Consociationalism – Prerequisite or Hurdle for Democratisation in Bosnia? The Case of Belgium as a Possible Example
Consociationalism – Prerequisite or Hurdle for Democratisation in Bosnia? The Case of Belgium as a Possible Example

Summary/Abstract: Bosnia Herzegovina is divided into two entities; both have become largely mono-ethnic areas, while at the same time belonging to a weak multi-ethnic state. The political system established in Dayton in 1995 and by the Washington Agreement between Croats and Bosniacs the previous year seeks to strike a balance between recognising the realities on the ground, i.e. the division of previously co-existing nations, and creating a system of co-operation and an eventual return of refugees, potentially enabling their co-existence on the same territory. The political system institutionalised in Dayton, through a constitution decreed by the international community and the United States in particular, resembles in many ways the brief experience with democracy in 1990-1991, while at the same time recognising the territorial division of the country. The purpose of this article is to examine the applicability of the model of a consociational democracy to Bosnia. In order to achieve this, we shall examine Belgium as a “role model” of a plural democracy and point to elements of consociational existence in pre-war and post-Dayton Bosnia.

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