Research
My work asks two questions: how legacies of violence shape intergroup relations today, and what role ordinary people play in deepening or bridging divides. I compare Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Israel, two societies with recurrent ethnic violence and different degrees of segregation. Using a relational, mixed-methods approach, I trace how division and coexistence are produced in everyday life through personal networks. Though grounded in two deeply divided societies, this work speaks to Western democracies facing rising polarization.
Intergroup Relations after Violence
Book Manuscript in Progress
Who Bridges the Divide? Everyday Relationships and Personal Networks in Ethnically Divided Societies
Why do some people form and sustain close cross-ethnic ties in segregated societies while others do not? Drawing on 15 months of fieldwork, 100 in-depth interviews, and 406 personal network surveys from BiH and Israel, the book develops a typology of five relationship orientations. Each orientation reflects a person’s position in the local ethnic hierarchy and their bonding preferences. The book also shows how these orientations predict network size and tie strength, and extends the framework to polarized societies in the United States and Europe. The manuscript builds on my dissertation, defended in May 2026. An article version is in preparation.
Working Papers
“Rethinking Intergroup Contact after Violence: What Shapes Cross-Ethnic Network Structure and Tie Strength”
Examines whether country context or individual characteristics shape the structure of cross-ethnic networks and the strength of individual ties in BiH and Israel.
“The Felt Order of Ethnic Division: Avoidance in Weak and Safety in Strong Cross-Ethnic Ties”
Argues that ethnic division persists through a “felt order” of shared expectations that make cross-ethnic encounters awkward and charged, and examines how weak and strong ties respond to it differently.
Memory Politics and Peacebuilding
Published Article
“Peacebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Mobilizing Memory to Shift Out of Postwar Liminality”
[Southeastern Europe 50(1): 135–164, 2026] Co-authored with Emina Zoletić and Véronique Labonté. View article.
Ordinary people do not simply reproduce elites’ polarizing narratives. Drawing on 100 interviews, we show how activists revive shared stories and symbols, how people put cross-ethnic ties ahead of agreeing on the past, and how parents avoid passing on divisive stories. These small, often unintentional acts constitute peacebuilding and challenge portrayals of postwar BiH as stagnant and divided.
Working Paper
“When Memory Becomes Official: Memory Institutionalization and Social Division in Bosnia and Herzegovina”
Co-authored with Ajla Henić-Sarajlić.
Theorizes how memory becomes an exclusive regime as it moves from individual to collective to institutional forms, and questions the assumption that an official narrative is a prerequisite for sustainable peace.
Mixedness, Ethnic Boundaries, and Personal Networks
Working Paper
“Simultaneously Cross-Ethnic and Not: Mixed Families and Personal Networks in Divided Societies”
Examines how frequent cross-ethnic interaction in ethnically mixed families reshapes the meaning of ethnic boundaries and cross-ethnic ties.
Work in Progress
Mixed Families and Their Networks in Divided Societies
This project examines the personal networks of ethnically mixed couples and their children in BiH and Israel, asking how people who straddle ethnic boundaries navigate polarization, identity, and belonging after violence.