Critical reflection on the social work experiences in Northern Ireland: perspectives from Bosnia and Herzegovina

In this chapter, the authors offer scholarship on social work and political conflict, based on their experiences in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most devastating effects of war are to be found in the destruction of former mechanisms of social interactions, solidarity and trust among different ethnic groups, which are also reflected in the existing, cumbersome governance structures. Faced with the post-socialist socio-economic and political destabilisation, people in those countries turned to nationalism as it appeared to be the only viable collective alternative to communist ideology. In relation to applied social research, M. E. Cummings et al. highlight the need for researchers wishing to generalise from one conflict context to others to consider several general issues. The teaching of social work rarely focuses on the development of political skills or enables social workers to see their roles within the spheres of social policy making or politics. Citizens in both Northern Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina experience high levels of economic and social deprivation.