Religions as Loci of Conflict Prevention: Local Capacities of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Religious Communities

Conflict and coexistence remain in a tense balance in the Western Balkans. Latent conflict, in which one’s ethno-religious community denotes which side you are on, persist after the violent breakup of Yugoslavia. These frozen and potential lines of conflict were laid decades and centuries ago, when religious affiliation diversified. At the same time, these religious, ethnic and national communities have a history of suživot: everyday relations with one another, or coexistence. The close geographic proximity of communities makes functional relational systems, which determine when, where and how people tend to interact, a practical necessity.212 As a result of this necessity to coexist, religions in the Western Balkans usually perceive ‘decent’, neighbourly behaviour and friendly relations with ethno-religious others as a sign of faith (Funk Deckard 2012, Funk 2013). Both conflict and coexistence signal relationship; as the peace scholar-practitioner John Paul Lederach puts it, ‘relationship is the basis of both the conflict and its long-term solution’ (1997, 26). In the post-war setting of Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, relationship with one’s former opponents is generally unwanted and even avoided. Ethnic cleansing in wartime successfully segregated Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ethno-religious communities in terms of geography and the violent methods produced emotional segregation. Social segregation, however, fails to engage the basic fact of relatedness within the state structure, not to mention a shared history and future. This choice to not relate may seek to avoid conflict, but it can also limit opportunities for change. Notably, the country is currently stuck in polarised, nationally oriented politics, hindering necessary reforms. Citizens and external observers commonly see these stalled reforms and oppositional politics as a major obstacle to the country’s development and the well-being of all its people

'Invisible' Believers for Peace: Religion and Peacebuilding in Postwar Bosnia-Herzegovina

<!-- /* Font Definitions */@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-520092929 1073786111 9 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-name:"Normal\,Normal thesis"; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in; text-align:justify; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; tab-stops:.4in; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}--&gt;This doctoral thesis is a study of faith-based, civilsociety peacebuilding in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the postwar period(1996-2012). Religion is the prime ethnic marker for the last twenty years andas such has been widely used to divide Bosnia s three peoples, often usingextreme violence. This thesis reveals a hidden counter-movement of local,legitimate and effective peace work by believers from all three religiousgroups, but with the strongest input from the Muslim faithful. Bosnian society is ethnically segregated and characterizedby a low level of social trust. Religion and politics are closely linked andstrengthened by corrupt ties, inflaming the hostility between peoples. Thisstudy, however, demonstrates how these peace pioneers proceed with adaptiveleadership to initiate positive increments of change and create unique spacesfor transforming conflict. The thesis presents and assesses these persons whoactivate an individual believer religious identity in combination withdeveloped peacebuilding skills to transform conflict in their particularenvironments. These believers draw resources from their collective religiousidentities/traditions that are oriented towards peace and reconciliation whilerejecting the exclusive and divisive aspects. The activities they use arecolored by their faith journeys and motivation, but are also grounded inestablished peace practices. Consequently, this thesis breaksnew ground by providing not only a new perspective on the otherwisediscouraging religious factor in the peacebuilding process ofBosnia-Herzegovina, but it also sets out multiple examples of positive changenever before systematically studied or exposed.status: publishe

Ivana Maček: Sarajevo Under Siege: Anthropology in Wartime

status: publishe

Ush regulates hemocyte-specific gene expression, fatty acid metabolism and cell cycle progression and cooperates with dNuRD to orchestrate hematopoiesis.

The generation of lineage-specific gene expression programmes that alter proliferation capacity, metabolic profile and cell type-specific functions during differentiation from multipotent stem cells to specialised cell types is crucial for development. During differentiation gene expression programmes are dynamically modulated by a complex interplay between sequence-specific transcription factors, associated cofactors and epigenetic regulators. Here, we study U-shaped (Ush), a multi-zinc finger protein that maintains the multipotency of stem cell-like hemocyte progenitors during Drosophila hematopoiesis. Using genomewide approaches we reveal that Ush binds to promoters and enhancers and that it controls the expression of three gene classes that encode proteins relevant to stem cell-like functions and differentiation: cell cycle regulators, key metabolic enzymes and proteins conferring specific functions of differentiated hemocytes. We employ complementary biochemical approaches to characterise the molecular mechanisms of Ush-mediated gene regulation. We uncover distinct Ush isoforms one of which binds the Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylation (NuRD) complex using an evolutionary conserved peptide motif. Remarkably, the Ush/NuRD complex specifically contributes to the repression of lineage-specific genes but does not impact the expression of cell cycle regulators or metabolic genes. This reveals a mechanism that enables specific and concerted modulation of functionally related portions of a wider gene expression programme. Finally, we use genetic assays to demonstrate that Ush and NuRD regulate enhancer activity during hemocyte differentiation in vivo and that both cooperate to suppress the differentiation of lamellocytes, a highly specialised blood cell type. Our findings reveal that Ush coordinates proliferation, metabolism and cell type-specific activities by isoform-specific cooperation with an epigenetic regulator

Genomic reconstruction of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in England

AbstractThe evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus leads to new variants that warrant timely epidemiological characterization. Here we use the dense genomic surveillance data generated by the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium to reconstruct the dynamics of 71 different lineages in each of 315 English local authorities between September 2020 and June 2021. This analysis reveals a series of subepidemics that peaked in early autumn 2020, followed by a jump in transmissibility of the B.1.1.7/Alpha lineage. The Alpha variant grew when other lineages declined during the second national lockdown and regionally tiered restrictions between November and December 2020. A third more stringent national lockdown suppressed the Alpha variant and eliminated nearly all other lineages in early 2021. Yet a series of variants (most of which contained the spike E484K mutation) defied these trends and persisted at moderately increasing proportions. However, by accounting for sustained introductions, we found that the transmissibility of these variants is unlikely to have exceeded the transmissibility of the Alpha variant. Finally, B.1.617.2/Delta was repeatedly introduced in England and grew rapidly in early summer 2021, constituting approximately 98% of sampled SARS-CoV-2 genomes on 26 June 2021.</jats:p