Obradović Sandra
Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
Integr Psychol Behav Sci. 2019 Mar;53(1):57-75. doi: 10.1007/s12124-017-9410-x.
Social groups, and the social identities which people develop as part of them, are often experienced as stable and continuous over time. Thus, countries experiencing rapid socio-political change often face the challenge of re-constructing the meaning of the social group to adapt to the demands of the present, while simultaneously making this re-construction appear as a natural progression of 'our' historical journey. In the present paper, I ask the question of how, in times of socio-political change, the past is used in the present, and the implications this has for how individuals represent their nation's future. Drawing on Serbia and its political movement towards EU integration, the present article illustrates how developed and legitimized historical narratives, linked to the myth of origin of a nation, become utilized to frame present challenges. In doing so, it allows for uncertainties in the present to become anchored in established historical narratives, which in turn have consequences for which political actions are deemed acceptable and legitimate for the future.
社会群体以及人们作为其中一部分所形成的社会身份认同，通常在很长一段时间内被视为稳定且持续的。因此，经历快速社会政治变革的国家常常面临这样的挑战：重新构建社会群体的意义以适应当下的需求，同时又要让这种重构显得像是“我们”历史进程的自然演进。在本文中，我探讨的问题是，在社会政治变革时期，过去是如何在当下被运用的，以及这对个体如何描绘本国的未来有何影响。以塞尔维亚及其迈向欧盟一体化的政治进程为例，本文阐述了与民族起源神话相关的、已发展成熟并合法化的历史叙事是如何被用来界定当下的挑战的。这样一来，当下的不确定性便得以锚定在既定的历史叙事之中，而这反过来又会影响哪些政治行动在未来被视为可接受且合法的。
