Beyond EUtopian Promises and Disillusions A Conclusion

In this concluding chapter we take a closer—but inductive—look at some of the reasons for which a non-heteronormative disruption of the private/public binary in the post-Yugoslav space, that has been traditionally underpinned by patriarchal assumptions, has proved so painful and sometimes overtly violent. We argue that if people with non-heterosexual identifications in the post-Yugoslav space are to be reintegrated into the community of citizens and not merely “tolerated” or used as a bargaining chip in political equations, the techniques encouraged by the EU need to be redefined in the direction of attenuating or cutting the conceptual link between homosexuality/non-heterosexuality and Europe, and grounding sexual diversity in the local socio-political practices and historical experiences.