Before sharing some final reflections, I would like to address two aspects of this paper. The first regards the concept of identity. Brubaker and Cooper state that the tendency to objectify identity, of treating identity as a thing, as something that individuals and groups “have”, deprives it of analytical leverage. The tendency to think in bounded groupness makes this seem as though it is something that is already there in some form, rather than being able to emphasise emergent properties of particular structural or conjuctural settings. This is a crucial point that requires particular emphasis, as;
“the unreflectively groupist language that prevails [...] the habit of speaking without qualification of
“Albanians” and “Serbs”, for example, as if they were sharply bounded, internally homogenous “groups” – not only weakens social analysis but constricts political possibilities” (2000, p. 28)
I hope that the preceding discussion has shown that identity is not something that the
individuals and the groups to which I refer have, but that identity is a social practice, a mode of self-categorisation and self-differentiation, that is constructed and maintained by feelings, actions and events. I agree that speaking of Serbs as a group, as if they were one bounded, homogenous entity, deprives analysis of the many contested meanings and responses to identity and implies that this group has no will of their own but are mere recipients of the various ideologies nationalist leaders pursue. However, the need to make sense of oneself, to construe sameness and difference within and between groups, and to justify individual and collective action is a fundamental human mechanism. Categories of ethnicity, gender, religion, provide a sense of belonging and security. In post-conflict societies, in societies where economic, political and social aspects are uncertain and disruptive, I believe the need may be even greater. Moving beyond categorical group identities is a privilege many do not have.
The second point I would like to address is what Storey points out; that most view
nationalism as an intrinsically bad thing, reflecting perhaps a quest for academic objectivity and detachment, “to reflect a commendable vision of an egalitarian world shorn of national chauvinism” and it might even be argued that this view reflects a disdain on the part of academics of what is seen as “vulgar, sentimental and, perhaps, irrational behaviour”, which
downplays “the understandable appeal of nationalist rhetoric to people whose rights and freedoms have been trampled on” (2001, p. 69). My intention is neither to portray
nationalism as an intrinsically bad thing nor to legitimise it as an understandable response and by implication alleviating responsibility for actions committed in the name of the nation.
I have found it difficult to separate my own views on nationalism and the inherent aspects of chauvinism and exclusionary practices that I believe many aspects of nationalism, not necessarily promote, but at least lay the ground for. I hope I have not fallen into the trap of essentialising Serbs as uncritically accepting myths and conspiracy theories, as not being able to accept responsibility for their actions and in this way following in the footsteps of so many who have characterised the Balkans as warlike, tribal minded and conflict prone. I do not attempt to condone nor condemn, neither of which I am in a position to do; but hope that the discussion has contributed to an understanding of the need to find strong identities, to validate and legitimise both own and group actions, which is something nationalism is well suited to do.
Summaries and reflections
The main aim of this thesis has been to investigate how contemporary Serbian nationalism is constituted and by what means, and what the implications of the current political situation is for nationalist thought. The emergence of a distinct type of national identity that is defined both in terms of belonging to place and to religion is not one defined solely by the events that occurred following the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was a federation that had institutionalised ethno-national identities both on an individual and collective level. Ethnicity was already a legitimate form of identity. Milošević effectively capitalised on this and in the midst of disintegration and crisis across the region, nationalism became an effective means of mobilisation. Milošević was an opportunist, “a nationalist of convenience, rather than
conviction” (Brubaker 1998, p. 289). It is important not to overstate elite manipulation or attribute everything to an ideological vacuum following communism. However, lack of identification with political parties, disintegration of ideological and institutional frameworks and economic and political instability go a long way in explaining how and why the general population was responsive to claims made on the basis of ethnic and national identity. This is important, so as not to view nationalism as rooted solely in primordial identities and ethnic conflicts, allegedly suppressed by the Yugoslav Federation, but to be attentive to the different
The ideology is not defeated. The state of mind here is the problem. (Sonja Biserko 19.07.17)
Identity constructions in Serbia, as discussed in this thesis, have drawn on the emotional power of place, in this case Kosovo, by emphasising primordial qualities of being in attachment to a specific territory, in which Kosovo becomes an essential part of Serbian identity. The use of religion as an identity marker has further functioned to enforce a
collective group identity and a means of differentiation from others, most notably from their neighbouring countries. Politicisation of religion and conflation of religious and nationalist ideals have drawn on mythical narratives of belonging and identity. In combination these have triggered a form of defensive nationalism characterised, in particular, by victimhood nationalism and a selective recollection and interpretation of their history.
One of the key factors, it may seem, inhibiting the move away from the identity construction which construes this image of the Serbs as victims and as continually enforcing narratives of injustice, is the lack of addressing the past. So many of the narratives that are employed are based on a selective interpretation of history. The foundations are often correct, but
interpretations built on selectively chosen parts of history creates an incoherent and simplified view of the world. It is a black and white perspective that leaves little room for alternative interpretations or the re-evaluation of already cemented ones. Transgressions are transposed onto others, to a foreign enemy, providing an outlet for frustration, humiliation and pain in the easiest way. In much the same way as democratisation requires a huge effort both on the parts of elite and of the general population, so too does reconciliation and acknowledging past wrong doings. It may be easier, both of want, or of lack of possibilities, to remain as victim. The position of a victim is a powerful one.
As in the case of Kosovo, which is of course a real territory, but more so it is a mythological territory. It serves to explain both past and present woes; a symbol around which people can gather and hold on to. The loss of Kosovo, and by extension, the loss of an integral part of their being, is a picture of the injustice that the West has inflicted upon them. The need to oppose the West and its associated values becomes an imperative and Russia, the natural ally.
As Patriarch Irinej, the Serbian Patriarch states;
“Let us return to spiritual values that have been guiding our spirituality and history. That faith has oriented Serbs towards the East. We should tie our small boat to the big boat of our great Slavic brotherly people to
whom we are related by blood and faith” (Barišić 2016)
It seems evident that the current political situation in Serbia is fraught with insecurity, lack of trust and disillusionment. Poor economic and social conditions lead to frustration and future prospects for much of the general population is perceived as bleak. The implications of the process of EU integration does little to make this seem like an option for the betterment of the people, more so in that they run contrary both to purported ideals of democracy and the EU.
In many ways the country does seem torn between the East and the West. This is perhaps best exemplified by the idealised image they have of Russia which does not necessarily translate into real life. Accepting that their wish to move to the West, would also imply that the West is not the enemy, would negate the many narratives on which they have built their identity. It might be better then, to hold on to mythical narratives of greatness.
Final remarks
Finally, I would like to reiterate once again that this thesis is not meant to be indicative of the Serbian people or the Serbian nation. My aim has been to look at the more extreme elements of identity construction in contemporary nationalist thought. I do, however, believe that many of the narratives and mechanisms that have been discussed do not necessarily reflect only those of a more nationalist inclination. My own relation to Serbia and political views have made writing this thesis, in part, a challenging process, but there are many themes that I believe deserve further investigations and that I hope I might be able to pursue in the future. I hope this thesis may bear relevance for other fields of inquiry, as much of what has been discussed in this thesis can be related to contemporary trends of nationalism worldwide.
Afterword
My own understanding of the problem in Balkan is that when individuals in Balkan talk amongst themselves; when a Muhammed and a Petar talk together… but when they start talking like a Bosnian Muslim and a Serb, when they become part of a group called Serbs or Bosnians, then we have problems. Regular people can live together, but as soon as they become groups, they want to protect their interests, then, we have conflict. (Senior adviser, 29.06.17).
Bibliography
Al Jazeera. (2018). Serbian ‘radical’ Vojislav Seselj convicted of war crimes. Retrieved 11.09.17 from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2018/04/serbian-radical-vojislav-seselj-convicted-war-crimes-180411124256468.html
Antić, A. (2005). The Evolution of Boundary: Defining historical myths in Serbian academic and public opinion in the 1990s. In: Kolstø, P. (Ed.). (2005). Myths and boundaries in South-Eastern Europe. (p. 191-223). London: Hurst.
Antonsich, M. (2010). Meanings of place and aspects of the Self: an interdisciplinary and empirical account. GeoJournal, 75(1), 119–132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-009-9290-9
Balkan Insight. (2017). Anti-Vucic Protests Spread Across Serbia. Retrieved 11.09.17 from http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/anti-vucic-protests-spread-across-serbia-04-04-2017
Bakić-Hayden, M. (1995). Nesting Orientalisms: The Case of Former Yugoslavia. Slavic Review, 54(04), 917–931. https://doi.org/10.2307/2501399
Bakić-Hayden, M., & Hayden, R. M. (1992). Orientalist Variations on the Theme “Balkans”:
Symbolic Geography in Recent Yugoslav Cultural Politics. Slavic Review, 51(01), 1–
15. https://doi.org/10.2307/2500258
Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group. (2017). The Crisis of Democracy in the Western Balkans. Authoritarianism and EU Stabilitocracy. Retrieved 11.09.17 from
http://www.biepag.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/BIEPAG-The-Crisis-of- Democracy-in-the-Western-Balkans.-Authoritarianism-and-EU-Stabilitocracy-web.pdf
Barišić, S. (2014). EXTREMISM: RECOGNIZING A SOCIAL EVIL. Helsinki Files. Vol.
34. Belgrade: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Barišić, S. (2016). The Warp of the Serbian Identity. Anti-Westernism, Russophilia, Traditionalism. Belgrade: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Bieber, F. (2017a). Post-Yugoslav Patterns of Democratization. In: Ramet, S. P., Hassenstab, C., Listhaug, O. (Eds). Building democracy in the Yugoslav successor states;
accomplishments, setbacks and challenges since 1990. (p 38-58). University Press:
Cambridge.
Bieber, F. (2017b). What is a stabilitocracy? Retrieved 11.09.17 from http://www.biepag.eu/2017/05/05/what-is-a-stabilitocracy/
Blaikie, N. W. H. (2007). Approaches to social enquiry (2. ed). Cambridge: Polity.
Bracewell, W. (2000). Rape in Kosovo: Masculinity and Serbian Nationalism. Nations and Nationalism, 6(4), 563–590. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1354-5078.2000.00563.x Brubaker, R. (2012). Religion and nationalism: four approaches*: Religion and nationalism.
Nations and Nationalism, 18(1), 2–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8129.2011.00486.x
Brubaker, R., & Cooper, F. (2000). Beyond “identity.” Theory and Society, 29(1), 1–47.
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007068714468
Budding, A. H. (1998). Systemic Crisis and National Mobilization: The Case of the
“Memorandum of the Serbian Academy.” Harvard Ukrainian Studies, 22, 49–69.
Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.) Pogrom. Retrieved 11.09.17 from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pogrom
Campbell, L. M., Gray, N. J., Meletis, Z. A., Abbott, J. G., & Silver, J. J. (2006). Gatekeepers and Keymasters: Dynamic Relationships of Access in Geographical Fieldwork*.
Geographical Review, 96(1), 97–121. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1931-0846.2006.tb00389.x
Center for Free Elections and Democracy & USAID. (2017). Political Engagement Serbian Citizens. Retrieved 11.09.17 from
http://www.cesid.rs/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/POLITICAL-ENGAGEMENT-2017.pdf
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory. London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
Clarke, A. E. (2007). Grounded Theory. Critiques, Debates, and Situational Analysis. In Outhwaite, W., & Turner, S. P. (Eds.). The SAGE handbook of social science methodology. (p. 423-442). Los Angeles ; London: SAGE.
Demostat. (2017). Which empire to lean on. Serbia between the East and the West. Retrieved 11.09.17 from http://demostat.rs/en/vesti/istrazivanja/which-empire-to-lean-on-serbia-between-the-east-and-the-west/214
Doja, A. (2008). Instrumental Borders of Gender and Religious Conversion in the Balkans∗.
Religion, State and Society, 36(1), 55–63.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09637490701809738
Dowling, R. (2016). Power, Subjectivity, and Ethics in Qualitative Research. In Hay, I. (Ed.).
Qualitative research methods in human geography (Fourth edition). (p. 29-45). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Dunn, K. (2016). "Doing" Qualitative Research in Human Geography. In In: Hay, I. (Ed.).
Qualitative research methods in human geography (Fourth edition). (p. 147-189).
Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Dyrstad, K. & Listhaug. O. (2017). Institutional Trust in the Yugoslav Successor States.
In: Ramet, S. P., Hassenstab, C., Listhaug, O. (Eds). Building democracy in the Yugoslav successor states; accomplishments, setbacks and challenges since 1990. (p 87-108). University Press: Cambridge.
England, K. V. L. (1994). Getting Personal: Reflexivity, Positionality, and Feminist
Research. The Professional Geographer, 46(1), 80–89. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0033-0124.1994.00080.x
Eror, A. (2018). How Aleksandar Vucic Became Europe’s Favorite Autocrat. Retrieved 11.09.17 from https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/09/how-aleksandar-vucic-became-europes-favorite-autocrat/
Freyburg, T., & Richter, S. (2010). National identity matters: the limited impact of EU political conditionality in the Western Balkans. Journal of European Public Policy, 17(2), 263–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501760903561450
Friedland, R. (2001). Religious Nationalism and the Problem of Collective Representation.
Annual Review of Sociology, 27(1), 125–152.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.125
Gellner, E. (2001). Nations and nationalism (Reprint). Oxford: Blackwell.
George, A. L., & Bennett, A. (2005). Case studies and theory development in the social sciences. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Gerring, J. (2007). Case study research: principles and practices. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Greenberg, J. (2006). Nationalism, masculinity and multicultural citizenship in Serbia.
Nationalities Papers, 34(3), 321–341. https://doi.org/10.1080/00905990600766628 Haraway, D. (1988). Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the
Privilege of Partial Perspective. Feminist Studies, 14(3), 575.
https://doi.org/10.2307/3178066
Harris, E. (2009). Nationalism: theories and cases. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press.
International Crime Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. (n.d.) About the ICTY. Retrieved 11.09.17 from http://www.icty.org/en/about
Iveković, I. (2002). Nationalism and the Political Use and Abuse of Religion: the
Politicization of Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Islam in Yugoslav Successor States.
Social Compass, 49(4), 523–536. https://doi.org/10.1177/0037768602049004004 Juergensmeyer, M. (1996). The Worldwide Rise of Religious Nationalism. Journal of
International Affairs, 50(1), 1–20.
Kolstø, P. (2005). Introduction: Assessing the Role of Historical Myths in Modern Society. In Kolstø, P. (Ed.). Myths and boundaries in South-Eastern Europe. (p. 1-35). London:
Hurst.
Leustean, L. N. (2008). Orthodoxy and political myths in Balkan national identities. National Identities, 10(4), 421–432. https://doi.org/10.1080/14608940802519045
Mole, R. C. M. (2016). Nationalism and Homophobia in Central and Eastern Europe. In Slootmaeckers, K., Touquet, H., & Vermeersch, P. (Eds.). The EU enlargement and gay politics: the impact of eastern enlargement on rights, activism and prejudice. (p.
99-121). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Morus, C. (2007a). The SANU Memorandum: Intellectual Authority and the Constitution of an Exclusive Serbian “People.” Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 4(2), 142–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/14791420701296513
Morus, C. M. (2007b). Slobo the Redeemer: The Rhetoric of Slobodan Milosevic and the Construction of the Serbian “People.” Southern Communication Journal, 72(1), 1–19.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10417940601174660
Nagel, J. (2000). Ethnicity and Sexuality. Annual Review of Sociology, 26(1), 107–133.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.107
Newman, D., & Paasi, A. (1998). Fences and neighbours in the postmodern world: boundary narratives in political geography. Progress in Human Geography, 22(2), 186–207.
https://doi.org/10.1191/030913298666039113
Pappas, T. S. (2005). Shared culture, individual strategy and collective action: explaining Slobodan Milošević’s charismatic rise to power. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 5(2), 191–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683850500122745
Pavlović, S. (2017). West is best: How ‘stabilitocracy’ undermines democracy building in the Balkans. Retrieved 11.07.17 from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/75669/1/blogs.lse.ac.uk-West%20is%20best%20How%20stabilitocracy%20undermines%20democracy%20bu ilding%20in%20the%20Balkans.pdf
Penrose, J. (2002). Nations, states and homelands: territory and territoriality in nationalist thought. Nations and Nationalism, 8(3), 277–297. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-8219.00051
Penrose, J., & C.M. Mole, R. (2008). Nation-States and National Identity. In The SAGE Handbook of Political Geography (pp. 271–284). 1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City Road, London EC1Y 1SP United Kingdom: SAGE Publications Ltd.
https://doi.org/10.4135/9781848607880.n17
Perica, V. (2005). The Sanctification of Enmity: Churches and the construction of founding myths of Serbia and Croatia. In Kolstø, P. (Ed.). Myths and Boundaries in South-Eastern Europe. (p. 130-158). London: Hurst
Peterson, V. S. (1999). Political Identities/Nationalism as Heterosexism. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 1(1), 34–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/146167499360031 Ragin, C. C., & Amoroso, L. M. (2011). Constructing social research: the unity and diversity
of method (2nd ed). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Ramet, S. P. (2007). The denial syndrome and its consequences: Serbian political culture since 2000. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 40(1), 41–58.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postcomstud.2006.12.004
Ramet, S. P. (2017). The Challenge of Democratization. In Ramet, S. P., Hassenstab, C., &
Listhaug, O. (Eds.). Building democracy in the Yugoslav successor states:
accomplishments, setbacks, and challenges since 1990. (p. 3-38). Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.
Rose, G. (1997). Situating knowledges: positionality, reflexivities and other tactics. Progress in Human Geography, 21(3), 305–320. https://doi.org/10.1191/030913297673302122 RT News. (2018). ‘We may forgive, but won’t forget’: Serbia’s commemoration of NATO
bombing victims ignored by West. Retrieved 11.09.17 from
https://www.rt.com/news/422256-yugoslavia-nato-bombing-commemoration/
Sack, R. D. (1986). Human territoriality: its theory and history. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] ; New York: Cambridge University Press.
Said, E. W. (2000). Invention, Memory, and Place. Critical Inquiry, 26(2), 175–192.
https://doi.org/10.1086/448963
Shulman, S. (2002). Challenging the Civic/Ethnic and West/East Dichotomies in the Study of Nationalism. Comparative Political Studies, 35(5), 554–585.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414002035005003
Škorić, M., & Bešlin, M. (2017). Politics of memory, historical revisionism, and negationism in postsocialist Serbia. Filozofija i Drustvo, 28(3), 631–649.
Smith, A. D. (1996). Culture, community and territory: the politics of ethnicity and
nationalism. International Affairs, 72(3), 445–458. https://doi.org/10.2307/2625550 Smith, A. D. (1999). Myths and memories of the nation (Repr.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
Steflja, I. (2010). Identity crisis in post-conflict societies: the ICTY’s role in defensive nationalism among the Serbs. Global Change, Peace & Security, 22(2), 231–248.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14781151003770853
Sremac, R. & Ganzevoort, R. R. (2015). Introduction: The Interplay of Religious and Sexual Nationalisms in Central and Eastern Europe. In Sremac, S., & Ganzevoort, R. R.
(Eds.). Religious and sexual nationalisms in Central and Eastern Europe: gods, gays, and governments. (p. 1-15). Leiden: Brill.
Storey, D. (2001). Territory: the claiming of space. Harlow, England: New York : Prentice Hall.
Subotić, J. (2017). Building Democracy in Serbia: One Step Forward, Three Steps Back. In:
Ramet, S. P., Hassenstab, C., & Listhaug, O. (Eds.). (2017). Building democracy in the Yugoslav successor states: accomplishments, setbacks, and challenges since 1990.
(p. 165-192). University Press: Cambridge.
Stratford, E. & Bradshaw, M. (2016). Qualitative Research Design and Rigour. In: Hay, I.
(Ed.). Qualitative research methods in human geography (Fourth edition). (p. 117-130). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Streb, C. K. (2010). Exploratory Case Study. In: Mills, A. J., Durepos, G., & Wiebe, E.
(Eds.). Encyclopedia of Case Study Research. (p. 373-374). Sage Publications:
Thousand Oaks.
Thagaard, T. (2013). Systematikk og innlevelse. En innføring i kvalitativ metode. (Fjerde utgave). Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.
Todorova, M. N. (2009). Imagining the Balkans (Updated ed). New York: Oxford University Press.
Trošt, T. P. & Slootmaeckers, K. (2015). Religion, Homosexuality and Nationalism in the Western Balkans: The Role of Religious Institutions in Defining the Nation. In
Sremac, S., & Ganzevoort, R. R. (Eds.). Religious and sexual nationalisms in Central and Eastern Europe: gods, gays, and governments. (p. 154-181). Leiden: Brill.
The Economist. (2017). Democracy Index 2017. Free speech under attack. Available at:
https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/Democracy_Index_2017.pdf. Accessed [11.09.18]
The Guardian. (2017). Ratko Mladić convicted of war crimes and genocide at UN tribunal.
Retrieved 11.09.17 from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/22/ratko-mladic-convicted-of-genocide-and-war-crimes-at-un-tribunal
Valentine, G. (1997). Tell me about…: using interviews as research. In: Flowerdew, R. &
Martin, D. (Eds.). Methods in Human Geography. (p. 110-127). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited
White, G. W. (1996). Place and its role in Serbian identity. In Hall, D. R., & Danta, D. R.
(Eds.). Reconstructing the Balkans: a geography of the new Southeast Europe. (p. 39-53) Chichester Eng. ; New York: Wiley.
Winchester, H. P. M & Rofe, M. W. (2016). Qualitative Research and Its Place in Human Geography. In: Hay, I. (Ed.). Qualitative research methods in human geography (Fourth edition). (p. 3-29). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
Interviews and informants
Senior Adviser - Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Oslo
Has worked extensively with the Balkans. Interview conducted 29.06.2017 at his office.
Bojan
Supporter football club Rad. Interview conducted 09.07.2017 at their club.
Marko
Supporter football club Partizan. Interview conducted 09.07.2017 at their club.
Dragan
Supporter football club Red Star. Interview conducted 09.07.2017 at their club.
Dragana Todorović
Executive Director ERA: LGBTI Equal Rights Association for the Western Balkans and Turkey. Interview conducted 13.07.2017 in their offices.
Peščanik.
Journalist. Interview conducted 17.07.2017 in their offices.
Sonja Biserko
President at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Belgrade. Interview conducted 19.07.2017 in their offices.
Milica
LGBTI member. Interview conducted 20.07.2017 at a café.
Tijana
LGBTI member. Interview conducted 20.07.2017 at a café.
Rade
Previously engaged with research on right-wing extremism. Interview conducted 07.11.2017 at a café.
Katarina Komazec
Founder of Zavetnici. Interview conducted 09.11.2017 at a café.
Vladimir
Professor in sociology. Interview conducted 10.11.2017 at a café.
Appendix
Letter of introduction
I am a student at the master programme in Human Geography at the University of Oslo, Norway. I am currently writing my master thesis on nationalism in Serbia. The main focus of my research is on nationalistic movements and national identity. I am also looking at the relationship between nationalism and religion and what position the Serbian Orthodox Church holds in Serbian society. The main objective of my study is to look at the different factors that are the most important in nationalistic mobilisation in Serbia today.
In order to do so, I would like to conduct in-depth interviews that will be loosely based on some general topics and areas followed by questions and discussion. Interviews will range from half an hour to one hour. If accepted by the interviewee the interviews will be recorded.
If not, only notes will be taken. This information is strictly confidential and I will be the only one who has access to it. The interviewees will be anonymised and it will not be possible to recognise individuals based on these interviews. Interviewees can at any time and for any reason withdraw from the study and all information gathered from them will be deleted.
Participation in the study is completely voluntary and would be greatly appreciated. I hope that you have the time and opportunity to share your views and knowledge on this topic. If you have any questions regarding the study or otherwise, please contact me at:
tiril_thue@hotmail.com.
If you have any other questions you may also contact my supervisor; Professor David Jordhus-Lier at the Department for Sociology and Human Geography in Oslo at:
david.jordhus-lier@sosgeo.uio.no.
Yours sincerely, Tiril Ellingsen Thue
Written consent by participant
Name Date