Abstract This paper begins by providing an introduction and overview of the Bosnia-Herzegovina crisis. It then examines the Dayton Peace Accords and discusses what the role of the Accords was meant to be, the aims and purposes, and, finally, why the Accords failed.
From the Paper "The conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina stems from the hostility between peoples united by territory, heritage, and language, yet divided by religion. The proponents of the war are the Orthodox, Catholics and Muslims who share the territory of Yugoslavia. After World War I, the United States, Britain, and France established new territorial boundaries of the remnants of the war during the Versailles Conference of 1919. The conference resulted in the combining of the former members of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, with Montenegro and Serbia. This formed of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, or ?land of the South Slavs.? "
Abstract This paper takes a historical look at the nations of Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina and compares and contrasts their societies and economic systems. The paper discusses both their similarities and their differences, examining their social and economic structure in both the post-communist era as well as the medieval era.
From the Paper "The culture area or geographic region within which the human population shares similar culture traits, patterns of cultural ecology and a similar ways of life for Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina have perhaps only one common political thread, post communism. Each society's cultural traits include many of the same desires felt in western countries that have material form, a recognized function, or an acknowledged value to their culturally related group. None of the foregoing functions independently; rather, each influences others in such universal cultural institutions as religion, political and economic systems, and those means by which a society attempts to maintain internal stability, defends itself against real or perceived threats, and sustains itself through the use of material environmental resources. Bosnia-Herzegovina is a society of two: Muslims and Croats. Their economy struggling out of the quagmire of civil war. Poland on the other hand, began its parliamentary democracy in 1989 pulling its economy, not from civil unrest, but near bankruptcy."
Tags: pluralism, political, force, balkan, yugoslavia, civil, war, serbia, montenegro, croatia, sarajevo
Abstract The challenges facing the war crimes tribunals in Bosnia are examined in this paper. The writer discusses these tribunals, established under the Dayton Accords, and presents their analysis as an example of the problems facing war crimes tribunals. The writer also examines the concept of ethnic cleansing.
From the Paper "... the fragmentation of the former Yugoslav Federation led to an outbreak of civil warfare and ethnic violence in the Balkans particularly in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Concentration camps, mass murders, mass expulsions and other indicators of genocide became widespread and the term ethnic cleansing was added to the century's lexicon of horrors. The international ...
Abstract The paper provides an insight on the two centuries that for Bosnia meant the reshaping of the social, ethnic and religious features. By analyzing the process that conducted to that shift, the paper discusses eventually contemporary issues of the area.
From the Paper "The paper focuses on the ethnic and religious changes that took place in Bosnia during 17th-18th centuries by putting them in the right context. The essay is encompassed within the multiple borderland courses by approaching all the shifts Bosnia encountered as a border province on Triplex Confinium. The aim is to deal not only with the political features of the border but also with its human aspects and to surprise how the border shifts affected the human environment. In order to achieve this a comparative aproach based on the consequences of actions."
Abstract This paper considers Bosnia's role in the global market, with a special emphasis on the ways in which domestic conflict has informed that role.
Abstract An analysis of US foreign Policy and security stance in the Bosnia situation and the effects its had on the world order and the domestic policy within the US. It assesses the role of the US and the origins of intervention.
Abstract This research paper traces the evolution of American involvement in and international strategy toward Bosnia during the period beginning with the outbreak of war among indigenous forces there in early 1992 and continuing to the present time. It begins by discussing the war in Bosnia and U.S. international strategy after the end of the Cold War. It then discusses Bush's strategy vis-a-vis Bosnia and Clinton administration non-strategy. The writer then addresses the reassertion of American leadership in 1994-95 and concludes the implementation of the Dayton Accords.
From the Paper "The international strategy of any nation contains three elements: its foreign policy (ends or goals) and the means used to achieve those goals (foreign policy means, including the use of diplomacy, the threat of or use of military power, and economic tools, such as foreign aid, trade, etc.), as permitted or constrained by foreign policy resources (including the sinews of national economic and military capacity and strength, and intangible sources of national power, such as international prestige and reputation, national will and public support). International strategy consists of three basic elements or components: global strategy, regional strategy and strategy toward a particular nation or state. The primary thesis of this paper is that the United States failed for at least four years to develop and, therefore, implement through appropriate use of diplomacy and military force an effective international strategy for dealing with the Bosnian war because it suffered from confusion as to its basic objectives there and a lack of conviction that its vital interests were involved. Even today, four years after the signing of the Dayton Accords, legitimate questions can be raised as to whether American policy makers, the Congress or the American public sufficiently appreciate the long-term nature of the commitments they have undertaken in Bosnia and whether they are prepared to stay the course long enough to complete them."
Abstract This paper examines the tensions that existed between Croats, Muslims and Serbs in Bosnia and examines the conditions that led to the recent war there. The paper also discusses the response to the conflict of the United Nations, the European Union and the United States and the reasons for the ethnic cleansing that took place during the conflict. Finally, the paper considers whether it was wise for the west to intervene in Bosnia and concludes emphatically that it was the right decision.
From the Paper "Nikolaos A. Stavrou, professor of International Affairs at Howard University and apologist for the Croatian factor of Yugoslavia writes that the Bosnian mess is getting worse by the day. According to Professor Stavou, a misinformation cabal and a masterful censorship of truth that would have made many dictators envious keep the American people in the dark. Instead of enlightenment, a new science of victimology has been developed to hide facts and force upon us a policy based on emotions. He writes that everywhere he traveled and at every conference he attended in the past four years, one question always popped up: Where is the other side to the Bosnia story? The professor has no answer, but feels a civic duty to attempt an answer."
Abstract A brief essay on the country of Bosnia. The paper includes a look at the history, geography and politics of the former Yugoslavian state. The paper explains that due to the long history of invasions and conquerors, the Bosnian people is made of a wide mix of ethnic and religious groups. This is the cause of the many conflicts that exist even to this day.
From the Paper "The area has a long history, and during the years of Ottoman rule, many Christians became Muslim, and moved into the ruling class working for the Turks. Other residents of the areas viewed this as collaboration, especially when the pattern was repeated during World War II and the same group of people collaborated with the Nazis. This has caused tremendous resentment against Bosnian Muslims by Catholics and Orthodox."
Abstract This paper investigates how the conflict in Bosnia has impacted the existing elderly population that has been affected by the war. This paper achieves this goal through investigating the impact of globalization, the demographics of the region, the competition for funds, and the anti- discriminatory policies that have been put into place to protect the rights of the elderly in this region.
From the Paper "These days many people are saying that the United Nations is overburdened and powerless. At the heart of this crisis is the sudden expansion of UN involvement in hot-spots across the globe, coupled with a growing number of embarrassing failures in the international arena.
This research examines the relative degree of success or failure of the United Nations in its missions to keep the peace and ensure the protection of basic human rights. The ability of the UN to meet these objectives will be highlighted by the organization's activities in four countries in particular: Kampuchea; Somalia; Bosnia-Herzegovina; and Haiti. The reasons behind UN successes and failures will be scrutinized, and ways in which the United Nations could optimize its performance will he discussed."
Abstract This paper gives background information on the ethnic conflict that has existed for centuries in both Yugoslavia and Chechnya and then looks at how that ethnic conflict has affected each region. The paper compares the different reasons behind the conflicts in each region, the severity of the conflicts, and their political consequences.
From the Paper "Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, conflict in Eastern Europe has been grounded largely in ethnic, rather than political, differences. Two key examples are the wars and subsequent atrocities in Yugoslavia between 1991 and 2000 and the war between Russia and Chechnya of 1994-1996. In both cases discrimination, whether perceived or actual, solidified ethnic identity and led to violent conflict, a sovereign ethnic state being the goal."
Abstract The paper states that whether a war that is being fought is a civil war, or a war between two or more countries, war impacts those people located where the war is being conducted who are not necessarily of a political or socio-economic ideology which forms the basis of the war. The paper notes that the population directly impacted by the actions of war are not the political or economic elite who go to war for motives of self-interest. Rather, these people, soldiers and civilians, are people whose lives will not realize direct benefits from the outcome of the war, but who will, nonetheless, suffer the action of war. This paper examines the impact of war on those people and attempts an examination of the impacts of war on non-governing forces.
Outline:
BosniaHerzegovina Africa
From the Paper "During that early historical period, there was little that caused conflict between those various groups. That changed in the nineteenth century, when local and regional identities began emerging and indicators of nationalism began being evidenced (Friedman, 2004). However, going into the twentieth century, the nationalism of the cultural identities was subordinated to the governing forces, leading up to the post World War II Communist Soviet Union (Friedman, 2004). This is a recurring underlying similarity in those countries and regions experiencing war today, even when the subordinating authority is not the Soviet Union, there is a governing force that once it withdraws and the country achieves independence, violence ensues in a free for all grab for power and governance."
Abstract Discusses the 1995 DPA that ended the Civil War in Bosnia. Division of Bosnia into the Serb Republic and the Federation (Muslim-Croat). DPA successful in peace keeping but ineffective in consensus building. High ethnic animosity. Issue of war crimes. Factors that act against reunification of Bosnia.
From the Paper "The principal achievement of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) was the cessation of the civil war in Bosnia. The peace has been maintained for nearly six years, but this is only because of the presence of large numbers of U.S. and coalition troops. Some DPA objectives have barely begun to be accomplished. The return of minority refugees to various parts of the country, for instance, has been extremely slow and has met with resistance from potential returnees and those who drove them out in the first place. Ethnic animosity has remained extremely high according to most reports and this is mirrored in the perpetual instability of the central government of the Republic now known as Bosnia-Herzegovina. Despite the successful maintenance of peace the Dayton Accords offer very little in the way of a viable framework for reuniting Bosnia into an ..."
Abstract This paper provides a historical background of the war in Bosnia. The book, "Sarajevo Blues" by Semezdin Mehmedinovic is discussed in order to illustrate a personal account of the day to day existence in Sarajevo, during the Bosnian war. The factors that tore Bosnia apart and rendered it helpless to the conflicts raging within, are outlined in the paper.
From the Paper "The war started in April 1992, when Yugoslavia was dissolved because the former leader, Tito, had passed away. This resulted in a vying for power between the three ethnicities in Bosnia. The Muslims and Croats favored independence for Bosnia while most of the Serbs did not. However, the votes were over 63% in favor of independence and since this meets the standard for recognition by the US and the EU, Bosnia was recognized as an independent country in April 1992."
