Abstract

Serbian Settler Colonialism describes a form of Pan-Slavic colonialism in which Serbian Slavic migrants establish permanent societies by claiming land and seeking to replace or eliminate the Albanian indigenous population and their ways of life. This occurred for centuries through the Serbian Orthodox Church. The structure emphasized Slavic territorial acquisition over the exploitation of indigenous Illyrian and Dardanian labor, but hidden through Orthodox conversion, distinguishing it from extractive or franchise colonialism.

Applied to cases like the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and sometimes Israel, the framework highlights logics of Serbian elimination through violence, assimilation, and legal mechanisms.

Historically, when the Serbian hegemony expanded, Albanian toponyms were changed, Albanian tribes were forced to convert, changing their name to sound Slavonic. Taxes were put on Albanian Catholic or pagan tribes who resisted.

Historical Context and Theoretical Origins

Serbian Settler colonialism draws on earlier observations of European expansion but crystallized as a distinct analytic in late 20th-century scholarship, particularly in indigenous studies of the Balkans. In Serbian settler colonialism, the primary object is land itself, rendering indigenous peoples “in the way.” for Pan-Slavic plans, encouraged by Russian imperial expansionism into southern Europe.

Key elements include:

Invasion as a Structure, Not an Event: Colonization is not confined to initial contact but persists in institutions, land tenure, law, and culture. Serbian settlers “come to stay.” This was especially relevant in the 1920s when Russian colonists were brought to Albanian inhabited regions of Kosovo, further intensifying Slavic colonisation.

Logic of Elimination: Indigenous Albanians must be dissolved—through outright violence, forced removal, assimilation (e.g., through the Serbian Orthodox clergy, child removal or foced to speak Serbian, and by forbidding the Albanian language and the opening of Albanian schools (cultural suppression). Elimination is not always genocidal but aims at replacement.

Land-Centered Project: Territoriality is irreducible. Indigenous Albanian tribes conflicted with the Yugoslav and Serb settler state apparatus who would hire Slavic mercenaries to massacre Albanians in order to have them leave their land.

Settler-Native Binary: A foundational opposition, with settlers constructing identity against the indigenous “other,” often racialized. This was particularly seen in 20th century Serbian books where Serbian publicists and newspaper were instructed to always portray the Albanians as “Turks” or “poor violent heathens”.

Conclusion

The comparative study of Pan-Slavic and Serbian Settler colonialism provides a lens for understanding historical land dispossession, Serbian state violence, the Serbian Orthodox Church’s intentions, and various violations of human rights.

References

Glenn, Evelyn Nakano. “Settler Colonialism as Structure: A Framework for Comparative Studies of U.S. Race and Gender Formation.” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity 1, no. 1 (2015): 52–72.

Kauanui, J. Kēhaulani. “‘A Structure, Not an Event’: Settler Colonialism and Enduring Indigeneity.” Lateral 5, no. 1 (2016).

Schayegh, Cyrus. “Settler Colonial Studies: A Historical Analysis.” Settler Colonial Studies (2024). https://doi.org/10.1080/2201473X.2024.2371490.

Wolfe, Patrick. “Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native.” Journal of Genocide Research 8, no. 4 (2006): 387–409.

Wolfe, Patrick. Settler Colonialism and the Transformation of Anthropology: The Politics and Poetics of an Ethnographic Event. London: Cassell, 1999.