GATED · Segregated education in post-conflict Bosnia and the possibilities of future conflicts in Europe

Segregated education in post-conflict Bosnia and the possibilities of future conflicts in Europe

The specific aim of the GATED project is to investigate if segregated education in post-conflict societies causes the radicalisation of youth and increases the possibilities of future conflicts. Segregated education in Bosnia and Herzegovina was introduced by the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995. The specific aim of the project is to investigate if two decades of segregated education in Bosnia has had a negative impact on Bosnian society by creating fertile ground for more ethnic conflicts in the future. The important of GATED project: Importance of Security The conflict that happened in Bosnia was the bloodiest conflict in modern European history and the first case of genocide in Europe since the Second World War. The conflict produced an estimated 100 000 casualties of which around 38 000 were civilians and atrocities perpetrated were on such a scale that the term ‘ethnic cleansing’ was coined in relation to actions committed. In addition, 3 million people were displaced worldwide. December 2017 marked 22 years since the conflict ended, by the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement. During the past twenty two years the EU has been involved in Bosnia and Herzegovina on a continual basis. While its role changed from a peace building one, in the initial stages of the conflict recovery, to a more long-term peacekeeping one in the last decade, the EU is still present in the country. In October 2014 it renewed its mandate in order to support Bosnia as it progresses towards joining the EU. In 2010 Bosnia ratified the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) expressing its wish to join the European Union and in 2015 the Agreement entered into force. Bosnia formally applied for EU membership in 2016 and currently remains a potential candidate country. Focusing on security issues in this context is important for European Union as Bosnia hopes to join the Union in the future. Importance of Education GATED’s literature review and documentary analysis has shown that education is often neglected when discussing reconciliation and peacebuilding in divided societies. Instead, peacebuilding actors are mostly focused on security issues in these areas. When education is included in peacebuilding efforts most often it is in the form of conflict resolution and/or human rights awareness training. This is an important oversight considering education’s relationship to economic, political and cultural power. The structuring of knowledge and symbol in educational institutions is intimately related to the principles of social and cultural control. Most importantly the schools are crucial sites for creation of national identity and social norms. The kinds of narratives that are being chosen as official knowledge within educational institutions tell us about what kind of society is being created. GATED's objectives: 1) To analyse the impact segregated education has had on the graduates of the system in post-conflict society of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 2) To determine the levels of animosity between young Bosnian Muslims, Croats and Serbs in the area and the levels of radicalisation of this under-studied and neglected cohort. 3) To establish an interdisciplinary perspective bridging sociology and peace-building studies. 4) To devise a theoretical framework for understanding segregated education in post-conflict societies and to determine its role in long-term peacekeeping and conflict prevention. 5) To develop a practical toolkit containing guidance on syllabus

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз