Bosnia-Herzegovina Ten Years after Dayton: Constitutional Change and Public Opinion

Abstract

Two American-based political geographers and the head of a Bosnian public opinion research organization present and discuss the results of public opinion polls related to the tenth anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords. The paper reviews talks between Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) and the European Union (EU) aimed at signing a Stabilization and Association Agreement that should pave the way for eventual membership of BiH in the EU, a process that would stimulate reform of BiH's notoriously complex governance structure. The most recent constitutional change proposals are reviewed, and results of public opinion surveys (N = 614-2000 in late 2005) on constitutional change, reform of the governance structure of BiH state, and the Dayton Peace Accords after ten years are presented and discussed. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: I31, O15, O19. 2 figures, 9 tables, 19 references.

Keywords:

• Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Dayton Peace Accords
• ethnonationalism
• Bosniak
• Croat
• Serb
• Republika Srpska
• European Union