Semiotics of hate speech and contested symbols: the “Za dom spremni” Ustaša salute in contemporary Croatia
Date
2023-05-10
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Abstract
Käesolev doktoritöö uurib vaenukõnet ja vaidlustatud sümboleid ümbritsevaid tähendusloome mustreid Horvaatia kontekstis, keskendudes saluudile Za dom spremni („Kodumaa jaoks valmis“), mida kasutas fašistlik Ustaša liikumine Teise maailmasõja ajal. Töö toetub peaasjalikult kultuurisemiootikale, mis võimaldab saluuti käsitleda konkreetse mudeli või tõlgendusliku raamina sotsiaalsest tegelikkusest ning analüüsida sellega seonduvaid dominantseid tähendusloome hierarhiaid. Za dom spremni oli Iseseisva Horvaatia Riigi – 1941.–1945. aastani eksisteerinud natsi-Saksamaa ja fašistliku Itaalia marionettriik – ametlik saluut. Valitsev Ustaša režiim kasutas saluuti dokumentides ja deklaratsioonides, mis kuulusid genotsiidse poliitika ajamise juurde, mis päädis serblaste, juutide, romade ja eri rahvustest antifašistide massimõrvaga koonduslaagrites, vanglates ja teistes hukkamispaikades. Ehkki sotsialistlik Jugoslaavia saluudi keelustas, kerkis see Horvaatia iseseisvussõja aegu (1991–1995) taas esile, kui Ustaša liikumist hakati laialdasemalt rehabiliteerima. Jugoslaavia lagunemisest ja 1990ndate sõjast alates omastasid saluudi paremäärmuslikud poliitikud ja grupid selle konflikti sümbolina. Tihtipeale kasutatakse saluuti, et võimendada ühepoolset versiooni ajaloost ja sõjajärgsest riiklikust identiteedist ning et mobiliseerida valijaid ja propageerida poliitilisi agendasid. Doktoritöö keskendub kolmele saluudi kasutamise juhtumile. Esiteks analüüsib töö Horvaatia paremäärmuslikke Facebooki lehti ja uurib Ustaša saluudiga seostuvat kõnet, et näidata, kuidas esmapilgul ebajärjekindlatest ja vasturääkivatest elementidest moodustub koherentne identiteedidiskursus. Teiseks uurib töö neid suundi, mille võttis tähendustamine seoses sellega, kui saluut sai osaks 1990ndate sõjale pühendatud vastuolulisest mälestustahvlist. Sellega pakub töö välja laiema raami tähendusloomele, et süvendada arusaamist saluudi semiootilisest loogikast ning et näidata selle kasutusvõimalusi säilitamaks sümboolseid jaotusi, takistamaks dialoogi ja aitamaks kaasa vaenlase/Teise diskursiivsele konstrueerimisele. Kolmandaks analüüsib töö saluuti ümbritsevat diskursust, mis kerkis esile kahe riikliku mälestusürituse järellainetusena. Analüüs näitab, kuidas Horvaatia sõjajärgset identiteeti põhistavale võidu ja algupära diskursusele pretendeerivad eri poliitilised jõud ning kuidas see diskursus reguleerib 1990ndate sõja pärandit ümbritsevat tähendusloome sfääri. Za dom spremni saluut on mitmekihiline uurimisobjekt, mis peegeldab sõjajärgseid identiteediloome protsesse ja katseid minevikuga toime tulla, olles samas identiteedi kinnitamise ja ideoloogilise vaidlustamise mehhanism.
This dissertation studies the meaning-making patterns surrounding hate speech and contested symbols in Croatia by focusing on Za dom spremni (“Ready for the Homeland”), the salute used by the fascist Ustaša movement during World War Two. I rely predominantly on cultural semiotics, which allows me to approach the salute as a particular model or interpretational frame of social reality, as well as analyze dominant meaning-making hierarchies associated with it. Za dom spremni was the official salute of the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy that existed from 1941 to 1945. The ruling Ustaša regime used the salute in documents and declarations that were a part of the genocidal policies that resulted in the mass murder of Serbs, Jews, Roma, and antifascists of all nationalities in concentration camps, prisons, and other execution sites. While the salute was banned in socialist Yugoslavia, it resurfaced during the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995) along with a broader rehabilitation of the Ustaša movement. Since the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the 1990s war, the salute was appropriated by right-wing politicians and groups as a symbol of that conflict, and is often used to reinforce a one-sided version of the past and the post-war national identity, as well as to mobilize voters and advance political agendas. This dissertation focuses on three particular cases of how the salute was used for these purposes. First, I analyze Croatian right-wing Facebook pages and identify speech associated with the Ustaša salute in order to demonstrate how seemingly inconsistent and contradictory textual elements form a coherent identity discourse. Second, I explore signification tendencies associated with the salute as part of a controversial memorial plaque dedicated to the 1990s war. In doing so, I propose a wider meaning-making framework to advance the understanding of the semiotic logic of the salute and show how it can be utilized in order to maintain symbolic divisions, hinder dialogue, and facilitate the discursive construction of the enemy/Other. Third, I analyze the media discourse surrounding the salute in the aftermath of two national commemorations. The analysis reveals how the discourse of victory and foundation that underpins Croatia’s post-war identity is claimed by various actors and regulates the meaning-making sphere surrounding Croatia’s legacy of the 1990s war. The Za dom spremni salute is a multilayered research object that reflects processes of post-war identity-building and attempts towards coming to terms with the past, while simultaneously being a mechanism of identity affirmation as well as ideological contestation.
This dissertation studies the meaning-making patterns surrounding hate speech and contested symbols in Croatia by focusing on Za dom spremni (“Ready for the Homeland”), the salute used by the fascist Ustaša movement during World War Two. I rely predominantly on cultural semiotics, which allows me to approach the salute as a particular model or interpretational frame of social reality, as well as analyze dominant meaning-making hierarchies associated with it. Za dom spremni was the official salute of the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy that existed from 1941 to 1945. The ruling Ustaša regime used the salute in documents and declarations that were a part of the genocidal policies that resulted in the mass murder of Serbs, Jews, Roma, and antifascists of all nationalities in concentration camps, prisons, and other execution sites. While the salute was banned in socialist Yugoslavia, it resurfaced during the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995) along with a broader rehabilitation of the Ustaša movement. Since the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the 1990s war, the salute was appropriated by right-wing politicians and groups as a symbol of that conflict, and is often used to reinforce a one-sided version of the past and the post-war national identity, as well as to mobilize voters and advance political agendas. This dissertation focuses on three particular cases of how the salute was used for these purposes. First, I analyze Croatian right-wing Facebook pages and identify speech associated with the Ustaša salute in order to demonstrate how seemingly inconsistent and contradictory textual elements form a coherent identity discourse. Second, I explore signification tendencies associated with the salute as part of a controversial memorial plaque dedicated to the 1990s war. In doing so, I propose a wider meaning-making framework to advance the understanding of the semiotic logic of the salute and show how it can be utilized in order to maintain symbolic divisions, hinder dialogue, and facilitate the discursive construction of the enemy/Other. Third, I analyze the media discourse surrounding the salute in the aftermath of two national commemorations. The analysis reveals how the discourse of victory and foundation that underpins Croatia’s post-war identity is claimed by various actors and regulates the meaning-making sphere surrounding Croatia’s legacy of the 1990s war. The Za dom spremni salute is a multilayered research object that reflects processes of post-war identity-building and attempts towards coming to terms with the past, while simultaneously being a mechanism of identity affirmation as well as ideological contestation.
Description
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Keywords
slogans, Croatia, Second World War, 1939-1945, Croatian War of Independence, 1991-1995, identity, symbols, hate speech, network communication, interaction (sociology), semiotics, discourse analysis