Between pride and shame. Media narratives on "Belgrade Pride Parade" in contemporary Serbia
This paper discusses the position of the key social and political actors in contemporary Serbia, referring to the broadly accepted concept defined as “European values”. The article focuses on the so-called “Belgrade Pride Parade”, a highly contested event in the Serbian public, which is at...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institute of Ethnography, SASA, Belgrade
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Glasnik Etnografskog Instituta SANU |
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| Online Access: | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-0861/2015/0350-08611502351D.pdf |
| Summary: | This paper discusses the position of the key social and political actors in
contemporary Serbia, referring to the broadly accepted concept defined as
“European values”. The article focuses on the so-called “Belgrade Pride
Parade”, a highly contested event in the Serbian public, which is at the same
time considered as the essential part of the EU accession process. Through
the analysis of the media discourses related to the “Pride” events in 2010
and 2014, the paper shows the complex relation between the officially
proclaimed politics of “European integration” and still very strong
nationalist discourses, inherited from the 1990s. The aim of the article is
to analyse the present hegemonic struggles between the political forces
defending “traditional”, conservative values and the political agents that
promote “dangerous”, liberal “European” ideas, such as protecting the rights
of sexual minorities. The comparative analysis of the media representation of
two events in 2010 and 2014 shows the changes in the public narrative. I
argue that the violent clashes that occurred in 2010 Belgrade Pride Parade
between the police and the members of right wing organisations were mostly
the result of the lack of the political will among the Serbian elites,
followed by ambivalent media representations, promoting at the same time the
necessity of accepting “European values” and justification of violence. On
the other hand, the absence of violent events in 2014 shows the will of the
state apparatus to secure the “Pride”. However, the media reports on the
event, as well as the public statements made by Serbian officials, still
remain ambivalent towards the very nature of the “Pride”, justifying it only
by the pressure made by the EU and the protection of constitutional rights.
Moreover, the presence of new narratives in the media, discussing the high
price of organizing such event, shows the shift in the public discourse from
common nationalist arguments to the new, neoliberal rhetoric. This change
doesn’t indicate the radical shift of the social climate in Serbia from
conservative to liberal, but, more likely, establishes Serbia as just one of
the many states on the European periphery, operating within wider framework
of neoliberal agendas. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br.
177026: Kulturno nasleđe i identitet] |
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| ISSN: | 0350-0861 2334-8259 |