Urbanities,
Vol. 3 • No 1 • May 2013
© 2013
Urbanities
98
This current state of affairs has but two culprits: the International Community and
Bosnia- Herzegovina itself.
The International Community
As in most post-war societies, the involvement of the International Community was instrumental
in preventing further bloodshed and helping rebuild the country. What sets Bosnia a cut above
other post-war societies is that sixteen years after the war ended an international envoy, called
the High Representative, still holds powers above the local constitution, parliament and
governments. This was possible because both the EU and the United States agreed upon a
reconstruction strategy foregrounding the principles of multiculturalism, in order to maintain
peace, ethnic communities should maintain their separateness and avoid negative interactions.
Not only did the Constitution framed at Dayton legitimise the territorial divisions of Bosnia but
created separate institutions for each of the three ethnic groups: Serbs, Croats and Bosnians. As
expected, this made the country ungovernable, with only one exception: The High
Representative for Bosnia, who still enjoys veto power, has the ability to amend all laws and to
revoke any elected official if deemed necessary.
The western leaders who drew up the accords failed to insist on a mechanism to adapt
Dayton
to future developments on the ground in Bosnia. The Constitution left ethnic national
groups too much room for blockades should they see their interests at risk. In other words, the
existing constitution actually impedes the development of a culture of compromise.
It is this reality that has kept Bosnia in a limbo for almost two decades now, and looking
back, sixteen years later, we realise how faulty this approach was to begin with. At that time it
seemed the reasonable thing to do but this painful status-quo should not have lasted this long.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
A divided country may be by the fallout of Dayton, but Bosnia is equally responsible for fuelling
this ethnic segregation. With the exception of the army, Bosnia keeps ethnic divisions a focus for
any administrative and institutional organization. Serbs, Croats and Bosnians vote only for their
own, as politicians foment ethnic nationalism and use religion as a primary tool in their electoral
battles. Likewise, the infamous
two schools under one roof
system, which separates pupils based
on their ethnicity, has seen little popular support for its removal. Sarajevo, blending in an
