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51. The European Union Foreign and Security Actions and the Western Balkans

Author:
Siret Hursoy
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
The EU's realisation of the need to develop more cogent external relations, foreign and security policies towards the Western Balkans can be attributable to the failure of Europeans to end conflicts on their doorstep in Bosnia, Croatia, Albania and Kosovo throughout the 1990s. It is argued that the EU's network of external relations traditionally consists of three main elements: trade, foreign and security policy and development co-operation. Therefore, this paper will dwell upon the EU's international role through its external relations elements which are also considered to be the main tools of bringing stability and prosperity into the Western Balkans. Moreover, it will be argued that the EU has an extensive network of foreign relations, but no 'real' foreign policy. This article will specifically examine the experiences of the EU's CFSP by highlighting the success and failures of the ESDP in the region.
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Kosovo, and Albania

52. The Military and the Fight Against Serious Crime: Lessons from the Balkans

Author:
Cornelius Friesendorf
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
Serious crime poses major obstacles in peace operations. International actors intervening in war-torn countries face the challenge of putting pressure on suspected war criminals, members of organized criminal groups, those who instigate interethnic violence, and corrupt officials. While it is widely acknowledged by now that serious crime and public security gaps cause lasting damage to international stabilization efforts, international and domestic policing structures remain weak. This article examines the law enforcement role of international military forces. It shows that in post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, military support for crime-fighting efforts has been unsystematic, although it has improved over time. Practical, political, and normative reasons stand in the way of employing the military for law enforcement tasks. However, under conditions of weak policing, preparing the military for law enforcement is necessary in order to better protect citizens against serious crime.
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Balkans

53. From Bosnia to Baghdad the Case for Regulating Private Military and Security Companies.

Author:
Ruta Nimkar
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Woodrow Wilson School Journal of Public and International Affairs
Institution:
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
Abstract:
On September 16, 2007, violent gunfire erupted in Nisoor Square, Baghdad. When the smoke cleared, officials confirmed that 28 innocent Iraqi civilians had died in the incident. Guns had been fired – not by coalition troops, nor by insurgents – but by employees of Blackwater, a private company selling military services.
Political Geography:
Iraq, Bosnia, and Baghdad

54. (Re) Covering the Past, Remembering the Trauma: The Politics of Commemoration at Sites of Atrocity.

Author:
Lisa M. Moore
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Woodrow Wilson School Journal of Public and International Affairs
Institution:
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
Abstract:
A recent survey of victims of violence reported that memorialization was prioritized as the second most valuable form of state reparations following monetary compensation (Brett, et al 2008, 2). In part, it is perhaps this impetus to bear witness to the suffering of victims that has given rise to a proliferation of memorials in recent decades, including those marking genocide in Rwanda, Cambodia, and Bosnia, violent repression in Argentina and Chile, wars of liberation in Bangladesh and Palestine, nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, and terrorism in Madrid and New York. As a form of transitional justice, memorials have too often been relegated to the domain of artists and architects whereas they represent a strategic resource in conflict and peace.
Topic:
Genocide, Terrorism, and War
Political Geography:
Bangladesh, New York, Bosnia, Argentina, Palestine, Cambodia, Rwanda, and Chile

55. Preventing Media Incitement to Violence in Iraq

Author:
Theo Dolan
Publication Date:
04-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The monitoring of Iraqi media reveals that inflammatory coverage does not • necessarily consist of a direct call to violence, but instead takes the form of indirect or coded terminology that still has dangerous potential to foment conflict. Current regulatory and self-regulatory efforts designed to prevent media incitement to violence have, thus far, been insufficient. Lessons learned from post-conflict Bosnia, Kosovo and Sri Lanka can assist Iraqis in creating their own legal and self-regulatory mechanisms to limit inflammatory media coverage. There are a wide range of measures to mitigate inflammatory media coverage, including targeted training for media and government officials, broad support for a professional code of conduct, a full review of existing legislation relating to incitement, and the creation of a lexicon of inflammatory terms with guidelines for the proper use of these terms.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Political Violence, and Mass Media
Political Geography:
Iraq, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, and Kosovo

56. The EU in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Powers, Decisions and Legitimacy

Author:
Bart M. J. Szewczyk
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
This Occasional Paper analyses the issue of the Bonn Powers in Bosnia – whereby the Office of the High Representative (OHR) can enact laws and remove elected officials – by comprehensively assessing the legitimacy of past OHR decisions. Adopting an established theory of legitimacy developed by Harold Lasswell and Myres McDougal, it argues that empirical legitimacy is best conceived as serving common interests of effective actors within an authorised process, and normatively prescribes that such process should be shaped to maximise values of human dignity. Given this theoretical framework, it examines the process authorised under the Dayton Agreement, which created the political structure that currently exists in Bosnia. It discusses the origins of the Bonn Powers and surveys the various criticisms that have been levelled against them. It then develops an overall analysis of all OHR decisions to date and provides a critique of those categories of decisions that appear inconsistent with the Dayton order and its proclaimed organising principles. Moreover, it provides a focused assessment of a sample of the most problematic decisions, e.g. the removal of elected officials, to show how their empirical legitimacy can be analysed. Finally, the paper concludes with policy recommendations, focusing on the issue of whether the Bonn Powers should be renounced or retained in the future.
Topic:
Government, Treaties and Agreements, International Affairs, and Political Theory
Political Geography:
Europe, Bosnia, and Balkans

57. A New Kind of Balkans Drama

Author:
Daniel Serwer
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The Balkans face more trouble in Kosovo as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina unless the United States and European Union take dramatic steps to get both back on track towards EU membership. In Bosnia, the international community needs to reconstitute itself as well as support an effort to reform the country's constitution. In Kosovo, Pristina and Belgrade need to break through the barriers to direct communication and begin discussions on a wide range of issues. This brief proposes specific diplomatic measures to meet these needs.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Diplomacy, and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, and Balkans

58. Adjusting to Stabilization and Reconstruction Operations

Author:
Robert Hoekstra and Charles Tucker Jr.
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
PRISM
Institution:
Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:
Drawing on the lessons learned from coalition interventions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, by mid-2004, a consensus developed within the executive branch, Congress, and among independent experts that the U.S. Government required a more robust capacity to prevent conflict (when possible) and (when necessary) to manage “Stabilization and Reconstruction Operations [SROs] in countries emerging from conflict or civil strife.”
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and Government
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Kosovo

59. Getting Back on Track in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Author:
Christopher S. Chivvis and Harun Dogo
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Washington Quarterly
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
''The international officials who have run Bosnia as a virtual protectorate since the West forced a peace deal in 1995 are eager to scale back their presence here soon,'' reported the New York Times eight years ago. Sadly, not much has changed since. Bosnia was Europe's first major post—Cold war tragedy. Its bloody collapse attracted global attention and shaped our understanding of the security dilemmas posed by the post—Cold War world. Peace has held since the 1995 Dayton Accords, but in spite of over $15 billion in foreign aid as well as the sustained deployment of thousands of NATO and EU troops, the country still struggles to achieve the political consensus necessary to cement its stability and break free of international tutelage. To make matters worse, the situation has deteriorated, especially over the last four years. Circumstances on the ground are polarized and increasingly tense. Meanwhile, Bosnia's problems are contributing to rifts between the United States and Europe.
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Bosnia

60. What to do about Bosnia and Herzegovina?: The Case for Accelerated NATO Membership and OSCE Coordination of Constitutional Reform

Author:
Edward P. Joseph
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The policy choice in Bosnia revolves around one question: how much time does the country have? If one believes that the country is reasonably stable, that another election will produce more cooperative leaders, and that Bosnia's "EU future" is assured, then the way forward is clear: cede international leadership in Bosnia from the U.S. to the European Union.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, NATO, and Democratization
Political Geography:
Europe, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Balkans