Storytelling and the Consequences of Ethnic Conflict

A reflection paper on the fictional works of Brother Dejan and The Politics of Exile

What is the place for storytelling when analyzing the consequences of ethnic conflict like the war in Bosnia? The mainstream ways of reporting on such events as well as research produced in Western institutes may only offer one side of the story, albeit through a Eurocentric or Orientalist lens. But, as we see in Bakur Bakuradze’s film Brother Dejan and Elizabeth Dauphinee’s book The Politics of Exile, the roles of victim and perpetrator; the guilty and innocent cannot always be clearly defined. Both fictional works reveal an alternate reality where complex layers of the human experience are revealed; a reality where war criminals appear weak, lonely, loving, confused…and simply, human. 

By Bridget Carter

Both the Politics of Exile and Brother Dejan were well-crafted fictional stories based on real events. In both works, the audience is invited to enter an alternative universe where perpetrator and victim are not clearly defined. They are given more humanistic qualities of love, pain, longing, and loneliness. As an international relations academic graduate student, I read scores of scholarly research papers and books pulled from library shelves on all-things IR. Student assignments (i.e. for those of us studying in the West) are, often times, saturated with Orientalist leanings. Arrogant scholars claiming fame to expert analysis on “other” regions and curious intelligentsia examining the East like a peculiar specimen contribute to the influences of Western-centric influences. As a result, students often consume this perspective as the one and only, making it so they view the world as a black and white, east and west divide. 

This tendency is also reflected in media and news: a clear victim can be seen weeping while helplessly kicking and screaming for the loss of their son, husband, brother, father. Or, a menacing perpetrator can be seen smugly galloping across the screen as the one who got away, and the one who must be captured and put to justice. We are bombarded with such news and atrocious historical events that it becomes somewhat normalized and we perhaps, sadly, become numb or simply accustomed to it. Scholars and media alike portray the evil of the world with clearly defined victims and perpetrators. But, as the character Stojan says in The Politics of Exile: “[B]elieve me when I tell you that there was no one in Bosnia with a gun in his hand who was innocent” (Dauphinee, 118).

Story-telling in this sense offers alternative perspectives of those who are involved in war. And, perhaps story-telling can offer a more realistic – despite its fictional framework – portrayal of events. The telling of stories can also more easily enable relatability to the complex layers of the human experience. The news spits facts; scholarly journals provide research. Neither offer emotion in the way that story-telling can. 

The humanistic portrayal

The humanistic side of an otherwise cold, evil figure is portrayed in Brother Dejan when Commander Dejan Stanić (meant to portray Serbian General Ratko Mladić, who was in command during the Srebrenica Massacre in 1995 when 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were executed), shuffles slowly through the scenes constantly on the run. His unkempt, exhausted shell of a body can be seen staring blankly into space while lying in bed or sitting at the dining table. He appears weak, frail, vulnerable, and almost child-like: the kaleidoscope of human conditions and emotions.

He is completely at the mercy of his friends who he himself does not completely trust: “Trust no one completely,” he tells his son. This can be seen as foreshadowing his eventual capture by the police while hiding out at his comrade’s farm home. His naked, tired body bathes while one of his protectors brings him freshly washed clothes; his cold frail frame is dressed by another comrade; and he lays in a colorful bunkbed while a group of young men talk obscenities in the other room. All of this is portrayed on screen through a camera lens peeking through doorways or paneled walls making him appear all the more vulnerable. His loneliness, despair, and exhaustion are palpable in the fog of the forest or the silence of a room. 

Yet, despite his pathetic loneliness and exhaustion, he does not appear to show any remorse or regret. The viewer is almost forced to feel sorry for him but his apparent lack of regret keeps her from fully being able to do so. He still carries his polished handgun engraved with “to commander from your soldiers” as what seems to be a memento that he is not willing or able to let go of (the object or the past). This is further highlighted when his comrade suggests that he leave the gun behind, in which he simply states that he will not. In the eyes of many Serbs, he is still seen as a national hero, which further adds to his inability (or unwillingness) to repent as this would mean that he would betray all of those who are loyal to him. Furthermore, showing remorse could equate his current state of suffering to mere meaninglessness – what was it all for? As a result, he is stranded in his remorseless state of isolation. 

No remorse

More recently, this lack of remorse can also be seen in various trials of war criminals from the former Yugoslavia: Mladic was known to incessantly interrupt his trial in protest, Milosevic insisted he did not recognize the authority of the tribunal, and Slobodan Praljak – a Bosnian Croat commander – drank poison in court and died after hearing his sentence. 

Similarly, the first time the professor meets Stojan Sokolović in The Politics of Exile he is wearing shoes that are falling apart and pants that are too short for his tall body, characterizing him as slightly pitiful and helpless. The reader later learns of the terrible murders he committed in the small town where he killed four people (including a child) during his mission to shoot 30 Muslims in order to receive leave for his brother’s funeral. Stojan committed terrible things, yet his humanistic side dominates Dauphinee’s story. He saves a kitten from the street, cares for a prickly plant, and peels oranges while sitting cross-legged on her office floor. He is deep, caring, serious, funny, and, like Dejan, slightly child-like. Still, the reader cannot help but ask herself: How could he do such a thing?

Consequences

“[You say] that everyone can choose freely and then be personally responsible for all the consequences,” Stojan notes. “What if we can’t see the consequences beforehand?” (Dauphinee, 30). Dauphinee slowly peels back the layers, like Stojan peels his orange, and reveals the complexities of ethical decision making. Stojan said that Bosnia is so covered in lies that “you can almost never know if you’ll ever know the truth” (Dauphinee, 57). This runs contrary to the notion of Western-centric academia that it is always possible to uncover the truth. But if the truth is unknown, or carefully guarded by, those who actually participated in such perplexing events, how is it possible to uncover it, much less understand it? Figures and body counts may contribute to some form of the truth, but do numbers tell us anything about how war was experienced by those who were there? “I know what Serbs did,” adds Stojan. “You can’t tell me with your theories . . . when I read [the books on the Bosnian War] I felt like I was reading something that took place on Mars . . . for me it was not as they described it” (Dauphinee, 118). “They” being non-Serb or non-Bosnian Western intellectuals. 

Dauphinee’s other character Milan, who was involved in the murder of Stojan’s brother Luka, says that the war made everyone a liar and one could not distinguish between what was true and what was false. Those who carried out executions “did not know why they were doing so” (Dauphinee, 142). They covered up bodies because that’s what they were told to do, and it was their job to make things ‘clean’ – there was no logic in anything that was going on (Dauphinee, 138), “there was only the sense that [they] had to defend [them]selves” (Dauphinee, 55). The lack of logic is further solidified when Stojan’s brother, a Serb, is shot dead in the forest by “the Ivan,” also a Serb soldier. Stojan shot and killed multiple Muslim Bosnians out of revenge for his brother’s death, when in fact it was a fellow Serb, thirsty for death, who shot his brother dead.

Serbian (a)historicity and memory

Both Boose (2002) and Korac (1998) note the phenomenon of Serbian (a)historicity and memory of Turks as the enemy. The (a)historic memory of the impalements that the Serbs endured during the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 contribute to the Serb’s deeply rooted sense of victimization further “justifying” their brutalities toward the Muslim Bosnians during the war. “We are here to defend the territory behind us if the Chetniks in front of us get overrun by the Turks,” says Pas in Politics of Exile while sitting in the trench waiting to shoot at the next Bosnian. Stojan finds it strange, or at least takes note of the fact, that he refers to Serbs as Chetniks (royalists from WWII) and Muslims as Turks (Dauphinee, 103).

So, once the anger and confusion subside and the reader absorbs the pool of complex human emotions and desperation that Stojan was feeling, she becomes less cross and more sympathetic – though further confused as she asks herself, how could you possibly feel sympathy for a heartless murderer? The answer seems to be in the fact that he is not heartless – his heart is just in pieces.

Yearning for what once was

Nostalgia cuts through both storylines like a clean incision. In the film Brother Dejan, glowing, nostalgic-esque views of crisp shirts hanging in a wardrobe, a well-stocked market scene, vibrant young men playing soccer, and robust soldiers roaming the woods cut into focus. Dejan’s desire for the past becomes clear when the film jumps back-and-forth between the gloomy present and bright past, spurring “the awakening of a remembered past,” as said in Gapova’s (2017) words. Dejan longs for a place but could actually be yearning for a different time that may never have existed in the form which it is imagined” (Gapova, 191). Stojan, too, is “homesick for something that doesn’t exist anymore . . .” (Dauphinee, 103), making them both slaves to their current environment.

One cannot help but see the irony in Dejan’s “slavery.” The film takes his character back to what should have always been: the option to be a human being who can live absent from ethnic disparities, hatred, and killing. He sits amongst vast rolling meadows, stares contemplatively into the river, and roams the forest trails. Yet, the most unfortunate thing is, because of his past actions, he is not free to just be and live in his Serbian homeland that he fought (and killed) so hard to “protect.” He is a slave and he is forever haunted by the ghosts of those he slayed. He cannot wash the blood from his hands – but one cannot help but wonder if he wants his hands clean. 

Both Dejan and Stojan are running: Dejan from and Stojan towards the truth – and both are exhausted and dreary. Emmanuel Levinas said in On Escape, as told byDuaphinee, that, “The necessity of fleeing oneself is put in check by the impossibility of ever doing so.” Despite both characters running, running, running, neither can escape the atrocities they have committed. Neither will ever be absolved from their doings, and they know that more than anyone else. But, the lines between victim and perpetrator, guilt and innocence are not so defined for “. . . we all laugh and mourn and love and hate with the same breath of air in our lungs,” declares the Priest in Politics of Exile. “We are guilty and innocent. There is only the difference of a hair between these.” (Dauphinee, 200). Possibly the most important thing to take away from both fictional works related to the Bosnian War and its maniacal actors is: “He is possibly a war criminal . . . but he is also something more and something other than that” (Duaphinee, 201). We are confronted with the complexities of war and the humanistic qualities of men like Dejan and Stojan who are forlorn, vulnerable, unyielding, fragile…and human. 

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References

Bakuradze, Bakur. “Brother Dejan” (2015). 

Boose, L. (2002). Crossing the River Drina: Bosnian Rape Camps, Turkish Impalement, and Serb   Cultural Memory. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society. 28(1), 71 - 94. 

Dauphinee, Elizabeth. The Politics of Exile. Routledge, 2013. 

Gapova, Elena. “The Land Under White Wings: The romantic Landscaping of Socialist Belarus.” Rethinking Marxism: A journal of Economics, Culture and Society. 29:1 (2017): 173-198

Korac, M. (1998). Ethnic-Nationalism, Wars and the Patterns of Social, Political and Sexual Violence Against Women: The Case of Post-Yugoslav Countries. Identities, 5(2). 153 - 181. 

For more on the Slobodan Praljak tribunal trial: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2017/nov/29/un-war-crimes-defendant-claims-to-drink-poison-at-trial-in-hague-slobodan-praljak

The Last Argument of Kings

Author's note: Louis XIV ordered his cannons be cast with the relief, “Ultima Ratio Regum”, Latin for "The last argument of kings.” One of the ultimate privileges of a sovereign state is the act of declaring war.

A synopsis of the Damascus Nuclear Accident and the impartial potential of nuclear weapons

By Alireza Shahabi Sirjani

Human Error

The explosion of a Titan II missile with a nuclear warhead in an underground facility in Damascus, Arkansas on 18 September, 1980, resulted in the death of a United States serviceman and a Broken Arrow situation. Whether it was engineering foresight, safety features or divine fortune, the payload was ultimately severed from its power source, shielding millions of innocent people from the ravages of the indiscriminate nature of the weapon, its fallout and aftermath.

A Titan II ICBM in its launch silo | Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

The constellation of events leading up to the detonation of the missile, to several injured and the tragic loss of one man’s life, and the recovery of the nuclear device is known as the Damascus Nuclear Accident. Investigative research into the causes and management of the horrid accident points a dubious finger at human error. To preserve a semblance of trust and ensure reliability in systems, officials tend to blame systemic failings on the operators, rather than the hardware or the technology. By directing the responsibility of accidents onto individuals, systems can be shielded and protected from criticism over their costs and effective payoff in the name of protecting the lives of civilians.

The accident 

The events that played out in Damascus at Missile Complex 374-7, could have very well stemmed from human arrogance and overconfidence in one's ability to overcome situations based primarily on past experiences over advisory recommendations. In this instance, the operator used a tool that was no longer approved for the task at hand (a torque wrench) rather than the newly approved tool (a ratchet) to remove a pressure cap from the missile.

During this routine maintenance check, a mundane tool became a catalyst for the dramatic and harrowing events that unfolded: the socket slipped from the hands of the operator falling roughly 30 meters to the ground where it became a projectile that ricocheted off the outer shell of the nuclear armed ICBM. The binary mechanical conclusions that were reached in the aftermath of the incident failed to take into account the heroic actions of individuals who tried to bring the crisis futilely under control. Additionally, the device was rendered inert without a power source, adding further insult to injury.

This documented incident, regardless of cause or division of guilt, is one story from a number of accidents that have occurred in the United States. Large portions of it, as well as other accidents, have been declassified providing insight into the management of nuclear military units and facilities. Media attention has arguably shined a light on the threats  posed by deterrent systems protecting the civilian population --  not forgetting the firmly entrenched concept of checks and balances of the US civil government.

The threat of nuclear weapons 

The point I wish to make here is not the simple rehashing of the Damascus Nuclear Accident, but rather to critique the realist rationality surrounding the ominous threat that nuclear weapons pose to the security of civilian populations and the greater global community. Nuclear powers’ non-compliance to agreements such as the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) could very well be linked to (and a reflection of) insufficient trust in the good will of others.

This sentiment could be a significant hurdle in the perpetuation of notions that dictate the preservation of deterrence against threats, for the safety of the self. Such behaviour also added further fuel to realist perspectives of power, its balances and the preservation of the status quo, while highlighting the self-serving and fleeting nature of treaties and agreements.

Weapons of mass destruction are the result of the perversion of scientific progress, and are by themselves unable to distinguish between friend and foe. These devices follow the rules of physical chemistry and matter, and like a forest fire, they will consume and destroy dried out plant life as well as lush saplings and forest creatures indiscriminately.

Photo by Ilja Nedilko on Unsplash

Accidents happen

Although weapons are designed with fail-safes and redundancy features to prevent operator mishandling and accidents – accidents happen, and not all circumstances can be accounted for. Safeguards can only be implemented within the scope that can be envisioned by man who is fallible by nature, and his creations could carry the same inherent weakness. When considering the destructive capacity of nuclear weapons, the backlash resulting from a miscalculation could be catastrophic. These weapons are not only a threat to the lives of one's “enemies” but could also be a threat to those who possess and stockpile them.

The recovered broken arrow from the Damascus incident was a nine-megaton warhead, the most devastating commissioned weapon of its time, with a yield 250 times greater than the two bombs used over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. When the beast is let loose, it can and will bite the hand that feeds it. In other words, with the level of human scientific progress and knowledge, man as the creator of these weapons is powerless to defend or shield himself. When the natural laws of physics are triggered -- a cascading thermonuclear reaction occurs.

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Alireza Shahabi Sirjani

Contributing Writer

Alireza Shahabi Sirjani studied his BA in International Relations at WVPU where he is currently studying his MA in the same field. Prior to studying IR, he studied Architecture at the Technical University of Vienna. He has interned in a number of architectural offices as well as international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency. He is a member of the CTBT Youth Group and his interests in the field if International Relations fall mainly in the area of arms control.

Fiddle While Wuhan Burns: The Impact of the Coronavirus on the Chinese Economy

China's economy is crippled by the recent COVID-19 outbreak, but there's still hope for its gradual recovery.

By Yelizaveta Andakulova

Photo by visuals on Unsplash

The COVID-19 virus, also known as the coronavirus, has been detected in at least 168 countries, killing more than 19,641 people and infecting over 438,100. It has paralyzed cities and towns, disrupted business, travel and schools. But no place has seen more devastation than China, where the overwhelming majority of deaths and infections have occurred. In recent weeks, though, the number of new infections and deaths reported in China has been declining. How has the coronavirus affected the Chinese economy and what can we learn from previous epidemic outbreaks?

What is the coronavirus?

The coronavirus likely originated in a “wet market” in Wuhan, the sprawling capital city of central China’s Huabei Province. China reported several unusual cases of pneumonia to the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31 last year. After the third death and nearly 200 reported cases of the infection, China was able to confirm human-to-human transmission of the illness. China’s infection count reached more than 80,700 cases but is declining while the number of cases worldwide seem to be quickly rising. Most recently, the top six countries with the highest number of cases and highest CDC risk level include China (81,200+ cases), Italy (69,100+ cases), United States (59,500+ cases), Spain (47,600+ cases), Germany (31,500+ cases), Iran (27,000+ cases), and France (22,300+ cases).

Photo by sammy joonhee on Unsplash

Image from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention media library

There are at least four types of coronaviruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to other more serious infections like the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that circulated in China in 2003, sickened 8,098 people, and killed 774. The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012, was found to also be caused by the coronavirus. The coronavirus as we know it today has been dubbed Covid-19.

Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they spread between animals and people. However, because the “wet market” was shut down and disinfected following the initial outbreaks of the illness, it was nearly impossible to investigate which animal may have been the exact origin.

Bad influence: China’s economy stalls

Wuhan, a metropolitan city with a population of 11.08 million, makes up more than 1 percent of China’s gross domestic product ($224 billion in 2018), making it an important economic hub.

The impact of the coronavirus had severe effects on the Wuhan economy. After the initial outbreak of the virus, seven Chinese movie premieres were cancelled and more than 400 Haidilao hot pot restaurants, 17 Uniqlo stores, and two Disneylands were shut down indefinitely. In a more formal response, the government declared a three-day holiday. Eventually, the government implemented more serious measures such as quarantines and curfews. Now, China’s economy is growing at a slower pace: according to MarketWatch, GDP growth has been roughly 6 percent, compared to 10 percent in 2003.

Photo by Macau Photo Agency on Unsplash

Shehzad H. Qazi, the managing director of China Beige Book (a provider of large-scale private data on the Chinese economy) warns: “The most frightening aspect of the crisis is not the short-term economic damage it is causing, but the potential long-lasting disruption to supply chains,” he said. “Chinese auto manufacturers and chemical plants have reported more closures, while shipping and logistics companies have also announced higher closure rates than the national average.”

Neutral influence: limited effect on growth rate

China now has bigger and more sophisticated tools to fight an economic decline than it did when it battled the SARS outbreak in 2003. Arguably, China is now providing necessary infrastructure updates, fighting against misinformation, opening virtual schools and offices, and sharing tech solutions. The problem now, however, is a worsening backdrop both domestically and abroad, and how both hamper the effectiveness of government's initiatives to respond. China makes up a much larger share of the world economy than it did in 2003.

Now, companies like Apple, Nike and other manufacturers and companies around the world are admitting they are feeling the negative economic effects of the virus. Famous fashion brands in particular, which depend heavily on Chinese buyers, are also taking a hit. Amazon sellers who often rely on cheap Chinese items are getting pummeled, with dwindling stocks to sell.

According to MarketWatch, the best estimate is that the virus will have a slightly negative or nearly neutral economic impact. There is likely to be only a limited effect on the growth rate of China’s economy in 2020, with perhaps a decline of 0.1 percent of gross domestic product. This prediction is based on previous experiences with the SARS virus in 2003: first there was a large decline in China’s GDP growth in the second quarter of the year that was then largely offset by higher growth in the following two quarters. However, the growth rate for all of 2003 was about 10 percent; many investment banks’ economists overestimated the epidemic’s negative impact on China’s GDP growth. Looking at annual real GDP growth rates from 2000 to 2006, it is difficult to see the effect of SARS in the data.

However, some fear that the timing of the coronavirus outbreak — at the start of the week-long Chinese New Year celebration, and in the middle of traditional school-break travels — would have exacerbated the economic fallout by keeping many people away from shops, restaurants, and travel hubs. There are some digital factors, though, that have been able to limit the impact of the coronavirus: internet shopping, replacement trips for already booked holidays, and the already free days that come with the Chinese New Year that ensures government and private structures will already be closed.

Photo by Macau Photo Agency on Unsplash

Reports have also indicated that COVID-19 is less deadly than the SARS virus. The fatality rate of COVID-19 has not yet been determined, but it seems to be around 2 percent so far. Whereas the SARS fatality rate was 9.6 percent. Chinese authorities quickly implemented

travel lock-downs which significantly slowed down the spread of the disease. Arguably, the Chinese government was quicker than it was in 2003 in controlling the spread of the virus.

Wall Street is convinced that China’s economy will bounce back around the end of the first quarter (at the beginning of April) as this is when the spread of the coronavirus is expected to decline. China will then experience a quick fall in economic activity followed by a return to its normal pace soon after.

Positive influence: hope for China’s economy

The consequences of SARS in 2003, the Mexican swine flu in 2009, African Ebola in 2014, and the Zika virus in Brazil in 2016 all show that regional or country indexes declined 4.7 percent on average. In about a month however, after they reached a low, the indexes of each country increased 12.3 percent, and after three months there was already an increase of 23.1 percent. The MSCI Index, provides clear statistical data: during the SARS epidemic, index MSCI China dropped to 8.6% and after that it increased to 14.7% in a month.

Although the immediate effects of the COVID-19 virus outbreak seem to be predominantly negative, scholars and economists are still unclear what the end effects of the virus will be on the Chinese economy. As previous outbreaks of different viruses and diseases in other parts of the world have shown, there is still potential for the economy of China to bounce back. It is only a matter of time until we can see the full impact of the Coronavirus.

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Yelizaveta Andakulova

Contributing Writer

Yelizaveta Andakulova is an International Relations graduate student at Webster Vienna Private University. Her research interests include EU foreign and defense policies and diplomacy. She enjoys living in Vienna where she has the opportunity to savor different musical and cinema events, as well as centuries-old architecture.