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Abstract
Diplomacy is no longer the preserve of the state. It is increasingly used by sub-state actors to contest state-level authority. In malfunctioning states like Bosnia and Herzegovina, where lengthy state-building efforts have not alleviated the risk of instability, this possibility is a cause for concern. This article builds on paradiplomatic and state-building studies to examine specific aspects of the Republika Srpska's (RS) bid for diplomatic actorness. Based on the content analysis of official documents and interviews, it assesses the level of diplomatic actorness of the RS in four dimensions (legal authority, external presence, internal presence, autonomy) and examines whether this has grown in collaboration or competition with state-level diplomacy. The article shows that the development of the RS's paradiplomatic activities is driven by ethno-political competition, facilitated by state and sub-state actors’ mutual disregard, and that it both echoes and amplifies the systemic malfunctioning of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 The FBiH accounts for two-thirds of the population and half of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2 The Fund for Peace publishes Fragile States indexes every year (see http://ffp.statesindex.org/).
3 The Bertelsmann Stiftung publishes Transformation indexes every year: http://www.bti-project.org/bti-home/
4 Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have the status of EU candidate. It is at an earlier stage of the pre-accession process. It signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU in 2008, which only entered into force in June 2015.
5 The capacity to enter into relations with sovereign states, after all, is one of the defining features of statehood, according to the Montevideo Convention.
6 The decision, in that case, after consultation of the RS's National Assembly, cannot take effect.
7 Personal interview by the author with a high official in the RS, 4 November 2014, Banja Luka.
8 See http://www.vladars.net/eng/vlada/ic/ns/Pages/Republic_of_Srpska_Representative_Office_opens_in_Republic_of_Austria.aspx (accessed 2 July 2015).
9 http://www.parlament.gov.rs/Agreement_on_Parliamentary_Cooperation_Between_Rep.12027.537.html (accessed 13 January 2015).
10 See http://www.rep-srpska.eu/documents/uploads/newsletters_17_newsletters_2011_01.pdf (accessed 12 January 2015).
11 See http://rep-srpska.gr/activities/ (accessed 12 January 2015).
12 See http://eu-wb.com/2014/08/28/igor-vidovic-for-ewb/ (accessed 14 January 2015).
13 Personal interview by the author with a European diplomat, 31 October 2014b, Banja Luka.
14 Milorad Dodik was Prime Minister of the RS from 1998 to 2001 and from 2006 to 2010 and has been President of the RS since 2010.
15 A notable exception is the party of the Serbian Representative in the tripartite Presidency (Mladen Ivanić from the PDP), who took office after the 2014 elections. It remains to be seen, however, what implications the political rivalry on this issue between the Serbian member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the President of the RS will affect the RS's capacity to mobilize the Serbs on this issue of secession.
16 On the impact of Kosovo's declaration of independence on the RS, see Berg (Citation2009).
17 Personal interviews by the author with two European diplomats (separately), 31 October 2014, Banja Luka.
18 The Directorate for European integration, consisting of three departments (EU policy integration, analytics and reporting; harmonization of Serbian legislation with EU regulations; funds and development aid); the Directorate for regional and institutional cooperation and the Directorate for economic cooperation.
19 See http://www.rep-srpska.eu/ (accessed 12 January 2015).
20 Personal interview by the author with a high official in RS, 4 November 2014, Banja Luka.
21 Personal interview by the author with a member of the National Assembly of the RS, 3 November 2014, Banja Luka.
22 Ibid.
23 See http://www.nationalia.info/en/news/1961 (accessed 15 January 2015).
24 Personal interview by the author with a high official in the RS, 4 November 2014, Banja Luka; and with a diplomat from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6 November 2014b, Sarajevo.
25 Personal interview by the author with a diplomat from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6. November 2014b, Sarajevo.
26 Ibid.
27 Personal interview by the author with a diplomat from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6 November 2014a, Sarajevo.
28 Personal interview by the author with a member of the National Assembly of the RS, 4 November 2014, Banja Luka.
29 Personal interview by the author with a diplomat from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6 November 2014a, Sarajevo.
30 Personal interview by the author with a European diplomat, 31 October 2014a, Banja Luka.
31 Personal interview by the author with a high official in the RS, 4 November 2014, Banja Luka.