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Article
Publication date: 12 May 2022

Alexander Guest, Ilke Dagli and Marian Machlouzarides

Despite the end of conflict in 1995, Bosnia–Herzegovina still suffers from unresolved ethnic and social tensions, where fostering social cohesion, active citizenship and…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the end of conflict in 1995, Bosnia–Herzegovina still suffers from unresolved ethnic and social tensions, where fostering social cohesion, active citizenship and mitigating ethnonationalist tensions and politically motivated violence remains among the main goals to achieve transformative peace. This paper, based on quantitative analyses of 3,637 adult respondents, shows that the tendency of Bosnians to be active or violent citizens sometimes overlaps and are not very distinct patterns of behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that differentiate pathways and help explain (un)civil civic behaviours and inform the work of peace and development actors.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a quantitative household survey conducted with a representative sample of 3,637 adults in Bosnia and by using a wide range of statistical tools from scaling to correlation analysis. This data set measures factors and conceptual notions associated with passive, constructive and aggressive civic tendencies and social cohesion in a nuanced way by using different metrics and scales. The survey was designed and conducted by The Centre for Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development (SeeD) and the Bosnia–Herzegovina Resilience Initiative in 2020, in partnership with The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/The Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) and The International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the SCORE Bosnia–Herzegovina study (SeeD, 2020).

Findings

Overall, the factors that were discovered to be linked to the manifestation of constructive and aggressive civic tendencies are multidimensional, and range from intergroup relations (e.g. tension, tolerance) to political and civic attitudes (e.g. ethnonationalism, civic responsibility, gender equality), from individual traits (e.g. education, economic stress) to the media landscape (e.g. information consumption). While the empirical evidence shows that some of these factors can push citizens towards both active and violent civic behaviours simultaneously, this study identifies and distinguishes those that can reduce aggressive civic tendencies while increasing constructive civic tendencies.

Practical implications

This paper proposes a replicable approach and evidence-based conclusions which can help validate the theories of change for the peace and development actors to ensure that scarce peacebuilding resources are invested where the impact is greatest, and the actors can protect the sanctity of their responsibility to do no harm.

Social implications

This paper seeks to provide a robust empirical understanding for more effective policy-making and programming that can support Bosnia–Herzegovina’s endogenous resilience against socio-political shocks and transformative peace trajectory. This paper seeks to demonstrate how peace and development actors can build and use an evidence-base for understanding civic behaviours and as a result formulate tailored efforts with greater likelihood of impact. This would help fulfil commitments towards sustainable development goals and the 2030 global agenda (UN General Assembly, 2015).

Originality/value

This study contributes insights to the emerging literature at the nexus of peacebuilding, individual skills/attitudes and civic behaviour. While the conclusions are highly contextual, the methodology is informed by multidisciplinary literature and is replicable in other post-conflict and non-conflict contexts, and thus can be used for cross-country comparisons and theory building around civic activism and constructive citizenship. The approach distinguishes between passive citizens, constructive activists, aggressive activists and purely violent citizens. This study discovers that the bifurcation is between passive citizens and active citizens, and although constructive and aggressive civic tendencies might be theorised to be contradictory, they overlap and tend to co-occur.

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2000

Nimet Beriker‐Atiyas and Tijen Demirel‐Pegg

The nature of the negotiated outcomes of the eight issues of the Dayton Peace Agreement was studied in terms of their integrative and distributive aspects. In cases where…

Abstract

The nature of the negotiated outcomes of the eight issues of the Dayton Peace Agreement was studied in terms of their integrative and distributive aspects. In cases where integrative elements were found, further analysis was conducted by concentrating on Pruitt's five types of integrative solutions: expanding the pie, cost cutting, non‐specific compensation, logrolling, and bridging. The results showed that real world international negotiations can arrive at integrative agreements even when they involve redistribution of resources (in this case the redistribution of former Yugoslavia). Another conclusion was that an agreement can consist of several distributive outcomes and several integrative outcomes produced by different kinds of mechanisms. Similarly, in single issues more than one mechanism can be used simultaneously. Some distributive bargaining was needed in order to determine how much compensation was required. Finally, each integrative formula had some distributive aspects as well.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2005

Jan Pisanski and Maja Žumer

An overview of the contents and design of web pages of the European national libraries.

1243

Abstract

Purpose

An overview of the contents and design of web pages of the European national libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical part features the concepts, problems and guidelines for design related to web sites of national libraries. Based on this knowledge, an expert evaluation was carried out, including a brief overview of all homepages of European national libraries, accessible from the Gabriel server in 2004, as well as a much broader survey of web sites of nine national libraries (Austria, Bosnia‐Herzegovina, Croatia, Denmark, Italy (Florence), Poland, Slovenia, Spain, UK).

Findings

The survey shows that European national library web sites do, in fact, have a common core of content and, in large part, follow the design guidelines, but there are still some deviations from the recommendations. National libraries of the economically better developed countries have better web sites in terms of the following guidelines, whereas national libraries of the Eastern and Southern European countries fare slightly worse.

Originality/value

This paper identifies the sites that set the example for other libraries to follow. Also, a list of actual shortcomings of the existing web sites is presented.

Details

Program, vol. 39 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0033-0337

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 July 2020

Nicoleta Meslec, Jacco Duel and Joseph Soeters

The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which teamwork (developed either during an initial training phase or during a subsequent deployment phase) is influenced by…

6151

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which teamwork (developed either during an initial training phase or during a subsequent deployment phase) is influenced by the nature of the team’s environment (extreme vs non-extreme) and the extent to which teamwork is one of the explaining mechanisms for team performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected from 60 teams at 2 time-points: training phase in The Netherlands or Germany and deployment phase (in locations such as Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina).

Findings

This study’s results indicate that when teams consider working in extreme environments, they develop higher levels of teamwork as compared to teams expecting to work in non-extreme environments. These differences remain stable also during the deployment phase, such that teams operating in extreme environments will continue to have higher levels of teamwork as compared to teams operating in non-extreme environments.

Originality/value

With this study, the authors contribute to the teamwork quality research stream by empirically studying how teamwork quality develops in unique military contexts such as extreme environments. Studies in such contexts are relatively rare.

Details

Team Performance Management: An International Journal, vol. 26 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-7592

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 October 2017

Maja Arslanagic-Kalajdzic, Bernardo Balboni, Selma Kadic-Maglajlic and Guido Bortoluzzi

By applying the logic of the resource-based view and process-based internationalisation theory, this study aims to provide a better understanding of the effects of product…

Abstract

Purpose

By applying the logic of the resource-based view and process-based internationalisation theory, this study aims to provide a better understanding of the effects of product innovation capability on the export scope of firms based in developing countries and the role of export experience as a facilitating mechanism.

Design/methodology/approach

Using survey data obtained from three developing countries, two main research hypotheses were empirically tested: a quadratic relationship exists between product innovation capability and export scope and export experience has a moderating effect in this relationship.

Findings

Product innovation capability and export scope have a U-shaped relationship, and export experience exerts a moderating effect. The greater the export experience is, the more the relationship between product innovation and export scope changes, taking on a more inverted U-shaped form.

Practical implications

Firms based in developing countries need to catch-up on innovation capabilities before being able to succeed in international markets. Managers must be aware that initial investments in product innovation could not pay off immediately and that significant additional efforts might be needed to obtain noteworthy results in terms of international expansion.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to focus on the curvilinear relationship between product innovation capability and export scope for firms based in developing countries while accounting for the moderating role of firms’ export experience.

Details

European Business Review, vol. 29 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-534X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 September 2009

Yaşar Tonta

The peoples living in the Balkan Peninsula over centuries have created a very rich cultural heritage and the constant political upheavals in the region have affected the…

1324

Abstract

Purpose

The peoples living in the Balkan Peninsula over centuries have created a very rich cultural heritage and the constant political upheavals in the region have affected the development and preservation of their cultures. This paper aims to review the internet infrastructure and networked readiness levels of the Balkan countries, which are conducive to scientific co‐operation and preservation of digitised cultural heritage. It also explores the destructive effects of wars on the cultural riches of the region.

Design/methodology/approach

The internet facilities and the scientific production of the Balkan countries were identified using published sources and Thomson's Web of Science database. A game‐theoretic approach was used to expound the consequences of wars and the adverse effects of the nation‐building process on cultural heritage artefacts.

Findings

Balkan countries lack sound internet infrastructures, hindering their contributions to the world of science and stifling scientific co‐operation among themselves in terms of joint papers. The co‐ordinated efforts have yet to exist to streamline the digital preservation of the unique cultural heritage of the Balkan countries.

Originality/value

This paper discusses the impact of the nation‐building process on cultural and scientific heritage artefacts using the concepts of the “game theory”. It reinforces the fact that destroying the cultural heritage artefacts during wars is not a “zero‐sum game” in which the dominant culture wins and the “other” culture loses. It is not even a “lose‐lose game” in which both parties lose. Rather, humanity loses part of its whole cultural heritage forever.

Details

Program, vol. 43 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0033-0337

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 October 2014

Vernesa Djip

The purpose of this paper is to examine the conditions of entrepreneurship in transition and post-conflict societies, using Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) as a case study. There are…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the conditions of entrepreneurship in transition and post-conflict societies, using Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) as a case study. There are many features of this country which make it an interesting case such. It was once a part of Yugoslavia and had a socialist regime. Post-socialism, B&H turned to creating and maintaining a market-based economy, making it a transition country. Lastly, the transition process has been disturbed and delayed due to the war that began in 1992.

Design/methodology/approach

The author chose a single case study research design to present a unique case and to give in-depth analysis. The author has used the method of data triangulation to increase reliability and credibility of the case study research.

Findings

The case study's findings reveal that three types of conditions influence entrepreneurship in B&H: socio-political, economic and legal. The paper has several implications; more specifically, inter alia, it has helped understand complexity of transitional environments and the implications of the same on entrepreneurship development.

Originality/value

The paper adds to the existing literature on factors affecting entrepreneurial activity within a post-conflict context by simplifying categorization into three broad categories. By doing so, the paper emphasizes particular areas obstructing the development of the enterprise sector in B&H.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2045-2101

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2001

Brian Polkinghorn and Sean Byrne

This study examines the relationship between gender and religious affiliation to the preferred conflicts styles of 384 student participants living in and attending university in…

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between gender and religious affiliation to the preferred conflicts styles of 384 student participants living in and attending university in South Africa, Israel, Bosnia‐Herzegovina and Northern Ireland. Participants report living in stressful social contexts that are often characterized by reports of terrorism perpetrated by paramilitaries, the state, violence that is brought on by long standing ethnic hatreds and years of division between major groups contending for control of political and social institutions, civilian uprisings, and in some cases low scale civil war. The results indicate that the independent variables—gender and religion—provide statistically significant observable differences in how people report they engage in conflict as seen in their choice of conflict styles. In particular, the findings on gender differences provide a surprising result that is partially attributed to the contextual factors of warfare and one's active participation in it. The results on religious affiliation provide a number of intriguing patterns among various religions including a desire to accommodate or collaborate with others and a strong dislike of avoidance. There are other more specific patterns that can be partially attributed to contextual factors as well. With so many contexts being present in the study a number of intriguing explanations and working hypotheses are brought forth to help explain why these patterns on gender and religious affiliation exist.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Article
Publication date: 5 September 2016

Charikleia Karakosta, Vangelis Marinakis, Alexandros Flamos, Andreas Tuerk and Dorian Frieden

This paper aims to investigate the current energy status in the West Balkan countries and the related perspectives for renewable energy sources (RES) cooperation mechanisms…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the current energy status in the West Balkan countries and the related perspectives for renewable energy sources (RES) cooperation mechanisms, within the framework of RES Directive 2009/28/European Commission (EC), through the elaboration of a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. Particular emphasis is laid on the case of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. The SWOT analysis provides a clearer view of expanding RES in the West Balkans, as well as the level of utilization and potential of cooperation mechanisms and renewable energy in each country.

Design/methodology/approach

The adopted approach is mainly based on the context of a project co-financed by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme, titled “Bringing Europe and Third countries closer together through renewable Energies (BETTER)” (project number: IEE/11/845/SI2.616378). The adopted approach incorporates the steps of desktop analysis, stakeholders’ mapping and engagement, key factors’ identification and analysis of results.

Findings

The barriers to expand RES in the region are significant. Currently, the region is electricity importer and by far not in the position to efficiently exploit the large RES potentials. It remains to be seen whether and to what extent cooperation mechanisms may be used in the Western Balkans and the EU by 2020. The unification of the fragmented electricity system and market-oriented reforms aim to join regional power markets and then to integrate with the European Union power market. There is a multitude of market barriers for RES, resulting in a high risk perception n by investors. Cooperation mechanisms could strengthen the regions’ policy frameworks and be a starting point to integrate the region’s energy systems and to overcome the fragmentation of the past two decades.

Originality/value

The potential of West Balkan countries to make use of the cooperation mechanisms provides opportunities for RES exporting between West Balkan and other European countries. An analysis of these opportunities for cooperation will allow drawing clearer conclusions on cooperation potentials and business cases for the region.

Details

International Journal of Energy Sector Management, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6220

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2008

H.G.A Hughes

62

Abstract

Details

Reference Reviews, vol. 22 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0950-4125

Keywords

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