Unexploded Ordnance, Landmines, and the Legacies of Environmental Militarization in Rural Croatia (1991-Present)

• In Event: Environmental Extractivism, Speculation, and Impacts in Battle and Beyond

Abstract

The Wars of Yugoslav Succession have been the subject of numerous military and political histories during and after the outbreak of hostilities in Croatia (1991-995), Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992-1995), and Kosovo (1998-1999). In recent years, however, scholars have begun to explore other topics of crucial importance that go beyond traditional accounts of military and political developments—including trauma, memory, justice, and the destruction of cultural heritage. Despite this new wave of studies, environmental topics have received far less attention. This paper seeks to fill in this gap in the research by focusing on one of the most complicated and enduring environmental legacies of war in Croatia, the issue of pollution from landmines and unexploded ordnance. Even before the end of the war in Croatia (since at least 1993), various governments have struggled to clear mines and other active remnants of war that continue to affect mainly rural communities in areas officially designated as “First Category Areas of Special State Concern” up to the present. This paper explores the historical trajectory of de-mining efforts in the EU’s most heavily mined country, as well as the long-lasting environmental impacts of the militarization of the Croatian environment. The presentation will explore how the issue of unexploded mines and de-mining efforts represent broader issues related to the concept of slow violence, human-nature relations during and after wartime, and the impacts of wartime pollution on specifically rural communities.

Author

• Joe Djordjevski, University of Graz