The Archive of Serbs in Croatia and „Tragovi“ („Footprints“), the journal for Serbian and Croatian Issues, in partnership with the Institute for Social Sciences from Belgrade are organizing an international academic conference: „The 1990s: Serbs and Croats in Regional and Global Context“. The conference will take place in Zagreb, 24-25 November 2023. We call for papers to be presented at the Conference within the scope of broadly defined topics (below) by following schedule:
• 1 June 2023: Abstracts/Titles submission deadline
• 15 June 2023: Announcement of the Accepted Abstracts
• 1 September 2023: Announcement of the Conference Programme
• 24-25 November 2023: Conference Dates
• 15 January 2024: Revised Full Paper (publication-ready) submission deadline
Aims and Objectives:
The 1990s was a decade of war(s) in post-Yugoslav states. The events and processes that took place then have major effect on political, social, economic and security landscape of the coutries affected – even 30 years since. In addition, wars have had major impact on identity-related issues, both at personal and group level. This was a decade in which first peace was replaced by war, and then there was a long transition from war to peace. Some of these processes seem to be still unfinished. The wars of the 1990s still affect bilateral relations between countries involved, as well as the dynamics of internal (domestic) politics. This is particularly the case in relations between Serbs and Croats, but also Serbs and Albanians, Croats and Bosniaks and Serbs and Bosniaks. The cases deliberated at the ICTY (the Hague Tribunal) have been used to present new documents and sources that are useful for academic debates on the 1990s. The opening of archival material to researchers should further encourage new research on the 1990. Within thie context, the Conference aims at:
• Presenting the state of discipline when it comes to research on the 1990s in the context of Serb-Croat relationships then and now;
• Identifying topics that remain under-researched in order to encourage further research;
• Presenting new evidence and new interpretations of the events and processes related to the 1990s.
Topics:
We are particularly interested in the following topics:
• Political and economic aspects of transition and their failure in Yugoslavia before its break-up;
• Potential alternatives to war in Yugoslavia and post-Yugoslav states: anti-war organizations, civil society, anti-nationalism, critical intelligentsia etc.;
• War objectives and intentions of all sides involved;
• All aspects by which the war affected internal processes in the countries involved, as well as their bilateral relations (political, economic, production of images, etc.);
• Violence against members of ethnic minorities, political opponents and Yugoslavs in the 1990s;
• War and reconstruction of national identites in countries involved;
• The role of international actors in the 1990s;
• Possible lessons that we can learn from the 1990s – and possibly use in a contemporary context of the war in Ukraine and elsewhere.
The languages of the Conference will be Croatian/Serbian and English.
Application letter for the Conference should identify the title and present a short (up to 300 word) Abstract. Please send it at: conferences@snv.hr by 1 June 2023. Limited funds are available to support participation (travel expenses and accommodation) for those whose abstracts will be accepted.