SERB, BOSNIAN, AND YUGOSLAV: THE BOSNIAN SERB INTELLECTUALS ON THE ROAD TOWARDS A MULTI-ETHNIC IDENTITY, 1878-1914 (Spine title: Serb, Bosnian, and Yugoslav) (Thesis format: Monograph) by Jelica Zdero Graduate Program in History A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Jelica Zdero 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-50485-7 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-50485-7 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners Dr. Marta Dyczok Dr. Brock Millman Co-Supervisor Dr. Pierre Reynard Dr. Charles Ruud Dr. Martin Horak Supervisory Committee Dr. Robert Austin The thesis by Jelica Zdero entitled: SERB, BOSNIAN, AND YUGOSLAV: THE BOSNIAN SERB INTELLECTUALS ON THE ROAD TOWARDS A MULTI-ETHNIC IDENTITY, 1878-1914 is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii ABSTRACT This thesis is an intellectual history that examines the identity development of the Bosnian Serbs at the turn of the twentieth century. It argues that during Austria- Hungary's peacetime occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1878 to 1914, an increasing number of Bosnian Serb intellectuals gradually developed a collectivist, multi­ ethnic approach to group identity that was flexible enough to have produced a "Serb," a "Bosnian," and a "Yugoslav" consciousness. Born out of a concern for their ethnic community's social, cultural, and political survival as a newly incorporated group in the vast multi-national Empire of Austria-Hungary, these intellectuals believed that the optimal solution was to align themselves with those ethnic groups with whom they had the most in common. These included the South Slavs living in Bosnia and in the neighbouring lands of Serbia, Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Macedonia. The idea of multi-ethnic "groupness" as a conscious choice, as a constructed language and ideology, therefore, forms an important part of this thesis. Although the intellectuals drew from certain "raw materials" (e.g. language, culture, and history) which they molded into potentially-binding groupings, they were also influenced by their circumstances under foreign rule as well as the national and pan-national ideologies of the age. And while this study does not bestow absolute privilege on the "Serb," the "Bosnian," and the "Yugoslav" components of their multi-ethnic identity, it shows their broader influence and, therefore, sets this work apart from studies that have often stressed the impact of Serb national ideologies on the Bosnian Serbs to the exclusion of the others. KEYWORDS: multi-ethnic identity, inter-ethnic identity, Bosnian Serb intellectuals, Serb, Bosnian, Yugoslav, nationalism. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The efforts of many people besides the author made this dissertation possible. I would like to single out my supervisors, Dr. Charles A. Ruud and Dr. Marta Dyczok, for their constant support, critical skill, and great patience with my numerous drafts. I am also indebted to Dr. John V.A. Fine, Jr. for his expertise and positive expressions of encouragement. To my examining committee, Dr. Martin Horak, Dr. Brock Millman, Dr. Pierre Claude Reynard, and Dr. Robert C. Austin, I would like to offer my appreciation for their helpful and insightful criticisms. I wish to thank our Graduate Secretary, Chris Speed, for her technical and administrative advice as well as the entire Department of History, including faculty and fellow students, for providing a supportive environment for my work. The staff of the various libraries and archives, including those at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario and those in Sarajevo, Bosnia who worked at The National and University Library of Bosnia-Herzegovina, The Archive of Bosnia- Herzegovina, The Historical Archive of Sarajevo, The Archive of Young Bosnia, The National Museum, and The Museum of Literature and Theatrical Arts of Bosnia- Herzegovina were also of great assistance. Dijana Senk and Aco Ljiljak were especially helpful not only in locating relevant sources, but in extending their friendship to me. In the end, the love of my family provided me my greatest source of strength and courage. To my parents, Obrad and Ana Zdero, I am grateful for their unconditional love and support. My brother, Radovan Zdero, was a constant source of encouragement, humour, and spiritual counsel. To my husband, Robin Moorhouse, I offer my gratitude for his love, patience, wisdom, and countless expressions of positive reinforcement as I completed this dissertation. Above all, I would like to thank my Lord and my God to whom I dedicate this study. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION ii ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv LIST OF MAPS vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi INTRODUCTION Serb, Bosnian, and Yugoslav: The Bosnian Serb Intellectuals between Tradition and Ideology 1 CHAPTER 1 Foundations: The Bosnian Serb Collective Consciousness (1878-1896) 32 CHAPTER 2 If not Serb, then What?: Kinship, Territoriality, and the Rise of a Multi-Ethnic Consciousness in Bosnia (1896-1905) 81 CHAPTER 3 Nation-building, Part I: S ocial and Cultural Integration (1905 -1910) 115 CHAPTER 4 Nation-Building, Part II: Political Integration (1908-1910) 154 CHAPTER 5 Cooperation and Dissent: The Politics of Nation-Building (1910-1914) 182 CHAPTER 6 The "Great Idea" of Yugoslav Unity (1908-1914) 233 CONCLUSION 275 BIBLIOGRAPHY 282 CURRICULUM VITAE 313 v LIST OF MAPS 0.1 Communist Yugoslavia (post-1945) 17 1.1 Medieval Bosnia 37 1.2 Bosnia-Herzegovina under Austro-Hungarian Rule (1878-1918) 49 3.1 The Balkans ca. 1900 with Austro-Hungarian-occupied zones highlighted 119 5.1 Political Boundaries of the Balkans before and after the Balkan Wars (1912-13) 199 VI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ABH Arhiv Bosne i Hercegovine (Archive of Bosnia-Herzegovina, located in Sarajevo) AMB Arhiv Mlade Bosne (Archive of Young Bosnia, located in Sarajevo) HAS Istorijski Arhiv Sarajevo (Historical Archive of Sarajevo, located in Sarajevo) PGS Zemaljska vlada Sarajevo (Provincial Government of Sarajevo collections in the Archive of Bosnia-Herzegovina, located in Sarajevo) Vll 1 INTRODUCTION Serb, Bosnian, and Yugoslav: The Bosnian Serb Intellectuals between Tradition and Ideology Thesis Scholars who have written about the ethnic identity of the Bosnian Serbs before the creation of Yugoslavia have generally argued that it was inspired by Serb national ideologies that promoted the unification of the Serbs in an enlarged Serbian state. The Serbs were then divided and scattered, living in independent Serbia (1878), Montenegro (1878), and in certain territories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Croatia-Slavonia, Dalmatia and, as of 1878, Bosnia-Herzegovina).1 In the years leading up to World War I, a growing number of Serb irredentists became increasingly active in promoting the unification of the Serbs. Failing this, scholars tell us, Serb nationalists decided to support the unification of the national communities who are today known as the Yugoslavs— literally "South Slavs"—namely the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.2 In their desire to reconstruct the dominant forces at work, however, few scholars have examined regional variations in the national ideologies of the Serbs, preferring instead to emphasize Serbia and its leading influence. They have, therefore, run the risk of imposing the same 1 A note on the uses of the terms "Bosnia" and "Herzegovina:" "Bosnia" and "Herzegovina" are the historic names