Politics of Welfare Reforms: Lessons from Introduction of Family Group Conferences in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Politics of Welfare Reforms: Lessons from Introduction of Family Group Conferences in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Summary/Abstract: Since the early 1990s, a variety of international stakeholders have labeled Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) both as a ‘country in transition’ (from socialism) and a ‘post-conflict developing country’ (due to the 1992-1995 war). Both labels initiated a set of externally led welfare reforms in this South-East European country. The author examines the politics of different reform stakeholders and the impact they have on the overall social welfare and social work practice at the grassroots level. The case study elaborated upon in this text concerns a project which aimed to introduce Family Group Conferencing (FGC) to social/community work practice in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was a project conceived and run by a group of community workers and lecturers associated with the Professional University of Social Work, Amsterdam, with support from the OSCE Mission to BiH, and in collaboration with the Centres for Social Work in Sarajevo and Banja Luka. Examination of the case study in question points to the central role politics between different stakeholders (international agencies, public institutions, non-governmental organisations, grassroots practitioners and service users) play in preventing wider reforms.

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