Bosnia: Faking Democracy After Dayton

263 Pages·2000·0.99 MB·English

by  David Chandler

Bosnia
Faking Democracy After Dayton
Second Edition
David Chandler
P
Pluto Press
LONDON • STERLING, VIRGINIA
First published 1999 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
and 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166–2012, USA
Second edition 2000
Copyright © David Chandler 1999, 2000
The right of David Chandler to be identified as the author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
ISBN 0 7453 1690 5 hbk
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for

Disclaimer:
Some images in the original version of this book are not
available for inclusion in the eBook.

Designed and produced for Pluto Press by
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Typeset by Gawcott Typesetting Services, Milton Keynes
Printed in the EC by TJ International, Padstow
Contents
List of Tables vii
List of Abbreviations viii
Acknowledgements x
Introduction 1
1. Democratisation 7
2. Dayton and Sovereignty 34
3. Power-Sharing and Multi-Ethnic Administrations 66
4. The Protection of Human Rights 90
5. Political Pluralism 111
6. Building Civil Society 135
7. Assessments 154
8. The External Dynamic of Democratisation 181
9. Conclusion 193
Afterword 200
Notes 212
References and Select Bibliography 216
Index 245
v
For my parents, Michael and Eva.
List of Tables
2.1 The Dayton Annexes 45
3.1 Party Composition of the Bosnian State Parliament
(September 1996) 70
3.2 Party Composition of the Federation Parliamentary
Assembly (September 1996) 72
3.3 Party Composition of the Republika Srpska Assembly
(September 1996) 75
3.4 Party Composition of the Republika Srpska Assembly
(November 1997) 77
3.5 Mostar Municipal Councils 80
3.6 Sarajevo Municipal Council Seat Allocation by
Political Party and Nationality 83
3.7 Seat Allocation by Political Party in the Four Sarajevo
Municipal Councils 83
3.8 Brcko Arbitration Rulings (14 February 1997) 85
4.1 Human Rights Agreements: International Comparison 93
5.1 Party Composition of the Republic Srpska Assembly
(September 1998) 213
5.2 President/Vice President of Republika Srpska
(September 1998) 214
vii
List of Abbreviations
ARRC Allied Rapid Reaction Corps
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
CAP Citizens’ Alternative Parliament
CEEC Central and East European countries
CFR Coalition for Return
CoM Council of Ministers
CSCE Conference on Security and Co-operation in
Europe
DPA Dayton Peace Agreement
EASC Election Appeals Sub-Commission
EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development
ECMM European Community Monitoring Mission
EU European Union
EUAM European Union Administration Mostar
FERN Free Elections Radio Network
FIC Federation Implementation Council
FRY Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
GFA General Framework Agreement for Peace in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
HCA Helsinki Citizens’ Association
HDZ Croatian Democratic Union
HRCC Human Rights Co-ordination Centre
HTV Hrvatska (Croatian) Television and Radio
ICFY International Conference on the Former
Yugoslavia
ICG International Crisis Group
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
ICTY International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia
IEBL Inter-Entity Boundary Line
IFOR NATO Implementation Force
IMF International Monetary Fund
IMSLC Intermediate Media Standards and Licensing
Commission
IOM International Organisation for Migration
IPTF UN International Police Task Force
JCC Joint Civilian Commission
viii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix
JCCS Joint Civilian Commission Sarajevo
JIC Joint Interim Commission
LEC Local Election Commission
LNGO Local Non-Governmental Organisation
MBO Muslim Bosniak Organisation
MEC Media Experts Commission
MIA Main Implementation Agencies
MSAG Media Support and Advisory Group
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
OBN Open Broadcast Network
ODIHR OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights
OHR Office of the UN High Representative
OSCE Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe
PEC Provisional Election Commission
PIC Peace Implementation Council
QSP Quick Start Package
RS Republika Srpska
SDA Party of Democratic Action
SDS Serb Democratic Party
SFOR NATO Stabilisation Force
SHAPE Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
SNS Serbian People’s Alliance
SPD Serbian Socialist Party
SRS Serbian Radical Party
SRT Serb Radio and Television
UBSD Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina Social
Democrats
UN United Nations
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees
UNMiBH United Nations Mission in Bosnia and
Herzegovina
UNPROFOR United Nations Protection Force
UNTAES United Nations Transitional Administration for
Eastern Slavonia
US United States
VOPP Vance-Owen Peace Plan
Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without the support of
the International Social Policy Research Unit (ISPRU) at Leeds
Metropolitan University which provided both funding and
research facilities, and I am especially thankful to my colleagues
Bob Deacon, Gordon Johnston and Paul Stubbs for their sugges-
tions and advice. Research in Bosnia was facilitated by officers
from various institutions of the OSCE, in particular: Adam
Bedkowski, Human Rights Co-ordinator for Bosnia-Herzegovina,
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights;
Virginia Canil, Director General for Democratisation, OSCE
Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Betty Dawson, Press and
Public Relations Officer, OSCE Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
I would also like to acknowledge the support of friends and asso-
ciates, who have translated material, trawled cyberspace for infor-
mation, and made comments and suggestions on draft material,
especially journalism researcher William Woodger, with the
London International Research Exchange, Adam Burgess, James
Heartfield, Bernd-Uwe Herrmann, Matthew Kershaw, Michael
Savage and my partner and inspiration Bonnie Chandler.
x
Introduction
The Dayton Peace Agreement, initialled on 21 November 1995,
by the governments of Bosnia, Croatia and rump-Yugoslavia,
brought the three-and-a-half-year Bosnian war to an end. The
agreement, overseen by the institutions of the international
community, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Dayton,
Ohio, not only established international control over military
forces on the ground but also put into practice a new, post-Cold
War, international agenda for long-term peace-building. This
agenda has extended the sphere of international involvement in
post-conflict situations from keeping warring sides apart to
taking the lead in developing long-term political solutions; this
new role for international institutions is increasingly described as
‘democratisation’.
As the UN Secretary-General has noted, ‘democratisation is
predominantly a new area’ for the UN, nevertheless it is already
seen as ‘a key component of peace-building’ addressing the
‘economic, social, cultural, humanitarian and political roots of
conflict’ (UN, 1996, pars 13 and 14). Democratisation is broadly
defined by the UN to constitute a ‘comprehensive approach’
covering the broad range of new peace-building priorities, ‘top-
down’ international regulation of elections, institutional develop-
ment and economic management, and also ‘bottom-up’
assistance to develop a democratic political culture through civil
society-building (UN, 1996, par. 124).
Under Dayton, the framework of the Bosnian state was to be
highly dependent on international supervision. There was to be a
one-year transitional international administration, in place until
the first state-level elections in September 1996. After this, the
formal powers given to the central state authorities were to be
uniquely ‘minimalist’, even to the extent of excluding central
control over the armed forces, while wide-ranging powers over
government institutions were to be given to international organi-
sations and externally appointed individuals for between five and
six years. These new powers of international involvement were
written into the Bosnian Constitution, and the process of democ-
ratisation was to be overseen directly by outside administrators
appointed by international bodies such as the United Nations, the
Council of Europe, the Organisation of Security and Co-opera-
tion in Europe and the International Monetary Fund.
1