of what have you counted me in the same group as President Tadic? I have never in my life voted for or in any way supported him or his policy. As a patriot, I am opposed to any sort of nationalism, including “moderate”.
Second, how do you mean “Serbs were fighting to preserve Yugoslavia”? Yugoslavia was a common project of several nation states, not Serbia’s exlusive property. So, whom were Serbs defending Yugoslavia against in 1990s? Against other Yugoslavians?
First
“on the basis of what have you counted me in the same group as President Tadic”
I dont know you so ,don’t think that i told that ur simmilar to Tadic in anyway.I have read my text carefully and i cant find where i called “you (by name)”,which means I didn’t , but if you recognized yourself somewhere in my text above ,that’s your problem. Maybe you found yourself in this part “because we have so much Washington cronies who call themselves “Patriots””.
Don’t know ,just guessing …
Second
“So, whom were Serbs defending Yugoslavia against in 1990s? Against other Yugoslavians?”
Exactly,Serbs fought to defended Yugoslavia from other “Yugoslav’s (and non Yugoslav’s) separatists” who wanted to secede from it.
Country name was changed from Yugoslavia to “Serbia” when the last “state”(which actually was not a state but an autonomous province) “Montenegro” declared itself independent on a (cough,fake)referendum.This simply shows that Serbs were crazy enough to fight for Yugoslavia until the last “state” seceded from it.
Third
“Yugoslavia was a common project of several nation states, not Serbia’s exlusive property”
True,again Serbs are to blame for creating it in the beginning ,they paid a biggest price in blood ( 2 million + casualties for such a small nation which didn’t even fully recover from Turkish occupation and Balkan wars),for the freedom of their “Yugoslav brothers” in surrounding states only later to see their hundred year effort being torn down by joint action of their former “allies” and their “compatriots” …
Does that justify the Serbs for their fight to preserve Yugoslavia ?
Answer is no , that doesn’t justify others for seceding either since Yugoslav laws , nor International agreements were respected during the “dissolution” process by “them”.
That dissolution process is still active even though Yugoslavia does not exist anymore,after the dissolution of Yugoslavia ended the dissolution of Serbia continued and we’ll probably see Serbia even smaller on the world maps in less than 5-15 years(and in some time we wont see it at all),if we continue this servile foreign and domestic policy …
However Serbs cant rebel much either , since every segment of their society is nearly completely destroyed.
Let us just mention some of them:
Puppet politicians installed ✔
Economy destroyed ✔
Country in Debt ✔
Massive unemployment ✔
Army reduced(nearly non existent) ✔
History rewritten ✔
Minds brainwashed by puppet state controlled media ✔
Territory taken away by force ✔
Becoming an official colony (work in progress)…
How do you call a country that blindly agrees on everything Imperial masters demand ?
COLONY !
How do you call a president whose signature is on those requests ?
PUPPET !
However, now Masks fell. Now Serbs know that they don’t have a President , constitution , government and that Serbia is not their Country anymore,its completely sold out to foreigners.
Soon other separatists inside Serbia are going to demand “higher degrees of autonomy”!
All this “better life,bigger standard” stuff is there just to create an illusion of “freedom and progress”.
Unfortunately that’s our reality where masses of Serbs are afraid of freedom and dream about comfort slavery …
For some [Mission Successful].
“I dont know you so ,don’t think that i told that ur simmilar to Tadic in anyway.I have read my text carefully and i cant find where i called “you (by name)”,which means I didn’t , but if you recognized yourself somewhere in my text above ,that’s your problem”.
Ok, I apologise. My fault.
As for the “puppet state”/”colony”, I must admit that, in some way, you are right. I mean, only a puppet state would sell – virtually give away – its entire energy sector to a foreign state’s monopoly at a ridiculously low price in return for the foreign state’s veto in the UN Security Council. Only a puppet state would allow the very same foreign state to build a de facto future military base on the puppet’s territory in return for the foreign state’s rhetorical support to the puppet. Or maybe you believe that Russia is such a “big friend” that its “friendship” is worth paying any price?
Hehe , i was expecting some response like this.
First
I am glad we cleared out first part of the text.
Second
I must say that i am glad you mentioned Russia here hehe,since it serves as a nice parallel when comparing to the states and corporations mentioned below.So,ok lets begin.
First:”I must admit that, in some way, you are right. I mean, only a puppet state would sell – virtually give away – its entire energy sector to a foreign state’s monopoly at a ridiculously low price in return for the foreign state’s veto in the UN Security Council.”
Are we speaking about NIS (Oil industry of Serbia)?Yeah, its crazy to sell ur own Oil Company for ANY price to ANY state/or corporation(Heck,if some countries did that in the Middle East i believe that US, British Petroleum and co would be very happy since they would not have to stage a fake revolution (helped by activists of Serbian OTPOR)and then bomb the country democratically in to the stone age in order to retake their Oil Industry.However,you cant tell that by selling NIS to Russians ,Serbs bought their support(Veto).What did China buy to Support the Serbs,what did India buy,what did Spain buy,what did Brazil buy?Why would those state’s oppose the Independence of Kosovo?Why would they want to damage their relationship with the US because of that small unimportant chunk of land called Kosovo,since Serbia gave nothing to them?
Ohh ,that’s right,its a F* International Law Violation! We should live in a world where State Sovereignty
(Territorial Integrity)should be the most respected and applied law,because if that law was applied and the states who break it sanctioned small countries would be (and feel) safe from the oppression of the bigger states,arms race would have been completely eliminated or at least vastly reduced.Those laws somehow apply on all other states other than the US (and the selected few).
Because if the states which i mentioned earlier let this International Law violation ,pass and pretend like nothing happened (who cares about Serbia’s problems …) tomorrow they could share the same fate ,only later to see their territories being taken away by force on the same way.
I don’t need to give examples since there are separatists in pretty much most of the world states.
Third
“Only a puppet state would allow the very same foreign state to build a de facto future military base on the puppet’s territory in return for the foreign state’s rhetorical support to the puppet. ”
I think ur wires are crossed there is no Russian base inside Serbia (which cant be said for the US …)?
IF the thing ur referring to is ” “emergency situations center” , rumors of that being a Russian base in Serbia only reflect the hysteria of some,who have been given some US. homework whose task is to go around and scare people with it.
Its a plain airfield where Russian planes will land in emergency situation’s mainly for Fire Prevention in SE Europe.That however cant be said for the US who has Europe’s second largest base placed in Serbia,and unfortunately for Serbia , their mission is not fire prevention .
Fourth
“Or maybe you believe that Russia is such a “big friend” that its “friendship” is worth paying any price?”
It’s unquestionable that Russia is a bigger “friend” to Serbia than Serbia’s “Partners” US,EU and NATO,IMF ,and that has been proven so many times,that any comparison between them is utterly silly.At least,Russia didn’t bomb the country because of Serbia’ refusal to sell it’s Telecommunication Company Telekom to it HAHA.Unlike some,who wanted its minerals,
(mainly The Trepca mining complex) other factories,banks,its market and even territory and when Serbia/Yugoslavia refused ,well we all know what happened than.NATO quote “bombed Serbia back into the Middle Ages” Mr. Thomas L. Friedman, the Foreign Affairs Editorialist of The New York Times, wrote on April 23, “…Let’s at least have a real war…It should be lights out in Belgrade: every power grid, water pipe, bridge, road and war-related factory has to be targeted…the stakes have to be clear: Every week you [Serbs] ravage Kosovo is another decade we will set your country back by pulverizing you. You want 1950? We can do 1950. You want 1389? We can do 1389 too…Give war a chance….”
Hmmm , i think Serbs never heard anything similar coming from the Russian side xD.
So yeah we can say that Serbian cooperation with Russia (maybe its not a friendship)but its way,way more beneficial ( or shall we say less Destructive HAHA) for Serbia than the “PARTNERSHIP” with the: NATO which bombed Serbia,EU who is slowly destroying Serbia’s economy by forcing Serbia to sign agreements which are very bad for its economy on wide array of different fields and the the last but not least IMF,which is the sole sponsor of our states fake “credit” economy,who will probably (if not stopped) enslave Serbia’s citizens with its credits for many years to come.
No reply,huh ?
Interesting …