Patriotic Songs as a Means of Mobilization in Besieged Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995

This article presents the composition and production of patriotic songs in Sarajevo under siege (1992-1995) and the purpose thereof, focusing on the function of mobilization. Mobilization is understood as increased activity both on the front lines of defence and in the outskirts. At the heart of this article stands an attempt to link the hypothesis, how patriotic songs were used as a means of mobilization in Sarajevo under siege, with the interviewees' stories, musical examples, and historical facts. Through several musical examples we can sense the division between the "official" and the "alternative" musical scene, the development of the re-creation of Bosniac national identity based on Islamic and Ottoman narratives, the transformation of traditional musical genres, and the need to express negative feelings.