4. When le peuple becomes la nation

only an ideological confusion but nostalgia for the dusty concepts of nineteenth-century literature and historiography:

The fact that Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were Balkan is so often ignored seems strange to me. Some claim that Balkanism is a recent idea. That is not the case. If we see it as a concept tied to a particular geographical region and its population, then it must apply to the whole history of that place; on the other hand, if it is instead a localised, ephemeral phenomenon, then we cannot claim that it is inherent to any particular structure.

It is ‘obvious’, he concludes, ‘that there is something eternal, quintessential, that has survived intact since antiquity’.4 Such sweeping, metaphorical statements about different periods of time do not illuminate either the past or the present. Instead, they are evidence that intellectuals, non-academics and elected officials often rely on stereotypes.

There are marked differences between the rhetoric used in Eastern and Western Europe when discussing such topics, and in particular the question of political identity. Of course, no part of the continent is exempt from some kind of identity crisis at one point or another in history. The sources of these conflicts are often the same, and the elites of every country tend to gravitate towards similar ideals. However, when we look at each case in detail, we find significant differences between the ways such ideologies are interpreted, depending on their social context.

All too often, political commentators understate the differences that reflect the variety of cultural and political trends in different European states. Some compare the desire expressed by a proportion of the population in Northern Italy for regional or local autonomy to the divisions that led to the breakdown of Czechoslovakia or Yugoslavia, ignoring these countries’ different social structures. Similarly, the same intellectuals see parallels between SpanishCatalan bilingualism and the Transylvanian multiculturalism of contemporary Romania, as if there was an extraordinary equivalence between these two places on opposite sides of Europe.5 The relationship between culture and political structure is complex and varies from one country to another.6

Neam, popor sau naţiune? Despre identităţi politice europene was originally published by Curtea Veche, Bucharest, in 2003. This new translation is based on the text of the third edition, published by Editura RAO, Bucharest, in 2015, with the addition of a new preface by the author.

© Victor Neumann 2003, 2015 Preface © Victor Neumann 2021

This edition © 2021 by Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd 27 Old Gloucester Street London WC1N 3AX, United Kingdom www.scalapublishers.com

ISBN 978-1-78551-374-9

Translated by Gabi Reigh Edited by Neil Titman

Dust jacket and binding design by Dieter Penteliuc-Cotoșman Interior book design by Linda Lundin Printed and bound in Turkey

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