Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, which came to Bosnia and Herzegovina with the arrival of foreign fighters and humanitarian organizations from Islamic countries during the war between 1992 and 1995, developed a conflicting relationship with the local Islamic tradition. Diploma thesis The position of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Wahhabism between 1992 and 2016 uses a critical analysis of primary sources to explain development of the position of the official religious institution of Bosnian Muslims, the Islamic Community, to Wahhabism and its supporters since their arrival to the present. This paper shows that although the Islamic Community often seemed ambivalent in its approach, it took a negative stance to the alien religious tradition from the outset and even though its activities were inconsistent, the Islamic Community contributed to preventing the spread of Wahhabism in the country. Furthermore, we show that the position of the Islamic Community was rather determined by political needs than by religious incentives.

Privatization of the state-owned enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1995 - 2015 Štěpán Šantrůček Abstract The diploma thesis "Privatization of the state-owned enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1995 - 2015" analyses the privatization after the end of war in B&H in the context of dual transition from war to peace (postwar reconstruction) and from the centrally planned economy to liberal market. The thesis analyses the specifics of the privatization processes in B&H such as direct involvement of the international community, decentralization, ethnicization and misuse in order to reach the nationalist-motivated political goals. The thesis concludes that the privatization process was extremely influenced by the division of the society along the ethnic lines which had a significant impact on the country's economy, social conditions of the population and reintegration of the society after the war in 1992 - 1995.

Diploma thesis "Remittances and their impact on Eastern Europe" examines the phenomenon of remittances as part of global migration and its having been largely economically motivated and having a positive impact on poverty alleviation. The chosen approach is empirical-analytical methodology. The paper suggests several motivations leading to migration and remittances as well as some positive impacts and risks affecting the senders, receivers as well as the beneficiary economies of remittances. This thesis offers an overview of both all principal source countries and the main corridors of remittance flow. The paper analyses three countries from the former eastern block - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Moldova - and the reasons which have lead to migration and remitting in these states in relation to their economic transformation from centrally planned to market economies. The analysis considers many factors such as the regional financial crisis in 1998 as well as the ethnically based military conflict which occurred due to the disintegration process in the former Yugoslavia. These issues influence not only the scale of remittances flow but also expand the variety of the senders which commonly include both refugees and Diasporas. Lastly, this thesis presents some possible scenarios related to the...

There is a generalized perception on the 1991-1995 war in the former Yugoslavia as an ethnic conflict caused by longstanding antagonisms among homogenous ethnic groups inhabiting its territory. In such a worldview, which became part of the dominant discourse, inter-ethnic violence in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina was inevitable and the division of the population along ethnic lines was needed to stop the violence. In this thesis I problematize the dominant discourse on the ethnic nature and inevitability of violence, as well as on the ethnic fracturing as a solution, by exposing the experiences of two largest communities that remained ethnically mixed and preserved communal peace throughout wartime – the community of the region of Gorski kotar in Croatia and the community of the city of Tuzla in Bosnia-Herzegovina. By documenting and analysing their discourses and practices, and by contrasting them with the dominant discourses of war in these two countries, I provide evidence that these two communities were oases of peace which developed a counter-discourse and resisted violence by preserving their multi-ethnic character, promoting multiple identities, cherishing inter-ethnic cooperation and ensuring equality and good governance for all their citizens. Their narratives challenge the well-established «truths» about the war in the former Yugoslavia and add to the complexity of collective memories of its peoples.

The thesis examines the aspects of neo-Ottomanism in Turkish foreign policies toward three Balkan countries - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo -, focusing on the developments of the last decade. Turkey has become quite active in the Balkans and in these countries in the last few years, however, this activism is not without any antecendents. These areas were the core European territories of the Ottoman Empire and after the dissolution of this entity, Turkey still attached special importance to these countries, albeit during the Cold War relations were cooler. On the other hand, with the fall of the Iron Curtain, the rise of the AK Party to government position and Ahmet Davutoglu becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs in Turkey, the Balkans started to receive particular "limelight" in Turkish foreign policy. New ideas, expressions, approaches were incorporated into the forming self-confident and assertive foreign policy of Turkey. However, this new policy, referred to as neo- Ottomanism in many cases, infered criticisms too, from the West and from local politicians in the Balkans too. The thesis aims to remake and remodel this expression by highlighting other, more positive elements of it. Turkey's political, economic, cultural and military relations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and...

The thesis analyses endeavour of the international community to affect events in disintegrating Yugoslavia. It describes and judges individual activities of the UN, EU, USA and the rest of the world seeking a reconciliation among fighting sides. It also describes development of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the war and gives predictions of its possible future progress in the context of international supervision and assistance.

La République de Bosnie-Herzégovine choisit en mars 1992 de déclarer son indépendance plutôt que de rester au sein de la Yougoslavie. Un mois plus tard, la Communauté européenne reconnaît l’indépendance de la Bosnie. Or, depuis cette reconnaissance, l’avenir de la Bosnie en tant qu’État indépendant et souverain ne cesse d’être remis en question. A travers cinq parties et dix-sept chapitres, cette thèse expose les facteurs menaçant la pérennité de l’État bosnien. Tout d’abord, elle révèle que la genèse du territoire bosnien et de ses communautés n’a pas facilité le développement d’une identité citoyenne commune à tous les groupes ethno-nationaux de Bosnie. Ensuite, cette thèse permet d’appréhender le processus d’indépendance de la Bosnie et de comprendre que lors de la reconnaissance de cet État, il n’existait pasde volonté collective de la part des populations bosniennes d’appartenir à un même État. Troisièmement, cette thèse montre que le nouvel espace national bosnien n’a pas produit un seul et unique territoire politique transcendant les différences ethno-nationales entre les communautés bosniennes. Quatrièmement, elle expose les facteurs à la fois endogènes et exogènes menaçant l’unité et la souveraineté de la Bosnie sur son propre territoire. Enfin, la dernière partie, consacrée au District de Brčko, permet de mieux saisir, par des exemples détaillés, le lien existant entre le territoire bosnien et ses communautés. En résumé, cette thèse tend à montrer que le territoire bosnien, au cours de l’histoire, aplutôt été le mode privilégié de la « ghettoïsation » des cultures bosniennes, au lieu de dépasser les différences culturelles au sein des communautés de Bosnie. / The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in March 1992 chose to declare independence rather than stay in Yugoslavia. A month later, the European Community recognized the independence of Bosnia. However, since this recognition, the future of Bosnia as an independent and sovereign State continues to be threatened. Through five parts and seventeen chapters, this thesis discusses the factors threatening the sustainability of the Bosnian state. First, it reveals that the genesis of the Bosnian territory and its communities has not facilitated the development of a common civic identity for all ethno-national groups in Bosnia. Then this thesis allows us to comprehend the process of independence of Bosnia and understand that upon recognition of this state, there was no collective will to belong to the same state within the Bosnian population. Third, this thesis shows that the new Bosnian national space has not produced a single political territory transcending ethno-national differences in the Bosnian communities. Fourth, it discusses the factors both endogenous and exogenous threatening the unity and sovereignty of Bosnia in its own territory. Finally, the last part, on the Brčko District, allows us to understand better, with detailed examples, the link between the Bosnian territory and its communities. In summary, thisthesis suggests that the Bosnian territory in the course of history has been the preferred mode of "ghettoization" of Bosnian cultures, instead of transcending cultural differences between Bosnian communities.

<p>Since the beginning of the 1990s important changes took place, such as the collapse of Communism and the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Consequently, the European Union (EU) has faced a new agenda in SouthEastern Europe. The EU policies towards this region were not very well coordinated in the first half of the 1990s. From the second half of the 1990s onwards, the EU has become more focused in its policies towards South Eastern Europe. Since 1999, the Stabilisation and Association Process is the new institutional framework of the EU towards this region. The main purpose of the Stabilisation and Association Process is to promote peace, prosperity and stability in this region. </p><p>This study aims to explore the EU relations with South Eastern Europe with a single case study of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Process. The main research questions are: What are the main aims and dynamics of the EU’s relations with South Eastern Europe? What are the main problems concerning the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Process in the case of Bosnia? How do the norms, values and culture of Bosnia affect the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Process? </p><p>The focus of this study is on democratization as an open- ended process. Thus, it is relevant to apply democratization theories, with a focus on the Transition Approach as a theoretical framework. Democratization theories aim to explain how authoritarian regimes change into liberal democratic ones. The transition approach makes a clear distinction between democratic transition and democratic consolidation phases, and identifies the necessary conditions for the success of each phase. New Institutionalism is another theoretical orientation that will be applied to this study. New Institutionalism is used in this study to discuss the concepts of institutional change and democratic governance, and to further study both the formal and informal institutions in Bosnia and how they limit the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Process. </p><p>This study comes up with the conclusion that South Eastern Europe remains one of the priority regions for the EU. The dynamics of EU-South Eastern Europe relations is based on a number of different factors, such as political and economic considerations, concerns about peace, prosperity, and stability at the doorstep of the EU. The implementation of EU policies in this region is related to the debate on the future of the EU as well. The conclusions about Bosnia and Herzegovina point out that the country has moved forward a considerable amount after the 1992-95 Bosnian War. Democracy is beginning to emerge in the country. However, the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Process is constrained by the complex formal institutional structure as laid out in the Dayton Peace Agreement. Moreover, the informal institutions in Bosnia limit the implementation. For instance, the path-dependent authoritarian legacy of former Yugoslavia, exclusive ethnic nationalism, and distrust among the major ethnic groups in Bosnia are obstacles in front of the effective implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Process. The level of international community involvement in the country is still very intensive. Bosnia has not become a self-sustainable democratic state yet. Strengthening the civil society in Bosnia and Herzegovina and promoting an inclusive civic identity that will lead to the enhancement of democratic values in the country can be recommended as solutions for the current problems of the country.</p>

<p>This qualitative study focuses on the investigation of different actor’s ideas concerning gender and womanhood in a post-socialist nation Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim of this study is to try to provide experiences and attitudes of one not a new, but definitely one constantly changing phenomenon, trafficking in women for sexual exploitation. The qualitative data is mainly collected through nine interviews with people from Bosnian Governments, International organizations and NGOs during my stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The causes to trafficking are complex and intertwined but it directly relates to gender discrimination and attitudes on sexual relationships between women and men. The study sheds light on how the global politics and economics development situation and theirs affectsprovide gender segregation through the traditionally structures where men are seen as normative.</p>

From the beginning of 2000 the European accession process was placed at the centre of peace-building in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The prospect of EU membership provided a common vision that could encourage different segments of society and the political elites to bridge ethnic divergences and engage in authentic post-war reconciliation. As a pre-accession criterion the European Union required Bosnia and Herzegovina to unify its fragmented policing system at the level of the state. However, this requirement proved to be a step too far, resulting in a protracted and ultimately unsuccessful process of political negotiations that lasted from 2004 to 2007. This thesis analyses the police reform negotiating process. In the aftermath of interethnic violence, ethnic communities tend to focus on protecting their self-continuity and, as a result, aspects of identity and security become closely linked. It was for this reason that the European Union’s insistence on placing law enforcement authority at the state level in Bosnia and Herzegovina came to be viewed as an identity threat, which subsequently affected interethnic group dynamics in a negative way. From this premise, the study goes on to assess the impact of the negotiating process on the political discourse in Bosnia and Herzegovina and on public notions of societal security. The study illustrates the background and rationale of the European Union’s strategy and analyses the dynamics between the international community and the domestic political elite. The conclusions of the thesis are drawn from interviews with the principal domestic politicians and the main international policymakers of the international community, and also from a broad range of opinion surveys as well as the original documentation of the negotiating process.