Extremism and Violent Extremism in Serbia

21st Century Manifestations of an Historical Challenge



Table of contents
Extremism and Violent Extremism in Serbia
21st Century Manifestations of an Historical Challenge
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About the book

Details

The topics of extremism, violent extremism, and radicalization leading to terrorism have constituted an increasingly prominent area of policy interest and donor support in recent years, globally and in the western Balkans. Counterterrorism initiatives, as well as efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism (P/CVE), often reveal the need for broader reform, peacebuilding, and democratization strategies. While foreign donors and domestic authorities tend to focus on ISIS-inspired violent jihadism, in many countries in the region, and particularly in the case of Serbia, there are other forms of extremism—namely far-right nationalism, violent hooliganism, and neo-Nazi movements—that are often considered to be more of an imminent threat, particularly as they are often viewed as examples of “normalized” political expression. The dynamics of reciprocal radicalization, in which competing extremisms feed off of, reinforce, and even need one another, can create seemingly intractable conflict spirals of escalation and violence. This volume explores these dynamics in Serbia through original research, taking fresh perspectives that demonstrate that Serbia is vulnerable to many types of extremism, which can best be prevented by achieving the liberal, democratic, rights-based reforms that have remained elusive for more than two decades. This broad and holistic approach is important for Serbia and its neighbors as the security lens through which most research has been focused to date has done little to explain the deep and structural dynamics of radicalization and extremism in the region.
The author

About the author

Valery Perry has worked in southeast Europe since the late 1990s, conducting research and working for a variety of organizations, policy groups, and nongovernmental organizations. Her focus is on post-war politics and security, accountability-based good governance strategies, and conflict management and resolution.
Reviews

Reviews

"This volume provides a comprehensive set of case studies, is well-documented, and provides insightful work that is much needed to improve knowledge of these local and regional trends."—Sonja Biserko, President, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia

"This book focuses on research of right-wing and jihadist extremism through different case studies. Its special significance is reflected in the clear determination of the phenomena of terrorism and radicalization, which is useful in understanding the context of efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism."—Marija Đorić, Associate Professor, Faculty for Media and Communication, Singidunum University, Belgrade

“Research into radicalization has too often taken the form of an a-contextual study of ‘how individuals can go spectacularly wrong.’ By contrast, this fine collection of essays takes the influence of local culture and context in an online age seriously. By focusing on the—strikingly neglected—experience of contemporary Serbia, they illuminate the sheer complexity of extremist dynamics that are still relentlessly played out in the long shadows of the 1990s; and are still fuelled by the endless renewal energy of nationalist self-pity. An important book; and a highly overdue one.”—Dr. Tim Wilson, Director, Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, St. Andrews

“Valery Perry’s edited volume on violence and extreme ideologies in Serbia comes as a breath of much-needed fresh air. Such research has become increasingly rare, not only when it comes to Serbia, but in regard to the successor states of Yugoslavia in general; thus I was eager to read this publication. […] I look forward to seeing other scholars dealing with the Balkans produce a similar volume focusing on neighbouring states; the volume under review could be used as a building block. I fully recommend Perry’s edited volume to readers interested in how violence and extremism have remained a part of Serbian society since the bloody (post-)Yugoslav conflicts of the 1990s.”―Srđan Mladenov Jovanović, Südosteuropa 68 (2020), no. 2

"While the pairing of ‘extremism’ and ‘violent extremism’ as separate analytical terms is a phenomenon of the policy landscape of the 2010s, the movements and ideologies surveyed in Valery Perry’s volume are largely the latest incarnations of developments that scholars of Serbian nationalism have observed for some time. The discourses of historical revisionism, Islamophobia and demographic panic mobilised by the public figures and anonymous internet users analysed in this volume have been resilient enough to sustain a place in the Serbian public sphere ever since the nationalist intellectual turn of the mid-1980s, incorporating the 1990s’ wars into their narratives, adapting to new social transformations, such as the rise of LGBTQ activism, and finding symbiotic mutual interests with the Serbian state."— Catherine Baker, Europe-Asia Studies, 73:2
Additional Information

Additional Information

Delivery time 2-3 Tage / 2-3 days
Author Boris Milanović, Ana Dević, Kristina Ivanović, Davor Marko, Miloš Milenković, Tijana Rečević, Nike Wentholt
Editor Valery Perry, Jelena Dzankic, Soeren Keil
Number of pages 374
Language English
Publication date Apr 30, 2019
Weight (kg) 0.4870
ISBN-13 9783838212609