General information
Code: N5-0178
Period: 1.9.2021 - 31.8.2024
Range on year: 0.70 FTE | 2021
Project leader at FDV: prof.dr. Rok Zupančič
Co-financiers: -
Research activity: Social sciences
Abstract
The central goal of the project Anxieties in 'Divided Cities of Post-Conflict Societies in Southeast Europe: Developing and Testing Innovative Approaches in Peacebuilding Processes is to answer the question of how to reduce ethnic distance between individuals who were involved in armed conflicts and, more broadly, improve inter-ethnic relations in post-conflict societies.
The project's innovativeness is based on its interdisciplinary approach, which integrates multiple disciplines that have not yet been jointly and simultaneously applied in studies of post-conflict societies:
i) Peacebuilding studies, to understand structural factors and peacebuilding efforts in different cities of post-conflict societies (particularly from sociological and political science perspectives);
ii) (Social and political) psychology, to identify so-called "post-conflict anxieties" that emerge in the specific context of post-conflict environments;
iii) Body-mind oriented approaches, drawing from neurobiology and other disciplines, to explain how "post-conflict anxiety" in societies affected by armed conflicts hinders efforts to reduce inter-ethnic distance.
In this way, the project seeks to answer why—despite numerous efforts by various peacebuilding actors—some cities in post-conflict societies continue to exhibit high ethnic distance between individuals, while in other cities within the same post-conflict societies, interpersonal relations remain relatively good and ethnic distance remains low.
The phases of the project and their realization
WP1: Methodological framework and selection of case studies
The purpose of the first Work package (WP) is to select suitable case studies of post-conflict societies in Southeast Europe, where the project will be implemented(approximately three towns and villages in Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia). Based on the analysis of primary and secondary sources, we will develop the theoretical and conceptual framework and identify appropriate research methods allowing us to analyze the intertwined character of anxiety and structural factors related to ethnic distance in the selected places.
WP2: Structural factors
The purpose of WP2 is to identify the structural factors in the selected villages and towns in Southeast Europe and analyze the impact of structural factors on interethnic relations among the local population. This will be achieved by both the analysis and interpretation of secondary and primary sources and through fieldwork (interviewing in particular). The structural factors that will be taken into account for the analysis are: political, socio-economic, sociological (including cultural and religious), historical and peace-building factors, and the discourse that is created in the explored community about the structural factors (both within the selected places and about those places).
WP3: Analysis of anxiety in selected places of post-conflict societies
The purpose of WP3 is to understand how (societal) anxiety arises in the context of previously analyzed structural factors in the selected towns and villages. In other words, we will study how anxiety occurs in the context of the post-conflict period and the current problems faced by people in the selected places in Southeast Europe (socio-economic, political, etc.) and how this affects interethnic relations. In doing so, we will methodologically rely primarily on interviewing, but perhaps also on surveys or focus groups (depending on the results in WP1 and WP2 and financial capabilities).
WP4: Developing and testing an innovative experimental (body-mind) approach for reducing ethnic distance in a selected post-conflict place
The purpose of WP4 is to develop and test an innovative integrative approach based on body-oriented approaches, which aims to reduce ethnic distance in the selected town or village of a Southeast European post-conflict society. We will achieve this by organizing an 'experimental seminar' based on somatic (body-mind) approaches to people; we will be assisted by external experts trained in these approaches. We will conduct in-depth interviews with the participants before and after the seminar, and perhaps also a survey (depending on the conceptual framework that will be developed in WP1).
WP Dissemination and communication
Communication and dissemination of project results will take place throughout the project. We will publish key findings of the project in scientific and professional journals, and we will also present the results to the general public (interviews with members of the project team, popular articles, publications on social networks). The results of the project will also be shared with relevant international, regional and local organizations working in the field of peacebuilding in Southeast Europe – primarily to provide these actors with scientifically supported results, which could serve as a cornerstone to improve the existing approaches to peacebuilding and conflict transformation in general.
Research Organisation
https://cris.cobiss.net/ecris/si/sl/project/18842
Researchers
https://cris.cobiss.net/ecris/si/sl/project/18842
Citations for bibliographic records
https://cris.cobiss.net/ecris/si/sl/project/18842
Results / Key findings
Key findings in each working package (phase)
WP1 – Methodological framework and selection of sites. The most important finding of this work package is the "methodological insight" that the planned survey method in post-conflict societies where no interethnic violence occurred during the war (the case studies in this project) does not yield high-quality results. A survey was conducted in one case study (Baljvine) and analyzed using statistical packages, but the results were insufficient and did not provide in-depth answers to our research questions. Consequently, the methodology was adjusted, shifting the focus to interviews, which were then conducted not only in Baljvine but also in Gorski Kotar (Croatia) and Kamenica (Kosovo).
WP2 – Structural factors. A key finding of this work package is that the role of structural factors in generating "post-conflict anxiety" varies from case to case. Analyses conducted in three regions of the former Yugoslavia demonstrated that it is scientifically untenable to claim, for instance, that the economic factor is more significant than the historical factor in explaining the absence of interethnic violence. The analysis revealed that a "positive" historical factor and a positive historical narrative are necessary but not sufficient conditions to prevent an ethnically diverse community from descending into interethnic violence (e.g., a widely accepted narrative that, in the past, one ethnic group protected another, weaker group from armed violence). The key insight is that structural factors are inextricably intertwined, and a single adverse factor can outweigh and undermine the stabilizing effect of other potentially positive structural factors that contribute to the absence of interethnic violence.
WP3 – Analysis of anxiety in selected post-conflict contexts. The key finding of this work package is the necessity of a simultaneous analysis of the structural framework (objective factors shaping a post-conflict environment, such as the socioeconomic status of residents) and the experiential framework (perceptions of structural factors). Studying these two dimensions concurrently, while acknowledging their mutual influence, allows for a more comprehensive approach to understanding post-conflict societies. This approach sheds light on why well-intentioned efforts to bridge interethnic differences—such as those by international organizations—often fail, as they do not account for the interdependence of these two dimensions. It is essential to recognize that political, spatial, socioeconomic, and historical factors create an experiential discomfort in post-conflict societies (e.g., fear, distrust of the Other), and vice versa—experiential factors, such as fear of the Other, often reinforce political or socioeconomic factors. This interplay can entrench post-conflict anxiety—a concept scientifically established by this project—leading to persistent high interethnic distance, which paradoxically provides a sense of stability within one's own community.
WP4 – Development and testing of an innovative experimental approach to reducing ethnic distance. The key finding of this work package, based on an experiment (an experimental seminar using body-oriented approaches) conducted in one post-conflict society (Croatia), is that interethnic distance does not necessarily decrease by the use of body-oriented approaches. This finding does not confirm the hypothesis that such approaches have universal applicability. While the experiment demonstrated that body-oriented methods can improve overall well-being, this improvement did not automatically lead to a reduction in ethnic distance.
WP5 – Dissemination. The project has resulted in numerous presentations at professional and academic conferences, as well as scientific publications, as detailed in the following sections.
SCIENTIFIC PAPERS, WRITTEN AS OUTPUTS OF THE PROJECT
IVANIŠ, Iris, KOČAN, Faris, ZUPANČIČ, Rok. "Mine, yours, ours, no one’s" : ethnonational contestationand heritagization on the case of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s National Museum and Museum of Republika Srpska. Nationalism and ethnic politics. 2025, vol. 31, iss. , str. 1-21. ISSN 1557-2986. DOI: 10.1080/13537113.2025.2465205. [COBISS.SI-ID 227935747].
KOČAN, Faris, VUGA BERŠNAK, Janja, ZUPANČIČ, Rok. When structural factors that cause interethnic violence work in favour of peace: the story of Baljvine, a warless Bosnian‑Herzegovinian peace mosaic. Journal of international relations and development. [Print ed.]. Sep. 2024, vol. 27, no. 3, str. 341–364, ilustr. ISSN 1408-6980. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41268-024-00331-8,
DJORDJEVIĆ, Andjela, ZUPANČIČ, Rok. ‘Undivided’ city in a divided society : explaining the peaceful coexistence of Albanians and Serbs in Kamenicë/Kamenica, Kosovo. Journal of southeast European and Black Sea studies. Spletna izd. 2024, vol. , iss. , DOI: 10.1080/14683857.2024.2324550.
KOČAN, Faris, ZUPANČIČ, Rok. Capturing post-conflict anxieties : towards an analytical framework. Peacebuilding. 2024, vol. 12, no. 1, str. 120-138, ilustr. ISSN 2164-7267. DOI: 10.1080/21647259.2023.2184116.
KUHAR, Metka, BOLKO, Irena, ZUPANČIČ, Rok. Polyvagal perspective on ethnic distance and well-being in Bosnia-Herzegovina : mediating effects of physiological reactivity and body awareness. Razprave in gradivo : revija za narodnostna vprašanja. 2024, no. 92, str. 139-159, ilustr. ISSN 0354-0286. https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/tdjes-2024-0008
ŠLEBIR, Miha, ZUPANČIČ, Rok. Factors of ethnic distance: a systematic scoping review. Journal of ethnic and cultural studies. 2024, vol. 11, no. 2, str. 211-228. ISSN 2149-1291. https://www.ejecs.org/index.php/JECS/article/view/1936/565
KUHAR, Metka, BOLKO, Irena, ZUPANČIČ, Rok. Trauma-informed approach for bridging ethnic distance in post-conflict societies : a pilot study and intervention evaluation. Advances in methodology and statistics. 2023, vol. 20, no. 1, str. 57-75. ISSN 1854-0023. https://mz.mf.uni-lj.si/index.php/ams/article/view/mz-2023-20-1-3-kuhar/mz-2023-20-1-3-kuhar
KOČAN, Faris, ZUPANČIČ, Rok. Ethnicizing the EU's involvement in post-conflict societies : the case of ontological insecurity in Republika Srpska. Uluslararasi ilişkiler dergisi. 2022, vol. 19, no. 73, str. 113-127. ISSN 1304-7310. DOI: 10.33458/uidergisi.1094578
ZUPANČIČ, Rok, IOANNIDIS, Nikandros, KOČAN, Faris. The European Union’s (in)ability to address troubled past(s) : voices from eight European countries. Annales: anali za istrske in mediteranske študije. Series historia et sociologia. 2021, letn. 31, št. 4, str. 547-560. ISSN 1408-5348. https://zdjp.si/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/ASHS-31-2021-4_ZUPANCIC.pdf
SCIENTIFIC MONOGRAPHS, WHERE RESULTS OF THE PROJECT APPEARED (AND ARIS FUNDING IS EXPLICITLY MENTIONED IN 'ACKNOWLEDMENTS' SECTION
ZUPANČIČ, Rok, KOČAN, Faris, et al. Troubled pasts in Europe : strategies and recommendations for overcoming challenging historic legacies. Bristol: Bristol University Press, 2023. X, 205 str., graf. prikazi, tabele. ISBN 978-1-5292-3362-9. [COBISS.SI-ID 161450499]
KOČAN, Faris. Identity, ontological security and Europeanisation in Republika Srpska. Cham: Springer Nature, cop. 2023. XXI, 220 str., ISBN 978-3-031-46168-2. ISSN 2947-7980. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-46169-9
Key words
bosnia-herzegovina, croatia, kosovo, peacebuilding, post-conflict reconstruction, post-conflict societies
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG16 | Peace, justice and strong intitutions
SDG17 | Partnerships for the goals
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