Construction of National and Ethnic Identities Among Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Youth Ethnic and National Identity in Bosnia and Herzegovina offers a unique insight into the ethnic relations of contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina by providing a wealth of new primary data on the Bosnian-Herzegovinian youth attitudes. The study utilizes both quantitative and qualitative research techniques such as large scale surveys, focus groups, interviews and discourse analysis among others. The data are interpreted in accordance with the theoretical models drawn from different academic disciplines including social psychology, cultural studies, linguistics, sociology, anthropology and social and political theory. In exploring the social context of living in post-conflict societies such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and the social and psychological research on the phenomenon of ethnicity, this study reveals a society of sharp, constitution-embedded ethnic divisions, which are maintained through different aspects of social and individual lives; by being politicized, one's ethnicity also became a relevant part of reference in everyday life, focusing people's lives on ethno-driven cognition, emotions, and behavior. Furthermore, through the study of ethnic identity of youth in Bosnia-Herzegovina, it was analyzed how ethnic identity is constructed through social relations, communication, social perception, and political attitudes among young people.