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Shaping Social Identities After Violent Conflict pp 69–88Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Ethnic, Religious, and National Identities among Young Bosniaks and Serbs in Minority and Majority Contexts in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Abstract

The chapter presents an inquiry into the nature and the dynamics of ethnic, religious, and national identity of youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina using qualitative and quantitative methods. These identities are still very meaningful to the youth, but the salience of each identity switches in different contexts. The national majority rated national identity as being more important to them than ethnic identity, while the minority rated ethnicity as being more important than national identity. There is an almost complete overlap of religious and ethnic identity, where religion is understood as an exclusive indicator of ethnicity. The chapter discusses the potentially destructive consequences of identity politicization, finding the Bosnia and Herzegovina youth struggle between accepting the politicized forms of collective identities, and their reinterpretation to make the society harmonious for all.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Interestingly, another study from the same period (1989) with youth samples showed that religious beliefs were much less pronounced: only 53 percent of Croat, 34 percent of Muslim, and 21 percent of Serb respondents considered themselves religious (Velikonja, 2003). This contrast illustrates that even religious identification and religious beliefs cannot be considered completely overlapping phenomena.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Psychology, University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Vladimir Turjačanin, Srđan Dušanić & Siniša Lakić

  2. Political Science and International Relations, Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Sabina Čehajić-Clancy & Maja Pulić de Sanctis

Authors
  1. Vladimir Turjačanin
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  2. Srđan Dušanić
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  3. Siniša Lakić
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  4. Sabina Čehajić-Clancy
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  5. Maja Pulić de Sanctis
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Felicia Pratto

  2. Faculty of Philosoph, Belgrade University, Belgrade, Serbia

    Iris Žeželj

  3. Social Sciences Unit, American University in Kosovo, Prishtina, USA

    Edona Maloku

  4. University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Vladimir Turjačanin

  5. Faculty of Media and Communications, Singidunum University, Belgrade, Serbia

    Marija Branković

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Turjačanin, V., Dušanić, S., Lakić, S., Čehajić-Clancy, S., de Sanctis, M.P. (2017). Ethnic, Religious, and National Identities among Young Bosniaks and Serbs in Minority and Majority Contexts in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In: Pratto, F., Žeželj, I., Maloku, E., Turjačanin, V., Branković, M. (eds) Shaping Social Identities After Violent Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62021-3_4

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