Political Myths in the Former Yugoslavia and Successor States. a Shared Narrative (Hardcover)

Political Myths in the Former Yugoslavia and Successor States explores and deconstructs various political myths and counter-myths that continue to threaten the processes of reconciliation in the region of the former Yugoslavia. The authors show a mutually dynamic interaction between mythology and politics throughout the 20th century. A wide variety of myths are identified, such as "Yugonostalgia," the mythologization of mass graves and deceased persons and the impact of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on nationalist mythmaking. This work offers the reader a multi-national and multi-ethnic shared perspective on the origins, evolution and influence of myths on political discourse.This work was one of the components of a broader research and shared narrative program entitled "Facing the Past - Searching for the Future" initiated by the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation (The Hague, The Netherlands) and the Center for History, Democracy and Reconciliation (Novi Sad, Serbia).Table of ContentsTable of ContentsList of AbbreviationsAcknowledgementsContributorsForeword by Richard J. GoldstoneIntroductionMyths, Political Mythologies and NationalismEthnogenesis MythsA Post-Communist Serbo-Russian Romance: Eastern Relic of The Pan-Slavic MythMyths About BordersMyths About World War II And The Socialist EraEthnic Diaspora as Politcial Actor And National MythMyths and Countermyths And The Incorporation Of Myth Into New National IdeologiesThe Mythologization of Mass Graves and Deceased PersonsNostalgic/Patriotic Mythology after YugoslaviaThe Impact of The Hague War Crimes Tribunal on Nationalist Politics, Mythmaking and TransitionRecommendations on Conflict Management in Southeastern EuropeBiographiesBibliographyIndexAbout the Author(s)/Editor(s)Vjekoslav Perica is a Professor of History at the University of Rijeka, Croatia. He obtained a PhD in History from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, USA in 1998. He is the author of Balkan Idols. Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States (New York, 2002; Belgrade, 2006) and most recently, Saint Sava's and Saint Peter's Churches in Split: Sacred Symbols as Metaphors of Historical Changes (Belgrade, 2009).Darko Gavrilovi is a Professor of History at universities in Bosnia and Serbia. He is the Director of the Centre for History, Democracy and Reconciliation. He is an editor of the journals Shared History and Culture of Polis and the author of several books, including The Fields of the Serbian Medieval Culture, The Light and the Darkness of the Modern World, 1775-2000, The Strikes of Destiny - Political Myths in the 20th Century, In the Mainstream of the Nationalism, The Image of Jesus in the History of Culture (Novi Sad, 2009) and most recently, The Prisoners of the Myths of Nationalism and Communism.