Caught in the past? A study of the role of the war veterans in the Croatian reconciliation process 1995-2015

Abstract

It is now more than 20 years since the 1990s war in Croatia ended, yet there is still hostility between the country’s Croat population and the Serb minority. This study takes a closer look at the reconciliation process in the country, asking which role the war veterans have played in Croatia’s efforts in dealing with its past. The ambition is to establish an overview of one group’s view on the veterans’ role in the period 1995-2015. The thesis offers an assessment from the side of representatives of Croatian civil society organizations, which in the post-war period have been important actors in promoting the reconciliation process. The findings show that the veterans have played a wide range of roles, from actively contributing to peacebuilding projects to halting the reconciliation process by preventing and obstructing the work of civil society. The majority of the veterans have been unengaged in the process, but it is assessed that the largest impact has been negative and made by those veterans opposing reconciliation. The analysis shows that the formation and maintenance of a strong veteran identity, through processes on the individual, group and societal level, as well as their role in the Croatian war narrative, are important elements explaining the veterans’ opposition to and halting of the reconciliation process.