Ethnic divisions in Bosnia-Herzegovina

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”People have to engage, any other option simply doesn’t exist”

- The inequality between three different ethnic groups in the country and how media is used to portray them

Karolina Jurcevic 2020-06-07

Programme: Master of Arts: Media and Communication Studies – Culture, Collaborative Media and Creative Industries

Media and Communication Studies: Master's (Two-year) Thesis Advisor: Michael Krona

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Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to observe how media and activism can be a part of the post-conflict peace building in Bosnia as well as to highlight the work and importance of NGOs in the country. This thesis will focus on how these NGOs work with media and activism in order to contribute to the post-conflict peace building. Further, it will analyze elements of civic activism as well as grassroots activism to see how the organizations implement these in their work. Eight interviews have been conducted with two participants from four NGOs in the country. The result shows that whilst ethnic divisions still largely characterize the contemporary Bosnian society, there are instances where ethnic differences have been disregarded. Further, the result shows that the everyday work of these organizations showcase a great example of how ethnic divisions can be combated and how social change can be achieved.

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Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) for giving me the possibility to conduct my field study in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

I would also like to give thanks to my supervisor Michael Krona, for all the support and guidance. Further, I would like to convey the utmost appreciation to all organizations who took their time to participate in this study.

Za kraj, ja bi volila posebno da se zahvalim mojim roditeljima i sestri, za sve njihove price sto su podjelili samnom i za svu njihovu potporu. Hvala vam.

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Between 1992-1995, Bosnia-Herzegovina (henceforth ”Bosnia”) faced a gruesome civil war, resulting in over 100,000 deaths (Hall, 2014, p. 45). In 1995, the Dayton Peace Accords were signed, resulting in the end of the war. The peace agreement divided the country into two entities - The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska (The Serbian Republic), whereas Muslims and Croats would control the politics of the first and Serbs would control the politics of the latter (Babuna, 2005, p. 418). Whilst the agreement put an end to the violence, it presented very little values needed to implement in society in order to reach a perpetual solution to the ethnic conflict in the country (Dyrstad, Ellingsen & Rød, 2015, p. 5). It also furthered the conflict in an already ethnically divided Bosnia, partially by implementing the term ”Bosniaks” as a term only used for Bosnian Muslims, whilst it previously had been used by Bosnians of any religion (Babuna, 2005, p. 419).

Contemporary Bosnia is facing multiple challenges. The ethnic divisions in the country are

affecting education, causing segregations in schools by dividing young students in physical spaces based of their ethnicity (Delauney, 2019). Further, the divisions aggravate the discrimination in the political sphere of Bosnia, banning individuals to run for political positions based on their ethnicity, religion or geographical accommodation. The country’s constitution even refers to citizens who do not ”belong” too or don’t identify as either of the three main ethnic groups only as ”others” (Human rights watch, 2019).

As a country that experienced ”negative peace”, meaning peace where only the war and violence ended but long-term peace was not implemented, Bosnia is in need of a ”positive peace”, where a long-term sustainable peace is established (Autesserre, 2017). There are several non-governmental organizations working towards this goal in the country. The work of four of these organizations will be presented in this thesis. As digital and social media have grown as tools for civic activism

(Youngs, 2019), this thesis will focus on these organizations work with media with the aim of seeing how media is used as a tool in these organizations in order to portray and attempt to change the historical and contemporary ethnic divisions in the country.

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2. Research aim and questions

This thesis aims to observe how media can be a part of the post-conflict peace building to highlight the work and importance of NGO’s. Therefore, this paper will regard the ethnic divisions in contemporary Bosnia, focusing on how media is used as a tool by NGO’s to portray and attempt to change the historical and contemporary ethnic divisions in the country. The matter will be discussed based on the following research questions:

How do non-governmental organizations in Bosnia-Herzegovina use media in order to portray the ethnic divisions in the country?

How do these non-governmental organizations use media as a tool for activism in order to contribute to the post-conflict peace building in Bosnia?

What types of activism do these organizations work with?

3. Background

To better understand the ongoing conflict in Bosnia and the 1990’s civil war, one must first understand the history of the country and the history of the three ethnic group in the country. Therefore, this chapter will present the history of Bosnia, from the Middle Ages to the signing of the Dayton agreement in 1995.

3.1 Ottoman rule

Bosnia has for a long time mainly consisted of three different ethnic groups: Bosnians, Serbians and Croatians. Today, the country is divided into two parts: The federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. The former belongs to the Bosniaks (Bosnians of Muslim legacy) and Croatians (Bosnians of Croatian legacy). The latter belongs to Serbians (Bosnians of Serbian legacy) (Durakovic, Radeljkovic & Hunt, 2013, p. 23). However, the country has changed a lot over the years in regards to geographical property and politics. Each of the ethnic groups has an individual story regarding their Bosnian nationality.

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The origins of the Bosniak nationality can be traced back to the Ottoman rule. During this period, Christians converted to Islam, pushed by legal and socio-economic benefits that existed for muslims (Hoare, 2007, p. 43). However, conflicts arose between Muslims (from the Ottoman Empire and Bosnia) and the Christian nations. These conflicts contributed to the image of the ”Muslim” identity amongst Bosnian Muslims, whilst internal conflicts between the Ottoman state and the muslims in Bosnia, in turn added to the image of the Bosnian Muslims as ”Bosniaks” (Babuna, 2005, p. 405).

The origins of the Serbian national identity have been shaped primarily by the orthodox religion. Prior to the Ottoman conquest, the orthodox religion was not largely spread in Bosnia (Judah, 2000, p. 10). The Vlachs, the orthodox population that established themselves in Ottoman Bosnia and later became Serbs, built their own sovereign military forces under their own superiors, separated from the Ottoman military forces (Hoare, 2007, p. 51). However, they were also used by the Ottomans for work with transportation units (Ružica. 2010, p. 2). In return, the elite Vlachs were spared from tax payment (Kursar, 2013, p. 131). With time, the elite developed a patriotic identity within Bosnia (Hoare, 2007, p. 53). Whilst the Vlachs kept their privileges for a while and were included in the Ottoman social life, they were over time reduced to a status of re’âyâ (the tax paying lower class). As all the high positions in the state were kept for the Muslims, the Vlachs only way in was to convert to Islam religion (Kursar, 2013, p. 148).

The origins of the Croat national identity can be traced to the Franciscan friars. They maintained the Catholic religion in the nation throughout the Ottoman supremacy (Hoare, 2007, p. 58). Although Bosnian Christians had been present in the country before the Ottoman supremacy and held onto their religion during the Ottoman power, it took a while before they started to identify themselves as a separate ethnic group. In the nineteenth century the identity of the Christians in Bosnia began to crumble, mainly due to the rising pressure of nationalism in countries close-by. At this point, Catholicism had affected the social part of the Christian identity and Christians started to view themselves as Croats (Hastings, 1997, p. 139-140).

The rise of all of these ethnic identities during the Ottoman rule were during the eighteenth and nineteenth century joined by an idea to form a Yugoslav state (Allcock, Milivojević & Horton, 1998, p. 338). The Ottoman rule in Bosnia came to an end in 1878, after a revolt erupted in the country. Russia intervened in the conflict after a mediation between the Ottoman and Bosnian authorities proved unsuccessful and in 1877, declared war against the Ottoman Empire, defeating

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them within a year. With a treaty signed in 1878, the Ottomans lost massive amounts of their powers, with Bosnia being put under the administration of Austria-Hungary (Hall, 2014, p. 44-45).

3.2 Bosnia under Austria-Hungary and The kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

After the Treaty of Berlin had been signed, Bosnia underwent many changes under the Austria-Hungary rule, changes that partly regarded the ethnic groups. By the end of the Austrian-Hungarian rule, 42% of the people in the country were Orthodox Christian, whilst 38% were Muslim and 18% were Catholic (Williamson, 1991, p. 64-65).

In 1918, the Austrian-Hungarian empire came to an end after their defeat in WWI (Beneš, 2017, p. 209), leading to the declaration of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, led under Serbian hegemony. A mixed government formed, with the National Council of the Serbs, Croats and Muslims established as a component of the Yugoslav state. The authoritative government in Belgrade respected Bosnia’s political and provincial integrity, until 1924, when regional governments were abolished (Redžić & Donia, 2004, p. 4). Despite appearing to be an egalitarian state of three peaceful ethnicities, the Yugoslav state was Serbian dominated, driving Bosnian Muslims to support the JMO (Yugoslav Muslim Organization), a party fighting to preserve Muslim interests. Whilst JMO used their power to preserve Muslim interest, they also supported ”the Serbian political parties’ centralist vision of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, in exchange for political concessions (Bennett, 2016, p. 23). The Croats made similar attempts to negotiate around the recognized Serbian hegemony within the ethnic group (Milosavljević, 2019, p. 229).

In 1929 King Alexander changed the name of the kingdom to ”Yugoslavia”, with the intention of symbolizing the implementation of ”Yugoslavism” (Djokić, 2010) Due to the Serbian hegemony internal conflicts, political opposition and hostility between the Serbian Radical party and the Croats and Muslim’ parties ensued. To combat the ensuing instability, a new government, formed in 1929, began to harshly enforce the Yugoslav ideology . Authorities demanded active participation from citizens as a sign of loyalty. Surveillance became a large part of the citizens’ lives and over time, hundreds societies and organizations were banned, to make the Yugoslav identity totalitarian. However, Yugoslavia never experienced the modernization necessary to make this possible (Nielsen, 2014, 168).

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In 1934, King Alexander was assassinated and with his death, a large part of the political influence of his party Yugoslav National Party vanished (Gašić, 2015, p. 40). The common Yugoslav identity that the king had attempted to construct had failed and the monarchy started to crumble. As the second world war started, Josip Broz Tito’s communist partisans emerged (Bennett, 2016, p. 24-25).

3.3 Bosnia under Josip Broz Tito

In the beginning of the second world war, it was the KPJ, under the lead of Tito, that initiated the formation of the partisans. Aside from protecting their country, the partisans also endeavored to introduce a communist social revolution (Ramet, 2006, p. 113). The partisans continued to grow under Tito's leadership and in 1943, Tito had enough power to form a provisional government with them. In 1945, the provisional government proclaimed themselves as the official government of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia (Hall, 2014, p. 350-351). In 1953, Tito officially became the president of Yugoslavia (West, 1994). Tito was now facing the same challenge as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia: to eliminate ethnic tensions and constructing a sovereign state including all six republics (Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia). Tito wanted to build the Yugoslav identity based on a common and equal socialist future instead of a shared history (Pozharliev, 2016, p. 196). He developed a methodology of self-management socialism, with the aim to liberate workers from the capitalistic ideology (Swain, 2011, p. 1). During his rule, ethnicity stopped being the vital criteria when it came to identity, which can be seen in the fact that over one-quarter of marriages in Bosnia exceeded the ethnic separations (Ali & Lifschultz, 1994, p. 367).

Whilst there was little to no freedom of opinion, the citizens of Yugoslavia had an immense freedom when it came to traveling, being able to travel to forty-four countries without a visa, making Yugoslavia one of the world’s most open countries (Pirjevec, 2018, p. 451). In the late 1970’s however, Yugoslavia’s international debt had grown dramatically, whilst the internal financial situation had created a large economical contrast between the flourishing north and the impoverished south. However, despite all challenges that the country faced, Yugoslavia held together during Tito’s whole life (Allcock et al., 1998, p. 307).

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3.4 The death of Tito and the beginning of the civil war in Yugoslavia

In 1980, the president passed away (Pirjevec, 2018, p. 454). In the following decade, tensions began to rise. Ethnic tensions rose across all six republics and provinces, the case of Kosovo and Serbia being an early example of this (Anderson, 1995, p. 9). The 1974 constitution had transferred power from the central state to the six federal republics and the two autonomous provinces (Vojvodina and Kosovo). This put many Serbs at unease, since many of them considered Kosovo and Vojvodina as integral territories of Serbia (Moore, 2013, p. 37).

In the late 1980’s Slobodan Milosevic, the head of the Serbian League of Communists, repeatedly visited Kosovo, lending his support to the Serbian Minority. This worsened the already strained relationships between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo (Finlan, 2004). Albanians expressed complaints regarding the privileged position of Montenegrins and Serbs in Kosovo and with the Serbian republican officials in Belgrade and Serbs argued that they were being exposed to terror and genocide by Albanian nationalists (Anderson, 1995, p. 8). Milosevic further fueled these tensions. As he declared his support for the Serbs, nationalism and propaganda were two essentials in his strategy. At the end of the 1980’s, he had succeeded in abolishing Kosovo’s autonomy and oppress all protests. As for Vojvodina, Milosevic had by this point already made sure to annul the province autonomy (Finlan, 2004).

In1989, Milosevic became president of Serbia. His rise to power caused other Yugoslavian republics, such as Croatia and Slovenia, to claim autonomy (Moore, 2013, p. 37). As the first elections with multiple parties were held in 1990, changes to the federal structure of the country were demanded, with Croatia and Slovenia threatening to leave the union if no inter-republican agreement could be reached (Anderson, 1995, p. 9-10). After negotiations failed, Slovenia declared their independence in 1991, closely followed by Croatia. Following both countries declaration of independence, civil war broke out in Yugoslavia (Hayden, 1992, p. 1377).

3.5 The Yugoslav war in Bosnia and the Dayton peace agreement

In 1992, Bosnia declared their independence. It was the same year that the war spread to Bosnia (Pardew, 2018, p. 12). The bloody outbreak surprised many people, with the Muslim president Alija Izetbegovic, stating: ”There will be no war in Bosnia, (neither) local, nor imported” (Moore, 2013,

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p. 39). In theory, Izetbegovic statement was not all too strange, since the country had managed to form a political coalition including all three ethnic groups. In practice, a lack of coalition and trust between the three parties made efficient work across ethnic divides impossible (ibid). 64,31% of the population had voted for an independent Bosnia, with the majority of these votes cast by Croats and Muslims. Serbs mainly wanted Bosnia to stay a part of Yugoslavia, creating conflict between the three ethnic groups (Babuna, 2005, p. 415). Whilst inconclusive data has been presented in regards to number of deaths in the war, in respect to how many individuals within each ethnic group were killed, it is undeniable that all ethnic groups subjected one another to ethnic cleansing, rape, torture and captivity in concentration camps or jails (Burg & Shoup, 2000).

In an attempt to end combat between Muslims and Croats, the unsuccessful ”Washington Agreement”, which introduced the term ”Bosniak” to exclusively describe muslims in Bosnia, was signed in 1994. Despite the agreement, violence continued. By 1995 pressure on international actors to intervene in the conflict had grown, after the Bosnian Serb Army’s attack on the UN-declared safe areas and the massacres in Srebrenica. Hence, the Dayton Peace Accords, a peace treaty that ended the war, were signed by Croats, Bosnians and Serbs (Nystuen, 2005, p. 37-38). The agreement instituted the common state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska (The Serbian Republic), the first under Bosniak and Croat control and the latter controlled by Serbs (Babuna, 2005, p. 418). The accords also instituted a three-part government, demanding that democratic elections would be held, and prohibited war criminals from holding political office (Hall, 2014, p. 91).

The agreement showed profound limitations as a framework for rebuilding a broken society (Paczulla, 2005, p. 268-269), leaving contemporary Bosnian society still broken in many ways. Babuna (2005) writes: ”The Bosnian Muslims entered the war as Muslims but emerged from it as Bosniaks” (p. 419). The names ”Bosnians” and ”Bosniaks” is how individuals used to refer to themselves regardless of religious affiliation, whilst the Bosnian constitution, which was based on the Dayton agreement, uses it exclusively to describe Muslims (p. 419). This contributes to a society still characterized by discrimination.

One example of this can be seen in the laws regarding presidential candidacy. Depending on where an individual resides and what their religion is, the individual may not be allowed to run for political office or presidency (Human rights watch, 2019). Another example is the system of ”Two

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schools under one roof”, which divided students in more than 50 schools based on their ethnicity. Today, this system still holds in parts of Bosnia. Children of different ethnicities do not attend class together and use separate entrances to the school, contributing to the already divided Bosnia of today (Delauney, 2019).

4. Theoretical framework

The following section will provide descriptions of theoretical concepts related to the research design. The presentation of the method and the analysis will be carried out using these theoretical concepts.

4.1 Activism

Activism has a close connection to social change and democracy. The actions of social movements and activists, is what drives our society forward. Further, it urges it to confront its inequalities and defects as well as builds an image of a brighter world (Ricketts, 2012, p. 6). Activism presents a feeling of liberation from emotions such as hopelessness in the face of unjust conditions. These experiences are crucial to maintain activists’ motivation, through challenging times (Rochon, 1998, p. 134). It is because of unjust conditions that activists come to be. When an error appears in our society, one that can not be repaired through normal ”channels”, we turn to activism (Cox & Nilsen, 2005). Whilst individuals may accomplish a lot, the most productive way of achieving social change is through structured groups and social movements. Social movements hold great power, since these have the ability to harness the collective desire and agency of a large crowd to lead the operation of social change (Ricketts, 2012, p. 20). Hence, civic activism becomes a significant subdivision of activism.

4.2 Civic activism

Youngs (2019) offers a broad definition of the term civic activism. He defines it as various kinds of actions that are performed by civil society actors. These actions can be informal or formal, organized or unmethodical (p. 7). Actions like these can include structured protests, voter engagement and interplays through media. All of these actions help citizens to keep control over the government. In democracies, civic activism can be very efficient, as it may push governance

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towards improvement and give a voice to the citizens (Fiorino, Galli & Rajeev, 2018, p. 663). The participation of citizens is crucial for constructing a civil society. It not only shapes political or social change, it can also change the behaviors and attitudes of individuals, increasing respect and tolerance towards others. In the case of multiple voices speaking up, social debate follows as a result, encouraging understanding and pluralism, and shaping a solid base for a democratic culture. Through participating in such debate, those who are at the bottom of society may gain a platform to express themselves and changing their circumstances (Belloni, 2001, p. 173).

Social change may be measured by the level of ability that human beings have to hold the ultimate power over their lives. However, what type of power differs between individuals. It can be divided into two categories: the means-motives linkage and motives-rules linkage. The first states that the quantity of a persons resources has an immediate effect on the persons type of values. Individuals in developing countries have a stronger focus on fulfilling their basic needs, in contrast to well-developed societies. If an individual in a developing country can not fulfill his or hers basic needs, this individual will not be capable of altering their values from survival to self-expression. The latter on the other hand, focuses on expression and states that a large possibility of self-expression in a society stimulates the claim for political and civic rights, as well as liable institutions (Mangova, & Popovikj, 2015, p. 99).

Social media has been a valuable tool for expression and organization. It has made it possible to assemble large numbers of citizens, spontaneously create or modify protests, and made new spaces accessible for protests. Several online platforms enable political participation and can help turning citizens into promoters, disseminators and marketers of political ideas (Youngs, 2019). But digital and social media is not only favorable for increasing civic activism. The same tools can facilitate cooperation between governments and citizens. This is called ”Open Government”. Open government decreases the limits between civic and public sectors. The increased engagement between citizens and the state improves legitimacy and may produce more efficacious problem solving (Gordon, & Mihailidis, 2016, p. 149-150). The cooperation between the state and citizens in a society is not always a given though. Just as citizens continuously get empowered by social media, so do authoritarian governments (Pătruţ & Pătruţ, 2014, p. 317). There are several ways that governments use digital media in order to silence their citizens. Censorship is one of these. Censorship can present itself in various ways; it may take the form of a direct demolishing of free media or of intimidation of individual journalists, as well as punitive tax inspections. When

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censorship becomes unfeasible, indefensible or just too financially demanding, governments tend to turn to propaganda or surveillance (Morozov, 2011). For this reason, it is important to remember that digital and social media both have its advantages and disadvantages. The amount of success or failure it achieves, depends on geographical contexts as well as contextual factors (Pătruţ & Pătruţ, 2014, p. 317).

4.3 Grassroots activism

Grassroots activism is very similar to civic activism, which includes actions performed by civil society actors (Youngs, 2019, p. 7). Much like civic activism, the word ”grassroots” has a political connotation to movements and actions performed and produced by the "common” people, everyday women and men who independently organize themselves in order to tackle their obstacles (Esteva & Prakash, 1998, p. 3). Batliwala (2002) argues that the term is very much a relative term, rather than a fixed one, having once been very explicit: ”… it meant the basic building blocks of society— small rural communities or urban neighborhoods where the “common man” (or woman) lived” (p. 396). In contemporary times, the usage and meaning of the word changed due to globalization, with many different local and global activist activities coming to be categorized under the same heading off ”Grassroots Globalization” (ibid).

Democracy and activism in general (Ricketts, 2012, p. 6), are closely connected to grassroots activism. Grassroots democracy argues that a society can only be considered as democratic if the citizens of it infuse their collective political existence with a democratic essence. It cannot exist without displays of emotions, such as anger or sorrow in the face of injustice, domination or catastrophic loss. Thus, grassroots democracy advocates for the importance of interests in regards to what should be adjudicated in politics, rather than for example financial interests (Stout, 2010, p. 218).

Grassroots movements can develop in reaction to intensified polarization due to globalization and neoliberalization processes, and alterations of authority and state power (Jacobsson, 2015, p.1). In violently divided cities, grassroots movements may take the shape of ethnonationalist social movements, which advance sectarian interests in favor of one ethnic group, fostering intercommunal antagonism and potentially breeding types of collective violence in the process. These movements express themselves through protests on the streets, preserving their cultural

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capital or take the form of petitions for the rights of different groups or as calls for expanded distribution of public goods between co-ethnics. However, not all such movements are sectarian in nature. Many individuals who organize may feel that belonging to a certain ethnic group does not need to be a lifelong belonging (Nagle, 2019, p. 234).

Examples of actions of these individuals can be found in Bosnia. In 2005, an ethnically mixed group of citizens united in order to bring the reconstruction of their lost homes to a political agenda. In 2014, a mixed group of citizens united again, to protest against the corruption and malfunctioning of the state, as well as to shine a light on the issue of unemployment. The group did this by assembling self-governed groups whose purpose was to suggest large-scale and feasible state reforms. Movements as such exceed ethnic politics and develop networks of solidarities, networks throughout the country that aspire to reassess public discourses (Carabelli, 2018, p. 128). However, ethnic nationalism can still be found all over Bosnia. Below, the term will be presented and discussed as a general term and later presented in the context of civil wars.

4.4 Ethnic nationalism

Nationalism in itself is a contemporary and historical concept which distinguishes itself by its interest of a specific nation as well as the interest of maintaining the supremacy of the state. There are different branches of nationalism and in The Western Balkans, the national identity is much more colored by an ethnic conception, rather than for example civic national identity (Mulalić, 2018, p. 194). In other words; Ethnic nationalism. Some of the most dominant components that define ethnic nationalism are cultural and ethnic factors. It emphasizes certain criteria as a determining factor for exclusion or inclusion. These criteria are religion, ethnicity, language and tradition (Hung, 2014, p. 205). Within ethnic nationalism, there is an urge to ensure that the ethnic nation stays homogeneous, detached from other groups. The ”pureness” of the nation is of great importance, just as keeping the common origin of it (Dyrstad, 2012, p. 818). Ethnic nationalism is driven by blood and a sense of belonging. It is also motivated by strong bonds that, rather than chosen, are inherited. In societies like these, the individual is defined by the national group and does not oppose it in any way (Tamir, 2019, p. 425).

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However, ethnic nationalism does not only affect the individuals that are a part of the group, it may also affect those that are outside it, in the sense that it can limit or strengthen the rights of the people outside the group that are living in the same geographical area. This of course differs from nation to nation, but generally there is no equality between the group that is a part of the nation and the group that is not (Denitch, 1994, p. 187-188). Group formation plays a big part within ethnic nationalism (Dyrstad, Ellingsen & Rød, 2015 p. 6). Each individual within a group is not only responsible for their own actions, but carry a responsibility towards the national community as well and vice versa. Therefore, certain groups may blame individuals from other groups for actions that someone else in their congregation has committed towards them, even though the individual themselves is innocent (Denitch, 1994, p. 191).

The connection between ethnic conflicts and civil wars in relation to ethnic nationalism is complex. Ethnic nationalism tends to develop in response to ethnic conflict, not the other way around.Violence can build up further cleavages, create a ”us and them” scenario that is a large part of ethnic nationalism in situations such as civil wars. Situations like these may force individuals to pick a side in order to achieve local advantage or to obtain protection, especially in situations of indiscriminate violence. Moral uproar may also cause individuals to pick a side (Dyrstad, 2012, p. 819). Additionally, many journalists and policymakers consider that past hatreds between ethnic groups is the reason for internal conflicts, including ethnic conflict (Brown, 2001, p. 3). Hatred may rise from the strong ”group” sense within ethnic nationalism (Dyrstad, Ellingsen & Rød, 2015, p. 6). The outbreak of this hatred that leads to conflict, often may be ”held back” by authoritarian rule. Thus, when an authoritarian government collapses, the hatred is freed and repressed hostilities can be expressed, resulting in armed conflict (Brown, 2001, p. 3).

This understanding of ethnic conflicts is disputed as not all researchers agree that hatred and differences between ethnic groups will generally beget ethnic conflicts. Several cases, such as tensions between English- and French-Canadians or Czechs and Slovaks, did not result in violence upon becoming free from outside rule, suggesting that there must be further factors to escalating ethnic conflicts (ibid). It has been suggested that modern conflicts rather emerge from contemporary forged political ideologies. Ethnic nationalism is not the leading cause for conflict, instead, overlapping and fragile ethnic cleavages are seen as a catalyst for ethnic violence, sometimes even fatal (Loizides, 2015, p. 128). Ethnic affiliation might have little to none importance before the breakout of a conflict, however, during the conflict itself, ethnic affiliation might be imposed upon

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the people of a certain group, by their perpetrators (Weber, 2010, p. 76). However, this is not to say that ethnic nationalism is an innocent element, unable to do harm. Ethnic nationalism is today used by political elites in order to configure the public opinion, gain elections and to remain powerful (Mulalić, 2018, p. 194).

Though there is a large difference in the context of ethnic nationalism. Some nationalist ideologies advocated through cultural and educational policies are usually understood as a necessity for the configuration of a state. Koshmanova and Ravchyna (2016) mention post-Soviet countries as examples and state that countries like these often require a new distinctive collective national identity. In cases like these, nationalism can foster cultural and political integration of the citizens, thus creating a positive relation between civil society and nationalism (p. 79). There is also a large difference between past ethnic nationalism and contemporary ethnic nationalism. Past ethnic nationalism included a destructive potential for social transformation and revolution. Further, it did not propose any concrete examples for the structure of what was to become a new society. Modern definitions of ethnic nationalism focus less on the exclusive and destructive elements and instead favor integration and development of common cultural practices. It does not include a clear concept of society and rather works as a means for individuals to create meaning and a sensation of belonging (Weber, 2010, p. 88). Ethnic nationalism has played an immense part in history, as it has reshaped many European borders and will continue to do so (Muller, 2008, p. 20).

This chapter has presented descriptions of theoretical concepts related to the study’s purpose and research questions. The reason that activism was chosen as a focus in this study is because activism regards the actions of social movements that drives society forward (Ricketts, 2012, p. 6). As the organizations in this study aim to raise the civic participation for social change (YIHRBIH, 2015; Humanity in Action, 2020a; Zasto Ne, n.d.; CNA, n.d.), it felt appropriate to use activism as a means to study how the issue of ethnic divisions can be handled, to showcase how activism can present a feeling of liberation from emotions such as hopelessness in the face of unjust conditions (Rochon, 1998, p. 134). Furthermore, it can present an aid for social change in the face of the unjust conditions regarding ethnic divisions that still affect the country where it is still important that each ethnic group stay homogeneous, detached from other groups (Dyrstad, 2012, p. 818).

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5. Previous research

5.1 Post-conflict peace building in Bosnia

Post-conflict peace building in Bosnia, specifically through NGOs (non-governmental organizations) is a topic that frequently has been written about in literature. Much of it regards the work of organizations whose purpose is to impact public policy and discourse. The organizations predominantly regard NGO’s who identify as possible non-partisan tools that may be of great aid in long-term democratic unifications and peace implementation (Carabelli, 2018, p. 125). However, much of the literature is critical towards the work of these organizations. Author McMahon (2017) is one of the critical voices, who argues that NGOs exist everywhere but that their influence is greatly exaggerated. She continues by explaining that there exists a certain pattern of behavior within NGOs. As international NGO's arrive in a country, so are local NGOs constructed everywhere. A large amount of energy and financial aid goes to developing and creating NGOs. As time passes by however, the intensity of the projects start to wear off as the international NGOs start to travel back to their respective homes and locals start to disappear. This results in that the previous exhilaration turns into disappointment in regards to the actors and their actions, transforming the NGO’s from allies to a part of the issue (p. 1). Clark (2019) continues by giving an example of the lack of aid within some NGOs in Bosnia, where several organizations in various ways have rather harmed than helped their victims. The author tells the story of women who have been victims of rape during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia who have sought aid with NGOs and explains that the response from these NGOs has occasionally been a statement where the NGO states that these women have shared their story too many times (p. 247).

Peace building is a vital task, creating, solidifying and strengthening peace in countries affected by war. However, as socio-economic recovery in post-war countries is seen by many as a vital part of peace building, it is not a certainty. Whilst ”positive peace” includes factors that make a long-time sustainable peace and is what peace building aims towards, ”negative peace” also exists, explained as a situation where violence and war is non-existent but where ”positive peace” has not reached (Autesserre, 2017, p. 115). Further, Hemmer (2008) points to the importance of democratizing peacefully. He explains that countries that are transitioning towards democracy have a greater amount of civil wars than well-established democracies. Therefore, in order for democratization to

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complete its mission of peace, the understanding of the process of peaceful democratizing must be widened. An important part of this is creating a peace-oriented, politically engaged civil society to urge and guide political leaders towards more productive policy-making in regards to peace (p. 72). It is after all the work of social movements and activists that drives society forward and works as an aid too manifest an image of a better world (Ricketts, 2012, p. 6).

There are several benefits with NGOs. NGOs can contribute with comprehensive knowledge on certain topics as well as technical expertise. Their credibilities in societies are usually very high and they are usually in possession of a large number of grassroots contacts, in other words, they have many contacts on a low and medium scale of leaders in the area. These contacts may help to raise awareness of conflicts or even embark on a mission to solve them (Bronwyn & Bleiker, 2003, p. 104). Another positive aspect regards the external actors. International actors have contributed with great financial aid in order to guide, instruct and support local organizations. However, this good deed has not only resulted in positive outcomes. Many NGOs have had to negotiate their original, local agendas as means to increase their political legitimacy. The city of Brčko is an example of this, where several NGOs have modeled their actives and programs in accordance to the requests of these international actors, in order to accumulate their trust and by that, receive financial support. This however results in that these NGOs often abandon their own parts as voices for the local (Carabelli, 2018, p. 125) and thus, the Western agendas and values start to dominate these NGOs (Bronwyn & Bleiker, 2003, p. 105).

In the case of Bosnia, many contributors have donated financial aid to youth organizations, in the hope that these would contribute with a new type of peace building that is locally led. In questions regarding ethnic reintegration, it is often within these youth organizations facilitated through socialization. The activities where this socialization comes alive regards sports, art, youth centers and youth policy. Often does the external actors request affect these as well, as many of them call for inter-ethnic mixing in these activities (Micinski, 2016, p. 99-100). As noticed, there are several positive and negative sides of NGOs. A common conclusion of their impact might be hard to reach, but something that can be concluded is that NGOs are essential tools in the democratic process (Hemmer, 2008, p. 72).

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5.2 Activism

”NGO activism” is defined in a similar manner to other forms of activism, however, it does not depend on the public order, rather it is s business of ”private politics” (Daubanes & Rochet, 2019, p. 184). With activism otherwise, it is by some believed that an action of a group has more impact than the action of an individual. Solidarity with a certain group equals a belief in that other individuals in the group will be as determined for the cause. Conditions like these turn into movement activism. However, movement activism is not the end station of activism. The encounter with mobilization produces knowledge and awareness of the world within an activist (Rochon, 1998, p. 134). Choudry (2015) agrees and explains that there are both informal and formal ways to knowledge within activism. Whilst the amount of change that is possible to produce depends on the level of seriousness when taking in this knowledge, knowledge can certainly contribute to social change (p. 1). Further, protest and expressions of an issue also contributes to change. Whilst visibility of campaigns does not equal success and whilst the question of how much an activist act can contribute to institutional change, cultural change and education can influence how individuals live in connection to one another. Moreover, individuals who work for greater institutions may affect the way that these address certain issues (Shresthova, Gamber-Thompson, Kligler-Vilenchik, Zimmerman & Jenkins, 2016, p. 269). Whilst it can not be taken for granted, protests can have an impact on political decision-making, by influencing public opinion (Zlobina & Gonzalez, 2017, p. 235). The importance of influencing public opinion does not only lie within influencing institutional powers, but also in gaining sympathy of the public in the light of a struggle. Furthermore, it contributes to a feeling of hopefulness and produces a feeling of solidarity (Solo, 2014, p. 28).

5.3 Media activism

Social media have changed the tools for communication as well as the character of activism (Barakovic, 2011, p. 196). Social media have developed the opportunity to share every individuals perspective and to produce news. Furthermore, it has the power to highlight voices that are excluded from mainstream media. (Jobin-Leeds, 2016). As Solo (2014) urges the importance of social media, he states that ”it is a grassroots organization aimed at political mobilization” (p. 2). However, the views on how helpful the development of social media is are heavily divided. The term ”slacktivism” is used to criticize online actions within the realm of activism, claiming that these actions have no influence on social change and have the potential to hurt future civic actions,

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rather than help. With actions such as signing petitions online and ”liking” a Facebook group, critics explain that these actions can satisfy individuals needs to act, thereby erasing any urge to participate in ”real” civic actions like charity or protests (Lee & Hsieh, 2013, p. 811). Another critical point regards the accessibility to digital technologies, as well as the imbalance of media literacy. Both of these are argued to contribute to a ”digital divide”, mainly among low-income and racial societies. Nonetheless, it is shown that young individuals in marginalized communities use digital media to construct social movements, empower themselves and engage in political matters. Young activists use social media to create blogs, share news as well as political opinions and to build their own media (Shresthova et al., 2016, p. 193). Aside from the engagement of youths, the problematics of traditional media can be seen as a reason for the growth of social media as a tool for activism. The interest of social movements for traditional media is not consistent. Traditional media can either disregard the social movement or it can take a primary interest in them. Regardless, a promise of visibility in traditional media can never be ensured. Due to the lack of security, social movements may lose the possibility to share their objectives, if they thoroughly rely on social media (Barakovic, 2011, p. 196). By contrast, digital and social media have given individuals the opportunity to amplify their voices and to identify with individuals in similar positions (Shresthova et al., 2016, p. 193).

Since the importance of digital and social media within the context of activism has grown immensely, it felt appropriate to highlight it in this study. As many studies have been made on the post-conflict peace building in Bosnia, this study aims to focus on how media can be a part of the post-conflict peace building. It also aims to highlight the work and importance of NGO’s in the matter.

6. Methodology

6.1 (Online) Interviews

Interviews are the most broadly used type of data assembling, in regards to qualitative research (Janghorban, Roudsari & Taghipour, 2014, p. 1). They can be divided into several main categories, amongst them: Structure and communication media. Looking at structure, one finds that there are unstructured, semi-structured and structured interviews. In unstructured interviews, a broad theme is

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identified and questions are outlined, however, the researcher is prepared for the interview taking an eventual unforeseen path (Alvesson, 2011, p. 15). The questions in this type of interview are more open-ended. Some questions may also come as complementary questions in relations to some of the replies.

Generally, an unstructured interview is carried out more as a conversation, with a more equal and organic relation taking place between the participants. Semi-structured interviews have a more defined layout, with a clear starting and finishing point. However, the semi-structured interview still maintains an openness and has a give-and-take element to it, constructing knowledge between the participants (Skinner, 2012, p. 8). The openness in these types of interviews have the purpose of enabling an extensive range of responses. In contrast, a too structured layout may restrict the variety of answers and expand on the risk of missing out on critical information (Blomberg, Burell & Guest, 2002, p. 970). This is due to the fact that structured interviews follow a carefully constructed and clear plan (Alvesson, 2011, p. 15).

It might be tempting to follow a clearly constructed plan when shaping the questions for the interview. However, fiercely sticking to questions that will answer the research questions in the study is not favorable. It is more favorable to adjust the questions to the intended interviewee and to shape them in a way that motivates the interviewee to speak around a topic (Rowley, 2012, p. 263). As with this thesis, the purpose within qualitative research is usually to examine personal, complex matters, making it very inadequate to construct such clear questions. Whilst there are different schools to it, some schools argue that clear questions make up a ”mini-paradigm” between the two participants, that co-produces knowledge (Alvesson, 2011, p. 73). I choose to conduct questions that were not so strict nor did I hold on to them fiercely. The questions for the interviews conducted in this thesis were partly based on previous research and theory but also experience and practice, which is a common combination (Rowley, 2012, p. 263). The latter is described as deductive research, whilst the first is described as inductive research, which is the heavier focus in this thesis. It is a method where the specific moves to the general and empirical observations are later made regarding certain subjects of interest and from there, framing theories and concepts bases on these (Woiceshyn & Daellenbach, 2018, p. 185).

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Communication media refers too in what environment the interview is taking place. An interview can be conducted face-to-face, electronically or telephonic (Alvesson, 2011, p. 15). One version of this is online interviews. The advantage of online interviews is that researchers can communicate directly with the interviewee at any time in any geographical space, not to mention that the choices of communication tools are many (Salmons, 2015, p. 2). There are choices that even provide an opportunity for the researcher to choose if they want to conduct the interview in real-time, such as videoconferencing and chat rooms, or in non-real-time, such as emails or discussion groups. Simply put, online interviews have over the years solved many problems of financial, timely and geographical constraints (Janghorban, Roudsari & Taghipour, 2014, p. 1).

The reason that I chose to conduct interviews is because I wanted to highlight the different narratives that exist in this issue. Conducting interviews gives the interviewee an insight to the world of a certain individual. It is a great gateway to an individuals emotions, understandings, perspectives and reactions (Skinner, 2012, p. 8). Interviews can give me the perspective and show the narrative of several individuals. This is of great importance in regards to this issue, since Bosnia today still is very colored by a one-sided ethnic narrative in many aspects. One-sided stories of history are presented and taught in schools that are divided by ethnicity, ethno-nationalistic parties maintain a hold of the political sphere of the country and media is separated along ethnic patterns (Mijić, 2018, p. 138). The everyday life also excludes other narratives, thereby creating a one-sided narrative. For example, whilst Republika Srpska (RS) is one of the two entities that the country consists of, not a single RS flag can be found in Sarajevo. Neither can Croat symbols be found next to the flag of Bosnia in Sarajevo, despite the fact that Croats are one of the three constituent groups. Further, if a Bosniak would display the Bosniak flag within the geographical territory of RS, they could get detained for ”provocation” or distribution of ”ethnic hatred” (Božić, 2019, p. 429).

Aside from a wide perspective of narratives, interviews can give a deeper understanding of the work of the organizations. By working to contributing to a peace-oriented, politically engaged civil society which urges and guides political leaders towards more productive policy-making in regards to peace (Hemmer, 2008, p. 72), these organizations arguably become activists whose work drives society forward and works as an aid too manifest an image of a better world (Ricketts, 2012, p. 6). This activism can through interviews be better understood and specific details can be clarified, translating the invisible to visible (Skinner, 2012, p. 8). As ethnic nationalism still colors the country in many ways, thereby pushing each ethnic group towards a homogeneous status where

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they exclude other ethnic groups (Dyrstad, 2012, p. 818), it felt even more important to work towards in inclusion of all ethnic groups. Therefore are not only all three ethnic groups represented in the interviews, but each is given an in-depth interview in other words, en equal amount of space.

However, the ethnic nationalism that exists may affect the interviews in a negative way. An interviewee may have different and larger reasons than plainly providing the interviewer with information. A political interest might color them or they can even be politically motivated actors. A political interest in how the interviewer represents social issues is not uncommon. Whilst this interest does not equal lying and cheating, it may result in the participant twisting the truth in a way that is favorable for them and excluding truthful information that is not favorable for themselves or their group (Alvesson, 2011, p. 31). Interviewees can also forget some details regarding the theme of the interview, which in turn restricts the information that has been gathered. The short time that a researcher has with the participants of the interview, compared to long-term field work, may also weaken the study and the credibility of it (Blomberg, Burrell & Guest, 2002, p. 969-971). Further, due to time constraints, a smaller amount of individuals can only be interviewed and thereby the credibility for a representation of generalization may weaken. As mentioned before however, the purpose of this study is to gather information from several perspectives, not to show a generalized image of the theme. Further, if interviews are thoroughly designed and participants carefully selected, an interview holds great potential to produce a wide selection of insights and knowledge. If one or more of the participants holds a key position in regards to knowledge about the situation, the interview does not only provide additional insights and details that other methods might not, but they are also preferable since the interviewee is less likely to participate in for example a questionnaire (Rowley, 2012, p. 262).

6.2 Limitations - Interviews

Catherine Dawson (2019) highlights the reliability of the technology as a limitation for interviews. One must ask oneself if there may be any disruptions that may hurt the data assembling, such as potentially bad video and sound quality and poor broadband connection. Furthermore, she mentions that the interviewers competence in regards to the equipment may become a problem. Not to mention that misunderstandings may appear, in regards to culture and language for example between the interviewer and the interviewee (2019). The choice of language may also become a limitation. Language is an important factor for expression and cultural sharing. Whilst it may seem

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favorable to conduct the interview in the language of the interviewee, it is not a guarantee for complete understanding. As each and every community has its individual way of expressing themselves, their own voice, it is impossible for the researcher to fully understand the interviewee, even if both speak the same language (Maric, 2014, 154). Something that may seem so universal, such as access to electronic communication technologies, may become a limitation as well. This is something that is far from accessible to everyone and something that might very well affect the flexibility of the interviewee (Markham, 1998, p. 258).

What is a positive thing about online interviews in contrast to interviews conducted face-to-face, is the fact that if the interviewee at any point feels uncomfortable, to the point where the individual wants to withdraw from the interview, they can easily do so by simply pressing a button (Janghorban, Roudsari & Taghipour, 2014, p. 2). When it comes to interviews in general, the timeframe of the method can be a limitation as well. Whilst useful insights and information arise from interviews, the researcher most often encounters the interviewee only once or twice for a few hours, resulting in a much more limited possibility when it comes to the amplitude of the data collection (Blomberg, Burrell & Guest, 2002, p. 970-971).

Amongst the limitations with the method, arguably, the most challenging limitation regards the post-data collection process. Which data is chosen to be used by the researcher heavily affects the representation of the participant. As traditional research training prepares researchers for doing this in physical environments, CMC largely complicates the matter. Suddenly, the wholeness of the individual is separated into fewer, smaller parts. The totality that the researcher usually has to make sense of is now gone, which presents a larger challenge for the researcher. Together with the fact that we are always affected by stimuli in any research setting, and the fact that our analytical lens is restricted to what we wish to discover, what we are taught to attend to and what we are attracted to, the process of analyzing data creates an immense challenge that is of great importance to keep in mind whilst working with interviews (Markham, 1998, p. 260).

6.3 Limitations - Covid-19

Initially, the methodology that was thought to be used for this thesis was interviews and observations. The original plan included field work in Bosnia, where observations would be conducted at different organization’s meetings. However, due to the outbreak of Covid-19, an

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infectious illness caused by the coronavirus that has grown into a pandemic, the expedition had to be cut short (World health organization, 2020). After a dissuasion had been presented by the Swedish ministry for foreign affairs, that stated that the ministry advised against any unnecessary travels abroad due to the outbreak of Covid-19, a decision was made to travel back to Sweden (Regeringskansliet, 2020). As flights had already began to be cancelled to the country in the middle of March (Sarajevo Times, 2020a), the decision to return was thought to be most favorable. On March 22, the presidency of Bosnia made the decision to close all borders, aside from areas that had been built up for quarantine tents (Sarajevo Times, 2020b). Whilst the decision to return affects the methodology of this study, it felt like the safer choice to make.

6.4 The connection between the methodology and the theoretical framework

Conducting interviews gives the interviewee an insight to the world of a certain individual. It is a gateway to an individuals emotions, understandings and perspectives (Skinner, 2012, p. 8). The act of activism holds a larger group perspective. Whilst actions taken by individuals are regarded as activism just as much as actions by a group, activism still refers to actions deliberately designed to exercise influence within democratic procedures. Democratic practices then are designed to impact change or lead the way in regards to which way society functions (Ricketts, 2012, p. 6-7). In other words, whilst an action of activism can be individual, the affect of it affects a group of people, a society. By using a method which holds an individual perspective on a theory that holds a societal perspective, it allows for the study to gain opinions of individuals through a theory that holds a societal perspective. As censorship can silence citizens in any country, presenting itself in various ways (Morozov, 2011), using a method (online interviews) where the participant easily can exit the interview whenever they feel uncomfortable, by pressing a button (Janghorban, Roudsari & Taghipour, 2014, p. 2), felt appropriate. Whilst Bosnia might not be under a severe amount of direct censorship, the citizens are arguably living in self-censorship. Self-censorship occurs when an actor possesses new information that the public has no knowledge about, but that the actor considers should be shared to the public. Further, the act of censorship demonstrates that the actor deliberately withholds this information, even though no formal constrains exist. This has occurred in Bosnia, where individuals have withheld information which could have supported individuals from other groups, only because they wanted to escape the negative sentences from their ingroup (Bar-Tal, 2017, p. 41-43). This is a clear indicator that ethnic nationalism still colors the citizens of the country, as within ethnic nationalism, each individual carries a responsibility regarding the national

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community. Each citizens holds equally accountable for actions made by others in the group (Denitch, 1994, p. 191), making it understandable that individuals may be scared to express information that might not be in line with the ingroup.

Ethnic nationalism is today used by political elites to remain in power (Mulalić, 2018, p. 194) and whilst it may not be the igniting catalyst for ethnic conflict, it can grow immensely under the event of a conflict (Weber, 2010, p. 76) as well as give birth to hatred, because of its strong focus on the sense of a ”group” (Dyrstad, Ellingsen & Rød, 2015, p. 6). These inequalities and unjust conditions that ethnic nationalism births gives an opportunity for activists to be born. When an error appears in our society, one that can not be repaired through normal ”channels”, we turn to activism (Cox & Nilsen, 2005). Actions of activists and social movements is what drives societies forward and urges it to confront its inequalities and defects (Ricketts, 2012, p. 6). Interviews can thus give a more detailed description of these actions, as the purpose of qualitative research generally is to examine personal and complex matters (Alvesson, 2011, p. 73), making interviews a great method for a case like this, where individuals usually are to scared to move out of their in-group, interviews forces them to do so and share their personal thoughts and views, that might not be in line with the group.

7. Ethics

7.1 Ethics regarding interviews

When interviews treat sensitive and personal subjects as discrimination, death, sexual abuse or family violence, there needs to be a greater awareness on how to treat the interview (Alvesson, 2011, p. 16). In the contemporary digital age, and ethical issue also regards anonymity. Whilst the interviewees are always guaranteed anonymity, the nature of produced data is not completely reliable, containing comprehensive information about an individuals life (Skinner, 2012, p. 112). Not to mention that internet technologies have the ability to construct the ways in which the interviewer gathers, comprehends and represents data (Markham, 1998, p. 248). Further, another issue regarding ethics regards potential exposure of the interviewees emotions. Agonizing memories may emerge and the interviewee might both remember as well as relive past torments. The situation of the interview may also make them feel at unease when they are not capable to conceal intense emotions (Skinner, 2012, p. 112). As the opportunity exists to exit the interview, especially an online interview, with a simple click (Janghorban, Roudsari & Taghipour, 2014, p. 2), a situation

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like this can not be completely prevented. All of these ethical aspects need to be taken into account when conducting interviews.

7.2 Ethics regarding the research

As previously mentioned, when treating sensitive subjects such as discrimination, death, sexual abuse or family violence, a greater caution needs to be taken (Alvesson, 2011, p. 16). As a country that has suffered through a civil war where all three main ethnic groups in it were subjects to ethnic cleansing, rape, torture and captivity in concentration camps or jails (Burg & Shoup, 2000) and still is largely subjected to radical ethnic nationalism (Mulalić, 2018, p. 194), the ethics regarding the past and contemporary history of Bosnia are very important. Trauma is a large part of many citizens of Bosnia. As trauma is much like a broken vase, where if one tries to puzzle the pieces back together one will not overcome the fracture and vulnerability, it is possible to overcome by accepting the past and start building a new life. However, the amount of acknowledgement and recognition that exists in Bosnia is very small. Furthermore, not all individuals suffering from trauma have received help and many have even encountered insensitive ”story seekers”, who have put their aims in front of the victims (Clark, 2019, p. 247).

When even displaying a flag as a Bosniak in the territory of RS even can result in getting arrested for ”provocation” or ”ethnic hatred” (Božić, 2019, p. 429) and when individuals in Bosnia consider the ethics regarding ethnicity to the point where they fear to express information in order to help other ethnic groups just because it might tick their in-group (Bar-Tal, 2017, p. 41-43) it is fair to argue that as a bystander, it is even more important to keep the sensitive history and contemporary situation in mind when working with this issue.

8. Data analysis

This chapter will present the organizations as well as the results of the interviews. One of two representatives from every organization conducted an interview more focused on their activist engagement, whilst the other focused more on the organization itself. The interviews will be presented through three themes of: Activism, ethnic nationalism and media. The analysis will focus on these three themes as well.

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8.1 Organization 1 - YIHR (Youth Initiative for Human Rights)

Founded in 2003, YIHR (Youth Initiative for Human Rights) is a regional network consisting of non-governmental organizations working in Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia. The fundamental values of the organization are justice, truth, equality, accountability, democracy, peace and freedom. The organization's endeavor regards peace, both for reassuring the absence of warfare, but also for peace as a perpetual process. In order to make it that, it is important to confront the past, which in turn leads to continuous coalitions between the different states as well as the citizens of it (YIHR, 2020). YIHRBIH (Youth Initiative for Human Rights BH) was created in Bosnia by young individuals who wished to be a part of a different form of healing procedure within respective post conflict communities, working to intensify the rule of law and approach and deal with the past, focusing on constructing new acquaintances between young individuals affected by the vicious conflict. The organization works to inspire young individuals as well as new members to build networks with other engaged and informed young activists who also want to be a local changemaker, manufacturing a platform for change in the society of Bosnia. In order for young individuals being able to develop into this, the organization helps in the sense that they provide them with non formal education. By doing so, they believe that young people can establish a critical thinking. The information shared by the organization is of crucial assistance when it comes to analyzing the most common narratives. Furthermore, by fostering antifascist principles and transitional justice, they believe that they can ease the process of dealing with the past and be of assistance in the healing process in the torn society that is contemporary Bosnia (YIHRBIH, 2015).

8.2 Organization 2 - Zasto Ne

Zasto ne (CA Why Not) is an organization working towards the goal of a healthy, safe, active, accountable and efficient society in Bosnia. They do this by impacting government accountability, increasing civic participation, promoting socially engaged culture and through the use of new, modern technology. They do this together with various interested organizations, groups and individuals. Initially, the organization was established as a youth organization working to demilitarize Bosnia as well as to implement the right to conscientious objection. Over the years, the organization’s mission has developed in line with the current founders and members values and thoughts. Today, they focus on seven main areas and projects: Civic participation, fact-checking and

Ethnic divisions in Bosnia-Herzegovina  - The inequality between three different ethnic groups in the country and how media is used to portray them

”People have to engage, any other option simply doesn’t exist”