Creating a Negative Image of Socialist Bosnia and Herzegovina: Fabricating Affairs and Destabilizing the Leadership

Abstract

The paper describes the continuous attacks on the socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its political leadership during the eighties of the last century. The destabilization of the B&H communist leadership was conducted from the power centers in Belgrade - primarily from the intellectual centers and through the media. The leadership of this republic is described as extremely repressive, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is the so-called dark province, in which intellectual creativity and any criticism of the system and government is prohibited. At that time, Yugoslavia was in an extremely unfavorable economic position, but in the Serbian media, BiH was presented as an exception compared to most other republics in the Federation. In addition, BiH was presented as a non-national republic, and there were frequent stereotypes and negative content about Muslims, who were the majority people of this republic. Numerous events were turned into affairs, which weakened the leadership and destroyed the Bosnian society.

Keywords

• destabilization
• communist leadership
• affairs
• dark vilayet
• instrumentalization of the media
• 1980s