Proceedings

Slipping Into Failure - Bosnian Multiculturalism Since Yugoslavia, Through Sejdić and Finci, Until Žižek

Authors

  • Nikola Lero
    University of Oldenburg, European Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations
Bosnia has emerged from Yugoslavia’s 1992-1995 war as a multicultural, multiconfessional, and multiethnic country. However, since the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, Bosnian multiculturalism has been stuck between reality and a myth, heavily leaning toward the latter. That was most obvious in the well-known European Court of Human Rights case of Sejdić and Finci vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina, which affirmed racial/ethnic discrimination against minorities. Although a decade has passed, the ruling from the Sejdić-Finci case has not been implemented, demonstrating a breakdown of Bosnian multiculturalism. This paper investigates why that is happening. Via the theoretical lenses of Kymlicka’s multiculturalism, it argues that Bosnian multiculturalism is failing due to the non-existence of several preconditions. Firstly, a critical literature review demonstrates the historical presence of geo-political uncertainty noticeable since the era of Bosnia under Yugoslavia(s). Secondly, focusing on the legislative and political discrimination of minorities in Bosnia, it debunks the concept of interethnic coexistence, known as “suživot,” by applying Slavoj Žižek’s critique of tolerance/multiculturalism. Ultimately, it provides us with the answer of not just why Bosnian multiculturalism slipped into failure but also why it will continue to fail.

Slipping Into Failure - Bosnian Multiculturalism Since Yugoslavia, Through Sejdić and Finci, Until Žižek

Downloads

Publication Information

Bela, B., Murtezani, S. ., & Abdula, S. (Eds.). (2025). Slipping Into Failure - Bosnian Multiculturalism Since Yugoslavia, Through Sejdić and Finci, Until Žižek. In 1st International Balkan Studies Congress Proceedings: Vol. Proceedings 02 (pp. 339-361). Idefe Publications. https://doi.org/10.5331/