Mass Atrocities and the Police: A New History of Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995 resulted in over 100,000 deaths, primarily due to military action. This study by Nielsen argues that the police and associated paramilitary groups were also crucial in the war, tracing the origins of the conflict to their actions. By utilizing confidential archival sources, academic research, and practical experience as an expert witness, Nielsen provides a groundbreaking new perspective on the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Balkan wars, and the region today.

Format: Hardback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 14 July 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Between April 1992 and December 1995, more than 100,000 people were killed in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The terrible atrocities committed in this period have been much discussed and studied and many prosecuted as acts of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity. But so far, the academic scholarship has focused on the role of the military in these events. This has come at the expense of considering the police’s role, which Nielsen here demonstrates as crucial. Nielsen traces the origins of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the police and associated paramilitary groups. Nielsen makes this ground-breaking case by drawing on a host of confidential archival sources, academic research and practical experience as a widely cited expert witness in the most notorious of the war crimes tribunals. His innovative new history sheds light on wider issues regarding the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Balkan wars and the region today.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781788315258