A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details WHEN THE ROOFTOPS BECAME RED AGAIN: POST-WAR COMMUNITY DYNAMICS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Maria Djolai Ph.D. Development Studies University of Sussex May 2015 ii I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature:…………………………….. iii UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX Maria Djolai Ph.D. Development Studies WHEN THE ROOFTOPS BECAME RED AGAIN: POST-WAR COMMUNITY DYNAMICS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Summary My thesis explores post-war community formation following the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995), the deadliest European violent conflict since WWII. The study draws on 18 months of fieldwork and mixed methods data collection in two small towns, Stolac in Southern Herzegovina and Kotor Varoš in Northern Bosnia, which were exposed to intense violence. The thesis uses the concept of community as analytical optic to avoid ethnic “groupism” perspective, which so often obscures the complexity of social relations and the dynamics of communal life in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It understands community as a place and social relations, and also the psychological sense of community. The thesis argues that while these combined forms of violence lead to community loss, a psychological sense of community among the members is maintained, and plays an important role in post-war community formation. The thesis shows that post-war community formation is not a linear process but a dynamic one, which occurs at different levels of the communal social organization. By exploring daily life and historical narratives of the violence in two different post-war communities, the thesis makes a case that community formation is primarily a localized process, which has a way of bypassing ethnonationalist hegemonies. It makes and original contribution by focusing both on the social interactions and creating a space through interactions between the place and the social in the new community emerges through everyday life. iv Acknowledgements Writing this thesis was one of the most challenging and the most rewarding experiences in my life. There were many people who supported me throughout the process. Without them this effort would not have come to fruition. Before everyone else, my gratitude goes to the places and people in Bosnia and Herzegovina who accepted me for who I am and not for whom my ethnic background should have associated me with in the last war, which is the topic of my thesis. In particular, I would like to thank Minva and her NGO ‘Orhideja’ Marija for looking after my daughter, and also Fata, Vezira, Ćanka, Haska, Kata and Katica, which made my research project possible. For the experience and the outcome I would like to thank my supervisors at the Institute of Development Studies, Patricia Justino and Jeremy Allouche, who have provided intellectual guidance and offered continuous encouragement and support. Their steadfast faith in my work played a significant role in successful completion of this research project. I appreciate all the hours we spent in discussions and their honest critique that have made this thesis a much better piece of work. I am indebted to Patricia Justino for generously agreeing to support my application for the Leverhulme Research Grant that funded my PhD. At the Institute of Development Studies I am indebted to Linda Waldman, who was incredibly supportive as a PhD Convenor and providing intellectual input, advice and spending many hours discussing my work. I am also grateful to Deepta Chopra and Robin Luckam for providing sound advice at different stages of my thesis, and to John Drury from the University of Sussex. I am grateful to the Leverhulme Foundation and their Research Grants scheme, which generously supported three years of my PhD arriving at the crucial point of conducting fieldwork, data analysis and the writing-up process. I very much appreciate the support of the IDS Development Office who supported the project proposal especially to Debbie West for her amazing administrative support throughout the project implementation. Most of all I am grateful to Angela v Dowman without whom it would have been impossible to accomplish this journey. I am also grateful to UNICEF Bosnia and Hercegovina, Selma Kazić in particular, for providing access to the communities at the start of the project. Being a single mother of a small daughter didn’t make my journey easier but certainly shaped the final product. My private circumstances created some great friendships with people who were a constant, positive presence in my life and who supported me unselfishly, especially Machiko Tsubura, Teresa Armijos Burneo, Florence Dafe, Liesbeth de Block and Edita Poljac. Other friends and PhD compatriots shared their insights, ideas and friendship. My special thanks to Phemo Kgomotso, Javier Arellano, Juan Loera Gonzales, Ronald Adamtey, Felix Bevens, Ricardo Goulao Santos, Eric Kasper, Michael Tauson, Hani Morsi, Lidia Cabral, Camilla Lindstrom, Marjoke Oosterom, Naysan Aldapavar, John Spall, Becky Mitchell, Sung Kyu Kim, Yashodan Gorpade and especially three great women and colleagues who went an extra mile to support me – Alia Aghajanian, Maysa Squerat and Katia Teala. I feel deep gratitude to my long-term friends from Serbia. To Slobodan Spasojević who provided incredible emotional support and friendship at the critical times of this PhD process, Diana Radosavljević Milović and Marko Milović who received me into their home as a family and Aleksandar Radin and Lena Bogdanović, who are a constant support in my life. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, I am indebted to Larisa Halilović for her continuous enthusiasm about my work, Rahima Jakubović for friendship and most of all to Jovanka Huseinbegović, without whom this thesis would never have been completed. A very special thanks is to a friend who wishes to remain anonymous, for being there me throughout the whole process, from conceiving ideas to finishing my thesis. This research project and the thesis would have been very different had it not been for my daughter, Tisa, who remained a source of strength, energy and inspiration. She lived with me in Bosnia and Herzegovina, participated in the fieldwork locations from the age of three and never complained about being on the constant move for more than two years of the research process. I love her very much and hope that being through this process with me will enrich her life and shape her personality to understand, accept and respect complexity and diversity of this world. I am very grateful to the Sinanagić and Draewe families for their support vi and assistance at crucial times. I thank my aunt Piroška Szabo who never tired of believing in my work, and me, and who felt that her support was much needed as both of my parents are gone. It is to them, Dr Mirjana Kovačev-Djolai and Imre Djolai that I dedicate this thesis and I know they would have been so happy to see me here today. vii 1 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 14 1.1. COMMUNITY, IDENTITY AND LOCALITY IN BIH ................................................................................ 19 1.2. RESEARCH RATIONALE ......................................................................................................................... 24 1.3. BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH ........................................................................................................ 27 1.3.1. War in Bosnia and Herzegovina ................................................................................................. 29 1.3.2. DAP and Post-war Geographic Community........................................................................... 32 1.4. THESIS STRUCTURE AND ARGUMENTS ............................................................................................... 36 2. Theoretical and Methodological Framework .................................................... 39 2.1. UNDERSTANDING ‘COMMUNITY’ .......................................................................................................... 40 2.2. COMMUNITY, ETHNICITY AND BOUNDARIES ..................................................................................... 46 2.3. COMMUNITY AND VIOLENCE ................................................................................................................ 50 2.4. METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................ 53 2.4.1. Case Study Approach ........................................................................................................................ 57 2.4.2. Semi-Structured Interviews .......................................................................................................... 60 2.4.3. Survey .....................................................................................................................................................