The Eurovisioning of the Balkans
Where “Balkanization” has come to mean the breaking up of a country into smaller, hostile territories, two weeks ago saw the “anti-Balkanization” of the historically hostile Balkan region. And all because of a TV show.
As this piece from the New York Times/International Herald Tribune discusses, Serbia won the Eurovision Song Contest, a musical competition of European nations, with a broad definition of “Europe” that stretches to Israel and Russia. Serbia’s ballad “Molitva,” sung by Marija Šerifović, won the contest thanks to strong support from its neighborhood. Next year, Belgrade will host the event, and it provides a unique opportunity for the world to focus on a long-troubled but increasingly vibrant region.
Although many policymakers and transatlanticists think often about the Balkans (indeed GMF has an office in Belgrade), many international citizens’ memories of Belgrade are linked to Slobodan Milosevic’s reign of terror and the 1999 NATO bombing campaign to oust him. Hosting Eurovision provides an opportunity for Belgrade to step onto the international stage in a way that could help Serbia, and the Balkans writ large, reaffirm their “Europeanness” before an audience that has paid scant attention to the region since 1999 but whose support could be vital to a European future for the Balkans.
Politics is always a subtext in large-scale, multinational competitions. Cultural and sporting events have long been spurs to political and economic growth, change, and awareness. China, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, was awarded the games with at least the tacit hope that the event leads to more openness and understanding between China and the West. But that was a choice made by a blue-ribbon committee cloistered in secrecy.
With the Eurovision Song Contest, though, it’s the people who choose the winner, basing their votes on talent or proximity, or some combination of both. Rather than facing hostility, Serbia earned first-place votes from all its fellow republics from the former Yugoslavia. Perhaps it was the shared cultural/musical history or a desire to vote for “one of our own.” For a region that was torn apart in the past, it’s remarkable how it spontaneously came together for one night.
So because of its neighbors’ support, Serbia now has a platform in spring 2008. The host country can use the Eurovision hosting opportunity to highlight its culture and its political aspirations. Istanbul used its 2004 Eurovision hosting to highlight Turkey’s desire for European Union on membership. The winner that year, Ukraine’s Ruslana, quickly became active in her own country’s Orange Revolution.
Perhaps Eurovision will be both carrot and stick for Serbia. Serbia’s just-formed government can use the carrot of Eurovision to highlight its Euroatlantic aspirations to millions throughout Europe. And aware that the world’s eyes will be on Belgrade in a year, Eurovision could also be the stick that gets Serbia over its two biggest impediments to the EU and NATO — a final status resolution for Kosovo and the extradition of Bosnian Serb leader Ratko Mladic to the Hague.
It’s a lot of hope to pin on a cheesy singing competition. But for a region that was long forgotten, hope is better than nothing.