NOSTALGIA, IDENTITY, AND POLITICS IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL FOR POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF YUGONOSTALGIA

Abstract

Yugonostalgia, defined briefly as nostalgia for the era of socialist Yugoslavia, manifests itself in various forms as a socio-cultural movement adopted in the former Yugoslav countries. The political aspect of Yugonostalgia is an expression of a critical attitude towards the wars and ethnic nationalism during the break-up of Yugoslavia, which disregarded the practice of multicultural coexistence. Furthermore, considering that the former Yugoslavia countries are currently entangled in a cycle of political and economic problems such as poverty, corruption, and unemployment, the possibility arises that Yugonostalgia could lead to a new political movement that could be embraced by the masses who are fed up with those troubles. The study discusses the potential of Yugonostalgia to transform into an effective alternative political movement in post-Yugoslav countries and to forge a new political identity beyond being a socio-cultural movement expressing nostalgia for Yugoslavia and a critical attitude towards contemporary problems. Its main assumption is that Yugonostalgia does not yet have the potency to go beyond being a cultural movement based on collective memory and to unite the masses with political motivation.

Keywords

• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Nationalism
• Nostalgia
• Yugoslavia
• Yugonostalgia

ESKİ YUGOSLAVYA ÜLKELERİNDE NOSTALJİ, KİMLİK VE SİYASET: YUGONOSTALJİ’NİN SİYASİ ETKİ POTANSİYELİ ÜZERİNE BİR DEĞERLENDİRME

Abstract

En yalın haliyle Sosyalist Yugoslavya dönemine yönelik nostalji şeklinde ifade edilebilecek Yugonostalji, eski Yugoslavya ülkelerinde benimsenen sosyokültürel bir akım olarak farklı biçimlerde tezahür etmektedir. Yugonostalji’nin siyasetle ilgili boyutu ise Yugoslavya’nın dağılması döneminde patlak veren ve çok kültürlü bir arada yaşama pratiğini hiçe sayan savaşlara ve etnik milliyetçiliğe yönelik eleştirel bir tavrı yansıtmaktadır. Bunun yanında, eski Yugoslavya ülkelerinin günümüzde yoksulluk, yolsuzluk, işsizlik gibi siyasi ve ekonomik sorunlar sarmalına saplanıp kalması, Yugonostalji’nin bu sorunlardan bıkıp usanmış kitlelerce benimsenebilecek bir siyasi harekete yön verme ihtimalini akıllara getirmektedir. Çalışmada Yugonostalji’nin Yugoslavya’ya özlemi ve mevcut sorunlara karşı eleştirel bir tavrı ifade eden sosyokültürel bir akım olmanın ötesinde, Yugoslavya sonrası ülkelerde alternatif bir siyasi akıma dönüşebilme ve yeni bir siyasi kimlik oluşturabilme potansiyeli ele alınmıştır. Çalışmanın temel varsayımı, Yugonostalji’nin henüz kolektif hafızaya dayalı kültürel bir akım olmanın ötesine geçebilecek, kitleleri siyasi motivasyonla bir araya getirebilecek bir güce sahip olmadığı yönündedir.

Keywords

• Bosna Hersek
• Milliyetçilik
• Nostalji
• Yugoslavya
• Yugonostalji

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