Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tuesday 7th February

Bosnia: blood, honey, and war's legacy

Peter Lippman, 7 February 2012
A film portrayal of the horrors of systematic rape during Bosnia's war of 1992-95 highlights the victims' suffering and bravery. But the romantic thread of Angelina Jolie's work fails to convince, says Peter Lippman.
Wednesday 30th November

Bosnia between ethnic-nationalism and Europeanization

Bedrudin Brljavac, 30 November 2011
The Bosnian political elites who tend to safeguard domination of purely ethnic interests at all costs now must choose between maintenance of ethnic apartheid or integration into the European Union
Wednesday 19th October

Can Intervention Work? by Rory Stewart and Gerald Knaus: book review

Mary Kaldor, 19 October 2011
It is possible to walk the tightrope between the horrors of over-intervention and non-intervention. Mary Kaldor agrees, while insisting on distinguishing between genuine humanitarian interventions and the War on Terror.
Wednesday 13th July

US postpones aid payments as Pakistan relations reach new low

Radu Nikolaus Botez, 13 July 2011
Tensions in US-Pakistan relations rise as Washington announces suspension of military assistance. Serbian president Tadic vists Sarajevo to improve relations with neighbour. China criticizes US over military drills in South China Sea while Assad is further isolated following attacks on US and French embassies in Damascus. All in today's security briefing.
Monday 13th June

Memories of a better future in the aftermath of the Srebrenica genocide

Hariz Halilovich, 13 June 2011
It is worth repeating once again that much of the war in Bosnia was a war of two incompatible ideologies: XIX-century-type clero-fascist nationalism vs. organic Bosnian multiculturalism. The region needs to re-address unfinished business in Bosnia and re-examine the legality, morality and sustainability of the Dayton Peace Accords, which left the country divided along artificial ethnic lines.
Saturday 28th May

Bosnia: what course after the storm?

Christophe Solioz and Wolfgang Petritsch, 28 May 2011
Between the advocates of interventionism, who think that only action from the international community can prevent Bosnia’s implosion, and those who, on the contrary, deem Bosnians to be the only ones who should be responsible for their future, we are convinced of the necessity of a middle path: one of shared responsibility, with a demanding partner who can go beyond the past errors and put the country on the road to EU membership

Ratko Mladić's arrest: a start, but let it not obscure how much more is needed for justice

Heather McRobie and Sadzida Tulic, 28 May 2011
Poisonous ethno-nationalist political rhetoric, genocide denial and the celebration of war-time leaders are still routinely permitted in the discourse of Bosnian politicians, the media and citizens – if ‘citizens’ is the right word to describe the Bosnians who live in this protectorate-state purgatory
Thursday 5th May

R2P is misused

Mient Jan Faber, 5 May 2011
R2P, introduced without the slightest idea of how it has to be implemented, is nothing more than an alibi for half-hearted (Libya) or fully fledged (Ivory Coast) military operations and interventions. With regard to non-combatants (civilians), the UN should and could have done a better, more honest job.
Thursday 31st March

Whatever happened to Bosnia?

Bedrudin Brljavac, 31 March 2011
The Dayton political structure, the media, religious figures, and even civil society have been used to entrench divides that could still lead to the partitioning of BiH,Bosnia rather than membership in a united Europe. How can they overcome this impasse?
Thursday 17th February

Yugoslavs in the twenty-first century: ‘erased’ people

Anes Makul and Heather McRobie, 17 February 2011
Two decades after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Balkan countries have a complicated relationship with their Communist past. Two recent events in Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina highlight the complexities of regional identity, and the negative effects of compulsory ethnic identification.
Monday 17th January

Transnational networks and state-building in the Balkans

Vesna Bojicic-Dzelilovic and Denisa Kostovicova, 17 January 2011
Informality allows people to change their immediate circumstances for the better, but it locks the state and society in a vicious circle of reproduction of a weak state, promising insecurity for the majority and prosperity for the few
Tuesday 19th October

Bosnia’s politics of paralysis

Peter Lippman, 19 October 2010
Bosnia’s tenth election since the end of the war of 1992-95 highlights the damaging influence of a post-war settlement that institutionalises ethnic politics, says Peter Lippman.
Thursday 15th July

Srebrenica, fifteen years on

Peter Lippman, 15 July 2010
The dignified commemorations of the massacre of Bosnian Muslims in July 1995 retain their integrity and human core, even as the leaders of a divided Bosnia seek to channel the grief into political pageantry. Peter Lippman, in eastern Bosnia, reports.
Tuesday 6th July

Somalia "in the hands of al-Qaeda"

Patricia Rich and Jamie Munn, 6 July 2010
Fear of contagion leads to calls for increased deployment in Somalia. Turkey threatens to sever diplomatic ties with Israel. Bosnian ex-president in London court on extradition charges. Lebanese Shia leader dies. China deploys security forces ahead of Urumqi riots anniversary. All this and more in today's security briefing.
Wednesday 30th June

Remembering Visegrad

Hikmet Karcic, 30 June 2010
Hikmet Karcic describes scenes in Visegrad on the 18th anniversary of the Bikavac massacre.
Thursday 17th June

Visegrad, memory and justice

Peter Lippman, 17 June 2010
The survivors of a terrible but neglected atrocity in a historic Bosnian town continue to campaign for remembrance and accountability. Peter Lippman joins them on their return to the site.
Wednesday 31st March

Bombers strike at Russian police

Rukeyya Khan, 31 March 2010
Bombers strike at Russian police. Serbia apologises for 1995 Srebrenica massacre. FARC rebels release hostage. All this and more in today’s security briefing.
Sunday 14th February

Bosnian voice, Yugoslavian memory

Peter Lippman, 14 February 2010
The sense of justice and consistency of principle of the Bosnian activist Mladen Grahovac should be a reference-point for those attempting to repair a fragmented country, says Peter Lippman.
Thursday 21st January

A Social Democrat wins in Croatia – and the Balkans move forward

Ivan Vejvoda, 21 January 2010
Ivo Josipović, the professor-composer who has just won the Croatian presidential election, brings real hope to the Western Balkans
Tuesday 19th January

Bosnia's error of othering

Heather McRobie, 19 January 2010
Bosnia is saddled with a peace settlement for a constitution, and that is getting in the way of building a functioning state
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