Forced transitions: New settlements of displaced persons after the war (1992-1995) in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The research is inspired by traumatic experience of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995), the process of being a refugee and beginning of a new life marked by re-construction of living space (family house / home, neighborhood and city) in a new place of residence. The process also forms a part of experience for almost half of the Bosnian population being refugees or internally displaced persons and forming the cultural context for changes in territory, in the last 20 years. The experience, which is still present in everyday discourse, has caused a number of different processes and procedures. On the other hand, these are not exclusive characteristics of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The changes in political, social, economic, and cultural system, as well as system of values, migration process and new spatial transformations are also part of general narrative globally, which in real-time changes the image of the world, territory and life. Thus, the conflicts, migrations and follow up changes have huge consequences of identitary process, cultural and urban space, which are subjects of multiple transformations. By focusing only on the spatial ones, the basic subject of this research represents the problem of transformation of identity issue in territory. The phenomena of re-territorialisation, ethnic homogenisation and new construction is observed in relation to three elements - identity, context and space - which are seen as integrally related. Abstract concept of spatial identity is understood in integration with collective and cultural identity which arise one from another and complement each other. Thus an essential feature of the context is defined by cultural space as the result of various historical, political, economic, social, geographical and other conditions. The thesis was developed on the hypothesis that the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995) has strongly changed the life of people and structure of the territory. The focus is on the migration dynamics of internally displaced persons, which have resulted in the patterns of forming new settlements for displaced persons and new coordinates of everyday life. In the newly constructed settlements the project observes the impact of divided cultural identities. In contrary to the war consequences, the general restructure of space, society and culture, according to which spatial changes have emerged (re - territorialisation, homogenization, re - organization and re - identification), a mix of different conflicted cultures still exists. This kind of specific identity which deprives warfare of any sense shows that, despite of different divisions (religious, political, ethnic, national, social, entity, cultural), a "common" cultural space (history, language, culture, art) still exists in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in that scope it is possible to find common ground for the future.