CIPS Center for Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Studies - University of Sarajevo

STATE OR NATION BUILDING? VISIONS, CONTROVERSIES AND PERSPECTIVES OF POLITICAL TRANSITION IN BOSNIA AND HERZERGOVINA (APRIL 2009 - OCTOBER 2010) The project aims to research the background of transitional state-building problems in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. In particular, it aims to tackle a particular categorical conflation of two distinct concepts applied in the transition process, namely nation-building and state-building. It is assumed that this conflation hampers the creation of sustainable democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and perpetuates the dominance of ethno-politics over the democratic rule of law. In other words, the research aims to explore the programmatic background of the systemic political deadlock that has been lingering in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1995. While believing that the deadlock is generated by the existing political framework, the research intends to narrow the scope of programmatic causes and scrutinise more closely the ways nation- and state-building have been understood and applied by the main political stakeholders in the country, the local political elite and the international community. We believe that a different understanding and conflation of these concepts lies at the heart of the failure to establish democratic capacities of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a result of the research, we will try to offer new perspectives on interpreting, advocating and acting upon the transition of Bosnia and Herzegovina into a viable democracy. Contact info: davor@cps.edu.ba. Website: click here.

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FEMINISM IN THE POST-SOCIALIST MUSLIM CONTEXT research project will study Muslim women feminists in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Kosovo in order to understand and explain the ways women from these two countries perceive their belonging to feminist and national/ethnic groups within the post-socialist and post-conflict contexts. Although there has been significant research on feminisms in Muslim societies during the last 15 years, this focused on the Arab countries, Iran and Turkey, or Muslim communities that had migrated to Europe during the post-1960s. Research on the belonging to national groups to date has rarely included the experiences of indigenous Muslim women in Europe, in the Balkans, and specifically in BiH and Kosovo. Our research is significant as studies on the state and nation-building problems rarely entail a gender perspective and do not provide a feminist outlook on these important processes. We will thus provide a women’s experience and understanding of the nation-building processes in BiH and Kosovo, the effect of the nation-building processes on the development of feminisms in these countries and the understanding on the interaction between women’s feeling of belongingness to feminist and national/ethnic groups. The research will identify key issues and concepts required to understand the subject of the study and test them by means of focus group discussions with feminist Muslim women. This will be achieved using the methods of life stories of eight women in BiH and six in Kosovo and the content and discourse analysis. Project leader and contact: Dr Zilka Spahic-Siljak, e-mail: zilka@cps.edu.ba or zilkas@hotmail.com

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THE ETHOS OF RELIGIOUS PEACE BUILDERS Hosting: University of Bielefeld, Germany Direction: Prof. Dr. Dr. Heinrich Schäfer, Professor for Systematic Theology, Church History and Sociology of Religion, at the Faculty of History, Philosophy and Theology and at the Faculty of Sociology, Bielefeld University. Partners: Center for Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Studies, University of Sarajevo; Statistik Beratungs Center, Bielefeld University. Researchers: Dr.cand. Zrinka Štimac (Research Focus: Theories of religion; religious plurality in postcommunist countries; religion and education); Mr. Leif H. Seibert (Research Focus: Religion in peace and conflict; Sociological theories and methods; German Idealism). Useful links: Project homepage (eng) CIRRuS – Center for the Interdisciplinary Research on Religion and Society Bielefeld (eng) An outline of the project is available by clicking the respective link at the bottom of the page.

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DISCLOSING HIDDEN HISTORY: LUSTRATION IN THE WESTERN BALKANS Since February 2004, the Center for Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Studies of the University of Sarajevo is the Partner organization in realization of the Project: Disclosing hidden history: Lustration in the Western Balkans. More about this project please on web site: www.lustration.net. The document containing Conclusions and Recommendations of the Project "Disclosing Hidden History: Lustration on Western Balkans" is available by clicking the respective link at the bottom of the page.