Homeland Calling: Exile Patriotism and the Balkan Wars

by Paul Hockenos

Over the last ten years, many commentators have tried to explain the bloody conflicts that tore Yugoslavia apart. But in all these attempts to make sense of the wars and ethnic violence, one crucial factor has been overlooked―the fundamental roles played by exile groups and émigré communities in fanning the flames of nationalism and territorial ambition. Based in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and South America, some groups helped provide the ideologies, the leadership, the money, and in many cases, the military hardware that fueled the violent conflicts. Atypical were the dissenting voices who drew upon their experiences in western democracies to stem the tide of war. In spite of the diasporas' power and influence, their story has never before been told, partly because it is so difficult, even dangerous to unravel. Paul Hockenos, a Berlin-based American journalist and political analyst, has traveled through several continents and interviewed scores of key figures, many of whom had never previously talked about their activities. In Homeland Calling , Hockenos investigates the borderless international networks that diaspora organizations rely on to export political agendas back to their native homelands―agendas that at times blatantly undermined the foreign policy objectives of their adopted countries. Hockenos tells an extraordinary story, with elements of farce as well as tragedy, a story of single-minded obsession and double-dealing, of high aspirations and low cunning. The figures he profiles include individuals as disparate as a Canadian pizza baker and an Albanian urologist who played instrumental roles in the conflicts, as well as other men and women who rose boldly to the occasion when their homelands called out for help.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2003

Reviews

[Murtaza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book about the politics of exile and diaspora is a hidden gem. While focused specifically on the post-WWII Yugoslavs abroad, it describes the universal archetype of the "Babylonian Exile." These are people who left their homeland not for economic or strictly personal reasons, but rather as a result of being thrown out by a new political regime. While abroad, these exiles often develop entire cultures of victimhood and political fantasy, fantasizing and indeed planning a way to turn the tables in their departed homelands. Following the rise of Marshall Tito in the Balkans, hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Croats, some of them supporters of the defeated Ustasha and Chetnik forces, were cast out into Western Europe and North America. While some resigned themselves to their new lives and abandoned dreams of rewriting history, many others became obsessed with plotting a triumphant return home. When communism did collapse, these exiles were in place to take roles in the newly formed ethno-states, often serving as some of the most uncompromising and extremist supporters of the new order. Some, like former Ottawa pizza store owner Gojko Susak, went on to become veritable war criminals in the post-Yugoslav era.

While I came across this book by chance while studying the Balkan Wars, I was really impressed by the level of research that Hockenos put into it. He deeply embeds himself in the Croat, Balkan and Serbian diaspora communities and paints a richly-detailed picture of both their ordinary lives and politics-in-exile. The black-and-white, ossified and often xenophobic worldviews that tend to form among Babylonian exiles can make them a rather negative force when come home to fill a political vacuum. One can see this among Iraqi and Iranian exiles as well, both groups who have longed to return to a country that they were forced out of under duress and who have often developed rigid political outlooks during their decades abroad. In the Balkans, former Croat and Serbian supporters of the Nazis who were cast out by Tito came out of the deep freeze when communism ended and helped launch a war almost as brutal and exterminationist as the one they were defeated in during World War II. While the war cannot be laid entirely at their feet, their negative role is a chilling reminder of the pathologies that can develop during years of perceived victimhood and distance from the complexities and compromises of actually living in ones homeland.

While this book is a decade and a half old now, it doesn't feel dated at all and comprises a uniquely valuable look at diasporic politics. The idea of small-time restaurant owners and janitors living dual private lives as would-be governors of foreign states seems fantastical, but it happens all the time and is undoubtedly still happening. I'm quite grateful for having come this book focusing on the exiles of the Balkans and would consider it vital reading for anyone studying any region that has such a diaspora.