Nationalism and the Rule of Law: Lessons from the Balkans

The relationship between nationalism and the rule of law has been largely neglected by scholars despite the fact that separately, they have often captured public discourse and have emerged as critical concepts for the social sciences. This book provides the first systematic account of this relationship. The main focus of the book is to develop an analytical framework for understanding the interactions of nationalism and the rule of law by focusing on the domains of citizenship, transitional justice, and international justice. The book engages these insights further in a detailed empirical analysis of three case studies from the former Yugoslavia. The author argues that while the tensions and contradictions between nationalism and the rule of law have become more apparent in the post-Cold War era, they can also be harnessed for productive purposes. In exploring the role of law in managing and transforming nationalism, the book emphasizes the deliberative character of legal processes and offers an original perspective on the power of international law to reshape public discourse, politics, and legal orders.