Different Forms of Citizen Activism around Local Community Problems in Bosnia

• In Event: Everyday Activism in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Citizens (in)action can support, abet, or challenge the national populist parties that have governed the former Yugoslav region since 1990 and have been recently buoyed by the strength of global populisms. This paper will report on analysis of new data collected in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2019 designed to understand better what recent research suggests are the motivating issues and new forms of activism for citizens that often do not conform to Western expectations. To capture the forms of and values underpinning civic activism, this paper will investigate social activism in two sectors --the natural environment and women’s rights—in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Data collected in 2019 through a survey experiment and focus groups conducted in under-studied small towns are designed to evaluate the hypothesis that citizens’ engagement in 21st century activism depends on: views of unmet local problems; belief that activism is consistent with local norms; trust in civic organizations or movements; and perceptions of funding for activism.

Author

• Paula M. Pickering, College of William & Mary