Bosnia – Herzagove Election Series

Event Date:
September 12, 2018 – 11:15 AM to 12:05 PM

Location:
McEniry, Room 124

A series of five lecture/discussion events at UNC Charlotte this fall will focus on the campaign for and election of the tripartite presidency in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mirsad Hadžikadić, a well-known UNC Charlotte professor, is one of the candidates. Hadžikadić, who came to the U.S. as a Fulbright Scholar at Southern Methodist University and to UNC Charlotte in 1987 as an assistant professor in computer sciences, is on a temporary leave of absence from his current University position as founding executive director of the Data Science Initiative and professor of software and information systems. The Presidential vote in Bosnia and Herzegovina is on Sunday, Oct. 7. Bosnia Herzegovina has a complicated three-person presidency whose members collectively serve as head of state. According to the country’s constitution, the Presidency consists of one Bosniak, one Croat and one Serb. If successful, Hadžikadić will be the Bosniak president and will serve a four-year term. Bosnia and Herzegovina is deeply divided along social, religious and cultural lines and, according to many observers, is increasingly at risk of dissolution and absorption by its neighbors, Serbia and Croatia. As a Bosnian, Hadžikadić wants his country to unite, to stand on its own, and eventually to be welcomed into the European Union and NATO. “I want to show that our differences can be a source of strength instead of a cause for hatred and division,” he said. The lecture series is open without charge to the public and to UNC Charlotte students, faculty and staff. • Wed., Sept. 12: The Disintegration of Yugoslavia, the Dayton Accords and the Formation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Presenters: Dale L. Smith, Professor of Global Studies, UNC Charlotte, and Kristina Drye, a UNC Charlotte graduate currently pursuing a Masters in Security Studies at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown The Series is cosponsored by the Department of Global Studies, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the College of Computing and Informatics and the Office of International Programs at UNC Charlotte.