Post-Conflict Cooperation in Multi-Ethnic Local communities of Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Qualitative Comparative analysis of Diaspora's Role

Abstract

How are diaspora involvement in peacebuilding and elite cooperation in multi-ethnic municipalities complementary? This article examines how local elites perceive and respond to conflict-generated diaspora's role in peacebuilding in nine post-conflict multi-ethnic municipalities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and whether these perceptions can determine types of inter-ethnic cooperation within local institutions. Using a systematic comparative case study analysis utilising ideal-type fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), I derive four types of relationships. The results indicate that local elites, experiencing various levels of direct and indirect interaction with diaspora communities, perceive diaspora's role in the process as constraining their own cooperation prospects. The analysis also demonstrates that local elites perceive diaspora as insufficiently competent and imperfectly coordinated to tackle major challenges in local peacebuilding frameworks and that diaspora actions do not significantly affect the reform of current dynamics and practices of intra-ethnic cooperation among elites.

Disentangling the migration-development nexus using QCA

“…However, some researchers in fields such as diaspora studies and international relations attempt to disentangle the also complex migration-conflict nexus. For instance, Hasić (2018) investigates post-conflict co-operation in multi-ethnic local communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, addressing the question of how the involvement of a diaspora in peacebuilding may complement intra-ethnic co-operation among elites in multi-ethnic municipalities. In another context, Rubenzer (2008) specifically looks at the attributes of ethnic minority interest groups and these groups' influence on U.S. foreign policy.…”

Who chooses to remember? Diaspora participation in memorialization initiatives

“…In contested political environments back home, it becomes interesting to examine under which conditions diaspora can provide more opportunity to widen the politics of memory in their homelands. Previous research has demonstrated that diaspora participation in peacebuilding can also create potential competition between diaspora, returnee, and local actors and slow down or change peacebuilding and transitional justice processes (Hasić 2018). A recent volume has examined multiple cases of diaspora coordination, focusing on different ways in which diaspora find pathways through partnerships with a variety of actors as well as among each other (Carment and Sadjed 2017).…”