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Have you ever been in Bosnia? British military travelers in the Balkans since 1992

Baker, Catherine

Authors



Abstract

Tens of thousands of British military personnel traveled in former Yugoslavia as peacekeepers between 1992 and 2007. The settlements where British forces established their military presence and supply chain were conceptually far from former Yugoslavia's tourist sites, but military travelers made sense of them by drawing on the commonplaces of previous travel accounts and the lessons of pre-deployment training. British military travelers constructed themselves as often frustrated helpers in Bosnia who struggled with political limitations on their activities but found satisfaction in improving socio-economic relations at the level of the immediate community. For troops, long otiose periods in a stabilizing and startlingly cheap country engendered a touristic sensibility. This paper draws on published memoirs and more than fifty new oral history interviews with British peacekeepers and their Bosnian employees to illustrate how British military travelers drew on, perpetuated and changed the patterns and representation of British travel to the Balkans.

Citation

Baker, C. (2011). Have you ever been in Bosnia? British military travelers in the Balkans since 1992. Journeys : the international journal of travel and travel writing, 12(1), 63 - 92. https://doi.org/10.3167/jys.2011.120104

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 1, 2011
Online Publication Date Jun 1, 2011
Publication Date Jun 1, 2011
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Print ISSN 1465-2609
Electronic ISSN 1752-2358
Publisher Berghahn Journals
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 12
Issue 1
Pages 63 - 92
DOI https://doi.org/10.3167/jys.2011.120104
Keywords Balkans; Bosnia-Herzegovina; Military; Peacekeeping; Travel
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/417465
Publisher URL https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/journeys/12/1/jy120104.xml