“All I Want is to Leave, but When I Do, I Never Truly Leave”: Queering Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

J Homosex. 2025 May 8:1-24. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2025.2500990. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Peace accords do not necessarily bring about sustainable peace if continued dialogues are not maintained in post-peace accord societies. Certain communities still face more obstacles in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia throughout), and some volatile circumstances bring uncertainties for people, even after accords, such as the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), are signed. Although many studies have investigated reconciliation and prevailing interethnic violence among ethnic groups, addressing reconciliation within the context of queer individuals remains a significant research gap. In particular, the concept of “queering reconciliation” has been insufficiently investigated. Thus, a crucial dimension of post-conflict healing for sexual and gender identities has been largely unexamined in the literature. As proposed in this article, Bosnia cannot achieve sustainable reconciliation without a deep commitment to social justice, mostly because this highlights the need to identify and resolve the underlying issues faced by Bosnia’s LGBTQIA+/queer people. By highlighting perceptions of reconciliation, justice, and peacebuilding in post-peace accord Bosnia among 43 LGBTQIA+ individuals, this article sheds light on how the current political sphere forces many young individuals to make life-altering decisions, including permanently leaving their home country behind. Thus, the article offers an in-depth analysis of the phenomenon-commonly referred to as the “gay drain”-with the goal of uncovering not just its implications and complexities but also its links with broader cultural and socioeconomic paradigms. In particular, this work focuses on reconciliation and coexistence so that queer and other Bosniak/Serbian/Croatian citizens can harmoniously live in shared spaces within post-peace accord Bosnia.

PMID:40337998 | DOI:10.1080/00918369.2025.2500990