Citizens of an Empty Nation: Youth and State-Making in Postwar Bosnia-Herzegovina (The Ethnography of Political Violence)

Building on long-term ethnographic research at the first integrated school of Bosnia-Herzegovina, __Citizens of an Empty Nation__ offers a ground-level view of how reunification processes are negotiated by Bosnian youth, shedding light on the larger projects of humanitarian intervention, social cohesion, and citizenship. Building on long-term ethnographic research at the first integrated school of Bosnia-Herzegovina, __Citizens of an Empty Nation__ offers a ground-level view of how reunification processes are negotiated by Bosnian youth, shedding light on the larger projects of humanitarian intervention, social cohesion, and citizenship.

In the wake of devastating conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the polarizing effects of everyday ethnic divisions, combined with hardened allegiances to ethnic nationalism and the rigid arrangements imposed in international peace-building agreements, have produced what Azra Hromadžić calls an "empty nation." Hromadžić explores the void created by unresolved tensions between mandated reunification initiatives and the segregation institutionalized by power-sharing democracy, and how these conditions are experienced by youths who have come of age in postconflict Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Building on long-term ethnographic research at the first integrated school of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Citizens of an Empty Nation offers a ground-level view of how the processes of reunification play out at the Mostar Gymnasium. Hromadžić details the local effects of the tensions and contradictions inherent in the processes of postwar state-making, shedding light on the larger projects of humanitarian intervention, social cohesion, cross-ethnic negotiations, and citizenship. In this careful ethnography, the Mostar Gymnasium becomes a powerful symbol for the state's simultaneous segregation and integration as the school's shared halls, bathrooms, and computer labs foster dynamic spaces for a rich cross-ethnic citizenship—or else remain empty.

In the wake of devastating conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the polarizing effects of everyday ethnic divisions, combined with hardened allegiances to ethnic nationalism and the rigid arrangements imposed in international peace-building agreements, have produced what Azra Hromadžić calls an "empty nation." Hromadžić explores the void created by unresolved tensions between mandated reunification initiatives and the segregation institutionalized by power-sharing democracy, and how these conditions are experienced by youths who have come of age in postconflict Bosnia-Herzegovina. Building on long-term ethnographic research at the first integrated school of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Citizens of an Empty Nation offers a ground-level view of how the processes of reunification play out at the Mostar Gymnasium. Hromadžić details the local effects of the tensions and contradictions inherent in the processes of postwar state-making, shedding light on the larger projects of humanitarian intervention, social cohesion, cross-ethnic negotiations, and citizenship. In this careful ethnography, the Mostar Gymnasium becomes a powerful symbol for the state's simultaneous segregation and integration as the school's shared halls, bathrooms, and computer labs foster dynamic spaces for a rich cross-ethnic citizenship—or else remain empty. Cover Contents Introduction Part I. Integrating the School 1. Right to Difference 2. Cartography of Peace-Building 3. Bathroom Mixing Part II. Disintegrating the Nation 4. Poetics of Nationhood 5. Invisible Citizens 6. Anti-Citizens Conclusion Epilogue. Empty Nation, Empty Bellies Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U W Y Acknowledgments