Joining the War: Masculinity, Nationalism and War Participation in the Balkans War of Secession, 1991–1995*

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Sasha Milićević

Why do people go to war? My own interest in this question emerged from the context of my dissolving country and Serbia's increased engagement in a very strident form of ethnonationalism. Although social scientists have sought to understand the roles of ethnonationalism in fostering state-organized violence, few scholars have sought to understand the gendered nature of men's motivations for participating in war. The case of the inter-ethnic wars in Croatia and Bosnia, following the break-up of Yugoslavia, presents an unparalleled opportunity to understand more about how the processes of ethnonationalization and masculinization operate in everyday life, and about how men from Serbia made sense of their decisions about participation in the wars. In the present paper I explore the ways nationalism and masculinity intersect and overlap, influence and are influenced by war participation, by looking closer into the war volunteers from Serbia who joined the Yugoslav wars of secession, 1991–1995.

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-97
Author(s):  
Mišo Kapetanović ◽  
Sandra King-Savic
Keyword(s):  

2005 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 134-136
Author(s):  
Gerd-Rainer Horn

For some time now, sociologists, economists and assorted futurologists have flooded the pages of learned journals and the shelves of libraries with analyses of the continuing decline of industrial and other forms of labor. In proportion to the decline of working time, those social scientists proclaim, the forward march of leisure has become an irresistible trend of the most recent past, the present and, most definitely, the future. Those of us living on planet earth have on occasion wondered about the veracity of such claims which, quite often, appear to stand in flat contradiction to our experiences in everyday life. The work of the Italian sociologist Pietro Basso is thus long overdue and proves to be a welcome refutation of this genre of, to paraphrase Basso, obfuscating hallucinations.


2021 ◽  
pp. 92-105
Author(s):  
V. Rozumyuk

The article examines Serbo-Croatian conflict in the XX - early XXI centuries. The history of the formation of the Serbian and Croatian statehood is analyzed; the reasons for the confrontation between two close Slavic peoples are determined and the evolution of their relationship is highlighted; clarified the determinants that determine the antagonistic nature and demonstrative cruelty of the Serbo-Croatian confrontation. The formation after the “Patriotic War” of 1991-1995 of two parallel “worlds” was stated, as a result of which the Croatian and Serbian communities hardly intersect in everyday life. Constant quarrels and fights on ethnic grounds, burning of flags and desecration of state symbols have been and remain daily occurrences from the very beginning of reintegration, and war criminals convicted by an international tribunal are perceived by the two communities as national heroes and defenders of the Motherland. It points to the gradual aggravation of interethnic confrontation in Croatia and the growth of xenophobic sentiments, which has been observed recently. The conclusion about the failure of past and modern attempts to establish Serbo-Croatian cooperation in building a common future has been substantiated. It is emphasized that the Serbo-Croatian conflict does not look exhausted, not only because of the heavy burden of the past, which causes mutual accusations and long-standing hatred. Attention is drawn to the fact that this confrontation is primarily about the future - about the fate of various national projects. The mirage of “Greater Serbia” still tempts a significant part of the Serbs, who are hatching revanchist intentions, while the Croats are determined to defend their won independence. Accordingly, under certain international conditions, the confrontation of political ambitions in the Balkans can easily flare up with renewed vigor, once again confirming the reputation of this region as a “powder keg” of Europe.


2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-25
Author(s):  
Natalia Nowińska-Antoniewicz

The article presents phenomenon of emergence of Serbian alternative comics scene during the period of breakup of Yugoslavia. The analysis is focused on anthology of works “Regards from Serbia” by Aleksandar Zograf who is considered the founder of the new direction in comic art. The works drawn over the nineties were portraying everyday life in Yugoslavia during its breakup. This period has been considered a strong taboo since and is not being willingly taken up by scientist from former-Yugoslavia what makes it difficult to gain knowledge that would meet scientific standards. Zograf’s comics were being published both in his country and abroad, what made them source of knowledge on situation in the Balkans of the world. In the article comic art is also being treated as anthropological evidence that enables understanding of foreign culture and processes related to attempts of rejection of the old ideological, moral, and axiological order.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Alzola

ABSTRACT:The language of virtue is gaining wider appreciation in the philosophical, psychological, and management literatures. Ethicists and social scientists aim to integrate normative and empirical approaches into a new “science of virtue.” But, I submit, they are talking past each other; they hold radically different notions of what a virtue is. In this paper, I shall examine two conflicting conceptions of virtue, what I call the reductive and the non-reductive accounts of virtue. I shall critically study them and argue that the non-reductive view is the best philosophical account of virtue and the only one that can account for the way we talk about virtue in business and in everyday life. We can only understand what it means to act virtuously through the examination of the attitudes, beliefs, desires, and inclinations of the virtuous agent. I shall illustrate the differences between the reductive and non-reductive accounts by considering the virtue of gratitude.


1996 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Madanipour

My aim in this paper is to find an understanding of the concept of space which could be used in urban design, but which could also be shared by others with an interest in space. Social scientists, geographers, architects, urban planners, and designers use the term space in their academic and professional involvement with the city. But when they meet each other their discourse seems to be handicapped partly because of a difference in their usage and understanding of the concept of space. I will argue that to arrive at a common platform in which a meaningful communication can become possible, we need to confront such fragmentation by moving towards a more unified concept of space. I will argue for a concept of space which would refer to our objective, physical space with its social and psychological dimensions, a dynamic conception which accommodates at the same time constant change and embeddedness, and that can only be understood in monitoring the way space is being made and remade, at the intersection of the development processes and everyday life.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 28-45
Author(s):  
Ya. V. Vishnyakov

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Eastern question and the search for ways to solve it occupied a central place in the politics of both Russia and European states. With his decision was closely linked the process of formation of the young Balkan countries. Serbia, whose formation of a new statehood typologically coincides with a change in the system of European international relations of the 19th and early 20th centuries, played an important role in the events of the Eastern question, while claiming to be the Yugoslav “Piemont”. However, it was the war by the beginning of the twentieth century. It became, both for Serbia and other countries of the region, not only a means of gaining state sovereignty, but also the main way to resolve its own interstate contradictions, which took place against the background of an external factor - the impact on the political processes of the Balkans of the Great Powers. These factors led to the natural militarization of the everyday life of Serbian society. The presence in the everyday consciousness of the people of the image of a hostile “other” became one of the main ways of internal consolidation of the country, when attitudes towards war, pushing the values of peaceful life to the background, created a special basic consensus in the state development of Serbia at the beginning of the 20th century, and the anthropological role of the military factor was essential influenced the underlying processes that took place in the country at the beginning of the twentieth century. In the conditions of a new stage of destruction of the Balkans along the ethno-political line, the factor of militarization of everyday life again becomes an important element of the historical policy of the Balkan countries and the construction of a “new past”. In this regard, the understanding of many problems and possible scenarios for the development of the current Balkan reality is linked to this phenomenon. Thus, the study of the impact on the political life of Serbia at the beginning of the twentieth century of special "extra-constitutional" institutions is important for a wide range of researchers, including for a systematic analysis of the crisis in the territory of the former SFRY.Author declares the absence of conflict of interests.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
NIR ARIELLI

AbstractForeign war volunteers are a recurring phenomenon in modern warfare. The Yugoslav Wars (1991–95) saw the participation of foreign fighters on all sides. The article focuses on foreigners who joined the Croatian armed forces (excluding returning Croatian émigrés). It examines where the volunteers came from, what brought them to the Balkans and how they represent and commemorate their wartime experiences. It argues that their participation in the conflict can be understood as part of an individual search for meaning, comradeship and empowerment.


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