Title: Feminist Activism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia: Political Potentials for Social Change

The contemporary feminist movements in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are rooted in the 1990s wars, which led to the break-up of former Yugoslavia. While all three countries share a mutual history of belonging to a vanished state, their paths have diverged in political and economic terms. This difference is also reflected in each country’s feminist movements’ political goals, tactics and development. The research proposal outlines a study to compare and contrast feminist activism in the three countries during a period when the region of South-East Europe is witnessing regressive trends, such as the return to nationalism, the rise of neo-conservatism and populism and re-patriarchalisation. It is argued that the increasing marginalization of political engagement of feminist activists is affected by broader political and social developments, combined with the NGO-isation of women’s rights organizations, which restricts their possibilities. Feminist resistance in the three countries is explored through a case study approach, including interviews with members of the feminist movements in order to explore their experiences, motivations and expectations. The research is situated in social movements and feminist theories, as well as theories of citizenship and practices of contentious politics.