The Political Development Of Bosnia And Herzegovina In The Post Dayton Period

The Dayton Accords ended the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995. The 10th anniversary gives reason to investigate the post-war period, today's realities and future perspectives. Bosnian authors and international experts express their views on recent developments. Insiders and outsiders, working in the conflict and on its transformation, have been invited to tackle the questions: Which conflict lines mark the present society? Did peacebuilding activities address the underlying causes? What are obstacles for conflict transformation? What are the potentials and limits of international support? What does "civil society" mean in Bosnia and how is it related to statebuilding and democratisation? How can people constructively deal with the past in order to design the future in the region of former Yugoslavia? The book gives an overview on an important research focus of the Berghof Research Center, highlighting the work of its most important cooperation partners.

This book is an introduction to the basics of Bosnian political structure, institutions, and political processes. Twenty-five years after the Dayton Peace Agreement ended the Bosnian war, the political process still maintains various levels and divisions among political entities. A transitional, post-conflict, divided, multicultural, state-building society, Bosnia and Herzegovina represents a complex and unique political system through which a myriad of topics can be studied. Applying multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary methodologies, the book presents a descriptive analysis and critical evaluation of the various aspects of the political system of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The chapters address various aspects of the political system, such as institutions and state building, the legal system and the post-war constitution, as well as an examination of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s place in the international community and their relationship with European Union and NATO. Providing a holistic view of the development, politics, and policy of this unique state, this book will be ideal for students studying the contemporary history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as students and researchers of political science, international relations, and development.

Ten years on from the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in November 1995, the legacy of the Bosnian war still shapes every aspect of the political, social and economic environment of the tiny state. This state of affairs is highlighted by the fact that Bosnia is still under international control, with the Office of the International High Representative regularly using its powers to dismiss elected presidents, prime-ministers and MPs and to impose legislation over the resistance of elected legislatures at national, regional and local level. What has changed in the ten years since Dayton? Is international regulation helping to establish a sustainable peace in Bosnia? What lessons can be learned for nation-building in Bosnia? This volume was previously published as a special issue of the leading journal International Peacekeeping.

A fresh examination of the political economy of the peacebuilding process in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the aftermath of the country's 1992-95 war. Little progress has been made in transforming the country's war-shattered economy into a functioning market economy, this new study explains the principal dynamics that have led to this, and places Bosnia's economic transition process within the context of the country's broader post-conflict peacebuilding process. The central argument this book persuasively advances is that much of Bosnia's ongoing economic crisis, and its current reform stalemate, can be explained by exploring the interactions of an inappropriate international model of economic reform with the country's particular post-conflict and post-socialist political economy. This book is essential for readers who wish to build an understanding of the region and assess its future prospects and hopes.

The book is about the peace implementation process in Bosnia-Herzegovina viewed, or interpreted reasonably, as a continuation of war by other means. Twenty years after the beginning of the Dayton peace accords, we need to summarize the results: the author shares the general agreement in public opinion, according to which the process is a failure. Pehar presents a broad, yet sufficiently detailed, view of the entire peace agreement implementation that preserves 'the state of war,' and thus encourages the war-prone attitudes in the parties to the agreement. He examines the political and narratological underpinnings to the process of the imposed international (predominantly USA) interpretation of the Dayton constitution and peace treaty as a whole. The key issue is the – perhaps only semi-consciously applied – divide ut imperes strategy. After nearly twenty years, the peace in document was not translated into a peace on the ground because, with regard to the key political and constitutional issues and attitudes, Bosnia remains a deeply divided society. The book concludes that the international supervision served a counter-purpose: instead of correcting the aberration and guarding the meaning that was originally accepted in the Dayton peace treaty, the supervision approved the aberration and imposed it as a new norm under the clout of 'the power of ultimate interpretation.'

This book is an introduction to the basics of Bosnian political structure, institutions, and political processes. Twenty-five years after the Dayton Peace Agreement ended the Bosnian war, the political process still maintains various levels and divisions among political entities. A transitional, post-conflict, divided, multicultural, state-building society, Bosnia and Herzegovina represents a complex and unique political system through which a myriad of topics can be studied. Applying multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary methodologies, the book presents a descriptive analysis and critical evaluation of the various aspects of the political system of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The chapters address various aspects of the political system, such as institutions and state building, the legal system and the post-war constitution, as well as an examination of Bosnia and Herzegovina's place in the international community and their relationship with European Union and NATO. Providing a holistic view of the development, politics, and policy of this unique state, this book will be ideal for students studying the contemporary history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as students and researchers of political science, international relations, and development.

This volume attempts to place the Dayton Peace Agreement within the context of Bosnia's complex historical legacy.