admin February 21st, 2008

Note: the full text of DPC’s report is available in English here; for the Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian version, click here (both files are in PDF). For PDF files of the press release in local language, click here.

SARAJEVO, February 21, 2008 – The Democratization Policy Council (DPC) today released a briefing titled “Understanding and Breaking Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Constitutional Deadlock: A New Approach for the European Union and United States.” It calls on the EU and its member states, backed by the US, to adopt a strategy to help the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina – and pressure its politicians – to adopt a constitution allowing for a functional state.

“The international community places blind faith in the EU’s standard enlargement script to work in Bosnia and Herzegovina, treating it as if it were Slovenia instead of tailoring its policies to the different realities here. This approach has led to political deadlock and caused Bosnian politicians to question the EU’s credibility” said Senior Associate Kurt Bassuener.The country remains crippled by the Dayton constitutional order, which empowers a political oligarchy that has remained dominant from even before the war. “With weak international engagement, the current political system defaults toward partition,” said Senior Associate Scott Lang. The EU must adopt an accession strategy specific to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and develop appropriate sticks and carrots as incentives for sufficient constitutional change. “The EU must use its ‘soft power’ to spark a new constitutional and electoral order as the price of admission into its club,” Lang stated. “This demands some simple and clear criteria, as well as imaginative new incentives.” The criteria should include a rejection of ethno-territorialism, less disruptive methods to protect the vital national interests of constituent peoples, and greater local control of governance and revenue. Among the potential wedge issues that can be leveraged toward this end are visa liberalization, greater support for rural development, and support for improved rail and road links with the country’s neighbors and the EU.These should be marshaled toward building support among the population, and pressure on politicians, for a constitutional convention. “Bosnia and Herzegovina’s politicians have monopolized the constitutional issue for too long. It’s time to draft a constitution according to citizens’ concerns and desires, unlike the life-support system Dayton provides for the ruling political class” noted Bassuener. “A constitutional convention should include civic representatives and mayors, as well as state-level parliamentarians.”Until there is a constitutional framework that allows Bosnia and Herzegovina to move toward European Union membership on its own, it remains essential to keep the full set ofDayton instruments, including a High Representative with executive “Bonn Powers.”To facilitate this process in concert with the EU, the US should designate a senior American politician or diplomat as special envoy, wielding incentives and disincentives, in coordination with the EU. “Senator Joseph Biden, with his long commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina, legislative, and legal know-how, would be an ideal choice,” Lang stated.The Democratization Policy Council is a transatlantic initiative for accountability in democracy promotion, established in 2005 by a group of international affairs professionals. This briefing was written by DPC Senior Associates based in Bosnia and Herzegovina,Belgium, and Germany.The full briefing is available here.

For media enquiries, please contact Kurt Bassuener, kbassuener@democratizationpolicy.org, at +387 61 489 653, or Scott Lang at +387 62 374 904, slang@democratizationpolicy.org. 

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