Nations and Citizens in Yugoslavia and the Post-Yugoslav States: One Hundred Years of Citizenship

Description:

Between 1914 and the present day the political makeup of the Balkans has relentlessly changed, following unpredictable shifts of international and internal borders. Between and across these borders various political communities were formed, co-existed and (dis)integrated. By analysing one hundred years of modern citizenship in Yugoslavia and post-Yugoslav states, Igor Štiks shows that the concept and practice of citizenship is necessary to understand how political communities are made, un-made and re-made. He argues that modern citizenship is a tool that can be used for different and opposing goals, from integration and re-unification to fragmentation and ethnic engineering. The study of citizenship in the 'laboratory' of the Balkans offers not only an original angle to narrate an alternative political history, but also an insight into the fine mechanics and repeating glitches of modern politics, applicable to multinational states in the European Union and beyond.

Endorsements:

“What does it mean today to be a 'citizen' in a world in which national identities, traditions and boundaries are increasingly in question? The rise and fall of Yugoslavia as retraced and analyzed by Igor Stiks constitutes an exceptional case study of what citizenship can signify in a highly volatile historical period and geopolitical space. Stiks' meticulously documented and well thought-out analysis constitutes a unique and indispensable resource for anyone seeking to understand the role citizenship can play in a globalized world.” – Samuel Weber, Avalon Foundation Professor of Humanities, Northwestern University, USA

“Igor Stiks new book provides much needed insight into how citizenship developed in Yugoslavia after the First World War and how citizenship eventually affected and was affected by its breakup, and the creation of seven new states after 1991. With his customary narrative verve, Stiks sheds light on how political elites used citizenship in order to reinforce their positions. He explains how citizenship has become a tool of modern nation building as well as ethnic engineering.” – Jo Shaw, Salvesen Chair of European Institutions, University of Edinburgh, UK

“This is an extraordinary account of a 100 years of citizenship in the Balkans. It dissects the complex histories and the often violent making of geographies, with all their terrifying but also humanizing outcomes.” – Saskia Sassen, Professor of Sociology, Columbia University, USA

“Igor Stiks traces the genealogy of citizenship in Yugoslavia and the post-Yugoslav states with its numerous legal codifications and extreme political transformations. This genealogy prepares the ground for a new citizenship of resistance and the promise of a democracy to come in a new Balkans not hypothecated to ethno-nationalist, neoliberal or cosmopolitan principles.” – Costas Douzinas, Professor of Law, Birkbeck, University of London, UK


More information: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/nations-and-citizens-in-yugoslavia-and-the-post-yugoslav-states-9781474221528/