After ethnic civil war: Ethnonationalism in the Western Balkans

The study examines whether ethnic civil war increases ethnonationalism and if direct exposure to violence strengthens these attitudes. Using data from 1989 and 2003, the author finds that while ethnonationalism increased significantly in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, it remained stable in Kosovo and Macedonia. Individual war exposure only significantly increased ethnonationalism in Croatia, suggesting that the relationship between conflict and nationalism is context-dependent rather than deterministic.

• Ethnonationalism did not universally increase following ethnic civil war; while it rose significantly in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, it showed no change in Kosovo and Macedonia.
• In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the increase in ethnonationalism was particularly pronounced, with the country shifting from having very low prewar levels to being quite nationalist.
• Kosovo exhibited high levels of ethnonationalism both before and after the conflict, which the author suggests may be due to a 'ceiling effect' where attitudes were already so polarized by 1989 that they could not increase further.
• Direct individual exposure to war-related violence (defined as having a close friend or family member killed or disappeared) only had a statistically significant positive effect on ethnonationalism in Croatia.
• In Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, there was no significant difference in ethnonationalist attitudes between individuals who were directly exposed to violence and those who were not.
• The author hypothesizes that the lack of individual-level variance in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo may be because the violence was so widespread and indiscriminate that the entire population experienced fear and insecurity, regardless of direct personal loss.
• Ethnonationalism increased even in countries that did not experience civil war on their own territory, such as Montenegro, Serbia, and Vojvodina, suggesting a spatial contagion or 'neighborhood effect'.
• Religiosity was found to be a statistically significant determinant of ethnonationalist attitudes, with more religious individuals reporting stronger nationalist views.

APA

DYRSTAD, K. (n.d.). After ethnic civil war: Ethnonationalism in the Western Balkans. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/af4f3482-b0dc-47b3-aef4-71744dc797ce/After ethnic civil war Ethno-nationalism in the Western Balkans.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

DYRSTAD, KARIN. After ethnic civil war: Ethnonationalism in the Western Balkans. Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/af4f3482-b0dc-47b3-aef4-71744dc797ce/After ethnic civil war Ethno-nationalism in the Western Balkans.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=DYRSTAD |first1=KARIN |title=After ethnic civil war: Ethnonationalism in the Western Balkans |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/af4f3482-b0dc-47b3-aef4-71744dc797ce/After ethnic civil war Ethno-nationalism in the Western Balkans.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dyrstadndafter, author = {DYRSTAD, KARIN}, title = {{After ethnic civil war: Ethnonationalism in the Western Balkans}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/af4f3482-b0dc-47b3-aef4-71744dc797ce/After ethnic civil war Ethno-nationalism in the Western Balkans.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }