“The socialist period was a fairy tale”: Yugo-nostalgia and anti-nationalism in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Povzetek

Collective memory of distinct ethnic groups may shed light on omitted parts of official histories of nation-states. Sometimes, a clash among different memories and narratives might be observed within societies. However, distinct groups may also remember the past by referring to similar concepts, and this reveals some collective characteristics. In some cases, remembrance of former periods may reach the level of collective nostalgia in different forms. In this article, I analyse the remembrance of socialist Yugoslavia in Bosnia-Herzegovina among its constitutionally recognized ethnic groups: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs, and Bosnian Croats who experienced socialist Yugoslavia. Although socialist Yugoslavia was dissolved because of the nationalist dissolution wars (1991-95), anti-nationalism or supra-ethnicity was generally palpable in the regime. I aim to trace collective patterns through Bosnians’ memories on Yugoslavia to understand its social relations and to see whether Yugo-nostalgia exists in the form of anti-nationalism despite collective war traumas.