Bosnia abroad : transnational diaspora mobilization

There has been excellent academic research, not only on diaspora, but also on postconflict Bosnia and Herzegovina in regards to transitional justice and peacebuilding. However, the factors that play a role vis-a-vis diaspora mobilization and transitional justice have been explored less. Theorizing has been ad hoc. Thus, the guiding question of this thesis is: How do diaspora utilize the political environments in their hostlands when they mobilize towards issues of transitional justice, in what ways and why? I develop a typological theory of diaspora mobilization, focusing on transitional justice claims, to systematize understanding and to develop midrange level explanations. Four types of diaspora mobilization (engaged, involved, reactive, and inactive) are theorized based on three independent variables: citizenship regimes, collective claims, and the presence or absence of ‘translocalism’ within diaspora communities. In particular, the more open citizenship regimes are, the higher the potential for diaspora mobilization will be. The thesis builds on the idea of translocal communities being an important factor in helping to determine the level of diaspora mobilization, along with the presence of collective claims in relation to transitional justice processes in the post-conflict homeland environment. The study is based on a qualitative research design using a unique two-level comparative lens, focusing on three countries in Europe (Sweden, France, and Germany) as well as four different cities within Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Prijedor, and Srebrenica). The research methods include semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and process tracing with multi-sited fieldwork. Thus, transnational, translocal, host country, and homeland influences are incorporated into analysis. The study provides comparative rigor to research on diaspora mobilization that is particular and rare. It establishes diaspora as an important actor to consider in transitional justice based efforts and provides a new perspective on the idea of translocalism.