First Nationalism Then Identity: On Bosnian Muslims and Their Bosniak Identity

by Mirsad Krijestorac

Overview

First Nationalism Then Identity focuses on the case of Bosnian Muslims, a rare historic instance of a new nation emerging. Although for Bosnian Muslims the process of national emergence and the assertion of a new salient identity have been going on for over two decades, Mirsad Kriještorac is the first to explain the significance of the whole process and how the adoption of their new Bosniak identity occurred. He provides a historical overview of Yugoslav and Bosnian Slavic Muslims’ transformation into a full-fledged distinct and independent national group as well as addresses the important question in the field of nationalism studies about the relationship between and workings of nationalism and identity. While this book is noteworthy for ordinary readers interested in the case of Bosnian Muslims, it is an important contribution to the scholarly debate on the role of nationalism in the political life of a group and adds an interdisciplinary perspective to comparative politics scholarship by drawing from anthropology, history, geography, and sociology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780472902880
Publisher:	University of Michigan Press
Publication date:	09/29/2022
Series:	Ethnic Conflict: Studies in Nationality, Race, and Culture
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	348
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Mirsad Kriještorac is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Broward College.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
List of Tables    
Abbreviations
Introduction    
I: Nationalism, Nation, Maybe State … And Identity: Theorizing Nationalism And Its Relation With A Group’s Salient Idenity    
A-1: Universal Particularism of Nationalism    
A-2: Nationalism as Groupness    
A-3: Power Relations as History of Nationalism    
A-4: Types of Nationalism    
A-5: Nationalism to overcome inertia in a motivation for a group change
A-6: Prescription for Imagining Nations    
A-7: Social structure transformation    
A-8: Case Study Selection    
A-9: An argument for a bottom-up approach for a study of a case of nationalism
B: Defining And Disaggregating Salient Identity    
B-2: Three levels of identity, individual, group and community of groups    
B-2-2: Third level of response for group identity
II: A Short History Of Bosnian Muslim Groupness    
2-1: Bosnian Muslims as a Distinct Group of the Bosnian Pot of People    
2-2-1: Significant Early History of Bosnia and Its People    
2-3: Bosnia's Ottoman Legacy    
2-4: The Rise of Independent Bosnian Muslim Elites    
III: The Three Pillars Of Bosnian Muslim Nationalism    
3-1: Integrity of BiH as a Territory and an Entity    
3-2: Islamic Foundation of Bosnian Muslims as a Separate Group
3-3: Theological Roots of Official Bosnian Islam    
3-4: Four Phases of IZBiH Interactions with the non-Islamic State    
3-5: Bosniaks, Bosnian Language or Language of Bosnia and Herzegovina
IV: Mapping The Bosnian Muslim Diaspora Sample
4-1: Materials and Procedure    
4-2: Defining Diaspora and Population Sample
4-3: The Collection Sites    
4-3-1: Chicago Metropolitan Area    
4-3-2: St Louis, Missouri    
4-3-3: New York Metropolitan Area    
5-3-4: Other Locations    
V: Analysis Of Us Bosnian Muslim Diaspora Survey Data: Frequencies And Distributions    
5.1: Discussion on Operationalization and Level of Analysis    
5-2: Questions and Constructs    
5-3: Representativeness of This Sample of the Bosnian Muslim Population    
5-4: Nationalism Constructs    
5-5: The Type of Nationalism Index    
5-6: Controlled Variables    
5-7: Nationalism Type – Frequencies of Fourteen Items    
5-7-1: Regional Representation    
5-7-2: Regionalism and its Manifestations Among Participants    
5-7-3: Feeling Yugoslav, Yes or No?    
5-7-4: Friendship and Social Distance    
5-7-5: Participant Attitudes Toward Traits of the Group
5-7-6: Bosnian Muslims as an Endogamous Group    
5-7-7: Participants’ Perceptions about Bosnian Muslim Culture    
5-8: The Nationalism Strength Index    
5-9: Frequencies of Nationalism Strength Index Items    
5-9-1: Attitudes Towards Fellow Slav Muslims Outside of BiH    
5-9-2: Regional and Schooling Frequencies    
5-9-3: Culture and Ties to the Homeland    
5-9-4: Long-Distance Imagination and Engagement    
5-9-5: Bosnian Language and Intensity of Nationalism    
5-10: Controlled Variables Distribution and Frequencies    
5-10-1: Gender and Representativeness    
5-10-2: Gender and Traits of Bosniak Identity    
5-10-3: Gender and Customs    
5-10-4: Religiosity and Representativeness    
5-10-5: Memory and Perception of Inequality    
5-10-6: Passport Identity    
5-10-7: Other Relevant Data Frequencies    
5-11: Limitations of Data and Study    
VI: Results Of The Test Of Interactions Between Nationalism And Desired Salient Identity
6-1: Lower Level Analysis    
6-1-1: Correlations of Nationalism Strength with Desired Identity, Previous Identity, and Controlled Variables Success    
6-1-2: Correlations between Social Status Categories and Nationalism Strength    
6-1-3: Correlations between Previous Identity and Nationalism Strength    
6-1-4: Correlations of Social Status and Previous Identity with Nationalism Strength    
6-1-5: Correlations of Level of Education and Nationalism Strength    
6-1-6: Correlations of Nationalism Strength and Age of Respondents    
6-1-7: Comparison of Nationalism Strength Across Gender Groups    
6-1-8: Strength of Nationalism for BiH Property Owners    
6-2: Types of Nationalism Correlations    
6-2-1: Types of Nationalism Correlations with the Controlled Variable of Age    
6-2-2: Correlations of Type of Nationalism with the Controlled Variable of Gender    
6-2-3: Nationalism Type and Years of Schooling    
6-2-4: Correlations of House/Apartment Ownership in BiH with Type of Nationalism    
6-2-5: Correlation of Nationalism Type with the Feeling towards Previous and Desired Identities    
6-3: Multinomial Logistic Regression for Nationalism Strength and Nationalism Type on Six Bosniak Identity Categories    
6-3-1: Parameter Estimates for SB Relative to VSB    
6-3-2: Parameter Estimates for WB Relative to VSB    
6-3-3: Parameter Estimates for OVSB Relative to VSB    
6-3-4: Parameter Estimates for OSB Relative to VSB    
6-3-5: Parameter Estimates for OWB Relative to VSB    
6-3-6: Discussion on Multinomial Regression for the Case of Bosniak Identity    
Conclusion: Lessons For A Better Understanding Of Nationalism And Importance Of Bosniak Identity    
Appendices (supplemental files):
Appendix A: Nationalism Strength Questions and Frequencies    
Appendix B: Nationalism Type Questions and Frequencies    
Appendix C: Survey Questionnaire
Bibliography    
Index

What People are Saying About This

Marko Attila Hoare

“This book constitutes a significant contribution to our academic understanding of Bosnia, the Bosniaks, and the former Yugoslavia, and will be of interest to scholars and students of memory, nationhood, nationalism, and identity.”
—Marko Attila Hoare, Sarajevo School of Science and Technology

Editorial Reviews

Kriještorac’s rigorous empirical study of the development of a Bosniak identity extends the academic literature on nationalism, refines the history of Muslims in the Balkans, and adds to our knowledge of immigrant life in the United States. Kriještorac demonstrates the fruitfulness of studying change rather than permanence.”
—Thomas A. Breslin, Florida International University

Thomas A. Breslin

First Nationalism Then Identity makes a critical contribution to the scholarship on the intersections of nationalism and religion in Europe. By providing a breadth of interdisciplinary methods and drawing on original field research from the diaspora Bosnian community in the U.S., Kriještorac illustrates the historical, religious, and political contingencies that gave rise to the formation of a Bosniak national identity. This book offers a new lens for understanding the impact of nationalism on identity formation, thereby intervening in current debates in the field of comparative politics.”
—Hadia Mubarak, Queens College of Arts Sciences

Hadia Mubarak

This is a welcome academic study, which focuses on the important topic of nationalism among Bosniaks, provides a comprehensive historical account of the relevant developments, and presents an analysis of an original dataset.”
—Renat Shaykhutdinov, Florida Atlantic University

Renat Shaykhutdinov

This book is a great source of information for anyone who wants to understand Bosnian-Herzegovian political dynamics and the aspirations of Bosniaks, as the largest national group there. As US ambassador to NATO involved in the effort to end the Bosnia War, I highly recommend this book for policymakers and others who are interested in the region. It effectively explains, normalizes, and situates Bosnian Muslim's national program. It describes their civic-leaning nationalism project and offers their vision of the survival and acceptance in the region, and the possibility of developing Bosnia-Herzegovina as a democratic state nation as opposed to a nation state.”
—Robert E. Hunter, The American Academy of Diplomacy

Robert Hunter

What is a Bosniak? In his magistral work, Mirsad Kriještorac explains the emergence of this new identity as an outcome of a nationalist project in the aftermath of the Yugoslav wars. Digging deeply into history, he takes the reader on a journey that disrupts stereotypes and offers a nuanced treatment of the changing relevance of language, territorial and religious attachments. An extensive survey provides complex evidence of the emergence of a Bosniak identity in the Bosnian diaspora in the US. This magistral work is likely to become an authoritative reference for understanding the history and nationalist politics of an important Muslim-majority country in Europe.”
—Elisabeth Prügl, Geneva Graduate Institute

Elisabeth Prügl

Nationalism is proactive, purposeful, political; identity is reactive, plural, personal. Where national identity comes from is a challenging question, especially in volatile settings. Finding answers depends on theoretically grounded case studies honoring causal complexity, multiple sources of evidence, methodical assessment. Bosniak identity offers an important case and makes this book an exemplary case study.”
—Nicholas Onuf, Florida International University

Nicholas Onuf