There is a tendency among social scientists and others to interpret the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia Hercegovina as the result of a political policy carefully orchestrated from above and systematically carried out. Whatever eruptions of war violence might deviate from this interpretation are generally viewed as primitive balkanism, pointless acts, banditism or mental aberrations. Terms of this kind re ect an uncritical acceptance of a central or national leader perspective, dismissing as deviant everything that fails to go according to plan, and denying the signi cance of speci c local and regional circumstances or failing at any rate to problematize and examine them. This article describes a process the nal result of which can be seen as the ethnic homogenization of a region, but only part of its dynamics can be attributed to a policy implemented from above. Rather, its course can largely be traced back to local vendettas and a long-standing con ict between Franciscan friars and diocesan priests. The case illustrates that a systematic study "from below" is crucial to a better understanding of the dynamics and the developmental logic of the processes of ethnic cleansing. The article concludes with some theoretical thoughts which t into the current debate on civilizing and decivilizing processes.
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The Yugoslavian pilgrimage center of Medjugorje has been confronted with a curious problem. Many local women are experiencing fear, illness, and a general uneasiness that make it difficult for them to carry out their daily tasks, including running the lodging houses that cater to the pilgrims. Their conclusion is that an increasing number of devils in the area are causing these problems. Men, including the priests, do not share this diagnosis; they dismiss it as “women's madness.” This article first describes and explains the recent outburst of “diabolical activities” from the perspective of the women involved. It then addresses the issue of the differences in interpretation between men and women. These differences seem to be based on a long‐term power struggle in which religious and psychological means have been used to keep the feuding and physical violence common to the area within certain bounds.
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