Bunjevačko pitanje kao simbolički konflikt politika identiteta

Abstract

Bunjevačko pitanje predstavlja društveno-politički problem u Republici Srbiji koji proizlazi iz različitog tumačenja identiteta bačkih Bunjevaca u Vojvodini. Većina nositelja bunjevačkog etnonima podijeljena je po tom pitanju na dvije strane koje u političkom smislu možemo promatrati kao dvije zasebne bunjevačke zajednice. Jednu zajednicu čine oni Bunjevci koji svoj identitet tumače kao subetničku pripadnost hrvatskoj etničkoj zajednici, a time i hrvatskoj naciji. Na temelju toga oni predstavljaju dio hrvatske nacionalne manjine u Srbiji. Drugu zajednicu čine oni Bunjevci koji se smatraju zasebnom etničkom zajednicom te su kao takvi od 2002. godine priznati kao zasebna nacionalna manjina u Srbiji. Pritom svi nositelji bunjevačkog etnonima generaliziraju svoj identitetski diskurs na sve Bunjevce smatrajući kako svi sačinjavaju jednu zajednicu koja je iznutra podijeljena. Ovaj problem u radu analiziramo temeljno polazeći od konstruktivističke paradigme, posebice teorijskog pristupa Fredrika Bartha (1969) koji naglašava relacijski karakter identiteta etničkih zajednica što se očituje prilikom odabira simbola kojima zajednice međusobno uspostavljaju granice. Taj proces detaljnije promatramo kroz koncept politike identiteta. Njime obuhvaćamo sve oblike djelovanja koje poduzimaju akteri na pozicijama moći s ciljem oblikovanja identiteta pojedine zajednice, pri čemu s jedne strane traže njezino priznanje u širem društvu, a s druge djeluju unutar same zajednice odabirući simbole kojima zajednica ističe svoju specifičnost. Takav tip djelovanja dviju bunjevačkih zajednica dovodi do njihova međusobnog simboličkog konflikta. To uočavamo na primjeru afirmativnih kampanja provedenih uoči popisa stanovništva 2011. godine u Srbiji. Međutim, fokus analize je usmjeren na dužijancu koja predstavlja javnu manifestaciju velikog simboličkog značaja za obje bunjevačke zajednice, a koje ju zbog međusobne suprotstavljenosti identitetskih diskursa paralelno obilježavaju. Primjenjujući tipologiju strategija simboličkog konflikta Simona Harrisona (1995) u zaključku ukazujemo na kompleksnost samog bunjevačkog pitanja koje zapravo proizlazi iz problematičnosti esencijalističkog poimanja same prirode društvenog identiteta.The Bunjevac question represents a socio-political problem in the Republic of Serbia, which comes from different interpretations of identity of the Bunjevac people from Bačka in Vojvodina. The majority of the Bunjevac ethnonym carriers are deeply divided by that issue into two dominant sides, which can, in the political sense, be regarded as two separate Bunjevac communities. One is composed of those Bunjevac people who interpret their identity as a sub-ethnic group belonging to the Croatian ethnic community and hence to the Croatian nation. Based on that, they represent a part of the Croatian national minority in Serbia. The other community is composed of those Bunjevac people who consider themselves being a separate ethnic community and as such they have been recognized as a separate national minority in Serbia since 2002. At the same time, all carriers of the ethnonym Bunjevac generalize their identity discourse onto all Bunjevac people and consider all of them to be constituting one community which is split inside. In this paper we analyse this problem fundamentally starting with the constructivist paradigm, especially with the theoretical approach of Fredrik Barth (1969), who emphasizes the relational character of identity of ethnic communities, which is evident in the selection of symbols which are used by both communities to establish boundaries between themselves. We examine that process in more detail through the concept of identity politics. It includes all forms of activities carried out by the actors on the position of power, aimed at constructing the identity of a certain community, seeking its recognition in the broader society on the one hand, and acting within the community by choosing the symbols which make them distinguished in the community, on the other hand. This type of activity of the two Bunjevac communities leads to their mutual symbolic conflict. It is noticeable on the example of affirmative campaigns carried out before the 2011 census in Serbia. However, the focus of the analysis is directed towards dužijanca, which represents a public event of great symbolic meaning for both of the Bunjevac communities. Because of their mutually opposed identity discourse, they both organize it as parallel events. By applying the typology of symbolic conflict proposed by Simon Harrison (1995) we point out in the conclusion the complexity of the Bunjevac question itself, which actually arises from the essentialist understanding of the nature of collective identity