Concluding Thoughts

In the process of changing street names, there seems to be a recurring theme of trying to forget one past and assert a new present. Politicians in Bosnia often aimed to strip former regimes, such as Communism associated with former Yugoslavia, of their prominence and selectively promote components that are vital to building a nationalist society. They capitalize on the idea that “the line through space and the line through power are intimately intertwined,” (Gupta, Ferguson). Through control of common symbols, such as street signs, leaders can encroach upon the public space and swiftly try to renegotiate national history by changing the perception of the urban populace. Indeed, Bosnian nationalism is multifaceted. Even so, the area cannot just “lose its old feudal character,” (Donia) and identities cannot simply be attached to individuals or communities. Street names are subjectively understood in numerous ways, often in relation to the memories of previous circumstances. The past is not simply forgotten. Rather than merely being “affected by changing schemes of categorization and discourses,” (Gupta, Ferguson) different generational, ethnic, and social groups strongly influence how the naming will be constituted and accepted. Foucault stated that “an experience is something you come out of changed… an experience is neither true nor false: it is always fiction, something constructed, which exists only after it has been made, not before; it isn’t something that it ‘true’ but it has been a reality,” (Gupta, Ferguson). Many will try to manipulate the memories of experiences, but no one actor or collective group can possess and control identity in its constantly fluid state. In Sarajevo, it remains to be seen how long the current street names will last, but they will forever be a part of the history and live on in memory.