balkanism means A word, phrase or other linguistic or cultural feature originating or being geographically confined to the region of Balkans. It carries an Arena rating of 1216, earned across 112 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, balkanism ranks #1,618 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #3,241 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #4,647 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #5,166 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words.
Why “balkanism” is a great word
BALKANISM — [Noun] A linguistic or cultural feature originating from the Balkans, or a discourse that constructs and promotes pejorative stereotypes of the region. From Balkan (referring to the region) + -ism (forming nouns of action, state, or doctrine). The specific political meaning was coined in 1997 by Maria Todorova. Unlike "Balkanization," which denotes a specific geopolitical fragmentation, or "Orientalism," which constructs a distant, exotic East, Balkanism delineates the West's internal, adjacent "other"—a space perceived as perpetually backward, fractious, and inscrutable. It is the casual ascription of ancient hatreds to explain modern politics, the tourist's disappointed search for a quaint "authenticity" amid urban sprawl, or the diplomat's weary sigh at "Balkan complexities"; the comfort of having a place that absorbs all the anxieties Europe has about its own past.
Etymology
From Balkan + -ism. The political meaning was coined by Maria Todorova in 1997 in her work Imagining the Balkans.
noun
- A word, phrase or other linguistic or cultural feature originating or being geographically confined to the region of Balkans.
- Discourse promoting the pejorative political and cultural stereotype of the Balkans.e.g.“Balkanism attributes an essential character to the Balkan Peninsula that is the logical correlate of Balkanisation.” — 2008, Martin Coward, Urbicide: The Politics of Urban Destruction, page 30:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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