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Constitutional Politics in Central and Eastern Europe pp 243–266Cite as

Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Part of the book series: Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft ((VGPO))

Abstract

Constitutional politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina are dominated by ethno-politics and the results of the 1992–1995 war. The constitution contained in the Dayton peace agreement of 1995 established a stable but inefficient consociational arrangement based on an ethno-territorial division of the country with particular rights for the three constituent peoples: Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. In 2009, the European Court of Human Rights found that the constitution discriminates citizens who do not claim to belong to any of these constituent peoples. Furthermore, the European Union established constitutional reform as a precondition for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s further EU integration. However, the political representatives of the constituent peoples have resisted any calls for change so far.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    All people and persons coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina are being referred to as Bosnians (Bosanac), regardless of their ethnicity and which part of the country they come from. The 1991 census included the category ‘Muslim’ in a national sense, although not all ‘Muslims’ were of Islamic faith. Nevertheless, nationality and religion are highly interlinked as also most Croats are of Roman Catholic and most Serbs of Christian Orthodox faith. As of 1993, the term ‘Bosniak’ (Bošnjak) replaced the term ‘Muslim’.

  2. 2.

    The constitution was drafted in English by a mixed team of domestic and international experts. The text was later translated into the languages of BiH as listed in the GFAP, i.e. Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian.

  3. 3.

    The original term Republika Srpska (in English: ‘Serb Republic’) will be used here as the original name is used also in the GFAP and has become internationally accepted and turned into common usage (see e.g. Steiner and Ademović 2010).

  4. 4.

    I use the—admittedly ambiguous—term ‘international community’ to refer to a rather stable group of states and international organizations with a stake in the peace agreement and the further development of BiH. With regard to constitutional politics, it includes the countries and organizations represented in the Peace Implementation Council supporting the Office of the High Representative, in particular the European Union and its member states, the USA, the Russian Federation, Canada, the NATO, and the Organization of Islamic States (see Peace Implementation Council 2012).

  5. 5.

    For the cantons Herzegovina-Neretva (Mostar) and Central Bosnia (Travnik), where most of the fighting took place, power-sharing was agreed.

  6. 6.

    For a comprehensive analysis of blocking mechanisms, see Bahtić-Kunrath (2011).

  7. 7.

    In the meantime, negotiations with the EU for a Stabilization and Association Agreement had begun on November 25, 2005.

  8. 8.

    The request for judicial autonomy had been an important feature since Yugoslav times. In the case of the RS, there are particularly concerns that the State Court could trial RS politicians for corruption while they feel protected at RS level given their control over the political and judicial system.

  9. 9.

    I.e. up until the finalization of this chapter in September 2015.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. European Institute, CIFE, rue de France 81, 06000, Nice, France

    Tobias Flessenkemper

Authors
  1. Tobias Flessenkemper
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Correspondence to Tobias Flessenkemper .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Anna Fruhstorfer

  2. Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Michael Hein

Appendix: Constitutional Politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1995–2014

Appendix: Constitutional Politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1995–2014

Dates of amendment and implementation

Articles

Constitutional subfields

Short analysis of the reform process

03/26/2009/

04/08/2009

Art. VI

• Constitutional court

• Local self-administration

• Regular amendment by Parliamentary Assembly with broad two-thirds majorities in the House of Representatives (final vote: 36-to-1 majority with 2 abstentions) and the House of Peoples (final vote: 14-to-1 majority without abstentions)

• Main actors: all political parties, High Representative

• Duration: 6 months.

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Flessenkemper, T. (2016). Bosnia and Herzegovina. In: Fruhstorfer, A., Hein, M. (eds) Constitutional Politics in Central and Eastern Europe. Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-13762-5_10

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