| Study ID | 06 |
| Study title | Construction of National and Ethnic Identities Among Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Study language | Bosnian |
| Institution(s) | Center for Social and Cultural Repair Banja Luka, Gundulićeva 86, 78 000 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina (a) |
| Authors | Danijela Majstorović (PI) Vladimir Turjačanin |
| Disciplines | Anthropology Sociology Psychology Social psychology Political sciences Communication and media sciences Psycho- and sociolinguistics |
| Period | 2010-2011 |
| Geographical space | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Abstract | Youth Ethnic and National Identity in Bosnia and Herzegovina offers a unique insight into the ethnic relations of contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina by providing a wealth of new primary data on the Bosnian-Herzegovinian youth attitudes. The study utilizes both quantitative and qualitative research techniques such as large scale surveys, focus groups, interviews and discourse analysis among others. The data are interpreted in accordance with the theoretical models drawn from different academic disciplines including social psychology, cultural studies, linguistics, sociology, anthropology and social and political theory. In exploring the social context of living in post-conflict societies such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and the social and psychological research on the phenomenon of ethnicity, this study reveals a society of sharp, constitution-embedded ethnic divisions, which are maintained through different aspects of social and individual lives; by being politicized, one’s ethnicity also became a relevant point of reference in everyday life, focusing people’s lives on ethno-driven cognition, emotions, and behavior. Furthermore, through the study of ethnic identity of youth in Bosnia-Herzegovina, it was analyzed how ethnic identity is constructed through social relations, communication, social perception, and political attitudes among young people. |
| Results | Using survey it was tracked the most common versions of interpretations of origin of these groups. Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs are largely believed to have come to the country during Slavic migrations, as stated by more than half of the respondents. A somewhat smaller percentage of respondents believe that these peoples have always lived here. This percentage is quite high in Bosniak respondents when interpreting the origin of Bosniaks and in Serb respondents when interpreting the origin of the Serbs. Quite rarely did the respondents decide to provide another explanation for the origin of Croats and Serbs, but nearly a third of respondents of Croat and Serb ethnicity offered an alternative explanation related to the origin of Bosniaks. The analysis of alternative answers to this question showed that most of the respondents of Croat and Serb ethnicity stated that Bosniaks were originally Croats and Serbs converted to Islam with the arrival of the Ottoman Empire in this region. Focus group respondents from the Republika Srpska insisted that Bosniaks, were first Catholics or Orthodox before ‘being converted’ to Islam, thus emphasizing their Christian origin, while Bosniaks from the Federation insisted all should be called Bosnians since they were all born in Bosnia. The majority of respondents from the FB&H believe ethnicity does not exist; only religion and nationality do, while the mutual existence of ethnic and national identity is labeled as impossible. In this respect, a negative evaluation was also provided – it was ridiculous that Serbs from B&H call themselves Serbs; referring to onselves as Serbs or Croats while living in B&H is re-contextualized as ‘rejecting a nation’ and such people are evaluated as being ‘unstable’. Interpretations of history, politics and ethnic-religious relations in B&H presented in primary and secondary school textbooks are often burdened by one-sided interpretation of historical events, in which a single paragraph often assumes the historical right to ethnic territory and martyrdom that has been experienced. The textbooks contain a series of examples that describe and emphasize historical events, leading to the conclusion that the coexistence of different ethnic groups is virtually impossible. The most salient attributes in the Croatian auto-stereotype were: hospitable, polite, emotional, honorable, strong, progressive and open. The most salient attributes in Bosniak group self-description were: hospitable, emotional, honorable, brave, peace-loving, open, strong and hardworking. The respondents of Serb ethnicity perceive their ethnic group as extremely hospitable, brave, honorable, sensitive, diligent and strong. With auto-stereotypes being universally positive, assessing stereotypical attributes of other ethnicities, averaged on the negative side of the estimates. It looks like ethnic stereotypes in our intergroup context serve only as a general way to express already acquired views and to rationalize general ethnic exclusive discourse. |
| Method description | The research study conceptualized the main antagonisms through an interdisciplinary, multi-method study of media frames and discourses shaping ethnic/national identification (Media research: Quantitative content and qualitative critical discourse analysis), private discourses on the perception of ethnic/national identity obtained from focus groups (Linguistic anthropology: Qualitative critical discourse analysis), and an extensive survey of attitudes of youngsters (Socio-psychological research, quantitative analysis). Data was collected in vivo. |
| Publications | Turjačanin, Vladimir; Majstorović, Danijela. 2013. Construction of Ethnic and State Identity among Youth in Postwar Bosnia-Herzegovina. Stagnation and Drift in the Western Balkans: The Challenges of Political, Economic and Social Change. Peter Lang Verlag. Majstorović, Danijela; Turjačanin, Vladimir. 2013. Youth Ethnic and National Identity in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Social Science Approaches. Basingstoke: Palgrave McMillan. Majstorović, Danijela. 2011. Etnički i državni identitet i etnonacionalizam u javnoj sferi u Bosni i Hercegovini: slučaj glavnih štampanih medija (Ethnic and State Identity in Public Sphere in Bosnia and Herzegovina: the Case of Main Print Media). In D. Majstorović and V. Turjačanin U okrilju nacije: konstruisanje etničkog i državnog identiteta kod mladih u Bosni i Hercegovini (In the Embrace of a Nation: Construction of Ethnic and State Identity Among Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina). Banja Luka: CKSP (Center for cultural and social repair). Majstorović, Danijela. 2011. Više od krvi i tla?: etnički i državni diskursi kod mladih u Boni i Hercegovini (More Than Blood and Soil?: Ethnic and State Discourses Among Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina). In D. Majstorović and V.Turjačanin U okrilju nacije: konstruisanje etničkog i državnog identiteta kod mladih u Bosni i Hercegovini (In the Embrace of a Nation: Construction of Ethnic and State Identity Among Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina). Banja Luka: CKSP (Center for cultural and social repair). Majstorović, Danijela; Turjačanin, Vladimir. 2011. Nevolje sa etnicitetom: neka teorijska razmatranja (Troubles with Ethnicity: Some Theoretical Deliberations). In D. Majstorović and V. Turjačanin U okrilju nacije: konstruisanje etničkog i državnog identiteta kod mladih u Bosni i Hercegovini (In the Embrace of a Nation: Construction of Ethnic and State Identity Among Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina). Banja Luka: CKSP (Center for cultural and social repair). Majstorović, Danijela; Turjačanin, Vladimir. 2011. Interdisciplinarno proučavanje i konceptualizacija etničkog identiteta (Interdisciplinary Study and Conceptualization of Ethnic Identity). In D. Majstorović and V. Turjačanin U okrilju nacije: konstruisanje etničkog i državnog identiteta kod mladih u Bosni i Hercegovini (In the Embrace of a Nation: Construction of Ethnic and State Identity Among Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina). Banja Luka: CKSP (Center for cultural and social repair). Majstorović, Danijela; Turjačanin, Vladimir. 2011. U okrilju nacije: konstruisanje etničkog i državnog identiteta kod mladih u Bosni i Hercegovini (In the Embrace of a Nation: Construction of Ethnic and State Identity Among Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina). Banja Luka: CKSP (Center for cultural and social repair). |
| Secondary analyses | None |
| Study type | Mandated research |
| Financed by | Mandating institution |
| Mandating institution(s) | University of Fribourg, Interfaculty Institute for Central and Eastern Europe, Regional Research Promotion Programme in the Western Balkans – RRPP, Bd de Pérolles 90, 1700 Fribourg |
| Progress | Finished |
| Start – end date | 01.02.2010 – 01.09.2011 |
| Data type 01 | Quantitative data |
| Media 01 | Digitalized data file |
| Available document types 01 | Syntax file Collection instruments Supplementary collection materials (showcards, etc.) Publications (final report, articles) |
| Linked to 01 | Dataset 06_01 – U okrilju nacije: Etnički i državni identitet kod mladih |
| Remarks 01 | Data language is Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian |
| Analysis unit 01 | Individual |
| Mode of data collection 01 | Face-to-face interview (CAPI, CAMI, PAPI, etc.) |
| Data collection instruments 01 | Questionnaire |
| Number of cases 01 | – |
| Sampling description 01 | Random sampling |
| Data type 02 | Qualitative data |
| Media 02 | Digitalized documents |
| Available document types 02 | Collection instruments Publications (final report, articles) |
| Linked to 02 | Dataset 06_02 – U okrilju nacije: Etnički i državni identitet kod mladih |
| Remarks 02 | The language is Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian |
| Analysis unit 02 | Group |
| Mode of data collection 02 | Focus group |
| Data collection instruments 02 | Other |
| Number of cases 02 | – |
| Sampling description 02 | Random sampling |
| Available versions | 1.0 |
| Bibliographical citation | Danijela Majstorović, Vladimir Turjačanin: U okrilju nacije: Etnički i državni identitet kod mladih u Bosni i Hercegovini, 2010 [Dataset]. Center for Social and Cultural Repair Banja Luka. Distributed by DASS-BiH. |
| Access category | Restricted |
To access this dataset please read General terms and conditions of use, download, fill in the User request form and send it to dass@credi.ba.
The dataset is transferred from FORS Data Archive, Switzerland. Original dataset metadata file as received from FORS for dataset 06_01 can be viewed here, while for dataset 06_02 can be viewed here.
If you need any help, please contact us.