Resisting division along ethnic lines: a case study of two communities who challenged discourses of war during the Yugoslav conflict 1991-1995 Item Type Thesis Authors Otmacic, Valentina Publisher University of Bradford Rights <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by- nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. Download date 01/10/2021 23:26:22 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10454/17418 RESISTING DIVISION ALONG ETHNIC LINES: A CASE STUDY OF TWO COMMUNITIES WHO CHALLENGED DISCOURSES OF WAR DURING THE YUGOSLAV CONFLICT 1991-1995 Valentina OTMACIC submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Peace Studies University of Bradford 2017 ABSTRACT Valentina Otmacic Resisting division along ethnic lines: a case study of two communities who challenged discourses of war during the Yugoslav conflict 1991- 1995 Keywords: 1. Conflict in the former Yugoslavia. 2. Croatia. 3. Bosnia and Herzegovina. 4. Group identity. 5. Dominant discourses of violence. 6. Counter-discourse. 7. Ethnic co-existence. 8. Gorski kotar; 9. Tuzla; 10. Non- violence There is a generalized perception on the 1991-1995 war in the former Yugoslavia as an ethnic conflict caused by longstanding antagonisms among homogenous ethnic groups inhabiting its territory. In such a worldview, which became part of the dominant discourse, inter-ethnic violence in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina was inevitable and the division of the population along ethnic lines was needed to stop the violence. In this thesis I problematize the dominant discourse on the ethnic nature and inevitability of violence, as well as on the ethnic fracturing as a solution, by exposing the experiences of two largest communities that remained ethnically mixed and preserved communal peace throughout wartime – the community of the region of Gorski kotar in Croatia and the community of the city of Tuzla in Bosnia-Herzegovina. By documenting and analysing their discourses and practices, and by contrasting them with the dominant discourses of war in these two countries, I provide evidence that these two communities were oases of peace which developed a counter-discourse and resisted violence by preserving their multi- ethnic character, promoting multiple identities, cherishing inter-ethnic i cooperation and ensuring equality and good governance for all their citizens. Their narratives challenge the well-established «truths» about the war in the former Yugoslavia and add to the complexity of collective memories of its peoples. ii «Today the highest level of courage consists in stating that you don’t hate anyone and that you don’t want to kill anyone» (Srdjan Dvornik, peace activist from Croatia, in Modric, 1993) This work is dedicated to the citizens of Tuzla and Gorski kotar, for having the courage not to hate, and to my mother and my father, my personal heroes. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was a seven-year long marvellous journey during which I had the fortune to meet and travel with a number of extraordinary individuals, experiencing excitement, enlightenment and intensive personal growth. I am deeply grateful to Dr Karen Abi-Ezzi, who was there for me and with me in all the challenging and exciting moments of this journey. She provided me not only with an outstanding academic support, but also with the most sincere and generous personal encouragement. I feel privileged and indebted to Karen for this joint experience, in which our minds and hearts worked closely together. A big thank you goes also to Professor Jim Whitman, with whom I have shaped the initial contours of this research. Our long discussions in front of the whiteboard in his office sparked my intellectual curiosity and strongly stimulated my thinking. This research would have been impossible without the support of the academic and non-academic staff of the University of Bradford, as well as of my colleagues and peers, with whom I have been gaining knowledge and growing as a person. My fieldwork in the communities of Gorski kotar in Croatia and Tuzla in Bosnia-Herzegovina felt like a stunning discovery. As I was unfolding their experiences and getting to know their people, they were opening their homes and hearts to me with a touching generosity. The more I was learning about these two communities, the more I was admiring them for who they were and continue to be – friends of diversity, smart resisters to violence, wise strategists who dare to think and act against the stream, and incredibly inspiring citizens. I am indebted to many people in Gorski kotar and Tuzla, particularly to all those who agreed to be interviewed and shared with me their wartime experiences. Fully aware that they would be recalling some often the most disturbing moments of their lives, they showed readiness to do so for the benefit of this research. Reaching out to the communities of Gorski kotar and Tuzla would have been impossible without selfless help of several people to whom I am deeply indebted. My dear friends Sanda Kreitmeyer and Nejira Nalic introduced me to the Tuzlan society, being my hosts, guides and invaluable iv interlocutors along the way. In Gorski kotar, I was fortunate to get to know Nada Glad, who became my cherished companion through the mountains and valleys of this region’s resistance to ethnic fracturing. The premature death of our friend Josip Horvat struck us along that journey. This research is in a certain way an homage to Josip, as it incorporates and builds on many of his brilliant ideas and insights. Seven years of research passed rapidly. During all this time I enjoyed selfless care and support of my mum, to whom this work is dedicated. It is because she believed in me that I made it – in this study, and in so many other aspects of my life. She has been waiting patiently for the moment of my doctoral graduation, and I can’t wait to see her joy on that special day. Many other members of my family and friends around the world cheered me, took care of me, understood and believed in me throughout all these seven years. This work belong to them as much as it belongs to me. Special thanks go to Daphne Winland and Jose Angel Ruiz Jimenez, for their encouragement and support. And it all started with a conversation with my precious friend Mona Abboud, in Beirut, in her multi-ethnic building and neighbourhood which resisted confessional fracturing during wartime in Lebanon, to which I owe the next phase of my research on this exciting topic. I am deeply grateful to Mona for all her friendship and advice. Seven years went away rapidly, and the person who would be most proud of my doctoral thesis is no longer among us. This work is dedicated to him, my father, my eternal source of strength and inspiration. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ iv Table of contents ........................................................................................... vi Abbreviations ................................................................................................. xi Preface ........................................................................................................ xiii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1 1.1. Yugoslavia and its discourses: understanding the context ....................... 3 1.2. The phenomenon under investigation .................................................... 12 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH FRAMEWORK…… 13 2.1. Literature review .................................................................................... 13 2.2. Research framework .............................................................................. 22 2.3. The importance and the implications of the investigation ....................... 24 Chapter 3 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH .................................................................................................. 27 3.1. Conceptual framework of the research .................................................. 27 3.2. Methodology of research........................................................................ 45 Chapter 4 GROUNDED IN THE PAST: TRACING THE EMERGENCE OF KEY DISCOURSES AND PRACTICES INFLUENCING GROUP IDENTIFICATION PROCESSES, INTER-GROUP RELATIONS AND GOVERNANCE ON THE TERRITORY OF CROATIA AND BOSNIA- HERZEGOVINA ............................................................................................ 58 4.1. Group identification among South Slavs: a complex and continuously evolving process .......................................................................................... 59 vi 4.2.Inter-group relations among South Slavs: long-term coexistence interrupted by several episodes of politically driven violence ....................... 70 4.3. Managing communities for peace or managing them for violence: South Slavs and governance .................................................................................. 78 4.4.Tracing the emergence of key discourses in three selected themes: conclusions .................................................................................................