Variants of „Third Serbia“

pages: 23-44

Abstract

This paper examines different forms in which “Third Serbia” is being discursively constructed. This concept has recently been offered within the public arena as the alternative to the former division into “First” and “Second” Serbia. Although the name is the same, “Third Serbia” is not one but many. They all share an explicit call for overcoming cleavages and extremes, which are perceived as overdrawn, artificial, and/or removed from genuine concerns and interests of Serbian society. There is also a moral claim contained in this, since what is offered is presented as better and more correct than the previous dichotomy. The various facets of “Third Serbia”, their similarities and divergences, will be explored based on the analysis of a corpus of texts from daily and weekly press in which this signifier is found. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179049: Politike društvenog pamćenja i nacionalnog identiteta] Keywords: Third Serbia, First Serbia, Second Serbia, symbolic divisions, social cleavages, discourse