1. Institutionalizing Ethnicity in the Western Balkans: Managing Change in Deeply Divided Societies
- Author:
- Florian Bieber
- Publication Date:
- 02-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues
- Abstract:
- Ethnic politics continue to dominate political discourse and institutions in the post-conflict regions of former Yugoslavia (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia). This has rendered these regions dependent on external intervention and blocked or delayed political and economic development, including the process of integration into European and Euroatlantic structures. Some of the post-conflict arrangements have rightfully come under criticism—both from within and outside the region—as obstacles in the normalization of ethnic relations. While the status quo needs revision and a different approach to institutional design is required, this paper argues against abandoning groupbased institutions altogether. Instead, it argues for a more dynamic and processoriented approach to accommodate ever-changing interethnic relations.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Ethnic Conflict, and War
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Macedonia