Babies, Parks, and Citizen Dissatisfaction Social Protests in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey and their Long-term Effects

Year 2014, , 55 - 63, 31.01.2014

Soeren Keil Trish Moore

https://doi.org/10.20991/allazimuth.167321

Cited By: 2

Abstract

Babies, Parks, and Citizen Dissatisfaction Social Protests in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey and their Long-term Effects

Abstract

2013 was a year of social unrest in the regions of the Mediterranean and southeastern Europe. From Bulgaria to Slovenia, and from Egypt to Syria, there were new waves of citizen unrest, violent clashes, and civil-war-like escalations. This paper looks at the social protests in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey. The protests in the two countries started because of concrete examples of public mismanagement: In the case of Bosnia because of the failure to pass a new law on identity numbers, which resulted in the inability of a baby to receive medical support abroad, and in the case of Turkey because of the decision to replace Gezi Park with a new shopping centre in Istanbul. However, both protests are also symbolic of deeper sentiments of citizen dissatisfaction. What started out as protests to save a park in Turkey, and change the law on identity numbers in Bosnia, became a wider movement to demand substantial reforms and changes to the current style of politics in both countries. This paper will look at the long-term effects of these protests. While in the short-term they have resulted in relatively few changes, it will be demonstrated that there might be long-term effects that will significantly impact the social contract in Bosnia and Turkey.  

Keywords

Bosnia, Turkey, citizen dissatisfaction, social protest

References

• “Anti-Government Protester Dies in Turkey.” AP News, September 10, 2013. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/anti- government-protester-dies-turkey.
• “Bosnia Protests over Legal Void over Newborn Documents.” Global Post, June 10, 2013. http://www.globalpost. com/dispatch/news/afp/130610/bosnia-protests-legal-void-over-newborn-documents.
• “Egypt Expels Turkish Ambassador.” BBC News, November 23, 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle- east-25066115.
• “Erdogan’s Democracy Package Gets Cool Reception.” Al Monitor, September 30, 2013. http://www.al-monitor. com/pulse/originals/2013/09/Erdoğan-democracy-package-reception-cool.html#.
• Turkey 2013 Progress Report. European Commission: Brussels, October 16, 2013. http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/ pdf/key_documents/2013/package/tr_rapport_2013.pdf.
• Amnesty International. “Turkey: Gezi Park Protests: Brutal denial of the right to peaceful assembly in Turkey.” October 2013. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR44/022/2013/en.
• Bahtic-Kunrath, B. “Of Veto Players and Entity-Voting: Institutional Gridlock in the Bosnian Reform Process.” Nationalities Papers 39, no.6 (November 2011): 899-923.
• Dedovic, Edin. “Bosnia’s baby revolution: is the protest movement coming of age?” Open Democracy, June 26 2013. http://www.opendemocracy.net/edin-dedovic/bosnia%E2%80%99s-baby-revolution-is-protest-movement- coming-of-age.
• Gladstone, R. “Rights Group Accuses Turkish Police of Excessive Force against Protestors.” The New York Times, June 12, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/13/world/europe/rights-groups-accuse-turkish-police-of- excessive-force-against-protesters.html?_r=0 .
• Gocmanac, Tamara. “Thousands are Joining Bosnia’s Babylution.” Global Voices, June 20, 2013. http:// globalvoicesonline.org/2013/06/20/babylution/.
• Keil, S. Multinational Federalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Farnham and Burlington: Ashgate, 2013.
• Sherlock, R. “Turkey: Erdogan brands protesters ‘extremists’ and ‘looters.’” The Telegraph, June 3, 2013. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/10096762/Turkey-Erdoğan-brands-protesters- extremists-and-looters.html.
• Sito-Sucic, D. “Bosnia Risks Seeing EU Path “Frozen” Without Further Reform.” Reuters, April 11, 2013. http:// uk.reuters.com/article/2013/04/11/us-bosnia-eu-idUSBRE93A0L220130411.
• Štiks, Igor. “We are all in this together: A civic awakening in Bosnia Herzegovina.” Open Democracy, June 12, 2013. http://www.opendemocracy.net/igor-%C5%A0tiks/%E2%80%98we-are-all-in-this-together%E2%80%99- civic-awakening-in-bosnia-herzegovina.
• Toè, Rodolfo. “Bebolujica: Spring Delayed.” Open Democracy, July 16, 2013. http://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/ Regions-and-countries/Bosnia-and-Herzegovina/Bebolucija-spring-delayed-138840#.UeecAMRIvTE.twitter.
• Turkish Medical Association (TTB). “Report on the Assessment of Health Problems in Persons Exposed to Chemical Riot Control Agents.” 2013. www.ttb.org.tr/kutuphane/kimyasalgosteri_en.pdf.
• Žižek, S. “Trouble in Paradise.” London Review of Books 35, no.14 (July 2013): 11-12.
• Zuvela, M. “Bosnia Passes ID Law, Ending Row that Cost a Baby’s Life.” Reuters, November 5, 2013. http://www. reuters.com/article/2013/11/05/us-bosnia-identity-idUSBRE9A40SG20131105.