Balkan Tango - article in Internationale Politik
Kurt Bassuener March 9th, 2010
In the February edition of the German foreign policy journal Internationale Politik’s English version, IP Global, Bodo Weber and I have written “Balkan Tango - The EU’s disjointed policies compound Bosnia’s paralysis.” In it, we argue that the international community’s policies toward Bosnia - and the EU’s in particular - are in disarray and without a strategic goal or plan. This has accelerated Bosnia’s downward slide, which began four years ago. To get out of this dynamic, we argue that the United States must first shift its own policy and make an effort to develop a coalition within the EU to restablilize the country, and then develop a more long-term approach. We believe getting Germany onside is essential to developing critical mass within the EU.
The most recent Peace Implementation Council Steering Board meeting on Feb 24-25 (see the PIC Communique here) wasn’t encouraging from that persepective. The issue of a referendum by the Republika Srpska didn’t even rate a mention in the communique, since doing so would mean a Russian footnote. For some continental EU members, Germany prominent among them, maintaining consensus was more important that drawing the line…
