Introduction: Heritage in ‘Conflict-Time’ and Nation-Building in the Former Yugoslavia

Abstract

The introductory chapter frames the book theoretically and thematically, in relation to ongoing debates in critical heritage studies, as well as the anthropological literature and the historiography of the former Yugoslav space. First, it discusses how heritage studies has moved towards an understanding of heritage as a dynamic process, interconnected with shifts in collective memory and sociopolitical change. Second, it underlines the double relevance of investigating such processes in the region, both for broader understandings of the role of heritage and memory in nationalist mobilizations, as well as to express the multi-scalar specificities of transformation in the post-Yugoslav space. Third, the introduction unpacks the synchronicity of the pasts displayed through heritage processes. The contexts of the former Yugoslavia highlight not only heritage as ‘dissonant’ (Tunbridge & Ashworth, 1996) and, often ‘difficult’ (Macdonald, 2010), but also in some places as a manifestation of ‘conflict-time’ (Baillie, 2013). While some heritage has become ‘bracketed’ (Frykman, 2005) other forms have become actors in the negotiation of ‘conflict-time’—the continuation of conflict in the aftermath of war. The chapter then shifts from temporal concerns to the different scales and lenses explored in the volume: from architectural objects to urban space, from tangible to intangible heritage, from national narratives to minority perspectives, from memory entrepreneurs to reception by diverse publics. It proceeds to survey the variety of methodologies and disciplinary approaches used in the book. Finally, it gives a brief overview of the three sections which comprise the volume, their relation to each other and to the main themes of conflict-time and nation-building.