A WINDOW INTO (SOMEONE ELSE’S) BACKYARD: EURO-INTEGRATION PROCESS, THE KOSOVO MYTH AND IN-FILLING SPACES OF CULTURAL INTIMACY IN THE BORDERS OF SERBIA

Abstract

This paper deals with the euro-integration process seen as a vehicle for the de-balkanization of South-eastern European states, with focus on Serbia. The Balkans, as a word steeped in historical circumstances, has taken onto itself the meaning of the “internal Other”, a part of Europe geographically, that is not itself a part of “Europe”. As such, it has taken on implications of darkness, “primitiveness” and general backwardness. Serbia, as a (Western) Balkans state, is a candidate for membership in the EU. One of the key obstacles in this process has been the declaration of independence of the former Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, the territory which occupies a central position in Serbian nationalist narratives. In particular, the paper examines the issue of the Kosovo myth as a sacralised narrative on Kosovo, which is a segment of cultural-historical heritage of Serbia. Furthermore, the paper also analyses the pervasiveness of that Myth in the everyday worldviews of the population during the euro-integration process. Using the concept of cultural intimacy, as proposed by Michael Herzfeld, I analyse the articulation of contradictions, tensions and ‘community’ building through (self-)critique, mockery or the glorification of one’s own nation.