Bringing people back in: grassroots approaches to peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Evans-Kent, Bronwyn (author)

Peacemaking in Bosnia-Herzegovina is a controversial subject that engaged the political energies of the international community for several years without resolution. Whi1e international efforts at peacemaking warrant a critique in the ir own right, the assumptions that lie behind popular perceptions of peacemaking must also be examined. This article explores the proposition that the promotion of multi-ethnic contact between Bosnian people is at least as important as elections or the reconstruction of political institutions. Indeed, the restoration and development of inter-ethnic relationships, especially at grassroots level, is essential for the establishment of sustainable peace. This article thus focuses on the roles of NGOs (Non-governmental organisations) active at the grassroots level in Bosnia, such as the Centre for Drama Education in Mostar, Project Firefly in Brcko, and the CARE Welcome Project in Sarajevo, which represent a grassroots form of peacemaking that incorporates local knowledge and understandings of the conflict within peace projects.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Bosna in Hercegovina, etnični odnosi, nevladne organizacije, Združeni narodi, vzpostavljanje miru, Bosnia and Herzegovina, nongovernmental organizations
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Year: 2002
• Number of pages: Str. 295-310, 328, 331
• Numbering: Vol. 5, no. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-135807
• UDC: 323.1(1-924.64)
• ISSN on article: 1408-6980
• COBISS.SI-ID: 8487245
• Publication date in RUL: 30.03.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Journal of international relations and development
• Shortened title: J. int. relat. & dev.
• Publisher: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Centre of International Relations
• ISSN: 1408-6980
• COBISS.SI-ID: 76065792

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Nazaj k ljudem

Abstract

Vzpostavljanje miru V Bosni in Hercegovini je kontroverzna problematika, ki je več let jemala politično energijo mednarodne skupnosti, žal brez kakega vidnega uspeha. Mednarodna prizadevanja za vzpostavljanje miru si sama po sebi zaslužijo kritiko, vendar je posebno pozornost treba posvetiti predpostavkam, iz katerih pravzaprav izhajajo široko sprejete percepcije vzpostavljanja miru. Tako članek proučuje hipo tezo, da je spodbujanje večetničnih stikov med prebivalci Bosne in Hercegovine vsaj tako pomembno kot volitve ali rekonstrukcija političnih institucij. Dejansko je ponovno vzpostavljanje in razvoj medetničnih odnosov, še posebej na ravni posameznikov in lokalnih skupnosti, bistvenega pomena za vzpostavitev trajnega miru. Članek tako osvetljuje vlogo nekaterih (mednarodnih) nevladnih organizacij, ki delujejo v Bosni in Hercegovini: Centar za dramski odgoj v Mostarju, projekt Kresnica v Brčkem in projekt CARE Welcome v Sarajevu. Ti predstavljajo obliko ustvarjanja miru 'grassroots', ki lokalno znanje in razumevanje konflikta vsebinsko vključuje v širše mirovne projekte.