Each Yugoslav faction narrated its local war as an epic civilizational mission

Evidence

“Karadzic,” one Western diplomat said of the Bosnian Serb leader, “sees this as the anti-imperialist war in Europe. He talks about having a mission to eradicate the last traces of the Ottoman Turkish empire in Europe.” The Bosnian Muslims, in turn, identified themselves as the victims of genocide, ignored by the West because of their religion, and hence deserving of support from the Muslim world. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 751 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

In the former Yugoslavia, Croats saw themselves as the gallant frontier guardians of the West against the onslaught of Orthodoxy and Islam. The Serbs defined their enemies not just as Bosnian Croats and Muslims but as “the Vatican” and as “Islamic fundamentalists” and “infamous Turks” who have been threatening Christianity for centuries. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 751 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Warfare in ethnically mixed Yugoslav regions took either conventional or genocidal forms. — Sandra Penic, Guy Elcheroth, and Dario Spini, When Is Collective Exposure to War…, 43; Each Yugoslav party claimed a civilizational mission and victimhood identity — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 751; Yugoslav war parties framed local enemies as confrontations between entire civilizations — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 751 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Each Yugoslav party claimed a civilizational mission and victimhood identity #corroborates (0.95) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 751
• Yugoslav war parties framed local enemies as confrontations between entire civilizations #expands (0.92) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 751