Should I stay or should I go? Case study of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Author
Puljic, Davor
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2021
Submitted on
2021-05-27
Pages
57
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan den bosniske diaspora påvirker husholdninger i Bosnien og Hercegovina gennem finansielle og sociale remitter. Med udgangspunkt i Hein de Haas’ migration–udviklingsnexus og en forståelse af migration som en transnational livsstrategi formuleres forskningsspørgsmålet: Hvordan modtager og anvender bosniske husholdninger remitter; hvilke sociale og økonomiske praksisser omgiver dem, og hvad fortæller det om befolkningens syn på staten og landets fremtidige udvikling? Studiet bygger på seks dybdegående kvalitative interviews suppleret af feltobservationer. Analysen belyser dels de vigtigste grunde til, at mennesker forlader Bosnien, og dels hvordan finansielle remitter typisk bruges til hverdagsforbrug, der gør det muligt at opretholde et “normalt” liv. Desuden viser specialet, at sociale remitter – idéer, normer og erfaringer udvekslet på tværs af grænser – væsentligt påvirker beslutningen om at emigrere. I lyset af svage og dysfunktionelle institutioner, udbredt korruption og nationalistiske skillelinjer i det offentlige liv konkluderes det, at betydelige forbedringer er vanskelige at forvente på kort sigt, hvilket med stor sandsynlighed vil fortsætte med at øge udvandringen.
This thesis examines how the Bosnian diaspora affects households in Bosnia and Herzegovina through financial and social remittances. Framed by Hein de Haas’s migration–development nexus and a view of migration as a transnational livelihood strategy, it asks: How do Bosnian households receive and use remittances; what social and economic practices surround them; and what does this reveal about people’s attitudes toward the state and the country’s future development? The study draws on six in-depth qualitative interviews complemented by field observations. The analysis identifies key reasons people leave and shows that financial remittances are primarily spent on everyday consumption, enabling households to maintain “normal” lives. It also finds that social remittances—ideas, norms, and experiences exchanged across borders—substantially influence decisions to emigrate. Given dysfunctional institutions, pervasive corruption, and nationalism across public life, the thesis concludes that significant positive change is unlikely in the near term, which will likely further intensify emigration.
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