Blog Post 1: Serbian National Identity and the Other

Serbian National Identity and the Other

Defining National Identity

    National identity refers to a sense of unity and camaraderie between members of a nation. This ‘sense of belonging’ (Connor, 1978) comes from historical memories, myths, and shared experiences from the nations culture. However, a nation cannot exist unless there are other nations, which help to define its national identity. This contrast between a nation and its others allows for a distinct identity to emerge, especially when the other poses a threat to the nation’s livelihood: referred to as a “significant other” (Triandafyllidou, 1998). Trauma and oppression from significant others create shared experiences and bonds which can robustly shape a nations identity (Mckernan, 2021). Such is the case for Serbia, which has endured centuries of oppression and regime changes and sits in one of the most ethnically complex regions of the world. Serbia’s history and myths, Orthodox tradition, and significant others are the most core parts of its national identity. It’s most notable significant others are (or have been) Kosovo, the Ottoman empire, and Bosnia.

Serbian National Identity

    History and myth are the center of Serbian national identity. These myths originate from Serbia’s period of Ottoman rule from 1389 to 1817 and have strong Christian themes. The most notable is the Kosovo Myth, a Serbian myth-history which tells a story of protecting Serbian Christendom from Ottoman rule in the 1389 Battle of Kosovo. In the myth, Serbian Prince Lazar chooses defeat in battle to die as a Christian martyr for the ‘Heavenly Kingdom’ of Serbia. This battle marked the end of the ’golden age’ of Serbian statehood (Morozova et al. 2022) and the beginning of the 350 yearlong Ottoman rule over Serbia. It wasn’t until the 19th century when the Kosovo Myth became a solidified tale and key part of Serbian national identity (Djokic, 2009). Today, the story symbolizes Serbian soil as a ‘chosen land’ connected with God, celebrating freedom from the Ottoman significant others which blurred Serbian national identity and threatened their Christian practices. Despite the age of the Kosovo Myth, it has been used in Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav political campaigns, is actively used by the SOC, and has its own national holiday (Morozova et al. 2022).

Another important part of Serbian national identity is Serbian Orthodoxy and the SOC. Serbian Orthodoxy identifies Serbia as a religious nation distinct from its Others. And as the SOC has been increasingly tied to Serbian government, it contributes to nationalist ideology present in Serbian politics and national identity (Jovanović, 2018). The breakup of the atheist and socialist Yugoslavia was a catalyst for this, as government and SOC elites sought to redefine Serbian national identity. The “religious and secular state structures in modern Serbia are interwoven” and there is a “`new religiosity` that has overwhelmed postwar Serbian society, with true religion being reduced to a matter of folkloric symbolism” (Jovanović, 2018, pg. 39). This interweaving means that far-right and nationalist Serbian Orthodox rhetoric have made its way into modern Serbian government and society, and nations or ethnic groups who don’t fall in line are Othered. As mentioned, Serbian Orthodoxy is also tied to the national memory of its people. The Kosovo Myth and subsequent freedom from Ottoman rule are historic markers of Serbian Orthodoxy’s place in the national identity of Serbia.

Othering and Serbian National Identity

    National identity can’t be defined without considering a nation’s ‘others’. By considering a nation’s others, we can more effectively define the national identity of a nation, because “the notion of the ‘other’ is inextricably linked to the concept of national identity” (Triandafyllidou, 1998, pg. 596). Triandafyllidou describes two types of others a nation might have: external others and internal others. Serbia’s external significant others, including majority or minority groups outside of a nation’s borders, are nations with large Muslim populations in the region like Kosovo, Bosnia, and Turkey. Serbia’s historic memory of oppression from the Ottoman occupation, and the Muslim influence that came with it, threatened its Orthodox identity and the SOCs power. With the Orthodox influence in modern day Serbia and the nationalist rhetoric it produces, the largely Muslim Kosovo, Bosnia, and Turkey are natural significant others (Vekovic, 2025). Catholic-aligned nations in the Balkans, Croatia and Slovenia, pose a similar threat. The influence of Catholicism and Islam is a perceived threat to the SOC and therefore Serbian national identity. However, religious conflict doesn’t capture the full picture. After conducting surveys, Vekovic writes that “Serbian citizens have remained more receptive to the influence of the state than to religious ideology” (2025). Perhaps these nations are external significant others because they challenge the ‘influence of the state’ of Serbia, not simply its religion. 

Kosovo and NATO are also external significant others. In late 1990s, the largely ethnically Albanian Kosovo sought for independence from Yugoslavia. Ethnic tensions arose, and in 1998 the Kosovo War began. NATO condemned Yugoslavia’s violent attempts to control the new nation of Kosovo, and in 1999 NATO conducted a series of bombings on Yugoslavia and much of modern day Serbia. To this day, Serbia refuses to acknowledge Kosovo as a nation and considers it a part of Serbia (Wygnańska, 2021). These border disputes, in combination with the SOC control in Serbian government, means a “broad anti-Western mood of Euro-skepticism has developed in Serbia, especially among members of the younger, educated generation” (Jovanović, 2018). 

    Serbia has several ethnic minorities, like the Roma and Bosniak people, which are treated as internal others. It’s important to note that ‘Bosnian’ refers to a citizen of Bosnia, and ‘Bosniak’ refers to the largely Muslim dominant ethnic group in Bosnia. During the Bosnian War from 1992 – 1995, Serbian soldiers murdered over 100,000 Bosnians and displaced millions. Today, Bosniaks face discrimination in Serbia. They experience Islamophobia, and the Bosnian genocide is often denied or lightened by government officials or SOC members. While still presenting a notable effect, external others play a larger role in defining Serbian national identity.

    Historic myths, Serbian Orthodoxy, and significant others are the primary catalysts for Serbian national identity. They form the sense of belonging Serbians share and their civic and ethnic pride. Serbia’s national identity, forged from centuries in the heat of conflict, brings a unique and beautiful culture to the world stage. 

Word count: 1035

References

Djokić, D. (2009). Whose myth? Which nation? The Serbian Kosovo myth revisited. In J. M. Bak, J.

 Jarnut, P. Monnet, & B. Schneidmüller (Eds.), Uses and abuses of the Middle Ages: 19th–21st century (pp. 215–233). Wilhelm Fink.

McKernan, M. (2021, January 28). Blog post 1: The national self. 3min Montenegro. https://3minmontenegro.blogspot.com/2021/01/blog-post-1.html

Pavlović, A., & Atanasovski, S. (2022). Informal allies on a common mission: The Serbian state and the Orthodox Church in recent nation-building processes. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2022.03.81

Triandafyllidou, A. (1998). National identity and the other. Ethnic & Racial Studies, vol 21, 593-612.

Wygnańska, J. (2021). Between political myths, dormant resentments, and redefinition of the recent                 history: A case study of Serbian national identity. Qualitative Sociology Review, 17(2).                                 https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/between-political-myths-dormant-resentments/docview/2562042864/se-2

Global Engage. (n.d.). Balkan needs and challenges for covenantal pluralism in Serbia. https://globalengage.org/portico/balkan-needs-and-challenges-for-covenantal-pluralism-in-serbia/