BUILDING THE IMCOMPLETE: WESTERN BAKLANS IDENTITY PROBLEM

Pavlović Senka (Diplomirani etnolog-antropolog i diplomirani politikolog-specijalista za međunarodne odnose, student doktorskih studija na Fakultetu političkih nauka u Beogradu), senkapavlovic@gmail.com

Majority of the problems related to the term “Western Balkans Identity” stems from the indefiniteness of what exactly is implied by this problematic and contextualised concept. The author points out that the instability in naming this area is also obvious in the creation of a particular identity. In the author’s opinion, Western Balkans is not a region that could have common identity based on certain number of common characteristics.

Keywords: Western Balkans, Western Balkans identity, geopolitical construction, European Union strategy, building of regional identity, geographical metonym, non-geographical reference, political and economic community, socio-cultural determinant