Hromadzic publishes Citizens of an Empty Nation
Azra Hromadzic,
assistant professor of anthropology, has published a new book, Citizens of an Empty Nation: Youth and
State-Making in Postwar Bosnia-Herzegovina (University of Pennsylvania
Press), an ethnography that investigates the internationally
directed postwar intervention policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the
response of local people, especially youth, to these policy efforts.
In the
book, Hromadzic examines the polarizing effects of everyday ethnic divisions caused
by the devastating Bosnia-Herzegovina conflicts. Strong allegiances to ethnic
nationalism and rigid arrangements imposed by international peace-building
agreements have produced what Hromadzic calls an “empty nation.” The book offers a ground-level view of the re-unification
process as it plays out among the Bosnia-Herzegovina youths at the Mostar
Gymnasium.
Paul Stubbs from the Institute of Economics in Zagreb
says of the book: "In this rich,
reflexive, and carefully crafted ethnography of youth in a Bosnian high school
existing in the space between between reunification and segregation, Azra
Hromadzic captures the lived realities of her subjects' everyday lives in the
context of ethnicized nationalisms and international peace-building. The book is a passionate plea to look beyond
the certainties of fixed categories and explore the possibilities of restoring,
however fleetingly, a discourse and practice of hope for a better future."
Hromadzic’s areas of expertise include political
anthropology; ethno-political violence and post-conflict reconciliation;
socialism and post-socialism; gender; youth cultural practices; social policy
and welfare; and the Balkans. She has
won dozens of research grants and awards and published numerous articles, book
chapters, and book reviews. 06/04/15