Cyrillization of Republika Srpska

In 1995, the Dayton Accords were signed to effectively end the war in Bosnia. This agreement subsequently divided power and territory among ethnic Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). As a result of this, a controversial territorial entity, namely Republika Srpska (Republic of Serbia) was created within Bosnia-Herzegovina. Dominated by ethnic Serbs, Republika Srpska has become the symbol for Serb national and religious identity. Further, one of key mark-
ers of this national identity has been the Serbian language. [In this research I am focusing on the use of the Cyrillic script in Republika Srpska, as opposed to Latin. The central question that this study will intend answer is ‘Why was the Cyrillic script used as a marker of Serb national identity in Bosnia-Herzegovina, even though religion is often cited as fundamental to the divisions that marked the violent fall of Yugoslavia?’ Here I would solely focus on the choices made (in terms of ‘national identity-markers’) by the Serb secular political elite. Preliminary findings indicate that while religion may have been the obvious choice of a national identity marker, it implicitly provided undue political leverage to the Serb religious leadership. Language ensured that the secular political elite maintained a monopoly over the articulation of Serb national identity in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Furthermore, in relation to the question posed earlier, a different alphabet created a clearer boundary around the Serb nation, as, despite nationalist claims of distinctness, Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian (all remnants of Serbo-Croatian) are languages that remain especially similar to each other.