Ibidem Press Democracy by Decree: Prospects and Limits of Imposed Consociational Democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The introduction of consociational power sharing as a post-war political system has become one of the international community's preferred post-conflict devices. In situations where warring polities are internally divided by ethnic, religious, linguistic, or national identity, consociationalism guarantees the inclusion of all groups in the political process and prevents a 'tyranny' of the majority over one or more minorities. However, if international actors keep intervening in the political process, the advantages of consociationalism are turned upside down. In this exceptional book, Adis Merdzanovic develops a theoretical and empirical approach to understanding consociational democracies that include external intervention. Using the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the consociational Dayton Peace Agreement ended the three-year war between Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks twenty years ago, it elaborates on the different approaches used in the past and gives practical recommendations for future state-building exercises by the international community. Review This book provides insight into a case that is central to understanding the possible limits of democracy in divided societies. Particularly useful are the survey of competing nationalist histories and their ongoing relevance; the overview of Bosnian political institutions; and especially the rich history of the Office of the High Representative, drawing on personal interviews with many of the main actors involved.... Recommended.--Choice Merdzanovic's study presents a most welcome new assessment: He is the first scholar to scrutinize how the system of imposed consociationalism worked, or rather, didn't work, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a must-read for anybody interested in the history of the Balkans in general and current Bosnian politics in particular.--Josette Baer, University of Zurich, Switzerland About the Author Adis Merdzanovic is a visiting Junior Research Fellow at South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX), St Antony's College, University of Oxford.