things to ponder

My boss played Manu Chao in her apartment last night. She had D and me over for dinner. 'Twas delicious: salad, bread, ajvar, and what I have come to think of as the Serbian equivalent of mac & cheese. It's buckwheat pancakes and cheese all baked together. . . delicious.

She's a very smart lady, so of course I came away from the night with things to think about:

Is WiB an organization that can only exist in aggressor states? WiB started in Israel. Now, it has spread to Serbia, the US, & Western Europe. Can women only step out of the dominant nationalist rhetoric if they are coming from a place of priviledge? How would WiB have to change to become open to everyone?

My boss supports both Kosovar & Montenegrin independence. [For those of you not tracking such developments, negotiations are under way for both regions to have referrendums on independence, probably next spring.] It's interesting that she's against Serb nationalism, but shares the goals of Montenegrin & Kosovar nationalists. I guess if you take an opinion on such things you end up siding with someone distasteful . . .

I haven't formed much of an opinion on "the independence question." My outsider's view is that is seems very anachronistic (not to mention impossible) to draw borders along ethnic lines. There will always be ethnic minorities, regardless of where borders lie. Independent Kosov@ or Montenegro just don't seem viable as states - they are so underdeveloped, they are so small.

As I pondered such things on the bus ride home last night I thought of a passage in Black Lamb and Grey Falcon that described a brief failed attempt for a pan-Balkan state immediately after the Ottomans were defeated. What would this region look like if there was a state that stretched from Greece to Romania? It's entertaining to think about. Maybe I'll contribute that essay to the next edition of What If?