Jasmin Hasic
GEM Alumni
Host Institutions
Research Abstract
Involvement of Diasporas in Peacebuilding Processes: A Comparative Analysis of Local Elite Perceptions of Bosnian Diaspora’s Incorporation in Ownership Frameworks
Academic research on peacebuilding, without the keywords ‘local’ or ‘ownership’, has become almost unthinkable nowadays. This thesis aims to contribute to current debates by offering insight into discursive and practical meanings of local elites’ strategies to actively seek and utilize diaspora’s capacity to help their own position in the peacebuilding ownership configuration. It focuses on examination of the local ‘elite self-empowerment’ through power-sharing arrangements with diaspora that can further offer a deeper understanding of how local ownership of peacebuilding is articulated and operationalized in a post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This is a case-oriented comparative study, which combines the use comparative methods and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) analysis tools. Ideal-type and fsQCA are used for creating empirical typologies, as well as a systematic analysis of selected conditions across investigated mono- and multiethnic sets of cases. Comparative methods are used for their further juxtaposition and finding similarities between individual cases belonging to the same group, and identifying overall differences between groups.
The thesis demonstrates that overwhelming success of the Bosnian diaspora in the economic sphere can be an excellent indicator of their overall capacity to contribute to other areas of post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. Elite-driven inclusion of conflict-generated diaspora, as an agent of peacebuilding, contributes to more successful dynamics and management of the process, which as a result can advance local elites’ share in ‘owning’ the process. There are several types of diaspora incorporation strategies in local peacebuilding frameworks, which are shaped and embedded in the local contexts; variations amongst them depend on factors that are not ethnically-based but rather rationalist in their conception; incorporation of diaspora is perceived as a viable alternative to externally-led peacebuilding, and has the potential of overcoming the post-conflict democratic transformation fatigue that currently exists in the country.
Even though a core building-block of any study of diaspora is the diasporic community itself, this study is not focused on examining their actions or patterns of behavior. This thesis is about exploring and testing alliance-building strategies of local elites towards diaspora communities, which is a craft that has yet to be mastered. Currently, diasporas are considered as ‘resources’ or ‘tools’ for their countries of origin, not as genuine partners. This work shows that homeland local governments, need to avoid making assumptions of an inherent diasporic ‘obligation to help’, especially in post-conflict reconstruction, and must work instead on developing local strategies of diaspora incorporation in order to profit from their involvement and enhance their own local peacebuilding capacities.
There exists a growing interest in inspecting the roles of diaspora groups in the countries and regions of their origins, yet scholarly work on Bosnian diaspora’s political involvement in BiH is extremely limited. This study focuses on elites’ perceptions of diaspora’s role as an agent; it examines types of specific positioning locals have towards their potential engagement, and how it all impacts dynamics of the entire peacebuilding process. Exploring different venues for co-option of Bosnian diaspora on a local level opens up and attracts new theoretical meanings to local ownership in peacebuilding processes. Research findings indicate that developing transnational management policies to attract diaspora’s engagement, through sharing decision-making powers on a local level, can contribute to compensating for shortcomings that locals have been unable to overcome in the past to advance their ownership position in the peacebuilding process.
Jasmin holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Universite libre de Bruxelles and LUISS Guido Carli of Rome. His research interests revolve around diaspora studies and demographic changes associated with post-conflict migration, along with peacebuilding and transitional justice in multicultural societies. As a part of this Ph.D. research, he conducted fieldwork in 25 local communities in BiH. His work has been generously supported by the EU Commission, Open Society Foundations, and ULB’s CCCI.
He works as an Associate Professor of International Relations at Sarajevo School of Science and Technology. He also serves as the Executive Director of Humanity in Action BiH, an international non-profit focused on minority and human rights. He has worked as a Research Analyst at the Center for Security Studies in Sarajevo and as a legal associate at the Crime Suppression and Re-Socialization Initiative focusing on evaluating the efficacy of the Bosnian penal system reform. He has completed professional traineeships at the European Parliament and the Bosnian Embassy in Brussels.
Jasmin holds an LL.B., and an LL.M. (Hon) from the University of Sarajevo. He completed his undergraduate education at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, majoring in International Relations and European studies, and holds an M.A. degree in Political Science from Central European University.
A native of Sarajevo, Jasmin is fluent in English, Czech, Slovene, and Polish. He participated in several intensive international leadership programs in the US, the UK, France, and Germany. He is an alumnus of the British-Bosnian Fellowship in London and the Diplomacy and Diversity Fellowship in Washington, DC and Paris, and UNAOC Fellowship in NYC.
For further inquiries please contact him directly.
Selected Publications in English
Hasić J. (2022): A Relay Race for Peace: The Approaches of the EU and the US to Bringing Stability and Democracy to the Western Balkans Region, in Džuverović N. and Stojarová V. (eds.) Peace and Security in the Western Balkans: A Local Perspective, Routledge.
Redwood H., Fairey T. and Hasić J. (2022): Hybrid peacebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Participatory Arts and Youth Activism as Vehicles of Social Change. Journal of Peacebuilding and Development.
Hasić J. and Telalović A. (2021): Diaspora, deliberation and democracy: examining externally-sponsored initiatives for the development of local fora in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research.
Hasić J. (2021): Health Care System in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Immergut E., Anderson, K., Devitt C., and Popic T. (eds.) Health Politics in Europe: A Handbook, Oxford University Press.
Hasić J. (2021): ‘Boolean algebra’, in Morin J. F., Olsson C., and Atikcan E. O. (eds.): Research Methods in the Social Sciences: A A-Z of Key Concepts, Oxford University Press.
Hasić J., Džananović N., Ramić Mesihović L. (2021): Coded Contestations of EU Norms in the Western Balkans: Examining the Country-Specific Norm Domestication Models. Global Affairs Journal.
Hasić J. and Yesilyurt Z. (2020): Milorad Dodik's Attitudes and Perceptions Towards the ICTY: Operational Code Analysis, Croatian Political Science Review, vol. 57. n. 4.
Hasić J. (2020): Diaspora-management policies of modern ‘city-states’: strategies and practices of engaging Overseas Chinese by Shanghai Municipal Government, Political Research Exchange, Volume 2, Issue 1.
Hasić J., Karabegović Dž., and Turković B. (2020): Locally-embedded Civil Society Organizations and Public Diplomacy: The Advocacy Roles of the “Mothers of Srebrenica” in Promoting a Culture of Remembrance, Journal of Studies of Transition States and Societies.
Hasić J. and Vit M. (2020): EU’s Pseudo Conditionality Discourse as a Tool for Managing Migration Crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Discussion Paper, Heinrich Böll Stiftung BIH.
Hasić J. and Karabegović Dž. (2020): Diaspora as Digital Diplomatic Agents:‘BOSNET’ and Wartime Foreign Affairs, Migration Letters (17-1).
Hasić J. (2020): ‘Deviating’ Party Leadership Strategies in Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Comparison of Milorad Dodik and Dragan Čović in Gherghina S. (ed): Party Leaders in Eastern Europe – Personality, Behavior, and Consequences, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing.
Hasić J. and Karabegović Dž. (eds). (2019): Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Foreign Policy Since Independence, Palgrave Macmillan Publishing.
Hasić J. and Dedić D. (2019): Chasing the Candidacy Status: Tacit Contestations of EU Norms in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Vučković V. and Đorđević V. (eds.) Balkanizing Europeanization: Fight against Corruption and Regional Relations in the Western Balkans, Peter Lang Publishing.
Hasić J. (2018): Post-conflict Cooperation in Multiethnic Local Communities of Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Diaspora’s Roles, Journal of Peacebuilding & Development.
Hasić J. and Karabegović Dž. (2018): Elite Responses to Contentious Politics on the Subnational Level: The 2014 Bosnian Protests, Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.
Hasić J. and Sijamija M. (2018): Stable and state subsidized party membership in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Gherghina S., Ionascu A., and Soare S. (eds.): Party Members and their Importance in non-EU Countries: A Comparative Analysis, Routledge.
Micinski N. and Hasić J. (2017): Dual Citizenship and Youth Identity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Pavasović Trošt T. and Mandić M. (eds.) Changing Youth Values in Southeast Europe: Beyond Ethnicity, Routledge.
Kulenović N. and Hasić J. (2017): The Influences of Dayton Agreement on Institutions: Legislatures in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Benedizione L. and Scotti V. (eds.), Twenty Years After Dayton: The Constitutional Transition of Bosnia and Herzegovina, LUISS University Press, Rome.
Hasić J. (2015): The Scope and Limits of Employing Militant Democracy in Fighting Religious Extremism, Sarajevo Social Science Review (SSSR), Sarajevo.
Hasić J. (2013): Cazinska Krajina: ‘Politics of Scilence’ as a Component of the Local Politics of Memory, Democracy and Security in Southeastern Europe, n. 12/13, Sarajevo.
Selected Publications in Bosnian
Hasić J. and Mirković M. (2019): Utvrđivanje granica na moru u međunarodnom pravu: osvrt na slučajeve i praksu Međunarodnog suda pravde, Legal Thought/Pravna Misao.
Hasić J., Memišević E., and Karčić H. (eds). (2017): Legal and Historical Analysis of the Holocaust in the Visegrad (V4) Countries: A Reader, Faculty of Law, University of Sarajevo.
Hasić J. (2017): Sistem prevencije maloljetničkog prestupništva i krivično-pravnih mjera za maloljetne izvršioce krivičnih djela u Českoj Republici, Pravna misao, Federalno ministarstvo pravde - Legal Thought 2-4/17, Federal Ministry of Justice, Sarajevo.
Hasić J. and Mušić M. (2016): Pravosudni aktivizam u praksi Evropskog suda pravde i uticaj na suverenitet država članica EU, Pravna misao, Federalno ministarstvo pravde - Legal Thought 1-2/16, Federal Ministry of Justice, Sarajevo.
Hasić J. (2015): Konsocijacija u političkom sistemu Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine: Testiranje teoretskog modela konsenzualne demokracije Arenda Lijpharta u praksi, Pravna misao, Federalno ministarstvo pravde - Legal Thought 1-2/15, Federal Ministry of Justice, Sarajevo.
Hasić J. (2014): Lustracija kao okosnica demokratske transformacije društva i tranzicijske pravde u Češkoj republici, Nova pravna revija, year 5, vol. 9, Sarajevo.
Hasić J. (2014): Lustracija i konsolidacija demokracije u zemljama Srednje Evrope u kontekstu kršenja temeljnih prava i sloboda građana, Pravna misao, Federalno ministarstvo pravde - Legal Thought 1-2/14, Federal Ministry of Justice, Sarajevo.
Hasić J. (2013): Privatizacija zdravstvenog sistema u Bosni i Hercegovini – mogućnosti i pravci potencijalnih reformskih procesa u Federaciji Bosne i Hercegovine i Republici Srpskoj, Das Kompetenzzentrum für Öffentliches Recht (KÖR) - Foundation Public Law Centre, Sarajevo
