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The Peace Academy organized a summer course, Resisting Nationalism and Populism: Lessons from the case of Bosnia & Herzegovina, from July 27 to August 28, 2020 in partnership with the University of Manchester in Great Britain and with the financial support of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR). The course was held via the Zoom online platform and examined the growing global phenomenon of nationalism and far-right populism, its enormous potential and power to polarize society, and the perception that it is a threat to a liberal social order and political tolerance. BiH and the region offered a dynamic case study, because despite the revival of nationalisms and populism in the 1990s and the divisions present during the wars in BiH and the region until today, there is still evident and continuous resistance to nationalist and populist programs. 

Listen to course participant Emina Frljak's reflections about the summer course.

Twenty-two students, activists, researchers and journalists from BiH, Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, the United States, Canada, India, Zambia, Kenya, Congo and Lesotho studied together during the summer course. The course was divided into 6 different modules: Understanding Populism and Resistance, Feminism and Networks of Resistance, Everyday Resistance in the Workplace, Local-First Activism as Resistance, Resistance Within International Projects, and a Mostar Virtual Excursion. Lecturers included Valida Repovac Nikšić (University of Sarajevo), Zlatiborka Popov Momčinović (University of East Sarajevo), Jasmin Ramović (University of Manchester), Randall Puljek-Shank (Burch University) and Nejra Nuna Čengić (University of Manchester).

Participants wrote the following reflection papers after the summer school course:

Essays

Videos

Ubleha for idiots

  • Internacionalac

    Engl. An international. Commonly known as a foreigner but that’s not the way it is used in polite speech (See). S/he is a guest in the land of the locals (See) wishing to contribute to the development of democracy (See) and enhance human rights (See). Has read at a minimum one book or at least the more important chapters on the history of B&H or even the entire region of South-East Europe. Has got money. Gladly takes other internationals out to dinners whenever s/he can charge it to the budget of a project (See). S/he likes the locals and considers them to be her/his equal, to be de facto equalized to her/him. And the locals love her/him, too. S/he knows how to say GOOD DAY, THANK YOU and NO PROBLEM in local languages of which s/he is very proud.  A vegetarian, a feminist, a non-smoker and not a racist; s/he points that out very often and is not ashamed of it at all.  Additionally, s/he thinks that war criminals should be brought to justice in Den Haag. In general, a happy character. See: expert. Translator's note: BSC form of an English word „International“ when taken from English and adjusted gramatically to BSC language.

from Ubleha for Idiots – An Absolutely non useful Guide for Civil Society Building and Project management for Locals and Internationals in BiH and Beyond by Nebojša Šavija-Valha and Ranko Milanovic-Blank, ALBUM No. 20, 2004, Sarajevo, translated by Marina Vasilj.