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[[Image:Jasenovac srpski mucenik prije klanja.jpg|thumb|right|Croatian [[Ustaše]] mass murder of Serbs was a direct consequence of Serbophobic sentiment]]
'''Serbophobia''' ([[Serbian language|Serbian]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]]: ''србофобиjа'', ''srbofobija''), also called '''anti-Serbism''' means a sentiment of hostility or [[hatred]] towards [[Serbs]], [[Serbia]], or [[Republika Srpska]]. The term is used in a [[Phobia#Non-clinical uses of the term|non-clinical sense]], and its use in the [[English language]] has been limited. It is frequently used in [[Serbs|Serbian]] [[nationalism|nationalist]] [[rhetoric]].
'''Anti-Serbism''' (and '''Serbophobia''') is a sentiment of hostility or [[hatred]] towards [[Serbs]]. The term is used in a [[Phobia#Non-clinical uses of the term|non-clinical sense]].
== UseUses of the term in history == ▼Serbophobia first appeared in the beginings of Yugoslavia (back then still called Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians) in the 1920s. Among those three nations Serbs have had far outnumbered other two nations, had far strongest political power and had their dinasty Karadjordjevici for a Yugoslavias rulers. Still this term wasn't used before WWII, maybe even later.
While the equivalent term has entered mainstream usage in [[Serbian language|Serbian]], its use in the [[English language]] has been limited and it does not appear in major English dictionaries.
▲== Use of the term in history ==
* In particular, theThe term is used tocan refer to the position that the whole Serbian nation is guilty , ofexpressed, thefor crimes committed during the [[Yugoslav wars]]example, as was interpreted byin the Serbian media responseheadline to a [[New York Times]] article published on [[April 1]], [[2001]] , headed: ''[[Slobodan Milošević|Milošević]] Is Accused, but All of Serbia Is on Trial''. ▼The term was sometimes used without malign overtones in the literary and cultural circles even before [[World War I]]; Croatian writers [[Antun Gustav Matoš]] and [[Miroslav Krleža]] had casually described some political and cultural figures as "Serbophobes" (Krleža in the 4-volume "Talks with Miroslav Krleža", 1985., edited by Enes Čengić), meaning that they perceived an anti-Serbian animus in a person's behavior. But these casual remarks were not meant to describe an ideology or a powerful tendency in political life.
The term was used by [[Danon Cadik]], [[Chief Rabbi]] of [[Yugoslavia]] ''et. al.'' in the [[open letter]] to the [[American Jewish Committee]] in [[1995]] during the bombing of the [[Army of Republika Srpska]] by [[Nato]] in [[Operation Deliberate Force]] whose objective was to undermine the military capability of Bosnian Serbs during the [[Bosnian War]].
In contrast, the modern concept of Serbophobia was, according to scholars such as political scientist [[David Bruce Macdonald]],[http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/hol031/2002043173.html] constructed in the late 1980s as part of the wave of Serbian nationalist propaganda that was led by [[Dobrica Ćosić]] and [[Slobodan Milošević]].
A key example of this use of the term in the 1980s was the meeting, which was organized by theThe [[Serbian Writers' Association]] also organized a meeting on [[February 28]] [[1989]] and was devoted towith the theme of "Serbophobia". The meetingthat discussed the Croatian[[Croat]]ian [[genocide]] of Serbs, including referencesa reference to the [[Jasenovac concentration camp]]. This and other events werewas part of the movement fortowards athe "unified Serbia", which was one of theminor elements leading to the [[Yugoslav wars]] of the 1990s.
SinceAs thena behaviour, Serbophobia hasis also beenspread mentionedtoday e.g.among some by(but not only) [[Danon CadikCroats]], [[Chief RabbiBosniaks]] ofand [[YugoslaviaKosovo]] ''et al.'' in thes [[open letterAlbanians]] toas thea [[Americanreaction Jewishof Committee]]the inalienation 1995of Serbs during the bombingwars ofwith thethese [[Armypeople. ofThis Republikafeeling Srpska]]made bythe [[NATO]]environment in [[Operationwhich Deliberatemany Force]],Serbs whosewere objectiveexpelled wasor tothey underminesimply theleft militarytheir capabilityhomes ofin BosnianKrajina Serbsin during[[1995]] theand Bosnianin WarKosovo in [[1999]].
== Forms and examples of alleged Serbophobia==
== Examples and allegations of Serbophobia ==
According to those who use the term, Serbophobia can range from individual hatred to institutionalised persecution.
Serbophobia can range from individual hatred to "institutionalised persecution". For example, some Muslim storekeepers in Bosnia refuse to sell to Serbian customers and this is seen as constituting "Serbophobia". Serbs are also treated more harshly by the Croatian courts. Other examples of Serbophobia can, according to some, be found in language used to refer to Serbs by other groups in the Balkans. For example, the word ''shkija'' in the [[Albanian language]] is a derogatory word for Serbs.
One of the most known consequences of Serbophobia is a denial of [[genocide]] and other [[war crimes]] commited over Serbs in Bosnia (1992-1995) and Croatia (particulary during ''[[Operation Storm]]'' in 1995). Using the [[Srebrenica massacre]] and other proven and non-proven Serb war crimes, Western, and also Balkan, media have created an illusion that the Serbs have started those wars, that they are the aggresors and the only guilty ones.
▲* In particular, the term is used to refer to the position that the whole Serbian nation is guilty of the crimes committed during the [[Yugoslav wars]], as was interpreted by the Serbian media response to a [[New York Times]] article published on [[April 1]], [[2001]], headed: ''[[Slobodan Milošević|Milošević]] Is Accused, but All of Serbia Is on Trial''.
* One of the most known allegations of Serbophobia is the denial of [[war crimes]] committed against Serbs in Bosnia ([[1992]]-[[1995]]) and Croatia (particularly during ''[[Operation Storm]]'' in [[1995]]).
* At the same time, Serbophobia is claimed to manifest itself in the behaviour of Western as well as Balkan media, which have supposedly created an illusion that the Serbs started the [[Yugoslav wars]], that they are the aggressors and the only guilty ones.
* Serbophobia is often claimed to be particularly widespread among [[Croats]], [[Bosniaks]] and [[Kosovo]]'s [[Albanians]] as a reaction to alienation of Serbs during the wars with those ethnic groups.
*Serbophobia has been claimed to occur in many Hollywood movies including: [[Behind Enemy Lines]] and [[Harrison's Flowers]], where the Serbs are the bad guys, raping and torturing everyone in their way.
*An early example of Serbophobia is the [[jingle]] ''[[Alle Serben müssen sterben]]'' (All Serbs Must Die), which was popular in [[Vienna]] in [[1914]] <ref>{{cite news
| first=Srdja
| last=Trifkovic
| url=http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/News/Trifkovic/NewsST041300.htm
| title=Why Yugo-Nostalgists are Wrong
| publisher=[[Chronicles]]
| date=April 13, 2000
| accessdate=2006-04-29
}}
After the independence of Croatia in [[1991]], out of fear from persecution, many Serbs have declared themselves as Croats or left their ethnicity as blank. Even today, some institutions deny work places to ethnic Serbs or sometimes even non-Catholics.
}}</ref> (also occurring as: ''Serbien muß sterbien'').
*Other examples of Serbophobia can, according to some, be found in language used to refer to Serbs by other groups in the Balkans. For example, the word ''shkija'' in the [[Albanian language]] is a derogatory word for Serbs {{fact}}. The term [[vlah]] was used in a similar fashion by Bosnian Muslims during the [[Ottoman]] rule (1459-1878) ([http://www.orbilat.com/General_Survey/Terms--Wallachians_Walloons_Welschen_etc.html]). The same word has also been used by Croats ([http://humanities.uchicago.edu/depts/slavic/papers/Friedman-helsinkivlahpaper.pdf]). That use of the term, as well as the use of the word [[Chetnik]] as a derogatory designation for anything connected to Serbs (rather than a paramilitary as in its standard meaning) has also occurred in modern times, during and after the [[Yugoslav wars]] of the 1990s ([http://www.un.org/icty/transe68/041215IT.htm].
== An overview of anti-Serbian sentiment in history ==
Like most other nations, the Serbs have been involved in numerous ideological and/or armed conflicts and have been both prone to and the target of [[chauvinist]] sentiment time and time again in history. Thus, during the 19th century, [[Croatian]] [[nationalist]] [[polemics|polemist]] [[Ante Starčević]] and his followers have expressed certain more or less negative views of the Serbian people (see [[Ante Starčević]]). As previously noted, anti-Serbian jingoism was present e.g. in [[Austria-Hungary]] in connection with the conflicts preceding and during [[World War I]]. After the war, the newly established [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] (1918-1945) was dominated by the Serbs and there were significant ethnic tensions. During [[World War II]], these tensions culminated, among other things, in the [[genocide|genocidal]] extermination of Serbs in the short-lived [[Independent State of Croatia]]. In the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] (1945-the 1990s), some of the ethnic problems persisted. A new culmination of ethnic hatred on all sides was reached immediately before, during and after the [[Yugoslav wars]].
== Criticism ==
There areSome people, whomostly [[Croats]], [[Bosniaks]], and Kosovar [[Albanians]], assertclaim that Serbophobia doesn't exist, and that the term is used as a political tool by Serbs to pin the blame on others for their own wrongdoings. Some others accept that Serbophobia does exist, but claim it is justified due to the behaviour of the Serbs.
SomeMany critics associate the use of the term Serbophobia with the politics of Serbian victimization of late 1980’s and 1990’s as described e.g. [http://www.iwpr.net/?p=bcr&s=f&o=252185&apc_state=henibcr1999Same here].claim According to these critics,that Serbian nationalist politicians have made associations to Serbianhistory "martyrdom"of inSerbian historyvictim hood (from the [[Battle of Kosovo battle]] in 1389 to the genocide during [[World War II1389]]) to justifygenocide aggressiveby Serbianthe politics of 1980’s and 1990’s as was exemplified inCroatian [[Slobodan MilosevicUstaše]]’s historical speech atduring [[KosovoWWII]] in 1989. The reaction) to the speech as well asjustify the useallegedly ofaggressive theSerbian associated term Serbophobia is a matterpolitics of heated1980s debateand even today1990s.
[[Rebecca West]], a noted and consistent admirer of the Serbs [http://www.enotes.com/black-lamb/31499], observed in her book ''[[Black Lamb and Grey Falcon]]'', (1941)observed a general tendency: each Balkan nation tends to attract historians, native and foreign, who present it as an "Infant [[Samuel]]", a guiltless nation, oppressed by its greedy neighbors and by the [[Great Power|Great Powers]].
==See also==
* [[List of anti-ethnic and anti-national terms |Other national "phobias"]] ▼* [[Anti-Bosniak sentiment]]
* [[Anti-Croatian sentiment]]
▲* [[List of anti-ethnic and anti-national terms]]
* [[Xenophobia]]
* [[Nationalism]]
* [[Chauvinism]]
* [[Serbs]]
==External links==
* [http://www.jubilee-centre.org/online_documents/VictimChicTherhetoricofvictimhood.htm Cambridge Papers article Victim Chic? The Rhetoric of victimhood including Serbophobia]
* [http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/danon/YugoRabb.html Open letter to the American Jewish Committee]
* [http://globalresistance.com/articles/debates/Blitz.html Northern California Jewish Bulletin]
* [http://www.lire.fr/entretien.asp?idC=33688&idR=201&idTC=4&idG= ''Marc Fumaroli''], an article from [[Lire]], a French literary magazine, in [[French language|French]]
* [http://www.comune.torino.it/cultura/intercultura/8/8c3.html ''Europa e nuovi nazionalismi''], an article by [[Luca Rastello]], in [[Italian language|Italian]]
* [http://campusvirtual.uma.es/cpolit/personal/rdm/docencia/dctos/dctos2/yugoslav/mendiluc.htm ''Yugoslavia: dudas y certezas''], an article from [[El Pais]], in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
* [http://www.7days.ru/w3s.nsf/Archive/2000_218_polit_text_makarkin1.html ''Бомбы или гражданская война''], a [[Segodnya]] article, in [[Russian language|Russian]]
* [http://www.rastko.org.yu/rastko-ukr/istorija/bolijnik-satanizacija_sr.html ''Сатанизација Срба, коме она треба?''], a book by [[Boris Olijnik]], in [[Serbian language|Serbian]]
* [http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=0&EditionID=429&ArticleID=17748 '''СПЦ може да предизвика србофобија кај Македонците''], a [[Nova Makedonija]] article, in [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]
* [http://www.aimpress.ch/dyn/alba/archive/data/200010/01026-001-alba-lju.htm ''Ku është antimillosheviqi?''], an AIM article, in [[Albanian language|Albanian]]
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Anti-national sentiment]]
[[Category:Politics of Republika Srpska]]
[[Category:Politics of Serbia]]
[[sr:Србофобија]]
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