Abstract Anja Sieber – Juni 2006

In the Aftermath of War: Women’s Social Networks as a Resource for the Reintegration Process in Post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Women and their role in society have become more and more prominent within the scientific discussion of conflict escalation and strategies of peace promotion. The project discusses everyday networking and coping strategies of women, and their role for the societal reintegration process and it’s boundaries in the Bosnian post-war community of Prijedor.
The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina heavily affected the inter-ethnic relationships, and destroyed networks of trust, exchange and mutual support within neighbourhoods, networks of friends and even among relatives. These relationships had been vital in pre-war social life. At that time, women were at the heart of inter-ethnic and informal exchange in these neighbourhoods and within families. But these relations and the women’s roles in the neighbourhoods have been heavily affected by the war, especially in a region where high rates of violence or even genocide took place. Therefore the process of rebuilding the society as well as the coping with the suffering of intimate violence between and among neighbours has become a crucial challenge for the building of sustainable peace.
On the basis of a social network analysis and from the perspectives of local women, the dissertation examines the reintegration (and reconciliation) process and it’s boundaries between two different groups: the so called Bosnian-Serb women and the Bosnjak (Muslim) women. The sample includes 33 women from different background, different age and marital status, and the varying way of war- and flight experiences (e.g. internally displaced person or refugee, returnee or local).
The focus on social networks in specific localities such as villages and neighbourhoods sheds light on both amicable and hostile relations, and the re-formation or persistence of ethnic boundaries. This helps to explain at what times and under what circumstances such and other boundaries are weakened and processes of ethnicization softened.
The social anthropological way of analysing 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 and their reconstruction. By examining the women’s everyday activities and by analysing their networks and strategies, crucial statements on the women’s key roles in promoting peace will be formulated. Furthermore, insight into the women’s specific positions within local power structures and gender relationship will be provided.

The Swiss National Science Foundation SNF and the Swiss Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries KFPE financially supported the one year fieldwork period.

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