The Balkans and Palestine: Old Frictions, New Convergences
After October 7, 2023, the fallout of the war in Gaza has gone beyond Israel and Palestine. In the Balkans – a region grappling with the complex convergence of post-socialist and postcolonial legacies – many began reliving their past experiences of war and genocidal violence through the plight of Palestinians. This book explores the diverse postulates of transnational solidarity that have (re)emerged in the Balkans in support of Palestine or forged new burgeoning political alliances with Israel. It precisely delves into the weaponization of collective memory and history to fight “old enemies” or readjust the geopolitical predicament of the whole region toward key Euro-Atlantic partners and allies.
Francesco Trupia is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Humanities at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland. His research interests range from identity and memory politics to minority inclusion, from post-socialist democratisation to study of civil society in Southeast and Eastern Europe. He is the author of “Islamophobia in European Cities. Solidarities, Responses and Dilemmas for Young Balkan Muslims” (Routledge, 2025) and “Rethinking Subalternity in Central and Eastern Europe” (Transnational Press London, 2020).
