Diaspora, deliberation and democracy: examining externally-sponsored initiatives for the development of local fora in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Many democratic countries around the globe guarantee some type of representation for various groups of recognized minorities and to various extents. Those governments enable and/or incentivize their deliberative performances through various participatory democratic instruments, either within the official institutions, or in online platforms, or by partaking in different governance and budgeting processes. Diaspora communities, though do not share most of the characteristics commonly attributed to ‘minorities’, could be theoretically considered as an ‘ex-territorialized minority’ in terms of access to decision-making processes and overall democratic participation. However, diaspora groups functionally appear to be often marginalized in democratic deliberation in the countries of their origin, and only a handful of countries have put in place official policies that address this matter. In this article, we aim to analyse how foreign governments and their aid agencies operating in BiH have contributed to the development of diaspora-friendly democratic deliberation fora for enhanced (handson) practices of localized Bosnian diaspora's engagement in their country of origin. We analyse and compare six selected local communities (municipalities and cities) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, examine the externally-driven municipal institutional restructuring and explore what motivates locals to adopt and accept diaspora as a component of their own local deliberation frameworks.

Keywords:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• diaspora
• democracy
• deliberation
• local communities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 We sent a request for access to information of public interest to 32 local diaspora coordinators throughout all administrative parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina – i.e. both her entities (20 from the FBiH and 11 from the RS entity) and the Brčko District, asking them to answer 15 open-ended survey questions focusing on the ongoing cooperation and communication with, as well as participation of diaspora originating from these local communities in local and higher policy deliberations and development-focused efforts. A total of 12 municipalities (37.5%) replied. Only six of the local communities that replied participated as beneficiaries in the SDC Diaspora for Development project 2015–2020: other eight municipalities which participated in the SDC project have not responded to the survey.

2 Koinova and Tsourapas (2018) hold that diaspora voters are important for democracies that have emerged from conflict, such as Croatia and Kosovo.

3 Through its Diaspora Invest project, launched in April 2017, the USAID helps structure, stimulate and support investment by BiH diaspora to contribute to the country’s socio-economic development. USAID’s implementing partner for this 5-year $6.6 million project is Financial Markets International.

4 The USAID’s ‘Harnessing Diaspora for Economic Development’ and Swiss Development Council (SDC) ‘Diaspora for Development’ programs are each worth approximately 5 million USD, to be spent over multiple years and several project stages. USAID’s project is implemented in cooperation with local NGOs in BiH, while the SDC’s project is implemented by the UNDP’s and IOM’s offices BiH, in collaboration with the BiH state-level Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees.

5 This includes representatives of the Presidency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, Agency for Work and Employment, Agency for Statistics, Foreign Investment Promotion Agency, Directorate for Economic Planning, Central Bank, Foreign Trade Chamber at the state level, as well as representatives of entity governments and Brčko District. In addition to the relevant state institutions, each of the entities will designate three representatives and Brčko District – one representative to be part of the Working Group.

6 The project mapped the Bosnian diaspora in ten countries: Austria, Switzerland, Germany, the United States of America, Australia, Croatia, Serbia, Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands. For more information about the report and the main findings, please see http://www.mhrr.gov.ba/Saopcenja/default.aspx?id=8321&langTag=bs-BA

7 Policy on cooperation with BH diaspora adopted by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (all investigated municipalities); memorandum on cooperation in diaspora related affairs between the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina and cities-municipalities (Jajce, Maglaj, Ključ); strategy on migrations and asylum between the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina and cities-municipalities (Laktaši, Žepče); entity-level strategic plans on cooperation with diaspora (Prijedor); City-municipal action plans on cooperation with diaspora (Maglaj); City-municipal development strategies (Posušje, Maglaj, Žepče); City-municipal statutes (Posušje, Maglaj, Ključ).

Additional information

Funding

This article is based upon work from COST Action “Constitution-making and deliberative democracy” (CA17135), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).

Notes on contributors

Jasmin Hasić

Jasmin Hasić works as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, and serves as the Executive Director of Humanity in Action Bosnia and Herzegovina. His research interests include foreign policy, diaspora studies, peacebuilding, and demographic changes associated with post-conflict migration. He is the co-editor of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Policy Since Independence (Palgrave 2019).

Aiša Telalović

Aiša Telalović works as a program manager at Journalism Development Network. She previously worked at the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNHCR, British Council and various other international organisations. Her research interests include human rights, anti-corruption policies, and administrative law.