Identity as a Border in Western Balkans. Comparative analysis

Doi: https://doi.org/10.58603/OODL7283

Rezumat: Beyond the many facets of the identity, one perspective of the identity cleavage in Western Balkans often appears to be very real and proven time and time again by more or less recent historical realities. Identity, be it that of an individual, of a group or of a community can generate both convergence and divergence in a rapport with the other. The other one, a true dichotomy, becomes the expression of the “one beyond” - beyond what is specific to me, to my identity. A border, be it symbolic or ideological, can thus be identified around such identity constructions.
Methodologically, the focus of our analysis falls primarily on the borders of identity arising from ethno-religious or cultural specificity, but also on the nature of mentalities specific to this area. Theoretically and methodologically, we must emphasize the fact that our attention is drawn by both general European identities together with the more particular one, that of the national, regional or local identity. The conceptual perspective confers a clear delineation and establishment of policy analysis, just to make the operationalization of concepts easier and more useful in terms of achieving the overall objective set. Our analysis aims at considering, from a spatial standpoint, to consider the realities of identity recorded in the area of Western Balkans.
For the purpose of a conceptual clarification and to respond to the methodological desideratum already announced, this paper makes comparative references to the case of the states of North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro or to the case of the Albanians in the Balkans. At a comparative level, the reality of identity cleavages, which often takes the shape of borders, is similar in the Balkans. A particular note given by the context is kept, namely the specificity and the geopolitics of the former Yugoslav space.