LIMITATIONS OF THE CONCEPT OF STATE BUILDING: THE CASE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Cover Image

Ograničenja primene koncepta izgradnje države: slučaj Bosne i Hercegovine
LIMITATIONS OF THE CONCEPT OF STATE BUILDING: THE CASE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Author(s): Vuk Lazić
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences
Published by: Институт за међународну политику и привреду
Keywords: state-building; peace-building; international community; Bosnia and Herzegovina

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the dynamics of state building in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the focus on analysis of the structural disadvantages of the concept and its implementation in the post-conflict environment. The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina represents a research case within this area study because it is a heterogeneous and divided society, with complicated historical and ongoing relations between local political actors, the complex structure of the political system, and the increasingly contested role of the international factor in the state-building process. The analysis of the local political dynamics established during the state-building process clearly shows the conflict between international and local actors. The performance of the High Representative as the most important international actor in the state-building process has caused the increasing resistance of local political actors to the implementation of the state-building. The author emphasizes that the legitimacy deficit and the lack of accountability of the international community, the domination of the authoritarian mode of governance, and the insistence on an integrative strategy that neglects the positions, interests and motives of local actors are the major causes of the failure of the international communityʼs project. Since Bosnia and Herzegovina still heavily depends on the international actors, the failure of the state-building process would have far-reaching negative consequences for the political stability and the future of the state.

  • Issue Year: LXX/2018
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 181-207
  • Page Count: 27
  • Language: Serbian