In Peacebuilding in the Balkans, 1998 IDRF Fellow Paula M. Pickering challenges the notion that common people are merely passive recipients of peacebuilding projects. After suffering years of war, Bosnia is the target of international reconstruction effort aimed at reforming political institutions, influencing the behavior of elite populations, and fostering the growth of nongovernmental organizations. Such efforts to cultivate peace and democracy run the risk of alienating ordinary citizens and reproducing anger and war. Instead, Pickering’s thorough fieldwork offers an understanding of how ordinary citizens respond to and influence peacebuilding programs in their neighborhoods, workplaces, municipal agencies, and other day-to-day social settings. While important for Bosnian reconstruction, Pickering’s insights also have relevant implications for peacebuilding elsewhere. Buy from Amazon.