The Power of Memory: The Implementation and Effects of Post-War Memorialization Efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Date
2021
Authors
Barr, Sarah
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Memorialization is a tool of transitional justice that utilizes the power of memory to recognize a society’s painful history to cultivate a new understanding of past and present injustices. In post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina, the establishment of memorialization efforts is highly contested, as they are implemented by local communities, political elites, and the international community in an ethno-nationalist society with a unique memoryscape that widely functions on ethnic division rather than unification. This thesis utilizes the case studies of the Slana Banja memorial complex in Tuzla and the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial and Cemetery in Potočari to analyze and contrast the forms, functions, successes, and limitations of memorialization efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through my research, I am to highlight the power of memory as a tool to alter societies, demonstrating that history is never confined to the past and is utilized to adjust the present and influence the future.
Description
90 pages
Keywords
Balkans, Memorialization, Transitional Justice, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethnic conflict