Is Peace in the Balkans deceptive?
In 2014, one hundred years after the First World War broke out and twenty-five years after the Iron Curtain came down, peace in the Western Balkans is still deceptive. Especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina, social and ethnic tensions coupled with a far reaching scepticism and disappointment vis-à-vis the European Union form an explosive mixture.
How far has the process of reconciliation and integration come in the Western Balkans? Which role does the instrumentalisation of the past play for the present? What impact will the statement of the new President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, have on the Western Balkans that the EU needs to take a break from enlargement?
Not only political analysts and experts are looking for answers to these questions but also young Europeans of the EUSTORY Network and the FutureLab Europe. They are concerned about the future of the region and also about their own future. "In regions in which societies have been shaped by disputes and armed conflicts in the recent and more recent past, the dialogue in the civil society including the active incorporation of the young generation is immensely important. Civil societies in general and young people in particular are often expected to contribute to the social cohesion and to cross-border dialogues. If that is supposed to happen, the (young) civil society has to be supported, heard and included accordingly," states Gabriele Woidelko, EUSTORY co-ordinator.
"Disarming" history
Traditionally, history and historiography play a major role throughout the Balkans. Hardly anywhere else in Europe is the complexity of the European past more noticeable. The Ottoman and Habsburg dynasties were two big multinational empires that left their marks on the region. The long tradition of the multi-ethnic togetherness ended with the First World War and the subsequent collapse of the two empires. Since the end of the First World War, the "nationhood question" in its varying forms is ever-present, especially in the Western Balkans. The past is clinging to the region. In his current essay in the Young History Forum, Haris Huremagić , a EUSTORY alumnus with Hungarian-Bosnian roots, puts it in a nutshell: "100 years after the First World War the time has come to learn from history in order to strengthen the European Idea. In this sense it is worthwhile to consider the Austrian-Hungarian Empire as the most European pre-War Empire with a supranational legacy. […] Today the European Union has to realize the importance of the post-conflict Balkans for a secure European future."
While the young Austrian with Bosnian roots pleads in favour of learning from history and makes the case for a European future of the Western Balkans, Daniel Gjokjeski, a Macedonian who has been involved in FutureLab Europe since 2012, grapples with the general issue of a possible concept for peace for the Balkans in his current blog contribution. The instrumentalisation of history is a particular thorn in his side. "Balkan historians have changed the past in order to change the present and future," he states. He describes how highly sensitive and politicised the Balkan's dealing with history still is and he emphasises the need for a multi-perspective education in the history of the region.
Eliminating stereotypes
A one-sided and politically motivated interpretation of history contributes immensely to the development of stereotypes and to increasing tensions between social and ethnic groups – not only in the Balkans but everywhere in Europe. That is why it is important to "disarm" history and conceptions of history so that young people in Europe get the opportunity to develop a democratic and multi-perspective view of the past. Initiatives such as EUSTORY and EUROCLIO, the European Association of History Teachers, provide support for this goal through projects, seminars and publications.
At the end of his blog entry, Daniel Gjokjeski points out the importance of tearing down prejudices and of developing tolerance for the young Europeans in the Balkan States. "We should respect others and tolerate ourselves. […] We have all been raised in a social environment where many constructs have been deemed to be negative, inferior, unnatural or unacceptable and in our case, that behaviour – the disdain for the “other” – is the thing we should not like or agree with, not the construct itself. Thanks to the many stereotypes and prejudices that were created in order to define our nations as different from one another, we have developed a discriminating mind-set and it is impossible to turn back time or completely change. Therefore, we need to be kind to ourselves and tolerate our own boundaries. With time we will become aware of the uniqueness and qualities of “others”, empathize with them, and show respect without making any exceptional effort."
A permanent peace in the Balkans is possible, Gjokjeski believes. The question is, however, how long it will take until the shadow of the nationalist past will have disappeared from the collective memory of the people, also the young people, in that region.
Responsibility of the European Union
Twenty-five years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall and approximately twenty years after the Dayton Agreement, the European Union should measure up at last to its responsibility for the Western Balkans. Otherwise Europe will risk the exclusion, possibly even the loss of a region that has been an integral part of the cultural and historical development of the continent. Besides, by freezing the enlargement process, the European Union will jeopardise its credibility. Given its inglorious role in the regional conflict prevention and conflict management in the 1990s, the EU can't afford to fail again in the Balkans. Especially the young generation in the Western Balkans who, in many of that region's countries, suffers from high unemployment and lack of perspectives, is not likely to have much sympathy for the hesitation of the EU Commission to offer their home countries prospects of EU accession.
The young Romanian, Miruna Troncota, participant of FutureLab Europe since 2013, concludes in her analysis of the current developments that "Europe cannot afford to neglect the one region in which the EU has assumed full leadership as a foreign and security policy actor. We should not forget that the conflicts that devastated the Balkans during the 90’s provided the catalyst for the idea of an EU with security responsibilities." Many of the highly educated 20 – 30 year olds in the region expect a clear commitment of the EU to a European perspective for the Western Balkans. Their expectations cannot be put off indefinitely.