Give Peace a Chance: Youth Perceptions and Public Memory of Croatia’s Peace Process

• In Event: Youth Perceptions of the 1990s Wars: Violence and Their Aftermath in Post-War Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The paper examines what younger generations (those born after the war) in Croatia today know about the process of peaceful reintegration and the UNTAES mission that ended the 1991 – 1995 war. The paper examines the level of knowledge among the young in the context of the knowledge and representations of these events mediated in the society. A survey was conducted with students of history about the events from the 1990s war, with emphasis on events concerning peaceful reintegration of the Danube region. Furthermore, the paper examines how peaceful reintegration is presented in history education, what are the curricular instructions regarding the teaching and learning about the topic, but also what (and how much) history textbooks teach students about these events. It is argued that the educational system is a reflection of how memories and narratives of the peace process slowly “travel” to younger generations, resulting in their poor knowledge of these important historical events.

Author

• Tamara Banjeglav, Scientific Research Centre SAZU (Slovenia)