Thoughts on Bosnia and Herzegovina

Werner Hermann was one of the participants to the Election Observation Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the mission, he put his thoughts into words in the following article. Read it below: 

As already explained in numerous previous AEGEE reports and articles the Bosnian constitution is highly complex, which makes its electoral system unique in the world. For this reason the present paper will not analyze constitutional matters, but will rather focus on statements of young Bosnians and personal perceptions of the author during the Election Observation Mission in Sarajevo.

Apart from important observations during the presidential and parliamentary election, this mission gave me the chance to talk to locals about their point of view on Bosnia and Herzegovina. During these very informative conversations it became clear to me that the discontent with politicians and the political parties is widespread. Young people from Sarajevo miss a clear future-oriented strategy of the political elite. Furthermore, they criticize that the government has failed to implement any major policy initiatives in recent years and has focused on their own benefits in a patronage system that rewards the few and disadvantages many.

Two decades have already passed since the Bosnian Declaration of Independence, the war and the following state-building of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the one hand, the Dayton Agreement has managed to end the war and ensure peace in the region. Yet, on the other hand, it also strengthened and institutionalized the ethnic division of the country. The state in its current form does not seem to be stable enough to face the diverse challenges on a long term. Whereas the Serbs are constantly demanding as much autonomy as possible and the Croats are aiming for a third entity, the Bosniaks desire a more centralized state. Especially the latter vision seemed to be omnipresent in Sarajevo to me. Huge election posters of the Bosniak presidential candidate Bakir Izetbegović, the son of the first Bosnian president Alija Izetbegović, demonstrated this wish best. The winner of the presidential elections 2014 tried to gain votes with the slogan “u jedinstvu je snaga” (in unity is strength). I found this motto remarkable, so I sent a short message without adding any further explanations to a close Croatian friend of mine from Osijek, who knew that I was in Sarajevo at that time. Her reaction astonished me completely: “What is that? An old Yugo-slogan???”. This comment made me think twice. Without wanting it, my Croatian friend illustrated the main dilemma of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Just like the failed state Yugoslavia, the young country consists of various ethnic groups all living together in a multi-national state. The principles have changed insignificantly from Tito’s “bratstvo i jedinstvo” (brotherhood and unity) to Izetbegović’ “u jedinstvu je snaga”. So the following questions arose to me: Is Bosnia simply a mini-version of Yugoslavia? And why should Bosnia succeed, whereas Yugoslavia didn’t? To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t answer these questions.

Many people may argue that democracy and the role of international actors, especially the European Union, have brought stability and peace to the region. This is certainly uncontested. However, the EU as an institution and leading European officials have problematic reputations in parts of Bosnia. Many citizens share the point of view that the EU interferes too much into internal affairs of the Bosnian people. As an example, a young Bosnian lady explained to me during the Election Observation Mission that both, the Bosnian flag and anthem, were not a product of the Bosnian people, but were rather “dictated” by the European Union.

It is unclear in which direction Bosnia and Herzegovina will develop in the next years. In any case, serious reforms will be necessary. The EU should refrain from a massive intervention and let the Bosnians themselves find solutions and make decisions on their future. To put it in a nutshell, Bosnia must be rebuilt in Sarajevo, not Brussels.