The EU police mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The main problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is its legacy from the war. The European Security Strategy (ESS) builds on the assumption that different instruments are needed in order to contribute to the state-building process where the aim is a democratic and accountable state with legitimate control over its executive power. This article argues that if the EU is to be judged successful in Bosnia, it must put a halt to such activities as organized crime and corruption, as these are counterproductive to democracy. If these challenges are not properly addressed, it will have serious consequences not only for BiH and Europe but also for the further development of the European Security and Defence Policy, and hence also for the premises of the ESS.

Notes

Javier Solana, A Secure Europe in a Better World – European Security Strategy, Brussels: The European Union for Security Studies, Dec. 2003, p.4. See also Quille's article.

Ibid., p.6.

Ibid., p.5.

Ibid., p.9–10.

Susan Woodward, ‘In Whose Interest Is Security Sector Reform? Lessons from the Balkans’, in Gavin Cawthra and Robin Luckham, Governing Insecurity, London: Zed Books, 2003, p.297.

Interviews conducted in BiH and New York in November 2003.

Solana (see n.1 above), p.7.

Accessed at www.stabilitypact.org.

Rory Keane, ‘Priorities of the Irish Predidency of the EU’, in European Security Review, No.21, Brussels: International Security Information Service, 2004, p.2, accessed at www.isis-europe.org/ftp/download/esr%20all-final%20(2).pdf.

Espen Barth Eide, Annika S. Hansen and Brynjar Lia, Security Sector Reform as a Development Issue, Paris: OECD/DAC Task Force, 1999.

Solana (see n.1 above), p.2 and 13.

Accessed at www.eupm.org/mission/bt/council1.pdf.

Jane Chanaa, Security Sector Reform: Issues, Challenges and Prospects, Adelphi Paper 344, London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2002, p.34.

Max Weber, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1922.

Eide, Hansen and Lia (see n.10 above), p.6.

Nicole Ball, Spreading Good Practices in Security Sector Reform: Policy Options for the British Government, London: Saferworld, 1998, p.4.

Eide, Hansen and Lia (see n.10 above), p.3.

Mary Kaldor, ‘Democratic Control of the Security Sector: Conflict Torn Societies’, in Gavin Cawthra and Robin Luckham, Governing Insecurity, London: Zed Books, 2003, p.205.

Ibid., p.207.

‘Bosniak’ is the term used for Muslims, both secular and religious, who live in Bosnia.

Accessed at www.unmibh.org/unmibh/iptf/index.asp.

The three groups are Serbs, Croats and ‘Bosniaks’ (see n.20 above).

Brcko is the area that has proven most problematic, as each ethnic group controls its own part. Moreover, Brcko connects the northwestern and southeastern parts of the Federation, as well as being the area that separates the Federation from eastern Croatia.

International Crisis Group (ICG), Policing the Police in Bosnia: A Further Reform Agenda, Report No.130, Brussels: ICG, 2002, p.2; BBC News, ‘EU takes on Bosnia policing’, London: BBC, 2003 (accessed at www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2620317.stm). See also UN Security Council (UNSC), ‘Report of the Secretary-General on the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina’, S/2002/618, New York, 5 June 2002.

Catriona Gourlay, ‘The Spanish Presidency's Agenda for Conflict Prevention and Civilian Crisis Management’, European Security Review, No.10, Brussels: International Security Information Service, 2002, p.2, accessed at http://ue.eu.int/pesc/intro_pesc/pres.asp?lang = en.

Adam Daniel Rotfeld (ed.), The New Security Dimensions: Europe after the NATO and EU Enlargements. Stockholm: SIPRI, 2001, p.13. See also ICG (n.24 above), p.8.

For more on UN's experiences in policing, see Annika S. Hansen, From Congo to Kosovo: Civilian Police in Peace Operations, Adelphi Paper 343, London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2002; Tor Tanke Holm and Espen Barth Eide, Peacebuilding and Police Reform, London: Frank Cass, 2000; Robert Oakley, Michael Dziedzic and Eliot Goldberg (eds.), Policing the New World Disorder, Washington, DC: National Defense University, 1998; UN Civilian Police Department, ‘The Growing Role of UN Civilian Police’, 2002 (accessed at www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/civpol/civpol1.html). See also Renata Dwan, Executive Policing: Enforcing the Law in Peace Operations, Research Report, SIPRI, No.16, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003; Halvor A. Hartz and Ola K. Christensen, Med CIVPOL i fredens tjeneste: Håndbok for Civilian Police (CIVPOL) i internasjonale fredsoperasjoner (IFO) 2002, Oslo: Politidirektoratet, 2002.

As of 30 April 2003. UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, accessed at www. un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/contributors/April2003Summary.pdf.

See Gourlay's article in this volume for an overview of the organization.

Jamie Woodbridge, ‘Pledging Police for Crisis Management’, European Security Review, No.9. Brussels: International Security Information Service, 2001, p.5.

For more on this, see ICG, ‘EU Crisis Response Capabilities: An Update’. Issues Briefing Paper, 29 April 2002, Brussels, p.6.

ICG (see n.24 above).

ICG (see n.31 above), p.9.

Interview with a senior official of the EUPM in November 2003.

Jamie Woodbridge' ‘Ready and Willing to Take Charge in the Balkans?’, European Security Review, No.14, Brussels: International Security Information Service, 2002, p.3.

BBC 2003 (see n.24 above).

Hansen (see n.27 above) pp.48–50. See also UNSC 2002 (see n.24 above).

See: www.cepol.net/intranet.

This is according to the meeting in Gothenburg.

UNSC 2002 (see n.24 above). Paddy Ashdown, who took over as High Representative at the Office of the High Representative (OHR) on 27 May 2002, is also EU's special envoy to BiH. In this role, Ashdown has responsibility for coordinating all legal aspects with the Dayton Agreement. Furthermore, the command structure implies that the Police Commissioner reports to Ashdown, who again reports to Javier Solana and the Council's security-political committee. Sadly, Mr Fredriksen passed away in January 2004, a great loss for the international crisis management community.

Definitions by Interpol (see: www.interpol.int) and Transparancy International (see: www.transparancy.org), respectively. ‘Hardliner nationalism’ refers here to the small segment of people within the different ethnic groups that have an ethnic homogeneous state as their ultimate goal. These will more often than not oppose cooperation with other ethnic groups and the international actors.

According to interviews with officials representing the EUPM, Interpol, the OHR and the Customs and Fiscal Assistance Office (CAFAO) in November 2003. See also: Timothy Donais, ‘The Political Economy of Stalemate: Organized Crime, Corruption and Economic Deformation in Post-Dayton Bosnia’, Conflict, Security & Development, Vol.3, No.3, London: King's College, 2003, pp.359–82, at p.363.

Eide, Hansen and Lia (see n.42 above), p.19. See also Tor Tanke Holm and Kari Margrethe Osland, Regional Civilian Police Training in Southeast Europe, Oslo: NUPI, 2000. See also n.38 above.

For more on this, see: www.stabilitypact.org/WT-3/Organized%20Crime/SPOC%20Doc.htm.

Solana (see n.1 above), p.5. See also: Kenneth Schmidt Hansen and Casper Klynge, EU og civil krisestyring. Copenhagen: DUPI, 2001, p.42. See also Neil Barnett, ‘The Criminal Threat to Stability in the Balkans’, Jane's Intelligence Review, London: Jane's, 2002, p.32.

BBC News, ‘UK Tackles Balkans ‘Crime’ Threat’, London, 2002, accessed at www.news.bbc.co.uk/l/hi/uk_politics/2509811.stm.

Holm and Osland (see n.43 above), p.11.

United Press International, ‘Europe Vows War on Organized Crime’, London: United Press International, 2002, accessed at www.upi.com/print.cfm?StoryID = 20021125-031628-4101r.

White House, 2002; Susan L. Woodward, The Way Ahead for Working Table III (Security) of the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe. A discussion paper. New York: City University of New York, 2001; Ball (see n.16 above).

Espen Barth Eide, ‘Conflict Entrepreneurship: On the ‘Art’ of Waging Civil War’, in Anthony McDermott (ed.), Humanitarian Force, Oslo: PRIO/NUPI, 1997.

Stephen John Stedman, ‘Spoiler Problems in Peace Processes’, International Security, Vol.22, No.2, MA: MIT Press, 1997; CPN Briefing Paper, Western Balkans Post- Conflict Prevention: The Security Dimension of Western Balkans Stabilisation, Ebenhausen: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politikk, 1999.

International Crisis Group (see n.24), p.12.

Interviews conducted in BiH in November 2003 with officials representing the EU and the OHR.

A weak majority of the electorate turned out to vote (54.9% i.e. the weakest turnout since the end of the war in 1995). However, the nationalists did not increase their following in absolute numbers compared to the previous election in 2000.

See Young's article in this volume for similar situations.

Woodward (see n.5 above), p.298.

Edward Rees, ‘Security-sector Reform and Transitional Administrations’, Conflict, Security and Development, London: King's College, 2002, p.155.

In this regard, ‘conflict’ means everything from low-intensity conflict on the one side of the spectrum to full-scale war on the other side.

Carrie Manning, ‘Local Level Challenges to Post-conflict Peacebuilding’, International Peacekeeping, Vol.10, No.3, 2003, p.25.

Rees (see n.57 above).

Peter D. Bell and Guy Tousignant, ‘Getting Beyond New York: Reforming Peacekeeping in the Field’, World Policy Journal, 2001, pp.41–2.

Woodward (see n.5 above), p.298.

This was also one of the conclusions in a report published by the Law Enforcement Department of the OSCE to Serbia and Montenegro. See Mark Downes, Police Reform in Serbia – Towards the Creation of a Modern and Accountable Police Service, Belgrade: OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, 2004, p.76.