Abstract for an individual paper
PD. Dr. Daniela Simon
Research Associate
Institute for Danube Swabian History and Regional Study
Mohlstraße 18
72074 Tübingen
Germany
daniela.simon@idgl.bwl.de
https://idglbw.de/de/institut/mitarbeiterteam/daniela-simon
Istria as a Model of Fading Nationalism since the 1970s
In addition to various case studies from around the world that can be used to illustrate the rise of nationalism as both an antecedent and a consequence of war, this paper is devoted to an exceptional region in this regard. The Istrian peninsula on the Adriatic coast looks back on many periods of war and peace, or defeat and victory, and thus on situations in which nationalism provided a political, narrative, and cultural framework for action. It entered the twentieth century as a crown land of the Habsburg Monarchy, deeply affected by an Italian-Croatian-Slovenian nationality conflict. Although it was considered a laboratory of Habsburg multiculturalism, the idea of interethnic coexistence failed when it became a laboratory of Italian fascism. The Italian victory in World War I and the subsequent oppression and discrimination of the Slavic population in annexed Istria strengthened the nationalism of both parties in this disputed region. After the Second World War, following the victory of the partisans and the establishment of socialist Yugoslavia, of which Istria became a part, there was only a temporary revival of nationalism, despite the crimes committed during the war and the expulsion of the Italian population in the aftermath. The supranational order of federal Yugoslavia and the suppression of nationalism only partly explain this. Moreover, in the run-up to the process of Yugoslav disintegration since 1991 and during the wars in Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Istria was particularly resistant to nationalist mobilization. It seems that the narrative of interethnic and cultural coexistence of the different population groups in Istria was decisive for this. This narrative was first formulated in literature in the 1970s and then in politics in 1990, while the state political framework was collapsing and other multicultural regions were engulfed in wars. Instead of nationalism, Istrian actors declared diversity as the basis of the region's politics, economy, and culture. The case study of Istria brings a region of extraordinary diversity into the discussion of nationalism, defeat, and war with a somewhat different logic. It will be particularly interesting to compare Istria with other regions that have experienced a fading of nationalism after armed conflicts.