Original scientific paper
BETWEEN THE BALKANS AND THE WEST: A PROBLEM OF CROATIAN IDENTITY IN THE POST-TUĐMAN PERIOD AND A DISCURSIVE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE REGION
Nataša Zambelli
; School of Social and Political Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Abstract
This article addresses the question of the relationship between Croatia and
the Balkans as a geographical and civilisational space and the way it shaped
discursive changes in the immediate post-Tuđman period which started in the
year 2000. The focus of the study is the articulation of ‘the West’ and ‘the Balkans’
in the Croatian political discourse that leads to the argument that a deeper
cooperation between Croatia and the European Union is closely connected
with the reconstruction of Croatian identity. The problem of the Balkans as the
‘radical other’ to the Croatian subject and difficulties in cooperation with that
region demanded a thorough examination of Croatian identity and its relations
with ethics and responsibility as promoted by the European Union. The study
employs discourse analysis as a method of analysing the text, which is rooted
in the post-structuralist theoretical approach.
Keywords
Croatia; Balkans; post-Tuđman period; post-structuralism; discourse analysis; radical other; identity
Hrčak ID:
57670
URI
Publication date:
30.6.2010.
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