In the persistently war-torn landscapes of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a new, quieter conflict is unfolding. Global corporations are moving into impoverished communities that have long struggled with depopulation, precarity, and the unhealed wounds of the Yugoslav Wars (1991-2001) under the promise of ‘development’ and ‘jobs.’ What is marketed as investment looks like neo-colonial extraction on the ground: destroyed riverbeds, clear-cut forests, and contaminated water systems. Access to clean water becomes a geopolitical bargaining chip. These forms of ‘green’ extraction are embedded in global supply chains, including those that feed the arms industry. In her contribution to the “Pluriverse of Peace” series, Azra Berbić examines how environmental defenders and local communities across the Western Balkans resist this quiet continuation of war.
The video was created during the “Mining is War” workshop, which took place from October 16 to 18, 2025, at the “Pluriverse of Peace” conference in Berlin.