
Reading Han Kang from the Balkans
Patriarchy and state violence, from South Korea to Kosovo.
Perspectives | Arts & Culture2024.11.26
This is what patriarchy driven to its limits does; it tires the soul to the loss of self.
Feminist activists, through their persistence, are the most consistent voices of systemic societal critique we have.
Reading about the horrific violence inflicted upon people, particularly students, by their government, I couldn’t help but think of the student movements in Kosovo that started in 1981 and grew into resistance against increased Yugoslav oppression throughout the 80s.
The dehumanization of victims that occurred then follows the same logic now, of making victims less than human, of making their suffering feel invisible even though we can all see it.

Lura Pollozhani
Lura Pollozhani is a researcher at the University of Graz, researching social movements in the Western Balkans as well as EU enlargement. Her other research interests include generation Z, radicalization, citizenship practices in divided societies and democratization. She completed her PhD in Law and Politics at the University of Graz, while she was awarded an MSc in European Studies: Ideas and Identities at the LSE.
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