Peacebuilding through Trust and Knowledge Exchange: A Case Study of the Balkan Museum Network

Abstract

This case study places the work of a local capacity-building network dedicated to Balkan museums as a peacebuilding mechanism. Relying on theories of social networks, social capital and peacebuilding, the quality of ties between members at the dyadic and network levels were qualitatively assessed. The quality of ties between members was assessed by considering the kinds of knowledge exchanged and kinds of collaborations members engaged in. Members’ collaboration patterns were gathered through review of past activities and official documents, interviews, surveys, and participant observation. This was complemented with a review of literature about the Balkan’s historical and recent development- in order to holistically assess the Network as a grass-roots social capital and peace building mechanism. The focus was on the Balkan Museum Network (BMN), a strategic alliance aiming to exchange knowledge between members from different cultural heritage institutions in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Greece— most of whom were formerly conflicting entities in the 1990. Findings revealed this network showed strong evidence for social capital production, here understood as trust and knowledge shared, despite low frequency of interaction. This can serve as further evidence in that the quality of ties is not solely dependent on the amount of interactions members have, but on more intangible factors like individuals’ willingness to engage in networks.