The master’s thesis examines the phenomenon of empty houses and seasonal returns of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian diaspora in the post-war town of Kozarac, which was almost completely destroyed and depopulated during the war in the 1990s. The research focuses on the reasons for building houses in a place where their owners reside only temporarily, and on the significance of these practices for understanding identity, memory, emotional attachment, and belonging. Based on several months of ethnographic fieldwork, the paper analyzes how house construction goes beyond material reconstruction and becomes a symbol of perseverance and an attempt to rebuild imagined futures. Special attention is given to the relationship between permanent residents and seasonal returnees, as the occasional presence of the diaspora significantly shapes the spatial and social dynamics of the town. Empty houses are revealed as spaces of symbolic presence, affective investment, and transnational belonging through which the diaspora maintains ties with the homeland and creates new forms of community and home in a post-conflict environment. The thesis offers a broader reflection on the meanings of emptiness, home, and return in contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina and contributes to understanding how spaces, relationships, and belongings are reshaped after the war.
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