Demokratisering utifrån- En fallstudie om demokratiseringsprocessen i etniskt splittrade Bosnien Hercegovina
Bosnia and HerzegovinaDemocratizationOSCEDayton agreementMultiethnic societyPolitical and administrative sciencesStatsvetenskapFörvaltningskunskapLaw and Political Science
After the fall of communism in Yugoslavia the ethnic resentment grew stronger and escalated in to interethnic civil conflict in 1992. After international intervention the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP) installed peace in 1995. The treaty's aim was not only to establish peace but also to institute democracy in Bosnia. The OSCE were given the task to implement democracy within political institutions and civil society. This in a country with a lack of democratic experience and where great problems with ethnic antagonism still exists.By using democratization and transition theory this single case-study examines how democracy is implemented in Bosnia by the OSCE and clarifies difficulties that this democratization process is facing. The transition theory shows that democracy can be implemented through external parties although the society's structure does not admit it. Reforms and projects have been implemented and achieved in Bosnia but progress toward democracy is still very slow. This is to difficulties with multiethnic collaboration within the political institutions that stalls the process. The study also shows that Bosnia still has a lack of political culture, that politics is still based on ethnic grounds and that the civil society is strongly dependent on external parties.