Political Culture in Post-Conflict and Divided Societies: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The question of identity and values remains a part of the debates in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Values of a socialist society have disappeared in the transitional period, and new and much stronger identifications have emerged: ethno-religious collectives that made groups closed and left them unprepared for re-examining their established identities and the possible creation of multiple identities. Feeling comfortable and secure in one’s collective identity closes a phase in political consolidation, and in a divided society it closes the opportunity to recognize the other and different, to give their existence legitimacy, participation in governance and allocation of resources, all of which open up the potential for the further development of a democratic system. The problems of predominance of the collective occur in situations when individuals do not identify themselves through ethnic dimensions and yet have a formal right to democratic and political participation. Topics involving mutually recognizing collectives and unidentified individuals still burden the political system, and resolving these issues remains a condition for the development of elements of a participatory and centrifugal political culture. Perhaps it is wrong to analyse political culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina by comparing it with the political cultures of national states, as it is evident that these represent different social conditions and different institutional systems. Instead, perhaps it would be better to conduct a comparative analysis of systems and political cultures in divided societies: what conditions do we need to make one consociational model functional? It could be a democratic political culture in which the condition of minimum consensus regarding certain questions exist. An additional burden for the transitional period is also found in the post-conflict situation: facing the past and creating a sense of trust among ethnic groups. Assessing the type of political culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis of a few empirical studies is not sufficient. The development of a democratic political culture is burdened by a socialist legacy, the country’s recent past, and the search for identity and the status of individuals. Finally, the complete lack of consensus among ethnic groups and the issues that arise as a result of different interpretations of the nature of the political system further destabilize the consociational model.