EU policy in Bosnia: Impact and effectiveness

This study concerns the EU's external policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their effectiveness. The policies of the EU in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the Dayton Accords in 1995 are analysed from a constructivist point of view, and the effectiveness of these policies is studied. Although the EU has been involved in Bosnia and Herzegovina for almost twenty years, both during the war and afterwards, the goal of Bosnia and Herzegovina becoming at least an EU candidate member state has not yet been reached. The EU has invested millions of euros a year in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but its economy is still very unstable and the unemployment rate has increased. The EU itself has engaged mainly with Bosnian politicians for the responsibility of improving Bosnia's unstable situation. However, at the same time the EU criticises these same politicians for not being able to reform to a society that is divided by ethnicity. With their policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the EU has only been...Show moreThis study concerns the EU's external policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their effectiveness. The policies of the EU in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the Dayton Accords in 1995 are analysed from a constructivist point of view, and the effectiveness of these policies is studied. Although the EU has been involved in Bosnia and Herzegovina for almost twenty years, both during the war and afterwards, the goal of Bosnia and Herzegovina becoming at least an EU candidate member state has not yet been reached. The EU has invested millions of euros a year in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but its economy is still very unstable and the unemployment rate has increased. The EU itself has engaged mainly with Bosnian politicians for the responsibility of improving Bosnia's unstable situation. However, at the same time the EU criticises these same politicians for not being able to reform to a society that is divided by ethnicity. With their policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the EU has only been acting from its own identity and values, and has not taken into consideration the Bosnian history and identity in this process. Due to this, the EU policies on Bosnia and Herzegovina have been ineffective for they only act from a European perspective. In their attempt to make democracy succeed, the EU has enforced democracy on Bosnia and Herzegovina, resulting in a contradiction in terms against the values that the EU stands for. The principle of conditionality that is used by the EU to compel Bosnia and Herzegovina to reform is weakened by this contradiction. That leads to a credibility gap in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which undermines the EU's efforts and further increases the ineffectiveness of their actions.Show less

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EU policy in Bosnia: Impact and effectiveness