Throughout Serbia a new war is being waged in the streets and in the universities between young moderates and an older generation of nationalists. The older class is fighting to retain control and to revive their dreams of a strong and united "greater" Serbia which died in 1999. The new progressive movement, of which the President is counted, is steering a modern course towards European integration and a democratic modernity. This political schism is the most important division in recent Serbian history and what comes of this struggle will guide the country into the next century and determine if there is peace on the Balkan peninsula for this next generation.

From these two factions emerge the entirety of Serbia's modern contradictions and confusion. Where one group sees as a road to prosperity and stability the other will see a rejection of Serbian history and an affront to sacrifices made for Serbian independence over the last two centuries. The philosophical battles here are elemental and rooted in creation myths. To move Serbia forward requires a serious and honest reassessment of recent and historical events.

"Only Unity" emerges from three years of traveling through the Balkans and my desire to better understand the forces shaping Serbian society, culture and history. This country and its troubled relationship with its own past fascinates and confuses me. Since I moved to Belgrade in 2009 I have been attempting to take photographs which reflect both the questions that remain and the few understandings I have reached in the dizzying Balkan landscape.

With this grant's support I will continue to photograph stories both reflective and undermining of the popular Serbian creation myths that have contributed to an unhealthy nationalism and a schizophrenic ethnic identity. The funds will allow me to travel to and stay longer in more corners of this country and beyond its borders, to areas where Serbs have lived or have fought wars historically. I will visit the mystics of eastern Serbia who are in a spiritual battle with other witches living beyond the mountains in Romania, and the internally displaced Serbian refugees in the newly independent state of Kosovo, who still refuse to recognize their statehood. I will visit the physical and emotional remains of the Krajina and Chetnik revolutionary movements in rural Serbia and Croatia. Photographs of underpaid and underemployed laborers across the remains of what was once Southeast Europe's industrial success story will show how far Serbia has fallen and the pain of their unrealized potential.

I have decided to co-opt a popular nationalistic saying as my title, which in the form of a symbolic "Serbian Cross" appears everywhere from graffiti to the official seal. The four cyrillic "S" of the cross stand for "Only Unity Saves The Serbs". This phrase once was the battle cry of Serbian nationalism but today is largely seen as banal by all except for the victims of Serbian aggression. The immense power of these words and tragic irony of their misuse is the foundation for my exploring issues in the region and Serbia itself. I conceive of the evolving interpretations of this symbol, from religious roots to ferocious nationalism to a discredited but ubiquitous emblem, as parallel to Serbia's own trajectory through the Milosevic era and in to its wake.

It is at the behest of identity crisis and under the pressure of gathering nationalist movements around the Balkans that the phenomenon of "ethnic conflict" first arose. In this moment we are seeing many of the tragic ideas of that era break down as countries and people are forced to confront new realities. The specter of economic collapse and the carrot of European integration is slowly revolutionizing both the cities and the countryside. In a region which has such a deep relationship with its history this is a fascinating moment to investigate and document these transitions. My project is aiming to confront the historical debate in my adopted country and remain a visual record of this under-examined moment in Serbian history. I will do this by photographing events and individuals throughout the Serbian landscape from Kosovo to Belgrade to Croatia.

Serbia today is living in the hangover of a central planning of memory, leading to confusion of what it means to be a modern Serb and contributing to a state of denial over this nation's present economic and political challenges. It has been described to me as a nation suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Its neighbors bear the scars of Serbian aggression while Serbia itself struggles to rebuild from the destruction wrought from the implosion of the greater Serbian idea. For a peaceful and prosperous Serbia to emerge the world needs to stay engaged and help shape progress. Now is one of the moments where a nation's future can be set in stone for centuries and we must support Serbia in its path toward democracy and peaceful coexistence in the Balkans. My photographs will help to shape that dialogue by showing the world a more progressive and more complicated Serbia than they have grown to know in the media. What is happening in Serbia gives us insight to the potential paths of other societies emerging from economic crisis and conflict, a situation that is reflected today in dozens of other nations the world over. Serbia still deserves the weight and blame of the 1990s but there is much more we need to understand about this nation and its struggle toward legitimacy and health. And these conclusions will help the world to better serve its citizens and neighbors in the future.

Serbian nationalist logos at refugee center. Mitrovica, Kosovo, Serbia