This 8-day academic field program examines how Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to navigate the legacies of genocide, mass violence, and political fragmentation. Through meetings with leading scholars, journalists, survivors, civil-society leaders, and policymakers, students analyze how memory, governance, and identity interact in a post-conflict society shaped by the Dayton Agreement and its enduring constraints.

The program uses Bosnia as a high-resolution case study for understanding how societies remember atrocity, rebuild institutions, and negotiate pluralism after war. Sarajevo forms the central base of study, complemented by fieldwork in Srebrenica, Republika Srpska, Mostar, and Blagaj. Academic sessions, site visits, and structured reflection tie each location to core questions in transitional justice, conflict resolution, and democratic development.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze how political institutions, collective memory, and ethnic identity shape Bosnia’s post-war trajectory.

• Evaluate the role of survivor testimony, memorialization, and civil society in transitional justice.

• Assess Dayton’s institutional design and its impact on governance, interethnic cooperation, and democratic consolidation.

• Compare reconciliation frameworks across Sarajevo, Srebrenica, Republika Srpska, and Mostar

Program Structure

1. Sarajevo — Foundational study of war, siege, and the governance structures that emerged after Dayton.

2. Srebrenica — Deep engagement with genocide memory, survivor testimony, and justice.

3. Republika Srpska — Examination of entity-level politics, identity formation, and contemporary denialism.

4. Mostar & Blagaj — Case study in divided cities, reconstruction, and the role of cultural and spiritual heritage in post-war recovery.

5. Sarajevo — Final synthesis through policy labs and academic reflection.

Program Themes

• Justice and Memory

  • Memory is political. Acknowledgment enables reconciliation; denial entrenches division.

• Trauma and Social Recovery

  • Healing requires space, testimony, and trust. Trauma is intergenerational and social, not only individual.

• Governance and Identity

  • Bosnia’s institutional architecture shapes political behavior, representation, and everyday interethnic interaction.

• Divided Cities and Reconstruction

  • Urban space becomes both a symbol and instrument of post-war coexistence.

• Regional Interconnection

  • Bosnia’s trajectory influences — and is influenced by — its neighbors. Conflict and peace are regional processes.

What Students Gain
Students leave with a grounded understanding of how societies confront atrocity, rebuild institutions, and negotiate pluralism after war. The program cultivates analytical rigor, cultural literacy, and field-based research skills essential for careers in conflict resolution, international affairs, public policy, human rights, and global development.