Professor: Bosnia is a textbook example of how dangerous nationalism can be

N1

Twenty-five years ago, the Dean of the Central European University in Budapest, professor Michael Ignatieff, travelled through the Western Balkans and witnessed the nationalism from the 90s. Speaking to N1, he said nationalism itself is not a problem, but when combined with ethnic or religious purity, it represents a real threat.

Europe today has a healthy nationalism which strengthens those countries and allows their citizens to live with people of a different faith or skin colours, he said, and Europes managed to combine nationalism with this kind of tolerance.

Therefore, the professor states that the Balkans is a textbook example of why losing this combination is fatally dangerous.

He spoke about the Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war in Bosnia, saying it was supposed to be a temporary solution for Bosnia, but it cemented the country in place.

How it affected Bosnia's development and what will it take for Bosnia and other countries in the region to move on can be seen in the video interview between professor Michael Ignatieff and N1's Esmir Milavic.