Bosnia and Herzegovina

Synopsis

CSSP has a long tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its methodological foundations stem from the work of Prof. Dr. Christian Schwarz-Schilling as International Mediator from 1996 to 2004 (www.international-mediator.de). CSSP withdrew from Bosnia and Herzegovina when he became High Representative and European Union Special Representative (2005) to avoid a possible conflict of interest. The country has gone through significant changes and the overall situation has through massive international intervention calmed down relative to the war time crisis period. . However, political rhetoric is still the main instrument of choice to rally voters and gain politically. The main challenges today are different than the immediate post-war period in that they focus more on how to stabilize the state-building process without rewarding political support for ethnic divisions and how to integrate BiH further into the European and Transatlantic structures. The inability to resolve these two challenges has a negative effect on socio-economic development, reconciliation and constitutional reform. Since 2007 CSSP has been in dialogue with stakeholders and is focusing on the improvement of inter-community conflicts in select municipalities and regions in the post-conflict context.

Conflict Analysis

The country is still economically and socially suffering from ethnic division which derives from the violent conflict (1991-1995). In particular, the three constituent people (Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats) have not yet found a way how to organize their State and how to create a sense of coexistence and integration at local and national level. Access of all communities which are not constituent peoples to public services and distribution of revenues, as well as their recognition by law is still not a reality. Major legal reforms, such as the constitutional reform process or state property legislation, have ground to a halt due to party politics with nationalistic undertone.  As a result the country is unable to move forward from the dysfunctional Dayton constitutional framework.  The defense of the status quo and the extensive use of the vital national interest clause prevent democratically elected assemblies at all levels to improve the necessary legislation to stabilize the State structure and enter into the Euro-Atlantic structures. The conflict dynamics at the State level can also be found at the local level, for example in municipal councils which are paralyzed due to a lack of trust, political pressure, or risk aversion. The conflict spiral dynamics are particularly visible during elections periods when negative and hard-line rhetoric enter political debates damaging reconciliation and trust building efforts already achieved.

CSSP Approach

CSSP brings local leaders together from all political and social levels to address the issue of peaceful coexistence and trust building. Integrative Mediation is used in BiH to advocate for systemic changes in the negotiation and problem solving culture in municipalities and with higher levels of government. In mediation workshop formats participants learn to work transparently and build trust with all local communities and the civil society. CSSP has no prefer position concerning the future governing structures of BiH. The organization assists in creating frameworks or formats which allow stakeholders to openly discuss their conflict in a mutually learning environment which may lead to consensus-building and at the same time can serves as example for future dialogue. Elected leaders and professionals meet jointly to establish work relationships and design concrete solutions which can help to improve the local situation, allow for professional development and provide tangible results for the population.

CSSP Action

CSSP is involved in two activities which focus on the culture of political negotiation in the post-conflict environment. Firstly, in the City of Mostar Mayor, City Council members and the civil society have restarted their communication after several bilateral and multilateral consultations, facilitated by CSSP in November 2010. Stakeholders agreed to invest into a formalized process that could lead to a workshop to design a systematic communication structure which is transparent enough to reestablish trust between the local leadership and the civil society. Also, it could lead to the urgently needed infrastructural and communal investments. Secondly, as the elected leaders have been unable to reach agreement on constitutional reform in previous international forums, CSSP sponsored by the Konrad - Adenauer - Foundation, is working with political leaders to develop alternative exchange forums to develop a framework which could lead to a locally initiated reform process. There is a window of opportunity created by the December 2009 decision by the European Court for Human Rights calling for amendment of the constitution and by the October 2010 elections which if not exploited can become a missed opportunity.