Book Review: Hronesova, J. (2012). Everyday Ethno-National Identities of Young People in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Berlin, Germany: Peter Lang Verlag.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71405/ensamblajes/2026/v3.1.50Keywords:
Identidad etnonacional, Juventud, Bosnia y Herzegovina de posguerra, Etnicidad cotidiana, Fronteras sociales, Etnografía, Relaciones interétnicas, Sociedades postconflicto, Ethno-national identity, Youth, Post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina, Everyday ethnicity, Social boundaries, Ethnography, Interethnic relations, Post-conflict societiesAbstract
This article examines Everyday Ethno-National Identities of Young People in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2012) by Jessie Barton Hroneovov, focusing on how ethno-national principles shape everyday social relations in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. Combining macro-level political analysis based on secondary literature and statistics with micro-level ethnographic fieldwork, Hroneovov explores how spatial segregation, ethnically “cleansed” environments, and limited exposure to pre-war supranational socialist ideals influence young people’s understandings of identity and alterity. The book is structured around three analytical layers: a theoretical and historical framework of identity, the intersubjective use of everyday ethnic markers such as names, language, and religion, and the external reinforcement of boundaries through political territorialization. Challenging constructivist approaches, Hroneovov argues that ethno-national boundaries persist largely due to the absence of interethnic contact. Through qualitative methods, the study foregrounds the voices of marginalized youth and highlights the emotional and cognitive weight of inherited ethno-national identities in post-conflict societies.
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Copyright (c) 2026 María Zoila Tapia González (Autor/a)
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