Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide and Demographic Changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Different cultures, religions and traditions and hence multiculturalism represented in demographic diversity was strongly engraved in Bosnian cities, towns and villages. Different groups of people in Bosnia and Herzegovina shared diverse demographic space that ensured continuation of peace, equal opportunities, mutual tolerance, civil rights and multiethnic coexistence. This paper aims to articulate historical developments of Bosnian demographic diversity by especially taking into consideration the multicultural model and the developments during the 1990s. Then, it is significant to analyze the ethnic cleansing and genocide and how they have changed the demographic structure of the country, especially with regards to the existence of multiethnic cities, towns and villages. This paper explores ethnic cleansing and genocide as tools within the context of demographic changes, especially in the Serb controlled territories. How the ethnic cleansing and genocide were organized and carried out? What are the root-causes of ethnic cleansing and genocide that were deeply rooted in radical nationalist ideologies and projects? Why radical ethno-cultural national ideology was systematically used for cleansing the territories from the “other” “alien” ethnicities, nations and people? In-depth analysis of the demographic changes as a result of ethnic cleansing and genocide will be based on Bosnian population censuses of 1991 and of 2013. A comparative analysis will clearly demonstrate to what extent ethnic cleansing and genocide affected centuries old demographic diversity of Bosnian cities, towns and villages.