Women’s Social Network Analysis as a Resource for Reconciliation after Ethnic Conflicts.
An ethnographic study of post-war Bosnian Krajina
A Research Project from lic.phil Anja Sieber

Conflict escalation and strategies of peace promotion are being lively discussed inthe scientific community at present. Within the process, women and their role have become more and more prominent. The present project focuses on this topic from asocial anthropological perspective and analyses everyday life in post-war Serbo-Croatian community of Prijedor during a one year field research.

The ethno-political war in Bosnia and Herzegovina heavily affected the inter-ethnic relationships, and destroyed networks of exchange and mutual support within neighbourhood and among relatives, which had been vital in pre-war social life. The process of rebuilding society has thus become a crucial challenge for a sustainable peace. On the basis of a personal network analysis and from the perspectives of local women, the reconciliation process between different ethnic groups will beexamined. The method of qualitative interviews will further be applied to capture the women’s individual experiences. Data gathered through the above mentioned methods will allow the following insights:

First, knowledge will be generated of the concrete actions taken and strategies applied by the women in dealing with the consequences of war. The ways and means by which they handle their past experience and the particular relationships they have established and entered will reveal the women’s scope of action and strategies. Secondly, the relationships’ effects on the conflict transformation process will become clear. The concept of reconciliation as an inter-subjective and interethnic process will here be of guiding significance. It is to be expected that everyday relationships allow on the one hand conclusions with regards to amicable and hostile relations, and that on the other hand ethnic boundaries can be made visible. It may then be explained at what times and under what circumstances ethnic boundaries can be weakened and processes of ethnicization softened.

The analysis of conflictive and cooperative relationships as well as the exploration of the strongly ethnicised environment is an effective approach towards a better understanding of post-war societies. By examining the women’s everyday activities and by analysing their networks and strategies, crucial statements on the women’skey roles in promoting peace will be formulated. Furthermore, insight into the women’s specific positions within local power structures and gender relationship willbe provided.

The Swiss Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries KFPE and the Swiss National Science Foundation SNF are supporting the project.

Contacts