Ethnonationality’s Evolution in Bosnia Herzegovina and Macedonia : Politics, Institutions and Intergenerational Dis-continuities

This book is centred upon the concept of ‘ethnonationality,’ investigating how its meanings and functions have changed across political regimes, time, and generations. Piacentini explores two similar yet different realities, Bosnia Herzegovina and Macedonia (now North Macedonia) – both former Yugoslav republics, multiethnic, and currently characterised by consociational arrangements and ethnic politics. This temporal perspective encompasses both the Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav period, empirically exploring two generations living together in the same family, each socialised by different macro-environments and socio-political and economic conditions. The book explores which ideas, rules, and patterns of behaviour related to ethnonationality have been transmitted between the generations. __Ethnonationality’s Evolution in Bosnia Herzegovina and Macedonia__ will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines, including sociology, politics, and conflict studies. On Terminology 6 Acknowledgements 7 Contents 9 Abbreviations 12 List of Tables 14 1: Introduction: Ethnonationality, Citizenship, and Feelings of Belonging 15 What Are We Going to Talk About, Then? 17 Ends and Means 18 Ethnic Groups and Nations: Time, Dimensions, and Relations 20 Explaining the Whys 28 Why Yugoslavia and Post-Yugoslavia? 28 Why Macedonia and Bosnia Herzegovina? 30 Why Two Generations Within the Same Family Unit? 32 Structure of the Book 35 References 37 Part I: Nations, Ideologies, and Institutions 41 2: Ethnic Groups and Nations in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) 42 Socialism and Yugoslavia 43 Nations’ Status in the SFRY5 44 The ‘We-Feeling’: Bratstvo i Jedinstvo and Jugoslovenstvo 45 Identities and Identifications Within the SFRY 46 Nation Building: The Yugoslav Way 47 Nationalism and Yugoslavia 49 Economy, Institutions, and Ethnonational Politics 49 The Federal Units of Bosnia Herzegovina and Macedonia 51 The End of Yugoslavia 54 Political Elites’ Behaviour Matters 54 Institutional Design Matters Too 56 ...and Constitutions Alike 57 The End of the World24 59 References 64 3: After Yugoslavia: The New World 68 New World, Old Stuff 69 Institutional Framework: Ethnonationality in Consociations 72 Political Elite: The Distribution of Power 74 The Macedonian and Bosnian Ethnic Multiparty Systems 74 The Acquisition of Power 79 Political Propaganda and the Media20 79 The School System 82 (Political) Religious Institutions30 85 Alliances’ Networks: Where Ideology Does Not Arrive, the Money Arrives 86 Ethnonationality and Ethnopolitics 91 References 96 Part II: Ethnonationality and Generations 102 4: Between Group Status and Individual Benefits: The Case of Skopje 103 The Yugoslav Generation of Parents 104 Collective Memories of Transition 105 The Fluctuating Path of Inter-Ethnic Relations 107 Political Attitudes and Opinions 112 Ethno-clientelism and the status of the groups 114 The Post-Yugoslav Generation of Young Adults 117 Growing Apart 117 The School’s ‘Purity’ 117 The City, the Neighbourhood 118 Perceptions of Ethnic Politics 120 If You Cannot Beat'em, Join'em: Ethno-Clientelism and Individual Benefits 122 The Family Environment: Ethnonationality Has Always Mattered 125 References 130 5: Between Cosmopolitanism and Survival: The Case of Sarajevo 132 From Melting-Pot to What? 133 The Yugoslav Generation of Parents 134 Yugoslavia Mon Amour 134 The Interrupted Path of Inter-Ethnic Relations 136 The War and the Loyalty Dilemma 137 Political Attitudes and Opinions 139 The Politics of Fear and Insecurity 141 The (Post-)Yugoslav Generation of Young Adults 143 Living the ‘Yugoslav Way’? 145 School and Brainwashing 145 The City, the Sarajevans, and the Bosnian Herzegovinians 146 Politics and Ethnonationalism 147 Individual Survival Through Ethno-Clientelism 149 The Family Environment: Ethnonationality Has Never Mattered 152 The Yugoslav Heritage 154 References 159 6: The Story of Ethnonationality 161 Context, Strategies, and Mechanisms 162 Same Game, Same Rules 162 ...But Different Legitimizing Grounds 165 State Ownership and Groups’ Status in Macedonia 165 The Bosnian No Man’s Land1 167 Generations With-in Their Plural Societies 169 The (Differences Between) Yugoslav Generations 169 Aligned and Non-aligned 174 The Post-Yugoslav Generations 175 Same Perspective, Different Environments 176 Aligned and Non-aligned 179 Ethnonationality Across Generations 181 Similarity and Partial Interruption in Macedonia 181 Continuity in Bosnia Herzegovina 184 References 187 7: Conclusion: What Can We Learn? 189 Reflecting About 190 Reflecting Across 192 Reflecting Beyond 194 References 198 Index 200 Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Introduction: Ethnonationality, Citizenship, and Feelings of Belonging (Arianna Piacentini)....Pages 1-26 Front Matter ....Pages 27-27 Ethnic Groups and Nations in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) (Arianna Piacentini)....Pages 29-54 After Yugoslavia: The New World (Arianna Piacentini)....Pages 55-88 Front Matter ....Pages 89-89 Between Group Status and Individual Benefits: The Case of Skopje (Arianna Piacentini)....Pages 91-119 Between Cosmopolitanism and Survival: The Case of Sarajevo (Arianna Piacentini)....Pages 121-149 The Story of Ethnonationality (Arianna Piacentini)....Pages 151-178 Conclusion: What Can We Learn? (Arianna Piacentini)....Pages 179-189 Back Matter ....Pages 191-197