Denying Genocide, Undermining Peace: Serbia, Russia, and the Assault on Bosnia and Herzegovina
Denying Genocide, Undermining Peace: Serbia, Russia, and the Assault on Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author(s): Edina Bećirević
Subject(s): Historical revisionism, Politics of History/Memory, Politics and Identity, Peace and Conflict Studies, Wars in Jugoslavia
Published by: Institut za istraživanje zločina protiv čovječnosti i međunarodnog prava Univerziteta u Sarajevu
Keywords: genocide denial; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Serbia; Republika Srpska; Russia; secessionism; historical revisionism;
Summary/Abstract: This paper analyzes the coordinated roles of Serbia, the regime of Milorad Dodik in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska entity, and Russia in destabilizing Bosnia and Herzegovina through the promotion of genocide denial and support for secessionist ambitions. It argues that denial of the genocide committed against Bosniaks is not merely a revisionist narrative, but part of a broader political strategy aimed at undermining the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and delegitimizing Bosniak national identity. Drawing parallels with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and its denial of Ukrainian statehood and nationhood, the paper situates the political alignment among Serbia, the Dodik regime in Republika Srpska, and Russia within a broader global pattern in which authoritarian states use historical denialism as a geopolitical instrument. Through an analysis of political discourse, international alignments, and diplomatic obstruction, the paper demonstrates how this alignment normalizes historical revisionism, emboldens secessionist rhetoric, and threatens the long-term stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region.

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