The historiography of the Bosnian genocide of 1992–1995 in the work of foreign scholars

Abstract

This essay will provide an introductory discussion of the historiography of the Bosnian genocide of 1992–1995 in the works of foreign scholars. The historiography is too large for this discussion to be exhaustive. We have attempted here to provide the principal categories of relevant works while citing the most important examples of them, before discussing the historiographical deficiencies and the tasks awaiting future scholars of the genocide. The reason for the dearth of monographs on the Bosnian genocide is that the subject is highly controversial, and any scholar who seriously studies it and expresses an opinion is likely to create enemies for themselves. There is a tendency of scholars to see the war in postmodernist terms, in terms of Serb, Croat and Bosniak “narratives”; as opposed to objective truth, which discourages taking the subject intellectually seriously. Furthermore, the prevailing ideology and discourse stemming from the international administration is one of reconciliation and putting the past behind us. So there is a disincentive to study the genocide in depth; a preference for studying more liberal feel-good themes related to reconciliation, memory, transitional justice and post-war reconstruction. The Bosnian genocide therefore awaits a new generation of foreign scholars to take it seriously as a subject and explore it in detail.