I do have my criticisms of foreign journalists/academics who play a role in the orientalisation of the Balkans but there are also quite a lot whose work I respect, even when our politics differ. I recognize the need for allyship/solidarity when it comes to a vulnerable region.

I do think experts on the region are allowed to showcase their analysis, opinions, and obviously share their historical interpretations. I don’t share the view that one must be from the region to talk about it. However....

The problem with Westerns in the Balkans who take on the aura of expertise on the region and the people is that they present themselves as unbiased, third parties when especially in recent years it’s become quite clear that they’re not, which is a normal human thing.

But Westerners who come to the Balkans and then stoke those ethno-nationalist fires, pick sides in a way that’s clearly siding with the root of many of our issues, i.e nationalism, are and remain a danger particularly b/c they represent themselves as an innocent third party.

In the last decade especially we have seen Balkans activists and just regular people in the region work so unbelievably hard to fight against the ethno/nationalism of not just our political leaders who push it but also of those “objective” Westerners who support them.

It seems like now more than ever before ethnonationalism in the Balkans has become a sort of a pet project for a lot of these Western expats. & true, many of them are those whose careers have failed but then there are those who are still viewed as reliable sources.

Twitter isn’t necessarily the true representation of the regions people or even of those foreigners who do work in the Balkans. But it’s quite frightening to think of the work that’s been done against nationalism as invalidated by Westerners who don’t realize the impact it has.

As always, when it comes to the Balkans, when it comes to Yugoslavia, its break-up and the subsequent genocides...check your sources, check their agenda, and then check it again. & never, ever rely on just one source...esp if it validates your preconceived notions of the region.

Even as Balkan Muslim, as someone who was born there, spent most of my life there, is tied to the region. As someone who’s educated on it, researches it...if I can ensure my sources are wide, varied, & even come from people who I disagree with...so can you. Twitter isn’t enough.