It has been nearly 20 years since the bloody war ended in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but communities are still struggling to achieve economic, political and social stability. This seminar will discuss post-war community formation and underlying social processes in two towns in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This seminar challenges the reasoning which relies exclusively on the ethnicity framework for understanding intergroup relations and interactions in diverse societies. Using the social psychology framework the seminar explores interactions and cooperation between different social groups in the community, particularly pre-war population and new migrants. It also highlights the particular challenges that arise from post-war violence between these two groups.
Drawing on 18 months fieldwork and data collection in two small towns in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it further outlines the complex challenges that people face in communities affected by conflict and developing different strategies to cope with it. The seminar presents the results from a three-year project funded by Leverhulme Research Grant ‘Community Cooperation in Post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina’.
About the Speaker:
Marika Djolai is PhD Researcher at the Institute of Development Studies and member of Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG). She is also a Researcher on a three-year project at IDS funded by Leverhulme Research Grant that investigates impact of conflict and violence on cooperation in ethnically diverse communities.
Marika’s research explores links between violence, group cohesion and interactions at the community level. She recently spent two years conducting fieldwork in Bosnia and Herzegovina for her PhD thesis and the research project, using mixed methods approaches. In the past Marika worked as a consultant for UNICEF, British Council, BBC Media Action, Global Integrity, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, and Japan Emergency NGOs.
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