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Power-sharing democratic models, such as consociationalism, are becoming a fundamental solution for divided societies. Consociationalism aims to divide power between the majority segments of a plural society using four characteristics: grand coalition, segmental autonomy, proportionality, and mutual veto. Bosnia and Herzegovina has used this to end the three-and-a-half-year war, which resulted in dividing the balance of power between the country’s three constituent peoples. One of the biggest downfalls of consociationalism can be attributed to its focus on group rights over individual rights. This thesis aims to understand the relationship between consociationalism and human rights, specifically minority political rights, by using Bosnia and Herzegovina as a case study. The relationship is established with the help of the Dayton Peace Agreement and cases from the European Court of Human Rights. The results demonstrate a distinct connection between the right to political participation for minorities and consociationalism, leading to a human rights violation.

This thesis examines views on reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and how these have changed over time, in an attempt to elucidate if transitional justice can promote reconciliation in the aftermath of ethnic conflict in systems that entrench ethnonational insecurity. Drawing upon literature from the field of social psychology, the paper argues that the work of transitional justice mechanisms is interpreted through a sociopsychological infrastructure of conflict which hinders the intended effects from being realized. Data from two levels of analysis is utilized, with statements made by political elites and population surveys in order to identify trends in the views on reconciliation. While there is limited positive change observed at the population level, the same cannot be said of the elites. Ultimately, the results suggest that, in the case of post-Dayton BiH, transitional justice has been unable to promote reconciliation in the aftermath of ethnic conflict.

Education is widely acknowledged as a catalyst for social change and progress within society. Contact theory supports this notion and suggests that fostering interactions between individuals from different groups can effectively reduce prejudice and promote peace. Building upon a unique set of data, gathered from 18 semi-structured interviews with students, parents, and relevant organizations, this study aims to investigate the experiences of students within the 'two schools under one roof' system in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Specifically, it seeks to understand whether this system has any potential implications on the intergroup relations between Bosniak and Croat students and how their attitudes might differ. Recognizing the limited attention given to student perspectives and integrated educational efforts from organizations in BiH, this research aims to address this research gap and contribute to this field of knowledge.  The main findings show that there is a strong desire amongst students for further integration of education and a need for a unified curriculum. Findings also suggest that the school and external actors, except relevant organizations, show no support for such integrative actions. The paper furthermore argues for an urgent need to modernize the current schooling system in Bosnia and Herzegovina by incorporating integrative practices and fostering community-building projects and also calls for urgent actions from policymakers.

This thesis explores the transformations of the Muslim community (current Bosniaks) of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Austro-Hungarian occupation between 1878 and 1918. It examines the political, social and demographic changes in Muslim society - including the development of community life and religious, cultural and educational institutions - in the context of the formation of modern Central and South East European nations. Habsburg rule in the northernmost Ottoman province, in hindsight, stood at the beginning of a long, insecure and ambiguous but ultimately successful process of national self-awareness of the Slavic Muslim community of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Sanjak. The various chapters of this thesis broadly follow the standard framework of analysis of national movements in Europe. This work is theoretically grounded in the modernist paradigm connecting the national idea to changes in social, economic and political circumstances, the onset of modernity, based on both constructivist and instrumentalist theories. The thesis is largely relied on secondary sources when discussing these subjects as well as newspaper articles, memoirs, biographical essays, declarations and political proclamations. Keywords Muslims; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bosniaks; National Movement; 1878-1918

Bosnia and Herzegovina as a European country committed to the so-called European path decided to submit a request for a candidacy back in 2016 and start fulfilling the conditions that the EU sets for future members. The European Union accepted the request and, as part of its enlargement and integration policy, set out the requirements of the EU towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, which it had to fulfill in order to be a full member of the EU. Among those conditions, gender equality was found as one of the pillars of the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina responded to that demand. However, even though Bosnia and Herzegovina's response existed both at the legislative and institutional level, the EU did not evaluate it as adequate. Therefore, the aim of the research and the main question is to try to understand how and to what extent the state of gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina affects its admission to the EU?  It can be said that Bosnia and Herzegovina will have to fulfill the conditions related to gender equality and women's rights that the EU has put before it, but it seems that they will not be decisive for its admission to the EU.

Twenty eight years ago there was a brutal war in Bosnia and Herzegovina between the three main ethnic groups in the country as a part of the bracke-up of Yugoslavia  (Balazs, 2008). This thesis analyses how the OHR has contributed to the reconciliation process in Bosnia and Herzegovina by looking at academic articles, information from local actors, analysing the local debate and semistructured interviews within the international community in BiH. Primarily, Bar-Tals conditions for reconciliation are used to measure how the OHR has contributed to the reconciliation process. It is clear that OHR has contributed positively to the reconciliation process however the process has been slow and some consider the reconciliation process to go in the wrong direction right now. To push the reconciliation process forward is explicitly not a part of the OHRs mandate however there is a lack of actors working with it and OHR has been a suitable actor to do so. However, the OHR have lost respect because they have not held people accountable when violating the OHR decisions. Additionally, the OHR is seen as anti-Serb by the Bosnian Serbs, even though it is unrightfully so this has resulted in there decisions occasionally leading to further polarisation between the ethnic groups. Thus, the OHR may not be the most suitable actor to push BiH forward in the reconciliation process in the future, however they are still needed to make sure that the peace agreement is followed to avoid another war. There is already extensive research on the reconciliation process in BiH and the OHR separately however there is very limited research on how the OHR have worked with the reconciliation process even though the research is relevant considering that there is an discussion on about how much influence the OHR should have in BiH and if they should remain in BiH (Hayat Media BiH, 2023). As well as to give the OHR an opportunity to learn from perilous mistakes and perfect their way of working with reconciliation.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina mobile phone numbers can in some way reflect ethnicity. This study will describe how and why urban youth in Sarajevo, in their own stated reality motivate and perceive selection of mobile phone companies and mobile phone numbers in Bosnia and Herzegovina according to their ethnic group. The research questions are: How do urban youth in Sarajevo reason when they choose mobile phone companies? How do urban youth in Sarajevo perceive and understand consequences of the divide of mobile phone companies and numbers in Bosnia and Herzegovina? To what extent can mobile phone numbers be perceived as an ethnic marker? By using qualitative interviews the results of the study is presented. Mobile phone numbers can serve as an ethnic marker, but it is not used by urban youth in Sarajevo to distinguish ethnicity. Finally, the thesis argues that an ethnic structure among mobile phone companies are discovered but even in this rigid ethnic structure people choose mobile phone companies of economic reasons rather than of ethnic implications.

Yes / This paper is a preliminary consideration of the question of how Diaspora from Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sierra Leone could contribute to peace building in their home states. Often Diasporas are regarded as obstacles to peace building, so it is not the assumption of this scoping paper that the relationship between Diasporas and peace building will always be positive. That being said, neither does the paper make the assumption that the Diaspora are homogenous groups that behave in consistent and coordinated ways. The aim is to consider what scope there is for tapping into more positive elements of Diaspora relations with their homelands as they emerge from conflict.

This thesis examines the political impact of Salafi-Wahhabism in contemporary Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) since the El Mujahed Brigade of mujahedeen introduced this puritanical Saudi form of Islam during the 1992-1995 War that broke apart the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFROY). This study employs tenets of the English School of International Relations and utilizes a historical analytic approach to identify durable features of Bosnian Muslim religious economic activity, Bosnian education, and Bosnian political processes to answer the research question: what kind of influence has Salafi-Wahhabism had on BiH society and government since the end of the 1992-1995 Balkan War? Emergent evidence captured by these variables suggests a momentum of Salafi-Wahhabism influence is developing that may undercut the sovereignty of BiH and possibly impede its European Union membership bid. As a result of this rising Wahhabi influence in several facets of Bosnian society, the aggregate level of Islamism in the country is also likely increasing. / Master of Arts