EUROPE's RISING REGIONALISM and the QUEST for AUTONOMY: the CASE of 'ISTRIAN IDENTITY' by Danijela Beovic Submitted to Central
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EUROPE'S RISING REGIONALISM AND THE QUEST FOR AUTONOMY: THE CASE OF 'ISTRIAN IDENTITY' By Danijela Beovic Submitted to Central European University Nationalism Studies Program In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Advisor: Szabolcs Pogonyi CEU eTD Collection Second advisor: Antal Orkeny Budapest, Hungary 2013 Abstract This thesis analyzes the concepts of regional identity and regionalism, discussing at the same time the way pro-regional politicians are using European integration in their pro-autonomy rhetoric. The focus of the thesis is the emergence of regional identitarian politic and the construction of regional identity in the richest and most multi-ethnic Croatian region, Istria. The main question this thesis addresses is whether local people in Istria developed regional identity feelings in the way political elites are trying to promote, to what extent is that identity meaningful in everyday life, and how it correlates with their support for the autonomy of Istria. The study also examines the inclusiveness/exclusiveness of regional self-identification, the differences between generations and the possible motives of actors promoting regional identity Istria’s right to autonomy. In order to answer these questions, individual semi-structured interviews with people living in the region were carried out and critical discourse analysis of the interviews and speeches by the main regional leader, Ivan Jakovcic, was done. Findings indicate three key things. First, the main motive for the regional leaders’ promotion of regional identity is of economic nature and with the aim to gain support for their regionalist plans. Second, regional identity does take an important place for majority of the interviewed subjects, but is not meaningful in their everyday life and is not that much in line with what the regional elites’ are trying to promote. Third, the regional self-identification is not exclusive of other types of identifications and its strength correlates lowly with people’s support for the autonomy of Istria. Contrary to expectations, the differences between generations were not significant. CEU eTD Collection i Acknowledgments I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisors, Prof. Szabolcs Pogonyi and Prof. Antal Orkeny, both of whom patiently guided me through the thesis writing process and offered me invaluable advice. This thesis could not be written to its fullest without their immense help and support. I am particularly grateful to Prof. Szabolcs Pogonyi for challenging me and encouraging me throughout my time spent studying under him. My gratitude also goes to all the interviewees who made such an effort to answer all my questions and share their stories with me. I am especially thankful to my family for their unreserved support and love. Without my parents none of this would be possible. I would like to extend my deep gratitude to all those who became like a family in Budapest and made these two years spent here unforgettable. My gratitude also goes to the CEU Nationalism Studies Program and all the wonderful colleagues for the amazing CEU experience. My special gratitude goes to Jean-Baptiste for his constant love and support. CEU eTD Collection ii Table of Contents 1. Introduction .....................................................................................................................1 1.1. The Regional Identitarian Politics and Everyday Experience in Istria .......................2 1.2. Methodology ............................................................................................................6 2. Theoretical Background................................................................................................. 11 2.1. Definition of Key Terms: How to Analyze Regional Identity? ................................ 11 2.1.1. The Concept of ‘Identity’ ................................................................................ 12 2.1.2. The Construction of Regional Identity ............................................................. 15 2.1.3. (Re)shaping of Regions: Definitions of the Term and Its Connection to Regionalism .................................................................................................................. 19 2.2. The Europe of the Regions: The European Union as an Actor in Promoting Regionalism ...................................................................................................................... 22 3. Istria – The Past and the Present .................................................................................... 27 3.1. A Brief History of Istria .......................................................................................... 28 3.2. Demographics: The Multiethnic and Multilinguistic Character of Istria .................. 30 3.3. The Construction of Istrian Regional Identity and Influential Actors....................... 33 3.4. Istrian Regionalism and Croatia's Accession to the European Union ....................... 39 3.5. The Quest for Autonomy and Political Implications................................................ 42 4. The Interviews and the Research Results ....................................................................... 47 4.1. Analysis of the Politics from 'Above' ...................................................................... 47 4.1.1. Analysis of Research Results: “Istria as a Unique Region With a Strong Identity and Recognizable Values, With the Right to Autonomous Status” ................................. 48 4.1.2. The Possible Reasons for Istrian Identity ......................................................... 54 4.2. Semi-structured Interviews and Methodological Questions ..................................... 56 4.2.1. Subjects and Method of the Interviews ............................................................ 57 4.2.2. Research Limits and Hypotheses ..................................................................... 59 4.2.3. The Structure of Interviews ............................................................................. 60 4.3. Analysis of People's Narratives: The Research Findings ......................................... 65 CEU eTD Collection 4.3.1. Personal vs. Collective Identity ....................................................................... 66 4.3.2. Embeddedness of Regional Identity ................................................................. 71 4.3.3. Affective, Behavioral, Cognitive and Attitudinal Aspects of One’s Self- Identification ................................................................................................................. 77 4.3.4. Correlation of Regional Self-Identification with the Support for the Autonomy of Istria and with the Support for Decentralization of Croatia ........................................ 85 iii 4.3.5. Interpretation of the Research Findings ........................................................... 90 5. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 94 Bibliography......................................................................................................................... 99 Appendix 1 ......................................................................................................................... 110 Appendix 2 ......................................................................................................................... 111 Appendix 3 ......................................................................................................................... 112 Appendix 4 ......................................................................................................................... 113 Appendix 5 ......................................................................................................................... 114 Appendix 6 ......................................................................................................................... 115 CEU eTD Collection iv 1. Introduction „What we are dealing with here is the unity of diversities, survival and the building of the unique ethno-foundation. The history of Istria used to be the school of life and it still is. An example of social splitting, intolerance... but also acculturation, coexistence... namely, an example of the European history in miniature. An entire galaxy of social worlds – big and small ones – both sensitive and resistant.“1 The beginning of 2011 saw the Youth of the Istrian Democratic Assembly2 (IDS) calling for the people in Istria, the most western borderland of the Republic of Croatia, and all those who feel like Istrians to identify themselves as such in the upcoming census that took place the same year in April. Declaring such regional attachments in the census has been constantly rejected by politicians of other regional parties, since Croatia's independence. The result was a heated debate between politicians and intellectuals labeling regional self- identification as potentially separatist and dangerous, and those claiming that such identifications do not exclude being Croat at the same time and that the specificities of Istrian identity are its inclusiveness of different affiliations and blending of cultures of different ethnic groups. However, constant referring to the need for bigger regional autonomy by Istrian politicians triggers doubts over the true intentions of those engaged in identitarian politics. Today, when we witness the growth of