Bosnian War Research Paper

The fall of Yugoslavia brought along with it the innocence of the combined republics, whose demise lead to the rise of nationalistic ideas and movements that shattered the previously idyllic society. The atrocious crimes committed by people of all sides during the Bosnian War resulted in no real winners, but instead led to a loss for all. Corrupt and malicious politicians seized power for petty personal gains during the war, of which these gains have been erased as they face later repercussions in the court of law (at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (Drakulic 2004, 13) or elsewhere in regional courts). The winners do not turn out to be winners at all, but this gives no real justice to the losers of the Bosnian War. The casualties, the separation of communities, and the scarring of a society only lends itself to be engraved into the memories of those in

Those extradited to The Hague after the end of the war for sentencing had large rooms and enjoyed “luxurious conditions [...] as if they really were on vacation in a beach hotel” (Drakulic 2004, 202), and as if they had not been behind orchestrating crimes against humanity after all. The idea that a politician, President Milosevic for example, could manipulate public sentiment in such a way that people would turn on each other, and that they would adjust and adapt to think that this treachery is normal (194), would in fact undermine him. Along with his with wife, Mira Markovic, Milosevic has been abandoned by the public upon his arrest to be extradited (156), and this sudden abandonment highlights the quick reversal that is possible in public opinion. The one person who has arguably benefited the most from feverish nationalist movements, through his two terms as president of Serbia (195), has fallen into the depths of collective disgust and