Re-framing Serbian identity within a global imaginary: Nation building through the Belgrade Waterfront project

Abstract

The Belgrade Waterfront real estate development project has attracted a considerable amount of interest among scholars from various disciplines in a short period of time. Nevertheless, these works are limited in scope. This paper draws upon existing literature on nation building by first contextualizing it before adding insights from party strategies and cultural studies (with a particular focus on identity issues) research streams. It thus aims to contribute to the nascent debate about how the new ruling elite of Serbia uses such urban projects to emancipate from the nationalist rhetoric and supporting symbols of the 1990s. The main argument of this paper is that state narratives, media coverage and branded icons of Belgrade Waterfront illustrate political regime’s switch to the global to contain the national in order to build and publicize its own ‘revitalized’ idea of the nation and legitimize its take on power. The underlying strategy consists in manipulating individuals’ preferences by marginalizing opposition parties. The research design relies on a multi-method approach crossing participant and ethnographic observation over a period of 7 years, as well as a critical analysis of the Serbian regime’s discursive strategies and project’s branding efforts using an original visual material.