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RESISTING THE YUGOSLAV WARS: TOWARDS AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY
Bojan Aleksov
; The School of Slavonic and East European Studies University College London
Abstract
Despite some massive protests and draft evasion, anti-war activism in the former Yugoslavia remained a minority affair. Centred on my own activist trajectory, my observations and analysis focus on the most controversial and least documented issues of conscientious objection and military desertion that were my main concerns during the 1991–1999 period. In addition, I briefly contextualise anti-militarist and anti-war resistance in (ex-)Yugoslavia and account for various forces that have shaped it from the perennial role of mothers, to feminist anti-militarism, international activists, anarcho-punks and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. The testimony of my involvement in the anti-war movement is structured around three themes of ‘becoming an activist’, ‘being an activist’ and ‘thinking about activism’. It addresses the differences and the links between anti-war activists in the former Yugoslavia, who found themselves on opposite war ringsides as well as our contacts with international activists. Finally, it examines the impact of post-Yugoslav anti-militarism and the lessons it can offer to the international peace movement.
Keywords
autoethnography; conscientious objection; desertion; anti-war activism; Serbia
Hrčak ID:
118736
URI
Publication date:
28.1.2014.
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