Western Balkans media report highlights challenges in confronting wartime history

An upcoming regional publication titled ‘Media Reporting on Confronting the Past in the Western Balkans’ examines how media coverage of wars and victims affects reconciliation. Prepared by the organization Pro Peace and authored by Getoarbe Mulići and Dinko Gruhonjić, the research covers Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and North Macedonia.

The study identifies several systemic issues across these regions, including the politicization of historical narratives, disinformation, weak editorial independence, and the marginalization of victims' voices. In Serbia, the report notes a deep-seated resistance to critical reporting, citing the glorification of convicted war criminals and the denial of international court rulings in state-aligned media.

Discussions surrounding these findings highlight a tendency toward ‘doublethink’ in regional memory cultures. Critics note that while some historical events are stripped of context to avoid responsibility, others are framed through specific historical lenses to justify certain perspectives, often using the argument of ‘what they did to us’ to minimize domestic accountability.