About project

The focal point of GATED project is segregated education in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in particular the phenomenon of ‘two schools under one roof’ that currently operates in the country. ‘Two schools under one roof’ (TSUOR) describes a policy of ethnic segregation which was introduced by the Dayton Agreement to schools in Bosnia. The specific aim of the project is to investigate if two decades of segregated education in Bosnia has had a negative impact on Bosnian society by creating fertile ground for more ethnic conflicts in the future.

Current post-conflict Bosnia is a divided society. Territorially it is divided between the Federation containing a mostly Muslim and Croat population and Republika Srpska inhabited by the Serb population. The research conducted over the past decade, by both international and domestic scholars, shows huge divisions along ethnic lines in all social spheres in Bosnia and a significant level of mistrust, alienation and ghettoization between ethnic populations in the country. Segregated education in this divided society is an urgent issue. Local media and local academics  have been highlighting the problem of segregated education for some time. The European Commission’s 2014 Progress Report for Bosnia and Herzegovina sees the TSUOR phenomenon as de facto ethnic-based segregation and discrimination under European law. The report highlights the need to address the continuing existence of the TSUOR. Despite these warnings TSUOR and segregated education in Bosnia remain neglected issues. Contemporary implications for European security related to this segregation have not been addressed and the potential threat of conflict remains under-analysed. By drawing on the knowledge from sociology, peace studies, international relations, political science and social anthropology, and by utilising expertise from both sides of the Atlantic, the central objective of GATED project is to address this neglected potential security threat.

Security in relation to Bosnia and Herzegovina is a very timely and relevant issue. The conflict that happened in Bosnia was the bloodiest conflict in modern European history and the first case of genocide in Europe since the Second World War. The conflict produced an estimated 100 000 casualties of which around 38 000 were civilians and atrocities perpetrated were on such a scale that the term ‘ethnic cleansing’ was coined in relation to the violent actions committed. In addition, 3 million people were displaced worldwide. December 2015 marked 20 years since the conflict ended, by the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement. During the past twenty years the EU has been involved in Bosnia and Herzegovina on a continual basis. While its role changed from a peace building one, in the initial stages of the conflict recovery, to a more long-term peacekeeping one in the last decade, the EU is still present in the country. In October 2014 it renewed its mandate in order to support Bosnia as it progresses towards joining the EU. In 2010 Bosnia ratified the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) expressing its wish to join the European Union and in 2015 the Agreement entered into force. Bosnia formally applied for EU membership in 2016 and currently remains a potential candidate country.