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Understanding the Dynamics of Ethno-Politicization

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Ethnic Mobilization, Violence, and the Politics of Affect
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Abstract

This chapter introduces Serb Democratic Party of Bosnia-Herzegovina as a crucial agent of ethnic polarization that culminated in the Bosnian War, and offers a theoretical exploration that reexamines the concepts of a nation, ethnic group, and political agency. It argues that conflicts fought in the name of ethnic groups can be understood only by grasping the dynamic processes that intensify the political importance of ethnicity and create group solidarities. The chapter situates these processes within an account of the autonomous and generative powers of discourse, and develops a theoretical model for understanding the power of ethno-nationalist discourse to produce well-defined, politicized ethnic groups.

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Maksić, A. (2017). Understanding the Dynamics of Ethno-Politicization. In: Ethnic Mobilization, Violence, and the Politics of Affect. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48293-4_1

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