Inherited memories: How the 1990s conflict shapes the primary identity and interethnic relations of today’s youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina : A comparative study between Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats

Sammanfattning

Over thirty years have passed since the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. Out of that emerged an intensive war in Bosnia and Herzegovina following Bosnia and Herzegovina’s independence. The war played out between the three main ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats. All former citizens of Yugoslavia. As a result of the war, the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed, ending the war and laying the foundation for the newly established Bosnia and Herzegovina. This research examines how post-conflict identity development and interethnic relations shape today’s youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina, thirty years after the war. The thesis also highlights the different roles of national and ethnic identity among today’s young people. Furthermore, this research explores the interethnic relations among young people. The research uses social identity theory as the theoretical framework to explain self-identifications and interethnic relations. Lastly, this research uses semi-structured in-depth interviews across the different ethnic groups to better understand the factors that shape youths’ identities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The targeted group is between 18 and 30 years old. This research concludes that young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina primarily perceive themselves as Bosnians, using the national identity to form a shared identity that transcends ethnic boundaries. Furthermore, this study concluded that young people want to move away from past conflicts and focus on the future, despite having similar upbringings in which memories of the war were passed down by their parents or grandparents. Young people don’t have any problems with interethnic relations or hanging out with one another. Lastly, this study has concluded that the main factors behind hate and polarization are the politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina that have emerged from the Dayton peace agreement