Violence committed by paramilitary units, such as killing, beating, torture, and rape, are regularly discussed in literature covering the wars that engulfed the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. These units are described as the key perpetrators of some of the most brutal attacks on civilians. As the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) closed, it is time to examine the trial record to see what it can tell us about paramilitary units.

Come hear Iva Vukusic present her research examining select paramilitaries during the violent breakup of Yugoslavia, particularly those tied to Slobodan Milošević’s regime. Iva analyses the prominent role and elusive function of paramilitaries by asking who were these paramilitary units, how did they emerge, function and transform? Drawing from ICTY trials, Iva explains what forms paramilitary violence took, and why.