Genocide by Plebiscite: The Bosnian Serb Assembly and Social Construction of “Turks” in Bosnia and Herzegovina
ABSTRACT This article focuses on the role the Bosnian Serb Assembly played in the process of socially constructing Bosniaks as “Turks” during the period between October 1991 and December 1995. This process can be placed within the wider context of the genocidal policies pursued by agencies, institutions and organs under the sway of the assembly. The article argues that the assembly—both its individual members, and as an institution—played a central role not only in determining policies that ultimately led to genocide, but also in the process of reconceptualization of Bosniaks as cultural aliens whose very existence presented a mortal threat to the existence of the Serb people.