Nationalism, Globalization, and Orthodoxy

The Social Origins of Ethnic Conflict in the Balkans

Victor Roudometof author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:30th Jul '01

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Nationalism, Globalization, and Orthodoxy cover

Explains how and why the Balkans have been immersed in recurrent ethnic conflict.

Roudometof provides an in-depth sociological analysis of the birth and historical evolution of nationalism in the Balkans.

Roudometof provides an in-depth sociological analysis of the birth and historical evolution of nationalism in the Balkans. The rise of nationalism in the region is viewed as part of a world-historical process of globalization over the last five centuries. With the growing contacts between the Ottoman Empire and the Western European system, the Eastern Orthodox of the Balkans abandoned the enthoconfessional system of social organization in favor of secular national identities. Prior to 1820, local nationalism was influenced by the Enlightenment, though later it came to be developed on an ethnonational basis. In the post-1830 Balkans, citizenship rights were subordinated to ethnic nationalism, according to which membership to a nation is accorded on the basis of church affiliation and ethnicity. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the discourse of nationhood was institutionalized by the native intelligentsia of the Balkan states. In the first half of the 20th century, the efforts of Balkan states to achieve national homogenization produced interstate rivalry, forced population exchanges, and discrimination against minority groups. While the Cold War helped contain some of these problems, the post-1989 period has seen a return of these issues to the forefront of the Balkan political age

Provides a welcome corrective to the stubbornly held view (even in some academic circles) that primordial attachments and 'ancient ethnic hatreds' have shaped much of recent Balkan history ... [a] scintillating conclusion draws the main threads of his thesis together with great lucidity. * Nations and Nationalism *
Represents an impressive historical contribution in its multi-dimensional approach, incorporating economic, institutional and cultural variables. Greater still is its potential theoretical contribution, a potential which largely rests in the reader's efforts to glean lessons from the rich historical detail offered. * Journal of Southern Europe and Balkans *
There is a great deal of useful history and information on the Balkan puzzle in the book. * Contemporary Sociology *
This book centers on the Balkans, yet uses them as a case study of something much larger—namely, the surprising fact that globalization, instead of melding peoples together, has done exactly the opposite. Roudometof's forte is his ability not only to range widely across various Balkan nationalities but also to make a forest out of his diverse trees. Thus the wealth of data he presents leads to clearly articulated conclusions about globalization's role—paradoxically through its corollary, nationalism—in marginalizing minorities, fostering assimilation, and producing ethnic conflict, which thus cannot be explained merely as a clash of rival religions. The book shows that an understanding of history can truly help us to comprehend current problems in the Balkans and elsewhere. * Peter Bien, Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature, Dartmouth College, USA *
An excellent book ... His multidimensional approach to the subject is admirable. * Traian Stoianovich, Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University, USA *

ISBN: 9780313319495

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 595g

320 pages