Cultural Identity Politics in the (Post-)Transitional Societies

Foreword
The redefinition of cultural identities has been an important constituent of the
transition processes in all countries of Southeastern Europe (SEE). The interest
in cultural and national identities in SEE was particularly strong and very openly
pronounced during the 1990s. The search for cultural and national identities and their
very dynamic changes in the last decade of the 20th century have become crucial for the
establishment of the new states, as well as for the systemic transformation and transition
from socialism to capitalism.
However, like the transition itself, the identity changes have not been rationalized
or explained through some theoretical context. Especially in the case of the former
Yugoslavia they were influenced by the political (ideological) and legal interpretations
of citizenship, political and economic transitions, cultural changes that particularly
promoted nationalistic approaches, political clashes, ethnic conflicts and wars, state
building procedures and the establishment of nation states.
In such a context the notions of national and cultural identities have been intertwined,
mixed and marginalized or directly misused in political discourse and cultural life. It
was forgotten that they may encompass different values, that they may have different
meanings, that they may have been developed from different anthropological and
political/social backgrounds, and, last but not least, that different nations may share
some common histories and memories.
3