Counter Radicalization Strategies – Conclusions from Bosnia and Herzegovina

This paper will contain conclusions on effective counter radicalization strategies utilized in Bosnia. It is a qualitative critical comparative study drawing data from expert interviews undertaken during PhD field research in the Western Balkans. The Western Balkans, with an emphasis on Bosnia, has been labelled as a region rife with Islamic radicalization since 9/11 and primed for further Salafi Takfiri proliferation within the local population. Bosnian born foreign fighter have travelled to the Levant to partake in the Syrian conflict supporting a variety of groups, including ISIS. According to the radicalization theories often applied to European case studies, the Bosniak population would be expected to accept and proliferate Salafism due to their history as victims of ethnic violence and trauma, poverty and socio-economic challenges, their dramatic unpreparedness to counter the presence of foreign mujahideen promoting the ideology domestically, etc. However, as of 2016, the flow of Bosnian foreign fighters has nearly completely halted as has the presence of radicals willing to break the threshold of violence. How is this possible and is there an exportable model of counter radicalisation? This paper posits that, outside of the appearance for foreign funding to combat the global threat of ISIS around 2015, the three-pronged institutionalized approach implemented in Bosnia has provided an effective multifaceted model for counter radicalization policy. It involves the interconnected relationship between the societal value of traditional folk culture; the recognition of the Bosnian Government of the integral role of the Islamic community and the adoption of new legal code; and the formal Bosnian Islamic Community and its autonomy, their control over the interpretation of Islam, and continued strong stance completely rejecting Jihadi Takfiri Salafi ideology as antithetical to Bosnian Islam.