ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on a crucial task that has confronted the leaders of the West Balkan states: the question of political identity. It shows that culture and politics are not always easily compartmentalized. The book discusses the controversies often found in the Western Balkans: religious culture, ethnic culture, historical imagination, and geographical imagination. It focuses on the extent to which religious symbols and religious identities are regimented by state authorities for political purposes. The book investigates subjective and structural explanations for the success and failure of nation-building, and presents seven case studies. It presents the aggregate support level in each state into its constituent components, and point out on which specific issues the population shares the nation vision pursued by the state authorities, as fleshed out in state symbols, commemorations and policy documents.
