‘Culture after Conflict: National Separation, Regional Cooperation and EU Aspirations. The Case of Croatia and Serbia (1995-2005)’,

The thesis examines the re-integration of the former Yugoslav common cultural and economic space from perspectives of Serbia and Croatia in the 1995-2005 period. Political and cultural developments in the two republics are studied in relation to regional cooperation, the emergence of a region-wide mass culture and its impact on separate national identities. The argument is made that the common post-Yugoslav space is based on three factors. First, it stems from a common past based on the continuous existence of shared transnational references and memories, and the rebuilding of older ties and Yugoslav legacies that were interrupted by the wars and ethnic mobilization of the 1990s. Secondly, the emerging consumer culture is by its very nature aimed at a broader than national market. Finally, some aspects of common popular culture emerged as resistance to the two official discourses of ‘nation’ and ‘Europe’.