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21. An Analysis of Sexual Assault in the U.S. Military, 2004-2009

Author:
Dr. Adam Lankford
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The history of warfare is marked by national armed forces, paramilitary fighters, and rebels across various eras and cultures who have committed sexual assault with impunity. Social norms have changed dramatically since ancient times, but it can be shocking to realize that even some well respected leaders of the past once approved of such crimes. For instance, Moses apparently gave orders to his warriors to “kill every male among them, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.”1 This may not have been an overt sanction of sexual assault, but it certainly implies that the enemy's virgins should be kept as sexual companions. Furthermore, as Susan Brownmiller describes, “Among the ancient Greeks, rape was socially acceptable behavior well within the rules of warfare, an act without stigma for warriors who viewed the women they conquered as legitimate booty, useful as wives, concubines, slave labor or battle-camp trophy.”2 Joshua S. Goldstein similarly points out that “The most common pattern in warfare in the ancient Middle East and Greece was to literally feminize a conquered population by executing the male captives, raping the women, then taking women and children as slaves. The pattern…recurs even today.”3 In the last century, sexual assault has accompanied armed conflicts in countries all around the world, including Bosnia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Rwanda, and Sudan.
Political Geography:
Russia, China, Sudan, Bosnia, Middle East, France, Germany, Italy, and Rwanda

22. Historical Construction and Development of Bosniak Nation

Author:
Caner Sancaktar
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
Every nation and national identity is a product of long historical process because nation is constructed and develops historically. Especially, conflicts with other ethnic - religious groups, nations and central government make great contribution to construction and development of nation. Therefore, as other nations, Bosniak nation historically has been constructed and developed during centuries. Major historical events and steps which shaped and affected historical construction and development of Bosniak nation are as following: (1) Islamization process in Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Ottoman rule since second half of 15th century; (2) the Bosniak rebellions led by Bosniak landowners and kapetans (the commanders of fortresses) against the Ottoman central government in 19th century; (3) armed resistance of Bosniak people against the Habsburg occupation, political opposition of Bosniak clerics and landowners against the Habsburg rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1878 and 1918, and foundation of the Muslim National Organization in 1906; (4) Political opposition of the Yugoslav Muslim Organization founded in 1919 against Serbian and Croatian nationalism which oppressed Bosniaks within the First Yugoslavia; (5) clashes between Bosniaks and the Chetniks and between Bosniaks and the Ustasha during the Second World War; (6) official recognition of Bosniak nation by the socialist regime as one of the six constituent nations of the Second Yugoslavia; (7) significant progress in economic, social, political and cultural status of Bosniak people in the Second Yugoslavia; (8) foundation of the Party of Democratic Action and the Muslim Bosniak Organization after collapse of the socialist regime; (9) the Bosniak armed resistance against Serbian and Croatian militarist-nationalism during the Bosnian War from April 1992 to December 1995; (10) foundation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in which Bosniak politicians undertake influential political roles after the Bosnian War; (11) newspapers and periodicals published by Bosniak intellectuals, political parties and cultural associations in the periods of the Habsburg rule, the First Yugoslavia, the Second Yugoslavia and after collapse of the Second Yugoslavia. So, this article, in order to explain historical construction and development of Bosniak nation, focuses on these historical events and steps occurred within six historical periods of Bosnia and Herzegovina: the Ottoman rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1463 and 1878, the Habsburg rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina until 1918, the period of the First Yugoslavia between 1918 and 1941, the period of the Second World War, the period of the Second Yugoslavia until 1990, and disintegration process of the Second Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Yugoslavia

23. Democratizing Justice in the Post-Conflict Balkans: The Dilemma of Domestic Human Rights Activists

Author:
Arnaud Kurze
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
Years of international and national accountability efforts in the former Yugoslavia have only partially helped post-conflict societies to transition. To complement retributive justice efforts more recently, human rights activists have launched a campaign to establish a regional truth commission. This article explores the intricate efforts among nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in several states across the region – particularly Bosnia and Herzegovina, croatia and Serbia – to coordinate this movement. Drawing on participant observation and in-depth interviews, this study illustrates the movement's struggle from within – caused by the conflicting interests of its members – and from outside, as it seeks support from international and region-specific organizations as well as national governments. While activists have remained unsuccessful in institutionalizing new truth spaces, this article argues that the state-centered strategy of human rights advocates during the campaign widened the gap between the activist leaders and victims' groups, their principal supporters.
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Yugoslavia, and Balkans

24. A wake-up call from enlargement fatigue: The cases of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia

Author:
Anne Bercio and Katrin Böttger
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Kolleg-Forschergruppe (KFG)
Abstract:
Given the current criticism of EU foreign policy after the Lisbon Treaty, the EU urgently needs success in the Western Balkan’s approximation to the EU in order to reassert its own foreign policy standing. After the 2004 enlargement, the EU has been widely advocating its accession policy as its most successful foreign policy instrument. With the Western Balkan countries’ ambitions for and great expectations in a future EU membership, the confirmation of the “European perspective” at Thessaloniki 2003, should have put them on a stable and progressive path towards European Union membership.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Regional Cooperation, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:
Europe, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Serbia

25. UN Security Council, Report of the Committee on the Admission of New Members Concerning Palestine's Application for Membership to the UN , New York, 11 November 2011.

Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
The UN Committee on the Admission of New Members, comprising representatives of the fifteen serving members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), considered the Palestinian application at a number of meetings between 28 September and 8 November, the date it completed its final report. In addition to the five permanent members (the U.S., France, Great Britain, Russia, and China), the rotating members during this period were Bosnia, Brazil, Colombia, Gabon, Germany, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Portugal, and South Africa. The report was formally accepted by the UNSC on 11 November.
Political Geography:
Britain, Africa, China, New York, Bosnia, Middle East, India, France, Brazil, Colombia, Palestine, Germany, United Nations, Nigeria, and Portugal

26. Eldar Sarajlic and Davor Marko (eds.), State or Nation? The Challenges of Political Transition in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo: University of Sarajevo, 2011)

Author:
Maja Nenadovic
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
This edited volume brings together “the coming generation of Balkan social scientists” in an effort to open up discussion and shed light in various elements of Bosnia-Herzegovina's troubled post-conflict transition processes. The book, like others focusing on the same subject, illustrates why Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) remains the most intriguing piece in the puzzle of Yugoslavia's disintegration. In the most ethnically diverse republic of Yugoslavia, the particularly bloody conflict shocked the world that was watching in disbelief as international community scrambled to respond to the escalating crisis. The Dayton Peace Agreement put an end to the war but put into place a dysfunctional political system fashioned with consociational characteristics that resulted in ethnicization of politics, education and just about every other aspect of life in the country. Finally, the unprecedented international intervention that culminated in the institution of 'international administration', as embodied by the Office of the High Representative (OHR), made BiH the 'perfect' social experiment in the making. As an extreme or crucial case study, it attracted hordes of social scientists analyzing peace building, intervention, state building, nation-building and post-conflict reconstruction. With the international administration now in its sixteenth year of presence on the ground and with the political situation spiraling out of control to the point of talk among (nationalist) political elites of renewed conflict, it is not difficult to understand why the country is a mess that continues to fascinate.
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Yugoslavia, and Balkans

27. Refugees and IDPs after Conflict: Why They Do Not Go Home

Author:
Patricia Weiss Fagan
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Programs to return refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes after conflict, implemented by national authorities with international support, frequently leave far too many without viable futures. The measures are often inadequate for three reasons: a widely shared but flawed assumption that the need to create a future for returnees is satisfied by restoring them to their prior lives; a lack of long-term engagement by implementing authorities; and a focus on rural reintegration when many refugees and IDPs are returning to urban areas. These arguments are illustrated in four country cases—Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Burundi. In each case, the places that refugees and IDPs were forced to flee have been greatly reshaped. They often lack security and economic opportunities; governance is weak and services are inadequate. Returnees have made choices about their futures in large part on the basis of these factors. While reclaiming land or receiving compensation for losses is important, the challenge for many returnees is to settle where they can maintain sustainable livelihoods; find peaceful living conditions; have access to health care, education, and employment opportunities; and enjoy full rights of citizenship. This may mean a move from rural to urban areas and a change in the source of income generation that has to be accounted for in the design of reintegration programs. Returning refugees and IDPs should be assisted for a sufficient amount of time to determine which location and livelihood will suit them best. For international organizations, this may involve greater creativity and flexibility in supporting returnees in urban settings. To accommodate inflows of returnees and their general mobility, national and local governments should develop urban planning strategies to manage the growth of their cities, coupled with regional development plans in rural areas that may involve investment in commercial agriculture. Linking rural and urban areas by strengthening government institutions can also provide returnees with more livelihood options and promote development.
Topic:
Security, Economics, Refugee Issues, and Labor Issues
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Middle East, Balkans, and Burundi

28. Is there a shared European memory? Politics of Memory and Holocaust Remembrance in the European Parliament 1989-2009

Author:
Anne Wæhrens
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This paper analyses how the memory of the Holocaust has been addressed in the European Parliament from 1989 to 2009. I identify two major changes that occurred in the 1990s and after the 2004 enlargement of the European Union respectively. In the 1990s the war in Bosnia and the question of restitution universalised the memory of the Holocaust and made it present. The 2004 enlargement brought the memory of Soviet Communism into the Union and made it a central task to construct a community of memory that includes both the memory of the Holocaust and of Soviet Communism. The analysis also identifies what seems to be a political memory split between Left and Right; and it shows that the time might not be ripe for a shared European memory.
Topic:
Genocide
Political Geography:
Europe, Bosnia, and Balkans

29. Limits of the Impact of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on the Domestic Legal System of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author:
Eszter Kirs
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
Information is a fundamental resource in post-conflict societies. However, information-sharing may lead to both advantages and disadvantages. The main focus of the present paper is the flow of information and knowledge from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to the domestic judicial system of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following a brief introduction of the dynamics of the changing relationship of the Tribunal and the Bosnian judiciary, the paper aims to outline the positive achievements and the practical barriers of the international intervention into the management of war crime cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper introduces the practical problems that came forth with the introduction of the adversarial procedure in the domestic judicial system, by which measure international intervention might have gone too far resulting also in negative consequences with regard to the management of domestic war crime trials.
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Yugoslavia

30. THE ROLE OF OPINION LEADERS IN THE DISSEMINATION OF MEDIA MESSAGES DURING THE PRE-ELECTION PERIOD: THE CASE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINIA

Author:
Davor Marko
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:
Central European University
Abstract:
In the analysis of the media landscape and media reporting on political candidates in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 2010 general election campaign, it was noticed that major media were affiliated to various political groups and openly advocated for or riled against voter choices. As a result, the media market of the country is characterized by a high level of segmentation between media which exclusively advocates a nationalist position and media which maintain a 'civic' orientation. These media organizations, according to their orientation, favor certain personalities that are deeply embedded in the favored national, cultural, or religious position. This paper examines the role of opinion leaders who represent dominant ethno-political groups in BiH via the dissemination of media messages during the preelection campaign.
Political Geography:
Bosnia and Herzegovina