engleski

Syrmia – Rethinking the Regional Identity of a (Trans)Border Region: Perception, Self-Identification, and Place Attachment

The transborder region of Syrmia, connected by a long history of territorial continuity, currently stands divided by the Croatian and Serbian state border. As a result of the region’s division, consequences of war and political tensions between states, along with differences in economic, demographic and functional development, the regional identity of Syrmia is characterised by duality. Its dual nature, on the one hand, and its wholeness (particularly historical) on the other, require a multi-faceted research approach, which we employed, exploring the perception of the region, self-identification of its inhabitants, their attachment to the region and sense of commonness between its two parts, along with their thoughts on life in the region. Using a mixed-method approach, we inquired around 800 respondents via a questionnaire and interviewed 15 inhabitants of Syrmia, reaching several conclusions. The regional identity of Syrmia proved to be stronger in the Serbian part, almost completely waning in the Croatian one. Utilising a proposed model dealing with sense of commonness in transborder regions, we interpreted different aspects of the said sense, finding that it ranges from lacking in socio-political reality to being strong in regard to the inhabitants’ place attachment and connection with the region. The implications of the research undoubtedly point towards the policy of stronger transborder cooperation.

Regional identity, Syrmia, Perception, Transborder region, Sense of commonness, Place attachment

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