Cultural Identity Politics in the (Post-)Transitional Societies
Cultural Identity Politics in the (Post-)Transitional Societies
Cultural Identity Politics in the (Post-)Transitional Societies
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Foreword<br />
The redef<strong>in</strong>ition of cultural identities has been an important constituent of <strong>the</strong><br />
transition processes <strong>in</strong> all countries of Sou<strong>the</strong>astern Europe (SEE). The <strong>in</strong>terest<br />
<strong>in</strong> cultural and national identities <strong>in</strong> SEE was particularly strong and very openly<br />
pronounced dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> 1990s. The search for cultural and national identities and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
very dynamic changes <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> last decade of <strong>the</strong> 20th century have become crucial for <strong>the</strong><br />
establishment of <strong>the</strong> new states, as well as for <strong>the</strong> systemic transformation and transition<br />
from socialism to capitalism.<br />
However, like <strong>the</strong> transition itself, <strong>the</strong> identity changes have not been rationalized<br />
or expla<strong>in</strong>ed through some <strong>the</strong>oretical context. Especially <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> case of <strong>the</strong> former<br />
Yugoslavia <strong>the</strong>y were <strong>in</strong>fluenced by <strong>the</strong> political (ideological) and legal <strong>in</strong>terpretations<br />
of citizenship, political and economic transitions, cultural changes that particularly<br />
promoted nationalistic approaches, political clashes, ethnic conflicts and wars, state<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g procedures and <strong>the</strong> establishment of nation states.<br />
In such a context <strong>the</strong> notions of national and cultural identities have been <strong>in</strong>tertw<strong>in</strong>ed,<br />
mixed and marg<strong>in</strong>alized or directly misused <strong>in</strong> political discourse and cultural life. It<br />
was forgotten that <strong>the</strong>y may encompass different values, that <strong>the</strong>y may have different<br />
mean<strong>in</strong>gs, that <strong>the</strong>y may have been developed from different anthropological and<br />
political/social backgrounds, and, last but not least, that different nations may share<br />
some common histories and memories.<br />
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