Killing the truth – genocide denial and historical revisionism in Serbia as state-sponsored violence: trajectories, challenges and opportunities

Davidovic, Maja and Đurović, Branimir Milosavljević, Marko, ed. 2025. Killing the truth – genocide denial and historical revisionism in Serbia as state-sponsored violence: trajectories, challenges and opportunities. [Project Report]. YIHR. Available at: https://yihr.rs/en/killing-the-truth-genocide-deni...

PDF - Published Version Download (7MB)

Abstract

This paper explores historical revisionism in Serbia, which includes denial of individual war crimes, denial of the genocide in Srebrenica, and glorification of a number of convicted war criminals who have a prominent place in the public sphere. State-sponsored historical revisionism in the country is intrinsically linked with other forms of ongoing state-sponsored violence, including physical, gender, economic, and environmental. Moreover, the paper traces how and why state-sponsored revisionism in Serbia has intensified in recent years, arguing it stems from a shrinking space for civil society to influence public discourse, growing authoritarian tendencies, and a need to defend the deep rooted national narrative of victimhood in light of perceived losses abroad. As a result, denial, minimization and trivialization of atrocities like the Srebrenica genocide have intensified, with public recognition and awareness significantly declining over the past decade, especially among young people. To effectively suppress such practices and prevent them from becoming even more aggressive and resulting in more damage to the security and wellbeing of Serbian society, this paper suggests several recommendations addressed to various actors, which cooperation is necessary: institutions, civil society organizations, the media, and the educational system. Given that the problem is multi-layered and multi-dimensional, it requires multiple directions of action. This policy paper represents a collaborative effort of Youth Initiative for Human Rights in Serbia and Cardiff University.

Item Type:	Monograph (Project Report)
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Cardiff Law & Politics
Publisher:	YIHR
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	17 July 2025
Date of Acceptance:	10 July 2025
Last Modified:	17 Jul 2025 11:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/179890

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item