Census politics and ethnicity in the Western Balkans

Visoka, Gëzim; Gjevori, Elvin

doi:10.1080/21599165.2013.819349

Cited by 21 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…As a result, the last reliable census for Kosovo dates back to 1981. In their recent article, Visoka and Gjevori () have argued that censuses in Southeastern Europe experience four levels of contestation: marginal, partial, extensive, and full. Marginal contestation implies few challenges by organized groups.…”

Section: Census Election Campaignsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Construction of National Identity and its Challenges in Post‐Yugoslav Censuses*

Bieber

2015

Social Science Quarterly

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Objectives. To understand the politics of population census in postconflict countries and salience of the categories imposed through census. By doing so, it seeks to shed light on the mechanisms of identity construction in the post-Yugoslav context. Methods. The article analyzes the categories and the responses to post-Yugoslav censuses, focusing on national, religious, and linguistic identity markers. Results. The analysis shows that a varying, yet significant, share of the population refuses to identify according to the identity markers proposed by the state and promoted by key political actors. Conclusion. The article proposes a novel way of studying censuses and argues that even in a postconflict context national identities are less fixed than often supposed and highlights the need to focus more on nonconformist identities in postconflict settings.

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Section: Census Election Campaignsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Exceptions include Daskalovski (), Jović (), Visoka and Gjevori () and, for the Yugoslav period, Burg and Berbaum () and Sekulic, Massey, and Hodson ().…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Construction of National Identity and its Challenges in Post‐Yugoslav Censuses*

Bieber

2015

Social Science Quarterly

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“…In such settings, census questions about ethnicity, language, or religion are politically controversial (Visoka & Gjevori, 2013), and censuses are often delayed (recently in Fiji or Macedonia) or not conducted at all (Lebanon).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Indirect Approach to Map Ethnic Identities in Post-conflict Societies

Bochsler

Schläpfer

2015

Ethnopolitics

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Ethnicity remains one of the most salient layers of individuals' social identities, and information about the distribution of ethnic identities turns out to be crucial for many studies that investigate political or social processes in divided societies. In the aftermath of civil wars, however, censuses providing such data are controversial and often delayed. Where census data are lacking, researchers can make use of the multiplier method to infer the distribution of ethnic identities based on indirect observations from sub-samples of the population. However, due to the selective nature of their data, the sub-samples might not be representative of the population. This paper proposes a method, which corrects for such selection effects. Based on the ethnic identity of birth-giving parents, the authors estimate the distribution of ethnic identities in the municipalities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2008-2010. They correct for possible selection biases by including economic, demographic and war-related variables. Multiple tests of validity show that this estimation appears to be the most accurate procedure currently available for the distribution of ethnic identities in municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ethnicity remains one of the most salient layers of individuals' social identities, and information about the distribution of ethnic identities turns out to be crucial for many studies that investigate political or social processes in divided societies. In the aftermath of civil wars, however, censuses providing such data are controversial and often delayed. Where census data is lacking, researchers can make use of the multiplier method to infer the distribution of ethnic identities based on indirect observations from sub-samples of the population. However, due to the selective nature of their data, the sub-samples might not be representative of the population. This paper proposes a method, which corrects for such selection effects. Based on the ethnic identity of birth-giving parents, we estimate the distribution of ethnic identities in the municipalities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2008-10. We correct for possible selection biases by including economic, demographic and war related variables. Multiple tests of validity show that our estimation appears to be the most accurate procedure currently available for the distribution of ethnic identities in municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. An indirect approach to map ethnic identities in post-conflict societies

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“…Within the framework of Europeanisation there is scant research on census-taking (Keil, 2015;Keil & Perry, 2015). Recently more attention has been paid to the censuses in the Western Balkan region, but this research focuses foremost on the construction of national identity through the census categories (Bieber, 2015) or on the aspect of ethnicity (Daskalovski, 2013;Visoka & Gjevori, 2013). The politics of numbers behind the population count have also been described as an important aspect (Daskalovski, 2013;Keil & Perry, 2015), and even though censuses form part of the 'technical' acquis, scholars agree that they are not technical, but in fact highly political (Keil, 2015;Nobles, 2000;Perry, 2013;Vrgova, 2015).…”

Section: Census-taking and Eu Enlargement In The Western Balkansmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After these conflicts, issues of ethnicity and geographic belonging developed into tools for ethnic bargaining over borders, rights and political representation (Visoka & Gjevori, 2013, p. 6). The population census is an essential tool for ethnic groups to (re)assure legitimacy and supremacy (Visoka & Gjevori, 2013). So when the census questionnaire includes questions on ethnic and cultural belonging, such as ethnicity, language and religion, it not only provides an overview of the demographic, social and economic characteristics of a country's population (Valente, 2010), it also creates an opportunity for individuals to identify as being part of this population (Ruppert, 2007).…”

Section: The Paradox Of Collecting Ethno-cultural Data In Censusesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Counting for EU enlargement?

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Census politics and ethnicity in the Western Balkans

Cited by 21 publications

References 12 publications

The Construction of National Identity and its Challenges in Post‐Yugoslav Censuses*

The Construction of National Identity and its Challenges in Post‐Yugoslav Censuses*

An Indirect Approach to Map Ethnic Identities in Post-conflict Societies

Counting for EU enlargement?

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