The quest for institutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina

East European Politics and Societies

Volumn 22, Issue 4, 2008, Pages 714-737

  Sberg, Marius ^a  

^a NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY   (Norway)

Author keywords

Bosnia and Herzegovina; Institutions; Public support; Reform

Indexed keywords

EID: 57349085286     PISSN: 08883254     EISSN: 15338371     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0888325408316527     Document Type: Article

References (79)

1. Former HR in BiH, Lord Paddy Ashdown, called Dayton "a superb agreement to end a war, but a very bad agreement to make a state." (" Farewell, Sarajevo, " The Guardian, 2 November 2005, www.guardian.co.uk/ article/o..i6o64.8Q.oo.html.)
2. See e.g., Arend Lijphart, Democracy in Plural Societies (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977). and Arend Lijphart, Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries ( New Haven ; London: Yale University Press, 1999 ).
3. Brendan O'Leary, " The Limits to Coercive Consociationalism in Northern Ireland, " in The Northern Ireland Conflict Consociational Engagements, ed. John McGarry and Brendan O'Leary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). For more on power-sharing as a conflict regulation device, see also Brendan O'Leary and John McGarry (eds.), The Politics of Ethnic Conflict Regulation: Case Studies of Protracted Ethnic Conflicts (London: Routledge, 1993).
4. Sumantra Bose, Bosnia after Dayton: Nationalist Partition and International Intervention (London: Hurst & Company, 2002). 247.
5. See Florian Bieber, Post-War Bosnia. Ethnicity, Inequality and Public Sector Governance (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006). 44.
6. Office of the High Representative, " Mission Implementation Plan for 2005." www.ohr.int.
7. For information on BiH's relations to the EU and NATO, see, e.g., the web site of the Delegation of the European Commission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, at www.delbih.cec.eu.int/en/ and NATO HQ Sarajevo at http://wwwafsouth.nato.int/ NHQSA/index.htm.
8. Former deputy HR Julian Braithwaite, in interview with Sabrina P. Ramet, Washington D.C., 6 June 2006.
9. Following the successful negotiation of the DPA in November 1995, a Peace Implementation Conference was held in London on 8-9 December 1995. The meeting resulted in the establishment of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC). The PIC comprises fifty-five countries and agencies that support the peace process in many different ways: by assisting it financially, providing peace keeping troops, or directly running operations in BiH. The PIC Members and Participants are: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China (resigned in May 2000), Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, the HR, Brcko Arbitration Panel (dissolved in 1999 after the Final Award was issued), Council of Europe, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Commission, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), International Monetary Fund (IMF), North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), United Nations (UN), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN Transitional Administration of Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES; disbanded in January 1998), and the World Bank. The London Peace Implementation Conference also established the Steering Board of the PIC to work under the chairmanship of the HR as the executive arm of the PIC. The Steering Board members are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, the Presidency of the European Union, the European Commission, and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which is represented by Turkey.
10. Freedom House, " Nations in Transit 2006. Bosnia and Herzegovina Country Report, " http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page= 47&Irit=4i3&year=2006.
11. See also Vera Divine and Harald Mathisen, " Corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2005." CMI Report 8, 2005, Chr. Michelsens Institute (CMI), Norway, www.cmi.no/publications.
12. International Crisis Group, " Bosnia's Precarious Economy: Still Not Open for Business, " Europe Report No. 115, 7 August 2001, www.crisisgroup.org.
13. Mark E. Warren, " What Does Corruption Mean in a Democracy? " American Journal of Political Science 48, no. 2 (April 2004). 328-43.
14. Sabrina P. Ramet and Marius Søberg, " Challenges Facing Croatia since Independence (An Introduction), " in Croatia since Independence: War, Politics, Society, Foreign Relations, ed. Sabrina P. Ramet, Konrad Clewing, and Reneo Lukic ( Munchen: R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 2008 ).
15. Undp, " Fighting Corruption to Improve Governance, " New York, 1998, http://www.undp.org/gnvernance/contactcdrom-contents/CQNTACTdoc/ UNDPJolicyPaper/cpolicyfti98.pdt.
16. BiH's rankings in the surveys are: 2002: 70; 2003: 70; 2004: 82; 2005: 88, 2006: 93. Transparency International, "Corruption Perceptions Index 2002," "Corruption Perceptions Index 2003," "Corruption Perceptions Index 2004, "Corruption Perceptions Index 2005," Corruption Perceptions Index 2006," http://www.transparency.org/poUcy- research/surveysJndices/cpi.
17. Transparency International, " Report on the Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer 2007."
18. Transparency International, " Report on the Global Corruption Barometer 2004, " 9 December 2004, http://www.transoarencv.org/siirvev5/ barometer/dnld/barometerreport-8 2004..pdf.
19. " Report on the Global Corruption Barometer 2004, ", http://www.transoarencv.org/siirvev5/barometer/dnld/barometerreport-8 2004..pdf, Ibid.
20. Transparency International, " Corruption Perceptions Index 2006."
21. Transparency International, " Corruption Perceptions Index 2005."
22. UNDP, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, Management Development Division, " Corruption and Good Governance-Discussion Paper 3." New York, July 1997.
23. See Marius Søberg, " Empowering Local Elites in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Dayton Decade, " Problems of Post-Communism 53, no. 3 (2006). 44-58.
24. Partner Marketing/Reporter, " Serb Bosnians Support Independence, " in Angus Reid Global Monitor: Polis & Research, June 2006, http://wyyw.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfiTi/fuseactionMewltem/itemii>;/ i24aq.
25. Data from " Bosnian Political Mood Hits Post-Dayton Low, " U.S. State Department, Office of Research, 22 September 2003 and " Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats Support, Serbs Oppose Unified State, " U.S. State Department, Office of Research, 2 October 2 2003. For a discussion about the division between national groups in BiH today, see, e.g., " Paralelni intervju Beriz Belkic i Miodrag Zivanovic, " Osloboenje (Sarajevo). 10 September 2005, http://www.oslobodjenje.ba.
26. For an analysis of the HDZ in Croatia, see Marius Søberg, " Hrvatska nakon 1989. godine. HDZ i politika tranzicije, " in Demokratska tranzicija u Hrvatskoj: Transformacija vrijednosti, obrazovanje, mediji, ed. Sabrina E Ramet and Davorka Matiä (Zagreb: Alinea, 2006).
27. Reliable data are hard to come by, but according to a 2002 estimate, Serbs constitute 7.6 percent of the population in the FBiH, equaling some two hundred thousand people. See Florian Bieber, " Post-War Bosnia."
28. Data: Prism Research, Sarajevo, September 2005, http://www.prismresearch. ba.
29. Quoted by Gearoid Tuathail, John O'Loughlin, and Dino Djipa, " Bosnia-Herzegovina Ten Years after Dayton: Constitutional Change and Public Opinion, " Eurasian Geography and Economics 47, no. 1 (January/February 2006). 61-75.
30. Spiegel interview with Paddy Ashdown: " Europe Is the Only Future for the Balkans, " Der Spiegel (Hamburg). 1 October 2005, http://service.spiegel.de/cache/intemational/spieqel/o.isi8,i78o8i.oo.html.
31. Some 66 percent view the RS as "the only guarantee for the sustainability of Serbs in BiH." Delegation of the European Commission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, " Perceptions of the EU in BiH, " July 2005, http://www.delbih.cec.eu/en/index.htm.
32. Data: Prism Research, Sarajevo, September 2005, http://www.prismresearch. ba.
33. Quoted from Tuathail, O'Loughlin, and Djipa, " Bosnia-Herzegovina Ten Years after Dayton."
34. Christian Schwarz-Schilling, " How to Move Bosnia Forward (Op-Ed), " International Herald Tribune, 1 February 2006.
35. SRNA (Bijeljina), 17 November 2005.
36. Sabrina P. Ramet, Thinking About Yugoslavia: Scholarly Debate About the Yugoslav Breakup and the Wars in Bosnia and Kosovo (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001
37. Sumantra Bose, Bosnia after Dayton: Nationalist Partition and International Intervention, (London: C. Hurst & Co., 2002).
38. David Chandler, Bosnia: Faking Democracy after Dayton, 2nd ed. (London and Sterling, VA: Pluto Press 2000).
39. Elizabeth M Cousens and Charles K. Cater, Towards Peace in Bosnia: Implementing the Dayton Accords (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2001). European Stability Initiative (ESI), www.esiweb.org.
40. Nezavisne novine, 6 February 2006.
41. Veoernje novosti (Belgrade), 21 February 2000, http://www.novosti.co.yu/.
42. See, e.g., the reports of the International Crisis Group (ICG) at www.crisisgroup.org.
43. See, e.g., International Crisis Group, " Is Dayton Failing? Bosnia Four Years After the Peace Agreement, " Sarajevo, 28 October 1999, at www.crisisgroup.org.
44. See, e.g., European Stability Initiative, " Making Federalism Work: A Radical Proposal for Practical Reform, " at http://www.esiweb.org.
45. For a discussion of post-Dayton BiH and consociational theory, see, e.g., Bose, Bosnia after Dayton.
46. See, e.g., Deputy HR Donald Hays, " Clanak Donalda Haysa, prvog zamjenika visokog predstavnika: 'Pragmaticni pomaci, " Osloböenje (Sarajevo). 16 March 2005 stressing that " Danas je primani akcenat organa vlasti na ispunjenju preostalih ustava za clanstvo u NATO-vom programu Partnerstvo za mir I otpocinjanju pregovora o stabilizaciji i pridruzivanju sa Evropskom unijom.
47. "Former HR, Paddy Ashdown, famously attacked antireform forces in the RS, asking " Do the people of the RS really want that-to choose Belarus over Brussels? " OHR, " Transcript of the Press Conference on the Consequences of Failing to Agree to Police Reform, " 22 September 2005, http://www.ohr.int.
48. David Chandler, " Introduction: Peace Without Politics? " International Peacekeeping 12, no. 3, (2005). 307-21.
49. Tuathail, O'Loughlin, and Djipa, " Bosnia-Herzegovina Ten Years after Dayton."
50. European Stability Initiative, " Making Federalism Work-A Radical Proposal For Practical Reform."
51. GfK, " Most Bosnians Support EU Accession, " Angus Reid Global Monitor: Polls & Research, July 2006, http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index. cfm/fuseactionAriewItem/iteniID/r2643.
52. Furthermore, the most trusted public figures in the RS are Hague Tribunal fugitives Ratko Mladiä and Radovan Karadzic. In contrast, the ICTY is the most trusted international organization by respondents in the Federation. Idea / Seeds, " South East Europe (SEE) Public Agenda Survey, " http://archive.idea.int/balkans.
53. Balkan Public Agenda Focus Group study, " Republika Srpska Report, " 2001, www.idea.int.
54. " Pedi Esdaun, visoki predstavnik: Mozemo sustici SCG, " Dnevni avaz 13 October 2005, and " Intervju: Pedi Esdaun, visoki predstavnik za BiH: Necu da ukinem Republiku Srpsku, " NIN (Belgrade). 15 July 2004, http://www.avaz.bawww.nin.co.yu.
55. In a recent poll, some 61 percent of RS respondents were in support. Data: Delegation of the European Commission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Perceptions."
56. Dnevni avaz, 22 November 2005.
57. " High Representative Welcomes Constitutional Reform Agreement," OHR press release, 18 March 2006, http://www.ohr.int/ohiwdept/ presso/pressr/default.asp?content, jd=36777.
58. Onasa news agency (Sarajevo), 23 March 2006, http://www.onasa.com.ba/.
59. "Haris Silajdzic": Nista spektakularno neäe se dogoditi u Vaåingtonu " Dnevni avaz, 21 November 2005.
60. " Gojko Beric: Domoljupci u ratu, " Bosanska poåta, 17 March 2006. (BP is a newspaper for the Bosnian emigre community in Scandinavia).
61. "SDP se ponasa drzavotvorno, a Stranka za BiH uskostranacki," Dnevni avaz, 1 March 2006.
62. Onasa news agency (Sarajevo), 26 February 2006.
63. Report from press conference in Mostar. Onasa news agency (Sarajevo), 22 March 2006.
64. " Ne treba sve izgubiti, " Nezavisne novine, 27 March 2006.
65. Six deputies voted for the amendments (62 percent), and sixteen were against (38 percent). " Nakon visemjesecnih pregovora, dvodnevne raspravei lobiranja u Parlamentu, " Osloböenje, 27 April 2006.
66. " Nezadovoljna frakcija osniva HDZ 1990, " Dnevni avaz, 2 February 2006.
67. 'S Dejtonskim ustavnom BiH nikada neüe uäi u Evrupsku Uniju, " Slobodna Bosna (Sarajevo). 8 June 2006.
68. International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES), Ljubljana. 23 and 24 March 2006, http://www.ifimes.org/.
69. International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES), Ljubljana, http://www.ifimes.org/, Ibid.
70. For instance, U.S. Ambassador to BiH Douglas McElhaney stated that " On behalf of the U.S. Government I wish to express true disappointment " Austrian Ambassador Werner Almhofer commented that support of the people and IC in the process was clear, but that some MPs " have focused on political and ethnical issues, and not on the European path " Head of the EU Delegation Michael Humphreys stated: " We still have to talk about the issue in order for this country to move on " (Osloböenje (Sarajevo). 27 April 2006).
71. HR Christian Schwarz-Schilling stated that " The EU is observing if BiH can make a progress here or not. The failure of this progress will send out a negative signal to the EU, but also to the citizens of BiH." (Osloböenje, " HR/EUSR Comments on HoR Failure to Adopt Constitutional Amendments, " 27 April 2006).
72. According to one of initiators of the reform project Donald Hays, former Deputy HR, the reform was opposed by " handful of people that are fixated on the past, who want to revive the agony of the war and settle old accounts in it. Unfortunately, now BiH citizens would pay the price of their selfish calculations." Dnevni avaz, 28 April 2006.
73. Osloböenje, 27 May 2006.
74. " BiH: Politika ispred prava, " B92 (Belgrade). 11 August 2006, www.b92.net.
75. PM Milorad Dodik quoted by AFP, " Envoy Warns Bosnian Serbs over Kosovo Remarks, " 22 August 2007.
76. " Ustavne promjene veliki korak za bolju BiH, " Nezavisne novine, 21 November 2006.
77. International Crisis Group, " Ensuring Bosnia's Future: A New International Engagement Strategy, " Europe Report No. 180, 15 February 2007.
78. European Stability Initiative, " Post-Industrial Society and the Authoritarian Temptation, " Berlin & Sarajevo, 11 October 2004, www.esiweb.org.
79. Gojko Beric, " Danas i ovdje, " Osloböenje, 27 April 2006.