Ursinus College Digital Commons @ Ursinus College Politics Honors Papers Student Research 4-25-2016 Bosnia: Doomed to Failure or a Rising Hope? Caitlin V. Moore Ursinus College, [email protected] Adviser: Rebecca Evans Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pol_hon Part of the Eastern European Studies Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, European History Commons, Islamic World and Near East History Commons, and the Political Science Commons Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits oy u. Recommended Citation Moore, Caitlin V., "Bosnia: Doomed to Failure or a Rising Hope?" (2016). Politics Honors Papers. 4. https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pol_hon/4 This Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. It has been accepted for inclusion in Politics Honors Papers by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Bosnia: Doomed to Failure or a Rising Hope? Caitlin V Moore April 25, 2016 Submitted to the faculty of Ursinus College in fulfillment of the requirements for Honors in Politics 1 MOORE Bosnia: Doomed to Failure or a Rising Hope? Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………2 Chapter 1. Introduction…..………………………………………………………………………..3 Chapter 2. Historical Background…..…………………………………………………………......5 Chapter 3. Dayton Peace Accords..........................................................................................…...15 Literature Review…….…………………………………..........…………………………………27 Methods………………………………………………..…………………………………………43 Results…………………………………………………………………………...……………….48 Discussion………………….…………………………………………………………………….64 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….75 References………………………………………………………………………………..………76 Appendix A – Transcript of Interview One.……………………………………………...……...78 Appendix B – Transcript of Interview Two.……………………………………………………..91 Appendix C – Transcript of Focus Group………………………………………………………116 Appendix D –Survey Results of Demographic and Quantitative Questions……………...……131 Appendix E – Survey Results from Qualitative Question 28…………………………..………148 Appendix F – Survey Results from Qualitative Question 29..……………………………..…..152 Appendix G – Survey Results from Qualitative Question 30…………………………………..157 2 MOORE Bosnia: Doomed to Failure or a Rising Hope? Abstract Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country that suffers from a lack of a national identity as it has three main ethnic groups, Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, who are all fighting for power. After the Bosnian war, which lasted from 1992-1995 and involved genocide that was committed against the Bosniaks, the ethnic divisions were further entrenched. These divisions were not helped by the provisions of the Dayton Peace Accords, which was the peace settlement that brought an end to the war. Dayton created an ethnocracy within Bosnia that places more importance on ethnic groups than national identity. In order to see whether or not these ethnic divisions could be overcome and how the youth of Bosnia were politically identifying, I conducted a survey at two international universities in Bosnia as well as two interviews and a focus group. Though the sample was limited after analyzing the results it was determined that Bosnian youth are indeed overcoming ethnic divisions and starting to form in part a cohesive national identity. 3 MOORE Bosnia: Doomed to Failure or a Rising Hope? Chapter 1. Introduction Bosnia and Herzegovina has suffered from problems of ethnic divisions since the Ottoman Empire took over the area 1345, creating a new ethnic group that came to be called the Bosniaks. Due to the geographical nature of the country, being extremely mountainous, there was no real firm foundations developed in a particular religion, either Catholicism of Orthodox. Therefore when the Ottoman Empire came it is was easier to spread Islam, creating this new ethnic group within the region. Since then conflict has been a main stay of Bosnia, except for a respite when it was a part of Yugoslavia. The most recent Bosnian war, which lasted from 1992 to 1995, brought tremendous ethnic violence to the area which reinforced the ethnic divisions. Since the war Bosnia as a nation has been on the verge of collapse. The ethnic divisions have brought stagnation to the country, and the Dayton Peace Accords, which brought a stop to the Bosnian war, have also caused the government to become a thoroughly corrupt ethno nationalist state. An ethno nationalist state is a state which is essentially run by political leaders who cater more to their particular ethnic identity rather than the nation as a whole. Consequently the Bosnian citizens have a low opinion of their government as well as a lack of a shared national identity. Bosnia seems to be a country heading for disaster unless the Bosnian government can find a way to compromise and push the country forward past its divisions. The research presented in this paper demonstrates that there may in fact be grounds for optimism as there is an underlying current of national identity among educated young Bosnians. For many of the youth who were participants in the study their family was the main factor in creating their identity, either positively or negatively, and led them to make the decisions they 4 MOORE Bosnia: Doomed to Failure or a Rising Hope? have made to go to an international university. As it became clear in the survey and interviews students showed a greater trend towards developing an ethnic identity or at least overcoming ethnic boundaries, which will only opened up their options further. The research in this paper shows that Bosnian students at international schools are evolving a sense of national identity; however the problem of brain drain that wracks Bosnia is also apparent. Future leaders willing to see past the ethnic divides are leaving the country, which leaves those entrenched in the ethnic divisions to run the country. Despite this appearance Bosnia does have a hopeful future as people only one generation after the war are starting to question the way the government works and are starting to push for a different approach to government that moves beyond ethnic representation. Should they stay or return to Bosnia, it may be able to once again become the shinning jewel of the Balkans. 5 MOORE Bosnia: Doomed to Failure or a Rising Hope? Chapter 2. Historical Background 2.1 Introduction At least since 1345 when the Ottoman Empire took over the area, Bosnia has been a very diverse country. The makeup of Bosnia consists mainly of three ethnic groups, though there are several others. The three main ethnic groups are Bosniaks, who are also referred to as Bosnian Muslims, Orthodox Serbs, and Catholic Croats. They share many cultural practices and speak what is essentially a common language. This is due to the fact that they are of common ancestry; the Slavs are believed to have migrated into the region from the current area of Ukraine in about 460 A.D. (Domin 2001).While these three groups have existed since the area was taken over by the Ottoman Empire, the relationship among them has changed. These changes are due in part to the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina and that it has been mired in conflict. The region was only stable during the Ottoman Empire and Yugoslavia and even then there was underlying tension. Recently, it has gone from peaceful during the time of Yugoslavia, to outright conflict in the Bosnian war, to a now uneasy truce between the three. Ethnic identities have not remained static either but have instead evolved since the beginning, fluctuating in intensity in line with the conflicts. While there are many persons who do not practice religion and others who pride themselves on being the products of mixed-faith marriages, the divisions between Catholic Croats, Orthodox Serbs, and the Muslim Bosniaks are echoed in political parties and structures. These parties and structures have had a dramatic effect on the country today. Bosnia has gone from a relatively tolerant society to one that has been increasingly mired in ethnic hatred. 2.2 Before Yugoslavia 6 MOORE Bosnia: Doomed to Failure or a Rising Hope? Bosnia and Herzegovina has for the majority of its history been what cultural geographers call a border zone, a country on the periphery of competing empires (Domin 2001). When the Slavs first migrated into the Balkans in approximately 460 A.D., it was divided between the Western Roman Empire, based in Rome, and the Byzantine Empire, controlled from Constantinople. The division was the River Drina along the eastern border of Bosnia. This meant that the areas of Bosnia, Croatia, and Slovenia were included in the west under Roman influence while Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia were in the Byzantine east. The schism between the Roman Catholic faith in the west and the Orthodox tradition in the east culminated in a definitive break between the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1054. Bosnia was now clearly on the border of these two faiths and supporters of both traditions moved into the area. However, the spreading of both Catholic and Orthodox beliefs was hampered by Bosnia’s physical topography. Bosnia is a mountainous country with many remote areas and had few major population centers. As a consequence, religious influence had a greater effect in Serbia and Croatia, where the topography was more accommodating. As a result, Bosnia was only nominally Catholic or Orthodox at this time (Domin 2001). The