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At the Intersection of Nation and Church : Political Myth in the Balkans

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Author

Summary, in English

The present paper investigates the contemporary intersections of nation and church in two Balkan states, Romania and Serbia, as they are specifically articulated with the help of political myth. Myths are understood here as narratives about the past of a given national community that bring cohesion to the group. The political aspect of myth lies in its use by political actors and in its potential to mobilize communities for a political cause. The primary empirical sources of the paper are drawn from post-communist history textbooks dealing with national history in both countries.

The paper will tentatively conclude that the political myth has proven to be a very useful mode to bring together nation and church for the purposes of political mobilization and that myth’s importance for present-day politics should be reappraised.

Publishing year

2012

Language

English

Document type

Conference paper

Topic

  • History and Archaeology

Keywords

  • religion
  • Serbia
  • Romania
  • Balkans
  • history textbooks
  • nationalism
  • Political myth

Conference name

17th Annual ASN World Convention: The Wages of Nationhood: Conflicts, Compromises, and Costs

Conference date

2012-04-19 - 2012-04-21

Status

Unpublished