This thesis is of an historical nature and deals with two institutions in Bosnia and Hercegovina: waqf and the Library of Gazi Husrev bay. These institutions are placed in a societal context which makes it easier to understand their origins, development and decline. The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze the history of the Library of Gazi Husrev bay and its specific characteristics as well as analyze the institution of waqf in a societal context. The questions posed by this thesis are: What is waqf and its meaning? What are its benevolent as well as hostile periods? How did the Library of Gazi Husrev bay and its mission develop? The thesis is limited to waqf in its societal context. The method used consists of a qualitative literature study with source criticism and hermeneutics as methods of interpretation. The study shows that waqf is an important societal institution which has roots dating back to early Islamic history, that waqf had/has great importance in the education of Bosnians and the development of society in general, and that it was/is a widespread phenomenon in Bosnia. The thesis also shows that waqf experienced a number of hostile and benevolent periods as well as a neutral one. When it comes to the Library of Gazi Husrev bay, the thesis shows the library’s arduous history, its mission as well as its role in the preservation of Bosnia’s cultural heritage. / Uppsatsnivå: D

In the unique post-war and post-socialist arena several recent studies onformer Yugoslavian countries indicate that young people confronted by challengesof risk and uncertainty are turning away from the national and politicalsphere. Instead, they often seek trust and opportunities in their networks and relationshipson a personal level. This thesis explores the narratives and everydaypractices of young adults in Sarajevo regarding their friendship sociabilities. The aim is to provide an insight on how friendships are characterised, experiencedand related to the specific social and economic organisations that influencesthem. Based on fieldwork carried out in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina myproject wants to present how young adults are reflecting and developing aspirationsin the light of their available choices and opportunities in life and how theyare using their friends in order to access various types of benefits and support. It is argued that in specific contexts friendships constitute the main social capitals and orientation points for young people. In order to explore and navigate through the different interests and agendas present in their community when it comes to personal education, career development and housing young peoplenecessarily choose to favour the reliance on their informal solidarities in form offriendships.

In this project, contemporary theater and performance art is examined in four cities in ex-Yugoslavia. War has pervaded all of the sites in some way, interrupting a sense of normalcy, altering the city physically as well as ideologically. For that reason, interaction with urban space becomes a central element in performances—whether it serves to preserve the city’s identity amidst destruction, to cleanse the city from the shame of official exploits, to break from the insular legacy of nationalism that flooded the streets, or to gather the city together in a process of collective healing.

Zugl.: Wien, Univ., Magisterarbeit

Bonn, Phil. Diss. v. 21. Dez. 1929 [1930].

The aim of this thesis is to probe subnational varieties in compensation enacted for war victims in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. The current literature in transitional justice posits that mainly the nature of previous conflicts, democratic and economic development, international normative pressures, and the regional clustering of justice explain why only some post-war countries award material assistance to victims (Olsen et al. 2010; Kim 2012; Risse and Sikkink 2013; Powers and Proctor 2015). While these explanations provide critical insights into the processes behind compensation adoption across states, they do not explain why only some victim categories within a state secure compensation. Drawing on a large database of qualitative data ranging from interviews to newspaper articles collected during fieldwork in Bosnia, this thesis explores compensation for military and civilian war victims, victims of torture and sexual violence, and families of missing people. By zooming in on these victim categories in the Bosnian context, this thesis advances a new understanding of compensation for victims as an outcome of complex political, external, and economic influences exerted on the main domestic policymakers. This thesis uses a new analytical framework about the inter-category varieties in compensation that draws upon arguments about bounded agency of war victims who are constrained by the parameters of post-war political structures that to a large degree shape their strategies. I show that the different compensation outcomes can primarily be explained by the varying effectiveness of victims in convincing domestic political authorities that compensation is in their political interest by using framing and advocacy strategies at the domestic and international level. While such strategies are limited by the political and socioeconomic characteristics of the state, victim categories that are able to strategically frame their demands and access resources to mobilize are more likely to secure compensation adoption. Therefore, this thesis introduces three tools that victims can leverage - international salience, moral authority, and mobilization resources - that are shaped by both structural conditions and the victims' agency.

Detta arbete handlar om de rådande miljöproblem som finns i Sarajevo, Bosnien-Hercegovina. Detta arbete grundar sig primärt i att besvara frågan om det finns en korrelation mellan landskapsidentitet och de rådande miljöproblemen i Bosnien-Hercegovina.  Denna fråga besvaras utförligt genom hela undersökningen med hjälp av både primära och sekundära data. Med andra ord kan man se det besvaras i både teori och praktik. För att få en djupare förståelse börjar uppsatsen med grundinformation gällande Sarajevo likväl som Bosnien-Hercegovina för att sedan redogöra för de miljöproblem som belastar samhället. För en ytterligare förståelse av landskaps identitet beskrivs detta utförligt med hjälp av tidigare studier gällande området. För att få fram ett resultat gällande frågeställningarna har man utgått från de undersökningar som har gjorts på området över hur miljön påverkar befolkningen i området. Detta resulterade i en hypotes om att invånarna i Sarajevo borde påverkas på ett negativt sätt. Denna hypotes förstärktes sedan av en enkätundersökning där invånarna fick beskriva hur de upplevde miljöproblemens påverkan på landskaps identiteten med egna ord. Det kan konstateras utifrån både den primära data som är den tidigare forskningen samt den sekundära data vilket är min egen forskning att landskaps identiteten har påverkats negativt av de luftföroreningar som finns i Sarajevo. Hypotesen stämde alltså överens med slutresultatet i denna undersökning.

Syftet med projektet har varit att skapa en informell institution som erbjuder alla en möjlighet att inte bara ta del av kulturen, utan även själv kunna skapa. Byggnaden rymmer förutom en stor utställningshall både verkstad och ateljéer som är öppna för allmänheten. De olika funktionerna flyter in i varandra utan riktiga avskiljare, bara genom rumshöjd, trappor eller väggens krökning markeras övergången från ett rum till ett annat och leder besökaren genom byggnaden. Hela stadens linjära form förvrängs här av platsens förutsättningar och ljusförhållanden tills alla rum omsluts i en lång, mjuk rörelse av den slutna muren. Jag ville skapa ett system inom vilket öppenheten och den flytande rörelsen kunde rymmas. Det blev ett valv som är 12 meter högt och 10 meter brett som vandrar över tomten och ner i marken och definierar byggnadens rum. På utsidan omsluts valvbågarna, och hela byggnaden, av den slutna betongmuren, platsgjuten mot den knackade kopparplåten som med sina mjuka kurvor och det subtila mönstret fångar ljuset och regnet och all smuts i luften och de ger väggen nya färgskiftningar och ett eget liv. / The aim of the project has been to create an informal institution which offers the public an opportunity to not only take part of the cultural scene, but contribute to it themselves. Besides a large exhibition area, the building contains workshops and studios that are open to the public. The different functions flow into each other without spatial separations. The transition from one room to another is articulated by the height of the ceiling, the stairs or the curvature of the wall, leading the visitor trough the building. The linear form of the city is contorted by the sites' context and the necessary lighting conditions until every room is enveloped in a long, soft motion by the closed wall. I wanted to create a system which could contain the openness and flowing movement within itself. This resulted in an arch, 12 meters high and 10 meters wide that wanders across the site and into the ground, defining the space of the building. The arches and the building as a whole are enveloped by the heavy concrete wall, cast against a hand shaped copper plate, which with its soft curvature and subtle relief catches the light, the rain and the particles from the polluted air and give the wall shifting colors and textures over time.

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A collection of short stories and a novella exploring the limits of how much people can connect with and understand one another.