The University of Sarajevo and the Pregled Editorial Board organized an international conference “Consequences of biopolitics in Bosnia and Herzegovina”

The University of Sarajevo and the editorial office of Pregled:  Journal for Social Issues organized today the international conference Consequences of biopolitics in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The conference focused on the problematic issue of the starting points, structure and consequences of the biopolitical discourse in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its surroundings. As emphasized, this should provide the answers needed for a complete understanding of the entire historical process of ethno-politics, politics and ideological hegemony of large-state projects, i.e. the reduction of human lives to objects in the technological and cynical-political manipulation of those lives.

The conference started with welcoming speeches by Prof. Dr. Dušanka Bošković, Vice-Rector for Quality at the University of Sarajevo and Prof. Dr. Senadin Lavić, Pregled’s Editor-in-Chief, who emphasized the importance of the academic debate on biopolitics in contemporary society and emphasized the importance of such gatherings for the expansion of dialogue on social issues.

The topic “Totalitarian multiverse of biopolitical processes: extra-Bosnian biopolitical tattooing of the Bosnian reality” was presented by Doz. Dr. Abdel Alibegović, Prof. Dr. Nermina Mujagić and Prof. Dr. Amer Osmić from the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo. They talked about global biopolitical influences on Bosnia and Herzegovina, analyzing how external political processes reflect on the internal situation.

Prof. Dr. Ahmed Kico from Victoria International University in Mostar presented the topic “Hybrid action in the function of planning and achieving the goals of biopolitics in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Prof. Dr. Sarina Bakić from the UNSA Faculty of Political Sciences presented the topic “Segregation through education: one of the key elements of the biopolitical discourse in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” referring to the problem of segregation in the educational system and its role in the biopolitical agenda.

Dr. Sc. Zoran Todorović from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia addressed the topic “Serbian nationalism as a regional challenge: consequences and perspectives.”

In his presentation “Biopolitics of the anti-Bosnian Leviathan,” Prof. Dr. Senadin Lavić from the University of Sarajevo spoke about the concept of Leviathan in the context of anti-Bosnian political processes.

Academician Prof. Dr. Mirko Pejanović, vice president of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasizing the historical importance of this region.

Mr. sc. Elmir Karadži, PhD student from the University of Pristina, presented a paper on “Biopolitics, geopolitics and ethnopolitics of the Western Balkans.”

The conference continued with the topic “Some contents of the history of Bosnia through the prism of biopolitical philosophy: the case of Bosniak Sandžak”, which was presented by Prof. Dr. Enver Halilović from the University of Tuzla.

Prof. Dr. Irena Praskač-Salčin from the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo spoke on the topic “Media politics of interpellation and the consequences of ethnically divided media space in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, emphasizing the importance of the media in the formation of political awareness.

The topic “Concept of sustainable development” was dealt with by Prof. Dr. Haris Alibasic from the University of West Florida, connecting sustainable development with biopolitical discourse.

Prof. Dr. Rifat Redžović from the International University in Novi Pazar presented on the topic “Biopolitics and its consequences in the area of ​​the Western Balkans”, while Selma Alispahić, MA from the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo presented a paper entitled “Toward new horizons of the discussion on biopolitics: a problem biopolitical war against animals“.

The last presentation, “Dehumanization of the Bosnian 'BIOS': Biopolitics in the hands of ethnonationalism”, was presented by Muedib Šahinović, PhD student at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo, emphasizing how ethnonationalism uses biopolitics to dehumanize Bosnian society.

After the discussion moderated by Prof. Dr. Amer Osmić, the conclusions of the conference were drawn, with an emphasis on the need for deeper research into biopolitical processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Presentations from today's conference will be published in the next issue of Pregled: Journal for Social Issues.