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The Distant Observers? Towards the Politics of Diasporic Identification

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Zlatko Skrbiš*
Affiliation:
Queensland University of Technology, Carseldine, Queensland, Australia

Extract

There are two common ways of reflecting upon the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia. The first one, journalistic, transmits and animates the images of horror, brutality, deprivation, and displacement. The second one, historicist—as opposed to historical—invests its energy into interpretation, construction and reconstruction of the past, attributing it with a self-explanatory power. “When and where did it all start? … So what does the past tell us?” (Sinclair-Loutit, 1994, p. 230). In this way, history is given the power to serve as an undisputed indicator and guide in the disarray of myths and facts. Both these positions share a common denominator; they both help us to assume a position of contemporary voyeurs—comfortable, distant observers who can do nothing but consume the provided imagery.

Type
Part III: International Reactions to Yugoslavia's Disintegration
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

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