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12. Bosnia's Future
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH, or Bosnia) poses little risk of deadly conflict, but after billions of dollars in foreign aid and intrusive international administration and despite a supportive European neighbourhood, it is slowly spiralling toward disintegration. Its three communities' conflicting goals and interests are a permanent source of crisis, exacerbated by a constitution that meets no group's needs. The political elite enjoys mastery over all government levels and much of the economy, with no practical way for voters to dislodge it. The European Union (EU) imposes tasks BiH cannot fulfil. A countrywide popular uprising torched government buildings and demanded urgent reforms in February 2014, but possible solutions are not politically feasible; those that might be politically feasible seem unlikely to work. Bosnia's leaders, with international support, must begin an urgent search for a new constitutional foundation.
- Topic:
- Foreign Aid and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Bosnia, and Herzegovina
13. The Politics of the "Unfinished Business": Bosnian Police Reform
- Author:
- Dejan Guzina and Branka Marijan
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- The recent protests in Bosnia-Herzegovina (henceforth, Bosnia) have once more shown the extent of the remaining challenges in the country. However, while many commentators have examined the political, economic and social roots of the protests, less attention has been paid to the role of the police in these events. Police confusion, their inability to respond to the street protests in a timely and professional manner, and allegations of the use of excessive force against protestors represent clear evidence that the stalled police reform in the country needs to be re-examined. After almost two decades of international assistance, first by the United Nations (UN) and later the European Union (EU), police reform in Bosnia remains incomplete. Since the 2012 closing of the EU police mission (EUPM) in Bosnia, the issue of police reform has been put on hold. Bosnia's multiple police services remain fragmented and lack transparency. More importantly, the lack of harmonization, coordination and civic oversight leads to political interference in policing.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Human Rights, Law Enforcement, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and United Nations
14. Islamism and Security in Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Author:
- Leslie S. Lebl
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
- Abstract:
- Bosnia-Herzegovina, once thought to be on the way to joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), is instead falling behind, mired in political bickering, economic stalemate, and governmental dysfunction. In this difficult situation, Islamism poses a significant threat to Bosnia's fragile domestic stability. Although the levels of Islamist terrorism and separatist movements are comparable to those elsewhere in Europe, they are particularly troublesome in Bosnia for two reasons. First, senior political and religious Bosniak (Muslim) leaders have long-standing ties to the Muslim Brother - hood and Islamist terrorism, including al-Qaeda and Iran, that they are very reluctant to abandon. Second, Islamism contributes significantly to Bosnia's dysfunction as a country. Calls to re-impose traditional Islamic law, or sharia, arouse opposition from Bosnian Serbs and Croats, as does the nostalgia for the Otto-man Empire and Islamic Caliphate shared by key Bosniak leaders, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the Turkish government.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Political Violence, Islam, and Sectarianism
- Political Geography:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
15. Strengthening Transitional Justice in Bosnia: Regional Possibilities and Parallel Narratives
- Author:
- Dejan Guzina and Branka Marijan
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- In the media, news commentators continue to refer to Srebrenica as a lesson that should never be repeated again. Indeed, such “never again” statements have re-emerged in light of current events unfolding in Syria, as the international community debates what type of intervention should be used to stop further violence. The media have gone so far as to call the Syrian regime's possible use of chemical weapons against its population a “Srebrenica moment” — that is, a moment when moral outrage of civilian deaths leads to a push for military intervention (Lerman and Lakshmanan 2013). While little action has materialized in the case of Syria, the Srebrenican “never again” lesson is also far from being either agreed upon or learned from in Bosnia itself.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Crime, Genocide, International Law, Regional Cooperation, War, and Sectarian violence
- Political Geography:
- Bosnia, Balkans, and Syria
16. Back to the future for Syria
- Author:
- Michael Williams
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Some months ago while clearing my late mother 's house I came across a stamp album from my school days in the 1960s. There were stamps from 'Croatia ', in reality produced by extremist groups in Argentina, but testifying to the existence of the Nazi puppet state of Croatia (NDH) in the 1940s. But to my surprise, I also found stamps from the 'Alawite State of Syria '. An independent Croatia is now a reality and soon to become a member of the European Union. For that matter we also have states of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo. And the former Soviet Union has broken up into its constituent republics. Who would have imagined this as late as 1990? But maybe the break up of states, whether Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia, and possibly the United Kingdom if Scotland opts for independence in 2014, is a purely European phenomenon?
- Topic:
- Government and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United Kingdom, Europe, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Argentina, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Syria, and Scotland
17. The Strategic Role of Military Contractors
- Author:
- Alessandro R. Ungaro
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Review of: The Strategic Use of Military Contractors. American Commercial Military Service Providers in Bosnia and Liberia, by Marcus Mohlin, Finnish National Defence College, 2012
- Political Geography:
- America, Bosnia, and Liberia
18. Returnees, Remittances, and Reconstruction: International Politics and Local Consequences in Bosnia
- Author:
- Barbara Franz
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
- Institution:
- School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
- Abstract:
- Refugee emigration from, and return to, Bosnia and Herzegovina is closely tied to the 1992-1995 war, and the wide-reaching consequences thereof in the post-conflict recovery period. During the conflict, over half of the country's population of 4.4 million people were forced to leave their homes through systematic methods of violence and war, which resulted in the death of about 250,000 people. It was during this conflict that the term ethnic cleansing was first commonly used.1 By the end of the war, million people had been internally displaced, and another 1.3 million people had fled abroad. Residences, industry and infrastructure had been destroyed on a massive scale, and million mines were spread throughout the country. In 1995, the Dayton Peace Accords ended the war, but formalized the de facto ethnic division of the previously multi-ethnic republic. Bosnia and Herzegovina was separated into two entities divided along ethnic lines. One body, the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, consists of the areas controlled by the Bosnian Muslims and Croats, and the other entity, Republica Srpska, corresponds with the ethnonationalist fatherland claimed by the Bosnian Serb leadership before the war. Although it brought an end to the hostilities, Dayton failed to effectively address the political conflict over the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina that had initially instigated the war.
- Political Geography:
- Bosnia
19. Strengthening Transitional Justice in Bosnia: Regional Possibilities and Parallel Narratives
- Author:
- Dejan Guzina and Branka Marijan
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
- Abstract:
- In the media, news commentators continue to refer to Srebrenica as a lesson that should never be repeated again. Indeed, such “never again” statements have re-emerged in light of current events unfolding in Syria, as the international community debates what type of intervention should be used to stop further violence. The media have gone so far as to call the Syrian regime's possible use of chemical weapons against its population a “Srebrenica moment” — that is, a moment when moral outrage of civilian deaths leads to a push for military intervention (Lerman and Lakshmanan 2013). While little action has materialized in the case of Syria, the Srebrenican “never again” lesson is also far from being either agreed upon or learned from in Bosnia itself.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Crime, Genocide, Human Rights, and War
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Balkans, and Syria
20. Gareth Evans on 'Responsibility to Protect' after Libya
- Author:
- Alan Philps
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- 'Responsibility to Protect' is a doctrine endorsed in 2005 which aims to end impunity for the perpetrators of atrocities such as those being committed in Syria. Gareth Evans, the former Australian Foreign Minister and a prime mover behind the concept, explains why the UN is now powerless to stop the bloodshed, and offers ideas on restoring consensus.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- Bosnia, Libya, and Syria