Original scientific paper

ETHNIC IDENTITY AS A STRATEGIC SURVIVAL MODE

Ugo Vlaisavljević orcid.org/0000-0001-7663-186X ; Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo

Abstract

The existence of three different ethnic communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina is connected to the strong influence of at least three past empires which determined special fate to their members. This crucial impact was a result of the process of (positive and negative) acculturation. Cultural influence of great empires that ruled a la longue duree neither could have been avoided nor completely succumbed to. In the turbulent history of this region, in which one imperial throne succeeded another, extermination and assimilation were constant death threats to collective survival. Each ethnic group has its own preferred imperial reference, while simultaneously rejecting similar references of its neighboring communities. These ethnic groups differ because their choice of constituent imperial culture is not the same. What is a positive imperial impact for one ethnic community, sometime in the past adopted as a crucial element of its identity, is considered by the other two groups as negative and often quite destructive influence which has to be, eventually, dismissed.

Keywords

ethnic identity; religious identity; empires; wars; acculturation; extermination; survival; fate; collective self

Hrčak ID:

133975

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/133975

Publication date:

19.12.2014.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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