The purpose of this article is to explore broadsheet newspaper framing and agenda-setting of two events using the five-frame model developed by Semetko and Valkenburg (2000). This article provides ...insight into how the leading broadsheet newspaper within BiH’s Republika Srpska frames relationships between the three main ethnic groups and is the first such study to occur in BiH. By identifying and exploring the most common frames in Glas Srpske during the five-year period (from 31 December 2015 to 30 December 2020), the research is meant to answer the following research questions: How does Glas Srpske frame the conversation about it and portray the Day of Republika Srpska (RS) and Referendum of the RS Day? The results, which find Attribution of Responsibility and Conflict frames to be the more prevalent in Glas Srpske, illustrate contentious politics that reinforce differences between ethnic groups in BiH. These events and the controversial narrative surrounding them are relevant more than ever in the light of the recent non-paper ‘Western Balkans – A Way Forward’.
The text analyses Türkiye's influence operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their implications for the internal situation and the EU's interests. Turkish activities are analysed in the fields of ...diplomacy, public diplomacy, information operations, economic operations, and clandestine and military operations using an updated RAND model. The article argues that Türkiye adopts a pragmatic approach, prioritising economic ties and carefully tailoring narratives for diverse audiences in the country. This approach enables Ankara to maintain constructive relations with representatives of the three main ethnic groups and act as a mediator during Bosnia and Herzegovina's internal crises and the EU's diminishing presence. However, as Turkish relations with local actors are mainly Erdoǧancentric and personalised, there are also potential risks and challenges. These encompass corruption, the erosion of democratic institutions, the exportation of Türkiye's internal issues to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the undermining of the EU's influence in the country.
In this article, we analyze how the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), which signalizes the overall (positive) progress and development of the potential candidate country of the ...post-Yugoslav space, is not straightforwardly translated as a benchmark for progress and development by the political elite. Drawing on securitization theory in order to understand the grammar of security, the wider discursive context, and the position of power and authority in RS during the analyzed period – and informed by the triangulation of content and discourse analysis – we show how the negotiations for the SAA were (mis)used in order to present both the “internal and external Other” as an existential threat for Republika Srpska. Our analysis shows that although the securitizing acts of the political elite from RS did not succeed in terms of the final outcome as the SAA was signed, certain security narratives, which are present in the contemporary sociopolitical landscape in BiH, have been constructed during this period and embedded into the wider discursive context and consolidated the position of power and authority of Milorad Dodik’s SNSD.
This article discusses the regular general election hold in Bosnia and Herzegovina (02.10.2022), the course of their electioneering, and the voting results. The analysis reveals the same main actors ...flashed on the political scene, the same principle collisions repeated, and even the methods of winning victory with the help of nationalist rhetoric remaining unchanged. However, the realignment of political forces has led to a new formula of power both in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and at the national level. The loser was the leading Islamist-nationalist Party of Democratic Action of the Bosniaks, which already bored its Western patrons with its destructive activity. Keeping up with these developments, an assessment of the prospects of the coalition government of Bosnia and Herzegovina formed by 21 political actors is suggested. Among them are the Croatian Democratic Union and the parties blocking with it, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats with their partners from Republika Srpska and also eight secular Bosnian parties. A significant factor in maintaining the cabinet cohesion is the need to demonstrate to the EU its «cooperation», a sine qua non for Western support and funding. The Federation theoretically could face problems with the losers being able to block the process of authorities formation. However, according to the common understanding, Christian Schmidt, the High Representative of the international community in the country, will not allow this. It can be assumed that under the current international climate (when the Russian Federation is absorbed by the conflict in Ukraine, and Serbia is barely able to withstand Western pressure and the aggravation of the situation in Kosovo), even the allegedly pro-Russian President of the Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik will be forced to take into account new political realities. If Brussels and Washington are smart enough to not push the Serbs «to the limit», the new Bosnia and Herzegovina government will finally have a chance to get down to business and do something useful for their citizens.
The aim of this paper was to identify the nature of hybrid threats posed by Russia in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, subsequently, to identify to what extent the Kremlin is successful in destabilising ...the political situation in this country. For this purpose, disciplined interpretative case study was employed. This study is primarily based on four expert interviews which were conducted in August 2021, in Sarajevo. The theoretical part of this study introduces the concept of hybrid threats. This concept is then applied to the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Based on a comprehensive analysis, the authors were able to identify three areas where the Kremlin’s hybrid threats are the most significant. These are political and economic influence, information space and proxy organizations. This paper may contribute to the understanding of how Russia constructs its hybrid threats and may also lead to further research on hybrid threats in the Western Balkans.
This article contributes to the growing scholarship on the relationship between political memory and foreign policy by analyzing how physical sites of traumatic memory serve as locations of foreign ...policy construction. Specifically, I explore how physical sites (such as concentration camps, killing sites, or memorials) serve to construct foreign policy through the enduring meaning they have as material reminders of collective trauma. I illustrate the argument with a case study of Jasenovac, the commemorative site of the largest concentration camp administered by the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. The Jasenovac site is a particularly useful case for my argument because it is a site of contested memory and conflicting national narratives. Most significantly, it is the site of production of three distinct foreign policies—of Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia’s Republika Srpska—which all use the Jasenovac site to pursue very different and mutually exclusive foreign policy claims.
The aim of this study is to analyze good practice in teaching about the Holocaust, comparing the use of pedagogical resources in Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and England (United ...Kingdom). The paper compares the use of three types of pedagogical resources used in history classes: fictional films, documentaries, and photographs of Holocaust atrocities. Comparison is drawn between a developing and post-conflict society (Republika Srpska) and the well-established and reputable English educational system. By cross-referencing teachers’ and students’ answers, the paper attempts to identify good practice of notable value to be shared and exchanged. The research method firstly incorporated questionnaires, followed by interviews and then lesson observation. Data revealed that teachers in both education systems do not appear to consider all the educational benefits of film screening. The way teachers from England use pictures of Holocaust atrocities and organization of school trips seem to be applicable to the context of Republika Srpska, as well as being useful for classroom practitioners beyond these two education systems.
The article firstly identifies and reveales the essence of national and international political mechanisms of suppression of separatism that have been applied in the Balkan states, in particular, in ...Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The national mechanisms of suppression of separatism include legal, financial, administrative, information mechanisms, and among the international political mechanisms are international legal mechanisms, the mechanism of recognition or non-recognition of the independence of new states, international financial and economic instruments. The study showed the dynamics of the most important events that took place in the Balkans after the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in particular during the Croatian War of Independence in 1991-1995, the Bosnian War in 1992–1995, and during Kosovo’s struggle for independence from Serbia. The revival of separatist movements in the Balkan Peninsula began as a result of the overthrow of the communist regimes and the strengthening of centrifugal tendencies in Central and Eastern Europe in the 90’s of the twentieth century. The interethnic distrust and constant tension became one of the reasons for the beginning of the civil wars in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina after the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Moreover, the article characterized the concept of «Great Albania», which involves the reunification of all the territories where the Albanian ethnic group lives. Several regions of Macedonia, Montenegro, the Epirus region in Greece and Kosovo should be part of the «Greater Albania». Furthermore, the study considers the experience of suppression of separatism of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the possibility of its use in Ukraine and other countries where separatist tendencies dominate, in order to avoid human victims, preserve territorial integrity and inviolability of borders. Consequently, separatism is a dangerous phenomenon that contains an enormous threat to the national security and territorial integrity, since it is related to the change of borders of the existing states and creation of the new countries on the political map of the world.
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