Cvijic's perception of geographical position of Serbia

Abstract

Jovan Cvijić was a great geographer from the first half of 20th century. In this article, we considered the issue of position and role that Serbia has at Balkan Peninsula, in the context of Cvijić's theory about 'characteristics of integration and permeation', as well as about the opposite 'characteristics of isolation and separation'. This theory has become important in recent time through its relation with the 'center-periphery' theory. The aim of this article is to compare Cvijić's images of the position of Serbia at the first half of 20th century with present situation.

Jovan Cvijić je veliki geograf iz prve polovine XX veka. U ovom radu je razmotrena problematika položaja i uloge Srbije na Balkanskom poluostrvu u kontekstu Cvijićeve teorije o 'osobinama spajanja i prožimanja' i njima suprotnim 'osobinama izolovanja i odvajanja' Balkanskog poluostrva. Ta teorija u novije vreme zadobija aktuelnost u vezi sa teorijom 'centar-periferija'. Cilj ovoga rada je da uporedi predstave Jovana Cvijića o položaju Srbije na početku XX veka i realizovane do kraja XX veka 'koristi i štete' od tog položaja za srpski narod i državu.