Getting SECI Started

Abstract

Some time in the early fall of 1995 my wife and I got into a conversation about developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It looked as if the war in that country was coming to an end and we began to talk about what the future might bring. As I was then serving as Senior Director for Eastern Europe on the staff of the United States National Security Council, the issue of the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina was very much on my mind. As we discussed the matter further, it became increasingly clear to me that bringing the war in Bosnia to an end could do more than bring peace to Bosnia. Peace in Bosnia, in turn, could help stabilize conditions in the entire region of Southeastern Europe. The question that needed to be answered was how this result could speedily be attained.