Routledge After Ethnic Conflict: Policy-making in Post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia (Southeast European Studies)

After Ethnic Conflict: Policy-making in Post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia investigates how sensitive policy issues can be resolved in the aftermath of war by investigating how political elites interact and make decisions in ethnically divided societies. Focussing on the interactions between political elites and attempts to reach agreement across ethnic lines in Bosnia and Macedonia the book examines the impact that institutional factors can have on political actors and the decisions they make. Examining domestic factors and external influence in politics, Cvete Koneska identifies four key drivers of post-conflict cooperation: cross-cutting identities, minority veto powers, territorial autonomy, and informal practices to explain inter-ethnic political accommodation. By looking beyond the immediate post-conflict landscape, created by foreign peace negotiators and aid missions, to the internal political process she shows the real reasons political actors cooperate and how competing ethnic tensions are reconciled following ethnic conflict. Delving deeper into specific policy areas to compare successful and unsuccessful attempts at ethnic accommodation this book explores the factors behind the different policy outcomes that sustain or undermine peace and ethnic cooperation in ethnically divided societies. Review ’This book offers an extremely interesting comparative perspective on the crucial questions of when, why and how ethnic elites choose to cooperate with each other in the aftermath of violent conflict. It contains important insights not just for those working on the Balkans but for scholars examining post-conflict reconciliation and state building more widely.’ James Ker-Lindsay, London School of Economics, UK ’Cvete Koneska delivers a very convincing comparative account of post-conflict decision making in the Balkans. Her approach discusses variance in policy making outcomes, and assesses successes and failures of the politics of power-sharing and elite accommodation. A must-read for those who seek a deeper, sectoral understanding of how local elites operate within ethnically polarised contexts.’ Othon Anastasakis, University of Oxford, UK 'Cvete Koneska has written an engaging and nuanced text, which offers fresh insights on the extent of ethnic accommodation in two post-conflict ethnically divided societies. ... After Ethnic Conflict should be widely read, not just by Balkan scholars but also by power-sharing theorists and others interested in how to encourage ethnic accommodation in divided societies.' Reviews and Critical Commentary About the Author Cvete Koneska holds a DPhil in Politics from St Antony’s College, Oxford. Her research is focused on post-conflict politics, ethnically divided societies, and regional security dynamics in Southeast Europe. She is also interested in policy analysis, an interest acquired as a Research fellow at Analytica think tank in Skopje, Macedonia.