The volume covers the development of peace psychology in the Balkans. The Balkans is a region marked by post-communist and post-conflict transitional turmoil, and this book provides a comprehensive introduction to research in peace psychology in this part of the world, written by scholars primarily working in the Balkan area. It brings together innovative scholarship that examines interdisciplinary aspects of peace psychology researched and written by scholars from Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Croatia, and Slovenia as well as presenting research that responds to contemporary global issues by tracking the ways in which peace psychology is developing and implementing in the Balkans.

This book outlines the main security threats, actors, and processes in the Western Balkans following the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Exploring the state of peace and security in the region it asks if a stable peace is achievable. The comparative framework explores state perspectives – from Serbia, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and Kosovo – alongside military, political-societal, economic, and environmental security concerns. The interplay of international actors is also considered. Academics, scholars, and practitioners who deal with Balkan issues, either as a focus or comparatively, and have interests in security and peace studies will find the volume invaluable along with students of political science, security studies, peace studies, area studies (Eastern European studies and/or Southeast European studies), and international studies in general.

This book examines the evolution of liberal peacebuilding in the Balkans since the mid-1990s. After more than two decades of peacebuilding intervention, widespread popular disappointment by local communities is increasingly visible. Since the early 2010s, difficult conditions have spurred a wave of protest throughout the region. Citizens have variously denounced the political system, political elites, corruption and mismanagement. Rather than re-evaluating their strategy in light of mounting local discontent, international peacebuilding officials have increasingly adopted cynical calculations about stability. This book explains this evolution from the optimism of the mid-1990s to the current state through the analysis of three main phases, moving from the initial ‘rise’, to a later condition of ‘stalemate’ and then ‘fall’ of peacebuilding.

Transitional Justice and Civil Society in the Balkans covers civil society engagements with transitional justice processes in the Balkans. The Balkans are a region marked by the post-communist and post-conflict transitional turmoil through which its countries are going through. This volume is intended to provide a comprehensive introduction to research in transitional justice in this part of the world, mostly written by local scholars. Transitional justice is ever-growing field which responds to dilemmas over how successor regimes should deal with past human rights abuses of their authoritarian predecessors. The editors and author emphasize the relatively unexplored and under-researched role of civil society groups and social movements, such as local women’s groups, the role of art and community media and other grass-roots transitional justice mechanisms and initiatives. Through specific case-studies, the unique contribution of this volume is not only that it covers a part of the world that is not adequately represented in transitional justice field, but also that the volume is the first project originally researched and written by experts and scholars from the region or in collaboration with international scholars.

This book examines the identities of young adults in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, and Macedonia. With research drawn from a large multidisciplinary project exploring a potential for reconciliation in post-conflict societies, the authors discuss the interplay between ethnic, religious and national identities that have been the source of recent violent conflicts. They focus on people aged 18-30, representing generations that are socialized after the wars, but live in ethnically divided societies burdened with a difficult history. Another aim of the project was to compare majority and minority perspectives within each country, and to provide a unique view on how to reinterpret and build more inclusive social identities. Scholars and organizations interested in areas of social psychology, political science and sociology will find this research of great value.

With the major goal of building an inclusive international community that promotes peace-related research and action, this volume reflects on local, national and global peace engagement and works towards transdisciplinary understandings of the role of psychology in peace, conflict, and violence. Drawn primarily from 14th Biennial International Symposium on the Contributions of Psychology, the chapters focus on peacemaking--or the pursuit of harmony in human relations-- and peacebuilding--or equity in human relations-- with a special emphasis on voices from typically underrepresented areas in psychology, such as the Global South. In order to move beyond a Western-centered idea of peace psychology, the volume is divided into two major parts. The first half of the volume puts an emphasis on peace psychology research and praxis in a number of geohistorical contexts, including Malaysia, Northern Ireland, Thailand, and Kashmir, that bear on conflict, harmony and equity in human relations. Chapters in the second half of the volume fulfill the mandate of Biennial Symposia; namely, to create more equity in the production of peace theory and praxis by bringing forward the voices of scholars and change agents that are often unheard in peace discourses, including a number of scholars and chapters from South Africa. Additionally, throughout the chapters, the authors and editors of the volume emphasize emancipatory agendas as an important alternative to militarism and state-sponsored violence. With the aim of bringing forward voices from cultures and situations that are typically not included or highly visible in peace discourses, Enlarging the Scope of Peace Psychology in Invited and Invented Spaces: African and World-Regional Contributions is a thought-provoking, timely, and informative work. Psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists, activists, public-policy makers, and all those interested in promoting peace and justice, are sure to find this an invaluable and illuminating resource.