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The Politics of Multiculturalism in the Northern Autonomous Province of Vojvodina: (Serbian) Youth Discourse on Multiculturalism in Novi Sad

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The Politics of Multiculturalism in the Northern Autonomous Province of Vojvodina: (Serbian) Youth Discourse on Multiculturalism in Novi Sad The Politics of Multiculturalism in the Northern Autonomous Province of Vojvodina: (Serbian) Youth Discourse on Multiculturalism in Novi Sad MSc International Development Thesis: Disaster Studies Track Sara Zarkovic - 940719999180 Supervisor: Gemma van der Haar 0 Table of Contents Introduction 4 1. Background to the region of Vojvodina 7 1.1 A “brief snippet” on the region of Vojvodina 7 1.2 Vojvodina’s Demography 9 1.3 Vojvodina and Multiculturalism 11 1.4 A short history of Vojvodina’s autonomy and its political status 13 1.5 1990s rising animosities and their consequences 16 2. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 19 2.1 What is identity and how is it constructed? 20 2.2 Multiculturalism 25 2.3 Problem Statement 31 2.4 Research Question 33 2.5 Relevance of research and its ambitions 33 3. Methodology 35 3.1 Type of research 35 3.2 Sampling 35 3.3 Methods used 38 3.3.1 Semi-structured interviews 38 1 3.3.2 Informal talks and observations 38 3.3.3 Focus group discussion 39 3.3.4 Expert interviews 41 3.3.5 Quantative survey conducted by “ninamedia” research 44 3.4 Limitations of research 45 3.5 Researcher’s positionality 47 4. Multiculturalism in Vojvodina 50 4.1 Management of “ethnicity” in the former Yugoslavia 50 4.2. Vojvodina’s multicultural claim 53 4.3 Vojvodina’s multicultural claim and its societal perception 58 4.4 Where is Vojvodina’s multicultural claim heading? 63 5. Youth Analysis of the “Multicultural” Setup of Society 72 5.1 How the youth talks about their ethnic-cultural surroundings 78 5.2 How the youth depicts the tensions in their surroundings 85 6. Youth Analysis of Multiculturalism as a “Societal Project” 92 6.1 How the youth gives meaning to their multicultural surroundings 92 6.2 How the youth connects to Vojvodina’s multicultural claim 99 7. Discussion and Conclusion 105 7.1 Summary of research results and findings 105 7.2 Critical evaluation of theoretical approaches used 111 2 7.3 Larger significance of research 116 7.4 Limitations and concerns 119 8. Appendix 1: Main interview informants 123 9. Appendix 2: Expert interview informants 125 10. Appendix 3: Informal talks 126 11. Appendix 4: Quantative survey done by “ninamedia research” in Novi Sad 127 12. Appendix 5: Bibliography 140 3 Introduction “Multiculturalism” is the ethnic-cultural existence of societal plurality within a certain place, community, or region. Most literature on multiculturalism engrosses itself into talking about multiculturalism as a public policy, which is used towards finding more inclusive ways of embracing notions of multicultural citizenship domains. In this sense, the very notion of multiculturalism bases itself on an institutional domain that formally occupies itself with dealing with societal diversity, where it centres upon the crafting of equal rights and opportunities for the different ethnicities living in a certain region. Nowadays, all societies can be considered as social, culturally, and ethnically diverse. However not all societies have labelled themselves as “multicultural”. This is because it is up to a certain government to construct a claim around their present substance of societal plurality. Nevertheless the very notion of “multiculturalism” is often associated to intertwine a multicultural claim and a multicultural societal reality – yet this does not have to be the case. The relationship between a multicultural claim and its societal reality is not unequivocal. One does not have to mean the other, and vice versa. Primarily the nature between the two is very different. A multicultural claim presents a formal narrative that finds actuality within an institutional domain, whereas a “multicultural societal reality” presents a more fluid, relational, complex, and layered realm. In this regard, even though a multicultural claim needs to base itself upon a certain societal substance – it cannot merely exist without there being some sort of societal affluence to justify it - it does not inform upon the workings and functioning of society itself. What is more, a “societal reality” of ethnic-cultural diversity does not implicate a multicultural claim. As mentioned before, all societies can be considered as “socially diverse”, in which it is up to a region’s government whether they will construct a claim around their existing societal plurality. Vojvodina presents a region in the northern part of Serbia that embodies the presence of 26 different ethnicities, further comprising ex-Yugoslavian minorities. It is a region that is promoted to be multicultural. This means that the provincial government of Vojvodina has decided to construct a multicultural claim surrounding the region’s notion of societal plurality. On their main website, the provincial government of Vojvodina states that Vojvodina is characterised as a region that “traditionally fosters multilingualism, multiculturalism and multiconfessionalism” (Provincial Government of Vojvodina, 2017). Moreover Novi Sad 2021 that is dedicated towards promoting the region’s domain of culture asserts that “Novi Sad has built its uniqueness on foundations of its multicultural character…” (Novi Sad 2021, 2014-2016). Accordingly Vojvodina’s multicultural claim is made up of the various institutions and organisations that advocate it. Likewise it is Vojvodina’s specific historic circumstances that legitimise its multicultural claim, where it stands to represent an institutional project that offers the region with a “good image”, as well as formally enables the different ethnicities to maintain their identities. What is more, the region’s multicultural claim is crafted by people saying Vojvodina is a multicultural region. As expressed by the Director of the Cultural Centre of Novi Sad, “it is problematic to say that Vojvodina is seen or perceived to be multicultural, because it is multicultural” (Bojan Panaotovic, 2017). This was also the reason why this thesis decided to embark on researching “multiculturalism” in Vojvodina, because there seemed to be widespread promotion and acknowledgement of 4 Vojvodina being a “multicultural region”, due to the vast propagation of this claim; yet what this multicultural claim meant to the people and Vojvodina’s locality, was left unsaid and unknown. This thesis’ bigger aim is to deconstruct the ambiguous relation between a multicultural claim and its societal reality, in order to show that one does not have to mean the other, and vice versa. By rooting the very notion of “multiculturalism” within the locality of the youth, through the engagement with the youth’s way of talking about and giving meaning to their ethnic-cultural surroundings, this thesis will be able to say something about the relation between Vojvodina’s multicultural claim and its societal reality. This is because the youth will offer their problemtisation of Vojvodina’s multiculturalism – involving how they conceptualise their societal milieu, which will also inform upon the youth’s regard of Vojvodina’s multicultural claim, and how it is manifested in their life. Accordingly this thesis has decided to research the topic of multiculturalism in Vojvodina, because it believes that this issue necessitates attention, especially in the Balkans. South east Europe stands as a region that requires research in the domain of identity and multiculturalism with its past history of war, conflict, and secessions. Within its ethnic-cultural societal mix, Vojvodina comprises ex- Yugoslavian minorities that makes it interesting to examine in the light of Serbia’s past history – with the breakup of Yugoslavia and the consequent Balkan wars that took place. This is why this thesis has dedicated itself to investigating how the (Serbian) youth, who embody the post-Yugoslavian generation, conceptualise their ethnic-cultural surroundings. What does this notion of “multiculturalism” mean to the youth of Vojvodina, who live in the capital city of Novi Sad that personifies the region’s multicultural hub? In this regard, how does the youth position themselves within this multicultural narrative – being the major ethnicity – do they present the generation that is unaffected by the past Balkan wars? The relevance of this thesis centres upon the provision of new knowledge on identity and multiculturalism in south east Europe. This thesis will provide a local perspective on multiculturalism, where this notion that is usually analysed within an institutional domain, will be deconstructed through a localised discourse. Moreover this thesis will reveal how a segment of the Vojvodinian population – the (Serbian) youth - being the supposed unaffected generation of the past Balkan wars, as well as symbolising the “major ethnicity” in the region, problematises ethnic diversity in their environment. This thesis will utilise a constructivist perspective with a “postmodern subject” that will enable it to look at identity and multiculturalism (the way people talk about their sense of belonging and the different ways they connect to multiculturalism), in a malleable way that will take into consideration the broader cultural constellation of the youth. This means that the very notion of multiculturalism will be regarded as a process that expresses itself within the youth’s environment – manifesting itself through ethnic-cultural diversity and or through the proliferation of Vojvodina’s multicultural claim. In this sense, multiculturalism will also be regarded as a social mechanism that can affect a person’s way of identifying. Furthermore this thesis will examine the youth’s regional consciousness relating
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