Arts & International Affairs: Vol. 3, No. 2, Summer/Autumn 2018 | Page 36

ARTS & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS • VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2 • SUMMER/AUTUMN 2018
RECONCILIATION: DOES MUSIC MATTER?
EMILIE AUSSEMS
UCLouvain-Belgium
Music as a peacebuilding tool has been increasingly applied in post-conflict situations,
in the form of peace concerts or festivals, instrumental or vocal ensembles,
music schools or workshops. One of the best-known examples of such
initiatives is probably the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Founded in 1999 by D. Barenboim
and E. Said, it brings together Israeli, Palestinian, as well as other Arab musicians
and aims to encourage dialog and coexistence through music in the Middle-East and the
world.
Indeed, music is often perceived as a universal language or an instrument of peace in
essence. It is claimed to facilitate positive relational transformation. It would, in other
words, build bridges and transcend exclusive identities between communities in fostering
cooperation, communication, understanding, tolerance, or empathy (Urbain 2008).
Admittedly, more empirical evidence is still needed to confirm the alleged “power of music.”
Nevertheless, musical peacebuilding projects have received growing international
attention in the past decades. This is well illustrated by the designation of the West-Eastern
Divan Orchestra as a United Nations Global Advocate for Cultural Understanding
by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2016.
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is no exception. Since the end of the war in 1995, musical
initiatives for peace have flourished. At least 25 initiatives (excluding concerts and
festivals) explicitly promote rapprochement between communities, including mainly
choirs (e.g. Pontanima interreligious choir), orchestras (e.g. No Borders Orchestra, Balkan
Chamber Orchestra), and music schools or workshops (e.g. Music bus, Crea Thera,
Superar Srebrenica). I had the chance to observe and talk with organizers and/or participants
of eight of them 1 during two field trips I conducted in BiH in 2017.
Listening to their experience, I realized that these organizations are struggling to survive
despite the amount of international aid still dedicated to reconstruction and peace
programs in the country. 2 In the midst of the economic crisis, music is obviously not a
priority for local officials unless it helps strengthening their own community identity. In
contrast, it is striking that foreign donors support mainly musical projects with a clear
1 The projects in question are the choir Harmony, the Mostar Rock School, The Complete Freedom
of Truth, Arts&Friendships, the Balkans’ Summer Music Camp, the Brass band Orchestra of Stolac,
Ardea and From Woman to Woman.
2 In 2012, total post-war donor support was estimated at $8 billion (USAID 2012). Although donor
engagement is decreasing, BiH still receives assistance from important donors, European Union (EU)
being the largest. As an example, the financial assistance of the EU under the Instrument for Pre-
Accession Assistance amounts to €167.1 million for the 2014–2017 period.
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doi: 10.18278/aia.3.2.4