Explaining Compensation in Post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Case of Victims of Torture and Sexual Violence

Abstract

This chapter explains the different compensation outcomes for two categories of war victims in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)—victims of sexual violence and victims of torture. Unlike victims of torture who have no formal rights vis-à-vis any authorities in BiH, survivors of sexual violence have since 2006 been recognized as a victim category with compensation rights. This chapter explains these outcomes using rationalist arguments and shows that compensation for victims is mainly determined by whether and how victim associations leverage their moral authority and mobilization resources, as well as the international salience of their demands to convince domestic political authorities that compensation is expedient. Acting as policy drivers, this chapter presents victims through the prism of activism but also explores some tensions in the growing debates about the politics of victimhood.