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BETWEEN LEGAL RECOGNITION AND SOCIAL INCLUSION: WAR VETERANS IN THE POST-YUGOSLAV SPACE
Baltezarević, Borivoje V.
Battista, Daniele
More than three decades after thearmed conflicts thataccompanied the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the social position of war veterans remains an important legal, social, economic and public health issue in the successor states. Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have developed different mechanisms for recognising veteran status and providing material, pension, health and social rights. However, formal recognition does not necessarily result in substantive social inclusion. This paper examines the relationship between legal recognition, social protection and social acknowledgment of war veterans in the post-Yugoslav space. The analysis is based on a qualitative comparative review of legal frameworks, institutional policies and relevant academic literature concerning Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Three interconnected dimensions of veteran protection are distinguished: legal and status recognition, material and institutional protection, and social recognition and inclusion. Particular attention is devoted to the long-term consequences of war-related trauma, perceived social acknowledgment, quality of life and the changing needs of an ageing veteran population. The analysis indicates that contemporary veteran policy should gradually move beyond a predominantly compensatory model towards an integrated approach combining legal security, accessible health and psychosocial services, economic participation, family support, social inclusion and preservation of dignity. Such an approach does not diminish the importance of veteran status. Rather, it provides a framework through which formal recognition can be transformed into sustainable social citizenship.
engleski
2026
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war veterans; social inclusion; legal recognition; social protection; post-Yugoslav space; social acknowledgment; PTSD
COBISS.SR-ID 201339913