Transitional Shelters on a Policy Landslide – Experiencing Displacement on the Frontline in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

This article sheds light on the status of migrants and asylum seekers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the state response to the growing challenges in the area of acceptance and protection, following the transformation of the Balkan Migration Route. This shift has caught state-level governmental institutions and local communities unprepared, with high numbers of migrants and refugees stranded upon its territory. A special focus was paid to the Bihać and Velika Kladuša municipalities in Una-Sana Canton, in the northwest of the country, and the ways in which they responded to this situation, in particular the ‘archipelago’ of official and makeshift camps that play a fundamental role in managing migration flows. In order to gain an insight into the problem being analyzed, the methodology applied was primarily based on participant observation and interviews, together with desk research of existing reports and media coverage in different stages of the crisis. The evidence suggests that the unique political infrastructure created after the 1990s has given rise to myriad institutional weaknesses and insufficient coordination between state-level and local authorities in the efforts to prevent a humanitarian emergency.