Ratko Mladić, the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’, could not escape death. But his fascist ideas and ideology live on

Key Points:

• Ratko Mladić, the Bosnian Serb general convicted of genocide and war crimes, died in The Hague prison at age 84 and remains a hero in Republika Srpska and Serbia, where many mourn his passing and celebrate his legacy.
• Mladić led violent ethnic cleansing campaigns during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, targeting mainly Muslim Bosniaks and Croats, resulting in over 55,000 Muslim and 7,000 Croat deaths, including the Srebrenica massacre of around 8,000 men and boys.
• Despite international condemnation and convictions of Mladić and his political allies, there has been little apology or reckoning in Serbian communities, where denial and glorification of Mladić persist, fueling ongoing ethnic tensions and harassment of survivors.
• Mladić was part of a nationalist leadership aiming to create a "Greater Serbia" through ethnic cleansing, and although convicted in 2017, his influence endures through public celebrations and political support in the region.
• The nature of Mladić’s funeral, potentially with full state and military honors urged by Serbian officials, will reveal much about his continuing symbolic power and the unresolved legacy of the Bosnian conflict.