CONSTRCUTIVISM AND THE BOSNIAN WAR: IDENTITY, NORMS, AND MEMORY IN CONFLICT

Abstrak

This article examines the Bosnian War continued from 1992 to 1995 by applying Constructivism theory of International Relations. It argues that the components of the conflict such as violence against humanity, international interventions, and post-war reconstruction cannot be explained by only materialistic interests of the states. It analyzes how identities, norms, and ideas shape the conflict and the behavior of the participants in it. By focusing on how the discourse power was used, identity and norms were formed, the article argues that nationalist ideas and constructed memories made cultural differences transform into political differences which legitimized the violation of human rights such as ethnical cleansing and sexual violence as means of military strategy. Qualitative method of analysis was used by examining the discourse used by political leaders, media, post-war practices of commemoration. The change in international norms were explained by analyzing the international actors’ responses in terms of state-sovereignty and human rights violations