About this tour
This week-long Study Tour to Belgrade and the surrounding region provides a critical case study on the function, application, and (lack of) compliance with international humanitarian law in the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s. Together we will see how the current lack of transitional justice in Serbia impacts societal development, inter-ethnic reconciliation, and Serbia’s international position.
In addition, you will visit key sites and monuments from the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, providing a more full context to the complexities of the Balkan conflict. Along the way, we will meet with NGOs and young activists in Belgrade working on transitional justice, human rights, and post-conflict dialogue in order to understand how members within a society work to move it forward post-conflict.
Learning outcomes
- Learn to critically apply international humanitarian law and the definitions of genocide and war crimes to both past and current events
- Reflect on the function of the law in efforts to find reconciliation after grave breaches have occurred
- Immerse in the rich cultural life of Belgrade, former Yugoslavia’s capital and largest city in the region
Possible activities
- Travel to Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the location of the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre, the first legally-recognized genocide in Europe since the end of World War II
- Watch a Partizan Belgrade basketball match to experience the intense Balkan atmosphere through sport
- Tour areas of the NATO 1999 bombing of Belgrade, including the TV tower and Chinese embassy
- Participate in a World War II battlefield experience by the Drin River in Bosnia
- Explore Serbia’s religious and cultural history through a visit to the largest Serbian Orthodox church, the Church of San Sava