From a history of repressive regimes and genocidal warfare, the Balkan region is undergoing full-scale transformation, politically, economically, culturally, and psychologically. These conditions make this part of the world a microcosm of peacebuilding, in terms of both the traumatic past that must be addressed and prospects for future nonviolence.

Balancing optimism with realism, Peace Psychology in the Balkans analyzes the complex causes of violence and explores peace efforts in Romania, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Macedonia. The range of peace objectives is shown in this unique context, from promoting the absence of conflict to advocating for justice, equality, and positive relations between groups. Contributors consider the peacebuilding potential of the schools, the arts and media, national symbols, and other cultural institutions. And an analysis of ethnocentrism offers valuable insights into why conflict arises and how it may be prevented. Among the topics covered:

• The role of schools in inter-ethnic peacemaking.
• Transforming violent masculinities in Serbia and beyond.
• Ten years after the war: internalizing and externalizing symptoms in Bosnian young adults.
• Risk and resilience among refugees in Serbia.
• Overcoming ethnic hatred: peacebuilding and violence prevention in divided societies.

• Coming to terms with the past: collective moral responsibility and reconciliation. The chapters of Peace Psychology in the Balkans provide profound lessons for peacebuilding across nations and settings, contributing to the book's value for researchers and students in peace and conflict studies, cultural psychology, and political science.

  Zusammenfassung
  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.

  Inhalt

  CONTENTS 1. Localizing Transitional Justice: Civil Society Initiatives and Practices in the Balkans Olivera Simic and Zala Volcic PART I. Initiatives within the nation states 2. Civil Society and Post-Communist Transitional Justice in Romania Lavinia Stan 3. Dealing with the past in post-war Croatia: perceptions, problems and prospects Tamara Banjeglav 4. The failure of Macedonian post-communist transitional justice: lustration, between cleansing and parody Despina Angelovska 5. Transitional and transnational justice in Bosnia-Herzegovina: analyzing civil society organizations discourses Eunice Castro Seixas 6. The 'Transitional Citizen': Civil Society, Political Agency and Hopes for Transitional Justice in Bosnia-Herzegovina Briony Jones, Alex Jeffrey and Michaelina Jakala 7. Failure of Transitional Justice in Albania: Too Much Politics, Too Little Debate Arolda Elbasani 8. Truth and the Shadow of Justice Jamie Rowen PART II. Transnational civil society practices 9. Structured Encounters in Post-Conflict/Post-Yugoslav Days: Visiting Belgrade and Prishtina Orli Fridman 10. What About the Women? Transitional Justice and Gender in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Northern Ireland Hedley Abernethy and Michael Potter 11. 'Pillar of Shame': Civil Society, UN accountability and Genocide in Srebrenica Olivera Simic 12. Afraid To Cry Wolf: Human Rights Activists' Conundrum to Define Narratives of Justice and Truth in Collective Accountability Efforts Arnaud Kurze and Iva Vukusic 13. From International Courts to Grassroots Organizing: Obstacles to Transitional Justice in the Balkans Jill Irvine and Patrice McMahon