Remaking Sarajevo: Bosnian nationalism after the Dayton Accord

The task of rebuilding a city after war-time destruction can take many form s. In addition to the obvious signs of refurbishment and new buildings, the re are more subtle forms of renewal involving a re-creation of the city's i dentity and changes to its inhabitants' views of the world. For Sarajevo, c apital of Bosnia and Hercegovina, the cessation of the struggle for control of the city, involving various ethnic groups in the former Yugoslavia, has brought about several forms of renewal, many of which have been closely re lated to the altered political status of Bosnia. This paper investigates wa ys in which the changing face of Sarajevo is associated with attempts to es tablish the state of Bosnia and Hercegovina subsequent to the signing of th e Dayton Accord that guaranteed some measure of security to Sarajevo and to Bosnia itself. In particular, manifestations of a growing Bosnian national ism are analysed in the context of the new state's attempts to establish a clear identity within the deeply disturbed geopolitical setting of the form er Yugoslavia. Special attention is given to the renaming of many streets w ithin Sarajevo and to the symbolism on the newly-issued banknotes. Consider ation is given to theories of nationalism and to the manifestations of nati onalism in the specific context of the former Yugoslavia. There is particul ar focus upon the position of the Bosnian Muslims in the newly-established state and the emergence of a Bosnian nationalist agenda. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.