https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8619-3530
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ABSTRACT
Incremental democratic decline is evident in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), but measures of democracy conceal an uneven subnational distribution of autocratization. So far there has been limited research on the drivers and constraints to subnational autocratization. This paper aims to contribute to the literature on power-sharing by exploring instances of illiberal politics enacted by parties in government at the subnational level in BiH. Evidence is gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysis of three specific cases of illiberal politics. We find that the political contest in BiH is purposefully contained within ethnic and subnational boundaries and constrained through several layers of institutionalized multilevel and ethnic checks and balances. The main drivers of subnational autocratization are opportunities that arise from the institutional framework established during early democratization and postwar structures that blend executive dominance with economic power and informal party networks, and occasionally from an individual actor’s perceptions of threat. Democratization in BiH will need to address subnational politics and deep-rooted power structures if it is to be successful.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. In this paper, I use the term autocratization when referring to BiH for reasons elaborated by Lührmann and Lindberg (Citation2019).
2. In the Sejdić and Finci case, the European Court of Human Rights found that BiH’s constitution discriminated against certain groups of citizens and violated the European Convention on Human Rights (Hodžić and Stojanović Citation2011).
3. The fourth, multiethnic playing field partially overlaps with the Bosniak one and is bound by the same degree of openness.
4. The following search strings were used to identify articles: <protesti OR prosvjedi+Dragičević+‘Banja Luka’>; <politički+utjecaj+mediji+RTRS OR BHT OR RTVFBIH>; <javna+preduzeća+izbori+SDA OR SNSD OR HDZ>; from Al Jazeera Balkans (http://balkans.aljazeera.net, 24 June 2019), Buka magazin (https://6yka.com, 24 June 2019), Dnevni avaz (https://avaz.ba, 26 June 2019), Klix (https://www.klix.ba, 25 June 2019), Nezavisne novine (https://www.nezavisne.com, 25 June 2019), Radio slobodna Evropa (https://www.slobodnaevropa.org, 24 June 2019), Radio televizija Republike Srpske (https://www.rtrs.tv, 26 June 2019).
5. Personal interview #2 with journalist, Banja Luka, April 2019.
6. Personal interview #14 with academic, Sarajevo, February 2019.
7. Personal interview #8 with member of civil society, Sarajevo, March 2019.
8. Personal interview #8 with member of civil society, Sarajevo, March 2019.
9. In local language: Pravda za Davida.
10. Personal interview #11 with academic, Banja Luka, March 2019.
11. Personal interview #1 with journalist, Banja Luka, March 2019.
12. Personal interview #6 with member of civil society, Banja Luka, March 2019.
13. Personal interview #2 with journalist, Banja Luka, April 2019.
14. Personal interview #11 with academic, Banja Luka, March 2019.
15. Personal interview #11 with academic, Banja Luka, March 2019.
16. Personal interview #11 with academic, Banja Luka, March 2019 and personal interview #2 with journalist, Banja Luka, April 2019.
17. Personal interview #3 with journalist, Sarajevo, February 2019.
18. Personal interview #7 with member of civil society, Banja Luka, March 2019.
19. Personal interview #1 with journalist, Banja Luka, March 2019.
20. Personal interview #15 with academic, Sarajevo, April 2019.
21. Even though there are reported cases of occasional voter intimidation, vote buying, and mail voting fraud (Pod lupom Citation2018).
22. Personal interview #10 with member of civil society, Mostar, April 2019. Štela is a colloquial expression for personal connections with the potential to produce benefits.
23. The report concludes that ‘BiH governments forego up to 3.0 percent of GDP in potential income per year through inefficiencies’ in SOEs (Parodi and Cegar Citation2019, 23).
24. Research on interest groups shows ethnic party dominance that results in a bifurcated system with three separate interest group subsystems (Kapidžić Citation2019).
25. Personal interview #17 with a member of a Serb political party, Banja Luka, March 2019.
26. Personal interview #19 with member of a Bosniak political party, Sarajevo, March 2019.
27. Personal interview #3 with journalist, Sarajevo, February 2019.
28. There are also variations among cantons within FBiH but such inquiry is beyond the scope of this paper.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Damir Kapidžić
Damir Kapidžić is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Politics at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His research looks at ethnic conflict, political parties and power-sharing, as well as formal and informal processes through which democratic or authoritarian politics are institutionalized. Much of his focus is on countries in Southeast Europe, but also includes comparative perspectives from Southeast Asia, East Africa and the Middle East. He is a Board member of the IPSA Research Committee 14 ‘Politics and Ethnicity’.
