An empirical study of the changes in the attitudes about nationality-related issues among the Serbian population related to the political context of 2000-02

Abstract

By using empirical data, this research considers whether there are changes in the saliencies of attitudes about nationality-related issues in contemporary Serbia, and if so, whether they can be linked to the political context of the period. Demonstrating the susceptibility of the saliencies of these attitudes to ‘external’ influence is its main goal. I maintain that this research is best framed by a constructivist approach to the study of nationalism. This thesis also addresses the ongoing debate concerning the origins of the late eighties and early nineties resurgence of nationalism in Serbia. A particular emphasis is devoted to the consideration of the role of the political elites in the emergence of the ethnic conflicts of former Yugoslavia and in general. The data included in the analyses have been collected by the Centre for Policy Studies, the United Nations Developmental Program and the World Value Survey. The period examined in most depth is 2000-02 encompassing the Milosevic regime change. Additionally, an analysis of the ‘nationalizing’ content of the most read newspaper Blic is conducted in order to provide evidence of the transmittance of the ‘nationalizing’ potential of political events and processes through the media to the public. The conclusion of these analyses is that there are detectable changes in the saliencies of the attitudes about nationality-related issues in Serbia during the period 2000 - 02 and these changes are attributable to the corresponding political context.