engleski

Introduction - Reconciliation in the Western Balkans: New Perspectives and Proposals

The recent violent conflicts in the Western Balkans countries cemented deep ethnic cleavages that were, as a result of peace settlements, mirrored in institutional mechanisms, which further contributed to a preservation of ethnic divides. Post-conflict integrative normative solutions, such as assurance of minority participation in public life and power-sharing mechanisms, have contributed to the re-emergence of cooperation and, to a certain degree, to the normalization of relations between different ethnic communities across the region. However, the guarantee of minority rights means little for interethnic rapprochement and the reduction of the social distance between formerly warring communities if policy makers hold that minority legislation should merely allow for the preservation of minority identities and assure proportional political participation in decision-making processes. In a post-conflict scenario policy-makers should also focus on the rectification of ethnic homogenization and the increase of interethnic tolerance. In addition, advanced normative frameworks on minority protection in the Western Balkans can only be effectively used if accompanied with a thorough implementation and support by political actors at all levels of governance, which still is not a case in the majority of the countries that were involved in the conflict. This brings the conclusion that current domestic normative and institutional mechanisms are not yet sufficient to foster reconciliation and the systemic acceptance of tolerance.

post-conflict reconciliation; transitional justice; societal reconstruction

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