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Cyrillization of Republika Srpska

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Cyrillization of Republika Srpska Cyrillization of Republika Srpska Somdeep Sen MA Student (2008-2009), Department of International Relations and European Studies, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary Abstract In 1995, the Dayton Accords were signed to eff ectively end the war in Bosnia. Th is agreement subsequently divided power and territory among ethnic Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). As a result of this, a controversial territorial entity, namely Republika Srpska (Repub- lic of Serbia) was created within Bosnia-Herzegovina. Dominated by ethnic Serbs, Republika Srpska has become the symbol for Serb national and religious identity. Further, one of key mark- ers of this national identity has been the Serbian language. [In this research I am focusing on the use of the Cyrillic script in Republika Srpska, as opposed to Latin. Th e central question that this study will intend answer is ‘Why was the Cyrillic script used as a marker of Serb national identity in Bosnia-Herzegovina, even though religion is often cited as fundamental to the divisions that marked the violent fall of Yugoslavia?’ Here I would solely focus on the choices made (in terms of ‘national identity-markers’) by the Serb secular political elite. Preliminary fi ndings indicate that while religion may have been the obvious choice of a national identity marker, it implicitly provided undue political leverage to the Serb religious leadership. Language ensured that the secular political elite maintained a monopoly over the articulation of Serb national identity in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Furthermore, in relation to the question posed earlier, a diff erent alphabet created a clearer boundary around the Serb nation, as, despite nationalist claims of distinctness, Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian (all remnants of Serbo- Croatian) are languages that remain especially similar to each other. Keywords Republika Srpska, Cyrillic, Cyrillization, Yugoslavia, nationalism, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Language, Serbo-Croatian “Th e loss of national identity is the greatest defeat a nation can know . .” Slobodan Milosevic President of Serbia , 1989-1997 President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , 1997-2000 When Slobodan Milosevic made this statement, he may have been referring to any suff ering nation, but during the 1990s, it became a central idea around which the war in the Former Yugoslavia was fought. It was based on the notion of protecting the nation from the perceived threat from the ‘other’. Even 400 somdeep sen though, only a few years back, the ‘other’ was not seen as too distinct or dif- ferent from ‘us’. In 1995, after almost half a decade of brutal violence and the death of close to a 150,000 people in the former Yugoslavia , the Dayton Accords were signed to eff ectively end the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina . Th is agreement imple- mented a consociational system, which subsequently divided power and terri- tory among ethnic Serbs , Croats and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). As a result of this, a controversial territorial entity, namely Republika Srpska (Republic of Serbia ) was created within Bosnia-Herzegovina. Dominated by ethnic Serbs, Republika Srpska has become the symbol for Serb national and religious iden- tity in the country. One of key markers of this national identity has been the Serbian language. In this research I intend to focus on the use of the Cyrillic script in Republika Srpska, as opposed to Latin.1 Th e central question that this study will answer is ‘Why was the Cyrillic script used as a marker of Serb national identity in Bosnia-Herzegovina, even though religion is often cited as fundamental to the divisions that marked the violent fall of Yugoslavia?’ While this study is structured to understand the case of Republika Srpska, it will potentially help us understand how and why certain markers of national iden- tity are chosen as preeminent to the defi nition of a nation. Related to the case study at hand, there are two fundamental processes of nation-building implicit to this research. Th e fi rst level of analysis explores the very defi nition of a nation and its character. Th is is then succeeded by an examination of the process and dynamics of choosing specifi c markers of national identity.2 In any discourse on nationalism, it is critical to understand the notion that lies at the foundation of this concept, namely, nation. While nationalist lead- ers and myth- makers often defi ne a nation as intrinsically ancient, constant (unvarying) and permanent, Benedict Anderson (1991), in one of the classic defi nitions of a nation, defi nes it as an “imagined political community”3 (p. 6). Th e key term in this defi nition is ‘imagined’. Anderson claims that nations and their boundaries are imagined owing to the fact that it is impossible for one to know every individual in the nation or community (p. 6). What this analysis further establishes is that since a nation is imagined, the basis for social net- 1 It should be noted that before the fall of Yugoslavia , Serbo-Croatian was the only offi cially recognized language and it used Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. Th e dissolution of the country subsequently led to disbanding of the offi cial language and led to the emergence of Croatian (Latin script), Bosnian (Latin script) and Serbian (primarily Cyrillic script). 2 Here the focus would be the choice of national identity markers as a means to create a nation as ‘ancient’, ‘unique’ and ‘opposed’ to another (nation). 3 Please note that following this citation, the expression “Imagined Political Community” will be italicized to accredit it to Benedict Anderson. .
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