The Serbia sample

The final sample for the Serbia case study includes 12 opinion pieces. An overview of the content of each text is provided in Table 2 below. For the sake of clarity, each text from all three samples has been assigned a unique code (indicated in the left column) which will be used as reference in the analysis.

Table 2. Content overview of the texts included in the Serbia sample.

S01 Ivana Anojčić, Naši interesi [Our interests], published in Politika on 17 February 2008

In her commentary, published on the very day of Kosovo’s declaration of independence, Anojčić discusses the highlights of a conference on Serbia’s national and state interests held in Belgrade. The main points raised by the speakers are that there is no clear consensus about such interests, that Serbia’s progress is hindered by unresolved border disputes, and that Serbia should embrace democracy and European integration.

S02 Milan Grujić, Lazarev zavet [Lazar’s oath], published in Press on 17 February 2008

Also published on the day of Kosovo’s independence, Grujić’s opinion piece firmly defends the idea that Serbian society ought to honour its past struggles, epitomised in the myth of Prince Lazar,22 _{by claiming sovereignty over Kosovo.}

S03 Miloš Garić, Prokletije [The Accursed Mountains],23 _{published in Press on 18 February}

2008

In his passionate commentary, Garić argues that Serbia must and will fight for Kosovo in the future. After expressing disgust for the Serbs who do not deplore Kosovo’s secession

22 _{Prince Lazar is a medieval Serbian ruler who gave his life fighting against the Ottomans in the Battle}

of Kosovo in 1389. He is a key figure of the Kosovo myth (see § 5.3.4 for details).

23 _{Prokletije is a mountain range on the western Balkan peninsula, extending from northern Albania to} Kosovo, to eastern Montenegro. Its name means “the accursed (mountains)”, possibly because they are perceived as wild and insurmountable. Here it is used metonymically to refer to Kosovo.

from Serbia, he declares that future generations of Serbs will take up the struggle for Kosovo in the name of the nation’s great ancestors.

S04 Nikola Samardžić, Kosovo u Srbiji [Kosovo in Serbia], published in Danas on 19 February 2008

Samardžić, historian and professor at the University of Belgrade, advances the claim that the Serbian political and economic elites are the most responsible for the country’s critical situation. Not only have they precipitated the Kosovo crisis, he argues, but they also foster the Kosovo myth as ideological cover for pursuing their own private interests.

S05 Goran Despotović, Vreme za odgovornost, otrežnjenje i razum [Time for responsibility, sobriety and reason], published in Danas on 20 February 2008

Despotović blames the Serbian political elite for being self-interested and for using the Kosovo issue to shift public attention away from the real problems affecting society. He then urges the political leadership to improve Serbia’s foreign relations and to embrace European integration as a pathway to prosperity.

S06 Jelena Cerovina, Bol i nada [Pain and hope], published in Politika on 22 February 2008

In her opinion piece, Politika reporter Jelena Cerovina advances the view that, contrary to popular belief, most Serbs are not willing to accept the loss of Kosovo, as shown by the recent massive street protests.

S07 Đoko Kesić, Mudrost [Wisdom], published in Press on 26 February 2008

Kesić’s opinion piece provides advice to Serbia’s political and intellectual elites on how to wisely address the Kosovo issue. Kesić argues that Serbia needs to avoid armed conflicts and clearly define its own goals, and concludes by stating that the best way for Serbia to strengthen itself is to continue its engagement in the European integration process.

S08 Batić Bačević, Tri lidera [Three leaders], published in NIN on 28 February 2008

Bačević regards the inability of Serbia’s three main political leaders (President Tadić, Prime Minister Koštunica and the opposition leader Nikolić) to adopt a unified response to the Kosovo crisis as evidence of the high level of polarisation of Serbian society. Such dividedness, he contends, damages Serbia’s international reputation and undermines its chances to achieve prosperity.

S09 Teofil Pančić, Anamneza jedne parole [Anamnesis of a slogan], published in Vreme on 28 February 2008

In this ironic and caustic commentary, Vreme’s prominent columnist and political analyst Teofil Pančić takes a cue from a statement by Prime Minister Koštunica to expose what he

regards as the core of Serbia’s dominant political ideology, namely the idea that Kosovo has acquired a much greater significance than Serbia itself. He concludes by pointing out how the political establishment is increasingly divided over the Kosovo issue.

S10 Vuk Drašković, Kosovo i mi [Kosovo and us], published in Blic on 5 March 2008

A renowned political figure, opinion leader and novelist, Vuk Drašković accuses both the political elites who ruled Serbia in the 1990s and those who spearheaded its post-Milošević democratic transition of being responsible for the loss of Kosovo, which he views as a traumatic national defeat. He also states that recognition of Kosovo’s independence is not a precondition for Serbia’s EU integration, and concludes with an appeal to the Serbian people to uphold the spirit of the Zajedno coalition (i.e. the main anti-Milošević movement during the 1990s, of which Drašković himself was a prominent leader).

S11 Vladimir Arsenijević, Kosovo ni(je) Srbija [Kosovo is (not) Serbia], published in

Politika on 13 March 2008

Novelist and columnist Arsenijević advances the viewpoint that Serbian society needs to ‘grow up’ by coming to terms with the fact that Kosovo is no longer part of Serbia. The inability of many to accept this truth, he claims, depends on a widespread ‘disorder of perception’ that has characterised Serbian society since the demise of Milošević. The responsibility to help Serbia overcome this predicament, he concludes, lies with the political leaders.

S12 Milan Škulić, Kosovo je Srbija [Kosovo is Serbia], published in Politika on 18 March 2008

In his commentary written in response to Vladimir Arsenijević’s editorial (see above), law professor Milan Škulić maintains that Kosovo belongs to Serbia from both a legal and cultural perspective, and that those who claim the opposite should be considered as traitors to the Serbian nation.