War In Bosnia Research Articles

War Jokes and Humour in Besieged Sarajevo, Bosnia–Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995

This article explores humour’s role as a coping mechanism during the Bosnian War (1992 − 5) in besieged Sarajevo. It focuses on dark ethnic jokes, highlighting their entertainment value amid war tensions. These jokes also reflect the intergroup dynamics in Sarajevo and express different kinds of nationalisms – gendered nationalism, Balkanism, and banal nationalism as sensed in jokes about besieged Sarajevo, gendered jokes, UNPROFOR jokes, army jokes, and ethno-national jokes. By examining these forms of humour, this article provides insight into how laughter and satire intertwined with war, identity, and nationalism in besieged Sarajevo.

THE DIFFERENTIATION OF SETTLEMENTS IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF SREBRENICA AS A CONSEQUENCE OF AGGRESSION

The municipality of Srebrenica is located in the northeast of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to the aggression, in April 1992, a large number of residents left the area. Thus, the exile crisis of the population of Srebrenica has begun and has not ended to this day. The paper presents theoretical and practical research on the settlements and population of Srebrenica and the changes that occurred after the aggression and genocide. The paper identified the causes and problems faced by the population living in this area today. Apart from literature and planning documents, indicators obtained from municipal departments for social activities, statistical indicators of the Agency for Statistics from the population and household census were used in the preparation of the work. The results show the demographic uncertainty, i.e. the municipality of Srebrenica is, from a demographic point of view, one of the most affected areas by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Contemporary Dangers in Researching the Field in the Republic of Srpska in Retrospect to the Yugoslav War in Bosnia and Herzegovina: An Experience from the Field in the Area of Kozara and Potkozarje

Contemporary Dangers in Researching the Field in the Republic of Srpska in Retrospect to the Yugoslav War in Bosnia and Herzegovina: An Experience from the Field in the Area of Kozara and Potkozarje

Unveiling Violence and Masculinity through a Psychoanalytic Study of Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class (1977), Sarah Kane' Blasted (1995) and The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield in Bosnian War (1996) by Matei Visniec

The examination of violence and its association with masculinity is depicted in three distinct plays: Blasted, written by Sarah Kane in 1995; Curse of the Starving Class, authored by Sam Shepard in 1977 (it was made into a Hollywood film in 1994); and Matei Vişniec’ The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield in the Bosnian War (1996). Utilizing a qualitative approach, this study employs close textual analysis and an extensive review of relevant literature to examine the representation of violence and masculinity in theatrical framework while also exploring the wider societal implications of such portrayals. The chosen plays present a wide range of viewpoints regarding violence, encompassing both highly intense manifestations of violence and the repercussions of warfare on the individuals. This analysis utilizes Judith Butler's theory of gender construction and Antonio Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty in order to examine the ways in which these plays either challenge or uphold conventional gender. Furthermore, it investigates the intricate correlation between trauma and aggressive conduct as depicted in the plays. By going deeply into the text and exploring its underlying concepts, it reveals the crucial function of theater in tackling and evaluating complex social problems. The plays act as a mirror for society viewpoints, forcing readers and the audiences to face uncomfortable truths about aggression, masculinity, and emotional anguish. The impacts of trauma on individuals and communities are brought to light. These plays demonstrate how war trauma can induce rage and promote violent behavior. It also highlights the power of theater to challenge harmful social conventions and catalyze positive social change by challenging traditional gender roles and power dynamics. Improving the audiences understanding of cultural attitudes and potential paths for societal change, this study contributes significantly to the assessment of violence and masculinity as depicted in theatrical performances.

Echoes of the Shoah: British Jewry and the Bosnian War

ABSTRACT This article explores how British Jews responded to the Bosnian War of 1992-1995. It questions how Jewish memories of the Holocaust influenced the way the community responded to the genocide in Bosnia. Using the British Jewish press as its source base, it identifies how British Jews extensively referenced the Shoah when responding to events in Bosnia. Highlighting a lack of international action to stop the Holocaust, British Jews attached a moral imperative to military intervention in Bosnia. It probes the idea that genocide in the Balkans had an important role in the expansion, and universalization, of Holocaust consciousness in the 1990s.

How to think about the instrumental politics of mass rape: a critical appraisal of feminist approaches

ABSTRACT Mass rape and other forms of sexual violence in ethnic conflict, as their incidence in Bosnian and Kosovo wars in former Yugoslavia showed in the 1990s, cannot be relativised along some strategy of either ‘victimization’ or ‘everyone is guilty’ within an antiquated framework of ethnic-religious hatred. In this case as in others, the local notions of honour and blood cannot be taken uncritically to be binding cultural traits that ought to determine social behaviour. Incidentally, they cannot either account for a structured ideology of ‘men’s war against women’, or for a postmodern feminist ideology of gender and the moral panic of a ‘patriarchal dream-order’ restored. In this article, I offer a critical appraisal of the stereotyped and relativising accounts of feminist and human rights scholars, a critique very much needed for an anthropological approach attentive to cultural ideology and activism. To understand the effectiveness of mass rape in a military strategy of ethnic cleansing, I suggest local cultural concepts and moral relativist ideas are not culturally given, but instrumental resources deliberately mobilised.

"Remove Kebab": The Appeal of Serbian Nationalist Ideology among the Global Far Right

This article examines the appeal of Serbian nationalist ideology among the contemporary far right. We argue that the discursive othering of Bosnian Muslims as “Turks” as well as the Serbian grand narrative presenting the Bosnian War as a civilizational struggle between Christian Europe and Islam are uniquely resonant with the popular anti-Muslim and xenophobic discourses that are mobilizing right-wing extremists across the globe. Through an analysis of Serbian and far-right discourses, we demonstrate how the patterns of representation that were used to incite and justify the violence committed against Bosnian Muslims in the 1990s are being exported to remote corners of the world via the internet, where they merge with extraneous Islamophobic and racist ideologies to inspire a new generation of extremism, hatred, and violence.

Pertempuran Rusia-Uthmaniyah 1877-1878 dan Impaknya terhadap Muslim Bulgaria The Battle of Russo-Ottoman 1877-1878 and Its Impact on Muslims in Bulgaria

The fierce battle that broke out in history between Russia and Ottoman in 1877–1878 was an attempt to solve the problems faced by the Ottoman administration in the Balkans. This is mainly related to accusations that the Ottoman government cannot protect Christians in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Ironically, Russia's victory did not lead to the resolution of the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Instead, it negatively impacted Muslims in the Balkans, especially in Bulgaria. This article will analyse the social effects of the war on Bulgaria's Muslim minority. This article uses a qualitative method called content analysis to evaluate British official documents and records collected from the British National Archives and the University of London, specifically from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies. The result shows that the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877 was not intended to give justice to the Christian community under the Ottoman empire; on the contrary, it was a strategy used by Russia and the Bulgarian government to eliminate the Muslim minority in Bulgaria.

Senator Richard Lugar i rat u Bosni i Hercegovini

The 1992-1995 war in Bosnia generated a significant interest across the Atlantic. For three-and-a-half years, Bosnia was present in the American public life with continuous media reports of the war and the genocide being perpetrated in this part of the Balkans. American policymakers in the George H. W. Bush and the Bill Clinton Administrations grappled with formulating a response to the war. While the executive branch took hesitant steps in response to the war, a number of American legislators led the way in seeking an assertive US role in Bosnia. Before the war broke out in Bosnia in spring 1992, several American legislators had taken an interest in the crisis in the rapidly dissolving Yugoslavia. Bob Dole, the Kansan Republican, was a leading voice calling for a tougher response. From 1992 onwards, Dole was joined by a number of other senators and congressmen on both sides of the aisle in advocating for air strikes and a lifting of the UN-imposed arms embargo on Bosnia. These congressional Bosnia hawks led a sustained campaign aimed at keeping the US focused on Bosnia and adopted landmark legislation in support of the newly independent state in Southeast Europe. Senator Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican and an influential voice on foreign affairs, did not belong to this core group of congressional Bosnia hawks. These hawks, including Senators Bob Dole and Joseph Lieberman, and Representative Frank McCloskey, along with a dozen other legislators, were at the forefront of congressional efforts to shape America’s policy towards Bosnia. Unlike these Bosnia hawks, Lugar did not lead the charge in seeking to steer US policy towards Bosnia. The Indiana Republican was neither a persistent advocate on Bosnia which was a characteristic of the congressional Bosnia hawks. But, he did weigh in on Bosnia starting in 1992 and advocated the use of American force in response to the war in Bosnia. Lugar also voted in favour of a series of legislative efforts aimed at supporting Bosnia from the Capitol Hill. This moderate support was still significant for Bosnia as the state mounted a determined defense of its statehood and citizens from 1992 to 1995. Lugar’s Senate papers located at Indiana University Libraries in Bloomington, IN offer insights into how the veteran senator viewed Bosnia and the policies that he advocated. To date, no study of Lugar’s policy towards Bosnia has been researched and his papers on Bosnia represent a first in-depth look at the senator’s views on the war. Drawing on these original documents, this paper seeks to piece together the story of how Senator Lugar reacted to the Bosnian War. It is a story of his support for Bosnia but one which was neither persistent nor forceful compared to Bob Dole and other pro-Bosnia voices on Capitol Hill. Still, as an independent and internationalist Republican, Lugar left a mark on his nation’s foreign policy including towards Bosnia. This paper, then, further seeks to contribute to the existing literature on the variety of America’s responses to the Bosnian War but also to shed light on Senator Lugar’s little-known effort to shape the US policy towards Bosnia in the early 1990s.

Žepa- The UN „Safe Zone"

Cyclically for several centuries in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there have been carried out crimes against humanity, serious violations of the Geneve Conventions and violations of the laws and customs of war and other crimes aginst the protected persons and social groups. Crimes are usually committed during armed conflicts. The mass crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the previous two centuries were primarily determined by the ideologies of territorial nationalism and the projects for their realisations by the neighbouring Croatia and Serbia. Additionally, in the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period 1992-1995 numerous crimes against humanity, serious violations of the Geneva Conventios, violations of the laws and costums of war and other crimes against protected objects, in its individual and mass nature, were also committed including the most serious crime that humanity has experienced since its inception- the crime of genocide. The Serbian-Montenegrin aggressor committed numerous forms of crimes against humanity and international law in all occupied towns and cities of the internationally regonised state and and a member of the United Nations (UN). The attacks on the area of the municipality of Rogatica whach are the subject of this research are considered to be the pattern which the aggressor (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) and its collaborators (Bosnian Serbs) used in order to completely exterminate Bosniaks from the territory of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina which they intended to occupy militarily. The intention and method of committing Serbian crimes in the area of Podrinje, which also included the municipality of Rogatica, during the Greater Serbian aggression in 1992-1995 are the same as the chetnik crimes against the Bosniak population during the World War II. Zepa, the largest of the ten local communities in the municipality of Rogatica, became a small Bosnian enclave during the aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina that resisted the attacks and blows of a far superior enemy until the middle of 1995. Resolution No.824 declaring Zepa a „safe zone” of the United Nations was adopted on May 6, 1993 by the UN Security Council. The aggressor continued the coordinated and systematic „cleansing” of the Bosniak population from that area consciously ignoring the fact that Zepa was declared a „safe zone” by the UN. The attacks on the Bosniaks of Zepa were not of different character compared to the attacks on other areas of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially Podrinje. Attacks on Bosniaks as an ethnic, national, national and religious group as a whole, and therefore those from the area of Zepa, were an integral part of the Greater Serbian ideology, policy and practice of creating the so-called Great Serbia. This research aims to shed light on the importance and status of the UN „safe zone”, the attitude of the international community towards the aggressor and the victims, the aggressor's activities up to the complete occupation of this „safe zone” and the crimes committed against Bosniaks.

The Bosnian Genocide: A Case for Multiculturalism

The objective of this research is to investigate the causes, impacts, and aftermath of the Bosnian Genocide to propose preventative strategies against future genocides. A literature review of primary sources and current scholarly papers is presented to analyze the significant influence of economic and historical events preceding the genocide, the determinant causes of which were the advocation of the “Greater Serbia” ideology and the changing socioeconomic dynamics between Bosnia and Serbia. The clear intent of the Bosnian War was to systematically enforce a nationalist Serbian agenda whose primary goals were the complete eradication of the Bosniak community through the destruction of their cultural landmarks and the deliberate killings of Bosniak men and mass rape of women. The Bosnian Genocide resulted in the Dayton Agreement that ended the war and the formation of the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The results of this study culminate in recommendations to avert future instances of genocide, such as limiting the political power of the head of state to ensure accountability through checks and balances, establishing security measures to protect the Bosniak community from violent crimes, diversifying the national economy by creating job opportunities in non-military sectors, implementing an educational campaign at the primary level to encourage respect for minority groups, enacting anti-discrimination laws, and engaging Bosniak community leaders in decision making. These recommendations are made not only to support preventative measures but also to promote an acceptance of multiculturalism that is crucial to avert future genocides in an increasingly globalized society.

The Heuristics of Heroism: Lebbeus Woods Notebooks (1988–1997) at the Getty Research Institute Special Collections

This paper introduces the notebooks of Lebbeus Woods (1940–2012) as a substantive document in the œuvre and critical practice of the New York architect. Dating from 1988 to 1997, this previously unpublished trove includes hand-written notes and over three hundred drawings. Held at the Getty Research Institute, these twenty notebooks cover a wide range of topics, from theoretical musings, to political statements, to fragments from everyday life. Crucially, these documents also reflect the period of Woods’ interest and involvement in the Bosnian War, leading to the publication of War and Architecture in 1993. Complementing his published and exhibited works, Woods’ notebooks are a daily register of his travels, stochastic thoughts, and of his struggles with a continued belief in the possibility of architecture as an intellectual pursuit against the context of modern geopolitical catastrophe. Our brief examination presents these important documents from three major vantage points: drawings, writings, and their theoretical synthesis.

Empowering new survivors with old lessons? Insights from the Bosnian war aftermath applied to upcoming Ukrainian post-realities

ABSTRACT In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, media narratives drew stark parallels with the violent disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, instigating discussions on historical similarities and current sociopolitical relations. This paper explores the responses of Bosnian war rape survivors and activists to the gender-based violence during the invasion and draws insights or potential lessons learned for application in Ukraine. As survivors and activists advocate for documentation and warn of the prolonged journey to justice, they navigate triggering narratives reminiscent of Bosnia’s past. Utilizing qualitative content analysis of English and Bosnian-Croatian-Serb language media articles from March to December 2022, the study identifies recurring themes and patterns, referencing the Bosnian conflict as a point of comparison. Using “post” as a temporal and analytical framework, the focus narrows to trauma narratives, the dynamics of breaking the silence, and the distinctive feature of mass digitization in the Ukrainian context. The empowerment of survivors through digital platforms is explored, shedding light on the evolving nature of information dissemination. The paper aims to provide a foundation for understanding the challenges and opportunities for post-conflict recovery and gender trauma healing in the Ukrainian context, based on social factors rather than clinical ones.

Armed conflict as a threat to social cohesion: Large-scale displacement and its short- and long-term effects on in-group perceptions

This study investigates the short- and long-term consequences of armed conflict and displacement on social cohesion among citizens within attacked nations, using Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina as case studies. Through a pre-registered vignette study in Ukraine (December 2022; N = 1,623), we reveal a significant difference in social cohesion between those who stayed in the country during the war and those who left. This difference intensified when those who left did not want to return. A similar difference persists in Bosnia and Herzegovina 30 years after the Bosnian War (May 2023, N = 338), despite extensive reconciliation efforts. Our findings point towards an understudied consequence of armed conflict and displacement on social cohesion within the attacked nation and shed light on the challenges to post-war reconciliation.

Acceptance of international criminal justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina

When the XIV Winter Olympic Games took place in Sarajevo in 1984, nobody expected that war would begin only seven years later and kill hundreds of thousands of people living in the former Yugoslavia. That millions of them would be ethnically cleansed and displaced, most of them for good. That hundreds of mass graves would be scattered around, and that war crimes unseen in Europe since the Second World War would be repeated. That severe crimes like systematic rape, torture, and massive destruction of cultural heritage and property would finally culminate with genocide. Consequently, Bosnia and Herzegovina (and the countries of the former Yugoslavia) triggered an immense boost in international criminal law and international criminal justice. That experience, during and after the war that took place from 1992 to 1995, can offer lots of valuable input. Not everything that had been done was good or perfect, but it was of great importance for the further development of international criminal law and international criminal justice in a world that is still searching for appropriate responses to the grave war crimes that occur every day, and for the development of mechanisms and practices that will ensure justice for victims and society and be perceived as such. The atrocities of the Bosnian War served as a wake-up call for the international community, highlighting the urgent need for mechanisms to hold perpetrators of such heinous crimes accountable. The establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia marked a significant milestone in this regard, pioneering the prosecution of individuals responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict. However, challenges persist in ensuring access to justice for all victims and addressing the root causes of conflict to prevent future atrocities. The lessons learned in Bosnia and Herzegovina remain crucial in shaping efforts to achieve lasting peace and accountability worldwide.

Ungrateful Girl Refugees in Lore Segal's Other People's Houses and Vesna Maric's Bluebird

Abstract Against the background of recent extraordinary narratives of displaced girls, I consider two accounts of refugee girls in Britain at earlier historical moments: Lore Segal's Other People's Houses ([1964] 2018) about her memories of being a Kindertransportee in the late 1930s, and Vesna Maric's Bluebird (2009), a memoir of her journey into refugeehood as a teenage girl following the outbreak of the war in Bosnia in the early 1990s. I read their framing of the refugee experience as interventions into hegemonic scripts of displaced girlhood that ultimately destabilize the wider stories of nationhood that such narratives often uphold. Read through the frames of girlhood and refugeetude, these narratives point to alternative modes of imagining refugee girls and their position in and beyond the nation.

The Evolution of Genocide Law: An Examination on the Role of the Bosnian War

Bu makale, 1992-1995 Bosna Savaşı ve Sırbistan'a karşı yürütülen hukuki süreçlerin uluslararası soykırım hukukunun evrimine etkilerini incelemektedir. Soykırımı Önleme ve Cezalandırma Sözleşmesi'nin uygulanmasındaki gelişmeleri ve zorlukları, savaşın uluslararası hukuk sistemine etkisini ve Uluslararası Adalet Divanı gibi uluslararası kurumların rolünü, ilgili mahkeme kararlarının öne çıkan hükümlerinin hukuki analizi yöntemiyle değerlendirmiştir. Makale, hukuki sorumluluklar, devlet egemenliği ve uluslararası camiada soykırımın siyasallaşması arasındaki kesişimi kritik bir şekilde analiz etmektedir.

Ethnic Tensions and Global Response: Disentangling the Complexities of the Bosnian War

This article critically examines the Bosnian War within the broader framework of international law, with a specific focus on understanding its role in managing ethnic conflicts. The aim is to analyze the effectiveness of international law in addressing the complex dynamics of ethnic strife, particularly in the context of post-Cold War Yugoslavia. The key hypothesis guiding this research posits that international legal mechanisms, while crucial, faced significant challenges and limitations in effectively resolving the ethnic conflicts that characterized the Bosnian War. The study delves into the historical and socio-political factors fueling ethnic tensions in Yugoslavia, highlighting how nationalism and ethnic separatism culminated in widespread violence. The article critically evaluates the international response to the conflict, including the effectiveness of UN Peacekeeping Forces and the Dayton Peace Agreement, and discusses the broader implications for global peace and security. Furthermore, the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is explored as a key development in international law. The study assesses the impact of the ICTY on promoting accountability and justice, and its role in facilitating reconciliation efforts post-conflict. The findings of this study have significant relevance for contemporary international law, offering insights into its potential in preventing and resolving ethnic conflicts in a rapidly changing global landscape.

In Pursuit of Prestige: The International Olympic Committee’s Peace Efforts in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992–1994)

In the early 1990s, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) became involved in diplomatic efforts surrounding the dissolution of Yugoslavia and war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Forced into action by United Nations Security Council Resolution 757, which placed sporting sanctions on Yugoslavia, the IOC responded with the Olympic Truce initiative and public appeals for peace in the region. These endeavours culminated in President Juan Antonio Samaranch’s trip to Sarajevo during the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway to promote a ceasefire for the duration of the games. This campaign was arguably the most direct and ambitious attempt at international diplomacy ever undertaken by the International Olympic Committee. IOC archival and contemporary press sources demonstrate the rationale, logistics, and ultimate outcome of Samaranch’s trip, and show that the IOC’s peace initiatives were part of a broader effort to increase the prestige of the organization amid growing public criticism and preserve its autonomy in the face of the United Nations’ use of sporting sanctions.

Ideology, war, and genocide – the empirical case of Bosnia and Herzegovina

ABSTRACT This article explores the connections among the discursive nature of ideology, identity politics, forced displacement, and symbolic and actual war violence leading to genocide. The general framework of the article is the Bosnian War (1992–1995), waged against the country and its civilians. The analytical basis is a literature review of various studies from the domains of sociology of knowledge, war sociology, and social epistemology. It is based on the perspective of the genocide in Bosnia as a process that began in northwest and east Bosnia in 1992 and terminated in Srebrenica in 1995 (in the municipality Prijedor in northwest Bosnia in 1992, more than 3000 civilians were killed). Mass crimes and the policy of fear mongering were intended to create and recreate the collective belief that coexistence in Bosnia was impossible and that establishing “ethnically pure cultures” and “ethnically pure territories” should be accepted as a deterministic historical necessity. The results of our research indicate that crimes against civilians can be “normalized” only after a “new social order” has been established as a war order with the help of media propaganda. Genocide can be committed only if the perpetrators (and its advocates acting in the name of specific identity politics) believe that committing violence can be justified by a “higher cause.”