O basquete e os nacionalismos croata e sérvio: O caso “Once Brothers”

Abstract

This research is situated in the field of studies about nationalism, seeking to highlight the role of sports, in this case basketball, as an instrument for strengthening national identities and the conflicts between Croats and Serbs in 90’s. The choice of these groups is based in particular on the search to explain their differences. The study is based on the hypothesis that basketball, which plays an important role in the daily lives of these groups, can be used as a tool to promote national identity, especially given that athletes serve as ambassadors for the nations they represent. To this end, the work is divided into four parts. The first provides a historical context for the emergence of Croatian and Serbian nationalism. The next chapter discusses the paradigms of nationalism studies, where the author chooses one of them to base the rest of the research on. Finally, the last chapter deals with the case study proposed in the title, where the practical application of the historical contextualization and the chosen current, explained above, is carried out. This study is explanatory in nature and is based on the hypothetical-deductive method. Its main objective is to highlight the role of basketball in the study of specific cases, in order to delve deeper into complex issues, such as the search for a definition of what nationalism is.