Consociationalism is a type of power-sharing that has been implemented throughout peace-agreements in several civil conflicts during the last decades and proved to be successful in satisfying the...Show moreConsociationalism is a type of power-sharing that has been implemented throughout peace-agreements in several civil conflicts during the last decades and proved to be successful in satisfying the major groups in dispute. Notwithstanding, feminist scholars claim that consociational settlements are detrimental for marginalized communities such as women, that are usually co-opted or ignored by state institutions that are framed to prioritize the main elite constituencies. However, saying that consociationalism is always unfavorable for women is limiting, not only because its features are not inherently against gender equality, but also because there is limited research regarding which intervening variables can induce consociational settlements in promoting women’s rights. The thesis aims at filling this academic vacuum by investigating whether consociationalism promotes women's rights with the conditions of having a feminist civil society and the international community involved in women's empowerment. Bosnia-Herzegovina and North Macedonia are the case studies selected for this analysis, as they are both consociations that experienced a civil conflict and share many socio-historical similarities. Therefore, the research question is: Does consociationalism impact gender equality? If so, under which conditions can consociationalism promote gender equality? Did Bosnia-Herzegovina, a corporative consociation, and North Macedonia, a hybrid consociationalism, promote gender equality between 2005 and 2018?Show less
Research on the “new” crime-terror nexus points out a recent trend of criminals turning to Islamist terrorism in Western Europe, assumes this is due to an overlap of criminal and terrorist milieus,...Show moreResearch on the “new” crime-terror nexus points out a recent trend of criminals turning to Islamist terrorism in Western Europe, assumes this is due to an overlap of criminal and terrorist milieus, and argues this is significant because former criminals make more effective terrorists (Basra, Neumann & Brunner 2016). Despite being left out of Basra, Neumann and Brunner’s study, Bosnia’s militant Islamists possess well-developed criminal capabilities. This research draws on the explanatory power of the concept of legitimacy to analyze the development of the Islamist movement in Bosnia and how it uses crime. Through contextualizing and synthesizing open-source information on five post-war terrorist attacks in Bosnia, I argue that the leaders of the Bosnian Islamist movement have since the Bosnian War effectively established and drawn on local and international networks to recruit for and fund terrorist activity, thus diminishing the significance attributed by Basra, Neumann and Brunner to the role former criminals play in financing the Islamist movement and carrying out terrorism. This research encourages a reassessment of some of the main assertions of the new crime-terror nexus and suggests a need for its further study in Bosnia, a country of particular significance to the global jihadist movement.Show less
Wars have substantial consequences for the consolidation of democracy, and have caused demographic, socio-economic and social problems in the countries of the Former Yugoslavia. However, what is...Show moreWars have substantial consequences for the consolidation of democracy, and have caused demographic, socio-economic and social problems in the countries of the Former Yugoslavia. However, what is striking is that not only has their Europeanization process differed from other Central and Eastern European countries, but also that among them a differentiated form of integration has taken place. On the one hand there are countries like Slovenia, a full EU member state, and Croatia, an acceding country set to join in July 2013, and on the other hand, countries like Serbia, a candidate country, and Bosnia i Herzegovina, a potential candidate, which have a long way to go on the path to membership. What are the reasons for these differences? How can we explain such variation in degrees of EU membership given that these countries were part of the same state a mere twenty-two years ago? What factors explain the quick democratic consolidation and compliance with EU conditionality of some FY states, on one hand, and the fragmented, problematic and generally slow Europeanization process of other FY states on the other? In order to answer these questions, this thesis examines the role of two key factors in determining different degrees of EU membership – the role of ethnicity, and the legacy of civil war in the internal political environment.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
Peacebuilding is a critical element of both real-world international relations and academic conflict resolution. Cosmopolitan peacebuilding scholars and critics have entered into a debate in recent...Show morePeacebuilding is a critical element of both real-world international relations and academic conflict resolution. Cosmopolitan peacebuilding scholars and critics have entered into a debate in recent years. Each group makes different assumption, arguments, and predictions about what motivates the actors engaged in peacebuilding; how such activities are designed, organized, and implemented; and what the outcomes and impact of peacebuilding are. In this thesis, I examine history education reform projects in Bosnia and Macedonia in order to determine which theory has greater explanatory power. I find that these two cases generally support the assumptions, arguments, and predictions of cosmopolitan peacebuilding scholars. However, these projects also validate several points made by critics. My findings have many important implications for the conflict resolution and history education fields.Show less
Thesis about the influence of civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Srpska Republic compared to Macedonia. Civil war seems to have no measureable impact on the social trust, political trust and...Show moreThesis about the influence of civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Srpska Republic compared to Macedonia. Civil war seems to have no measureable impact on the social trust, political trust and political tolerance variables.Show less
