Fractured Land, Healing Nations: A Contextual Analysis of the Role of Religious Faith Sodalities Towards Peace-Building in Bosnia-Herzegovina

More than a decade after the signing of the Dayton Accord, which was intended to end the violence and rebuild civil society, Bosnia-Herzegovina languishes under a cloud of many unresolved post-war issues. Fractured Land, Healing Nations makes a compelling case that although religion has been instrumentalised to promote the cause of war, it also can be a positive force for building peace. Religion thus has the capacity to complement the structural and materialist approach to peace-building by addressing the pressing inter-personal needs of a traumatized society. The author presents primary research data to demonstrate the role of religio-national myths in nation-building, and examines why and how the supra-national character of religion contributes to social restoration through locally-generated initiatives of religious faith sodalities. He successfully brings together the disciplines of religious studies, sociology and political science to bear upon the difficult issues facing peace-builders. This in depth study focused specifically on Bosnia-Herzegovina has important implications for those engaged in conflict resolution and peace-building in many other global hot spots where ethno-religious identity and nationalism unite to perpetuate the cycle of violence.