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<p>This paper deals with the sluggish Europeanisation efforts of the current political elites of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A typical explanation for the lack of progress would be the complex structure of consociational democracy of the specific Bosnian confederation. The authors, however, claim that the structural obstacles could have been bypassed given the real will of political elites of all three nations to cooperate. The authors examine the role of the structure of the peculiar political system in comparison with the influence of the agency of Bosnian elites on the integration process. The empirical analysis focuses on the situation after the general elections in 2018. The authors discuss the contrast between the official declarations of consistent support for a European future with the real political performance of the various Bosnian party elites. These elites often misuse the institutional settings of the political system to block reforms. They also prefer the politics of obstruction to cement their leading positions within their constituent nations. More than a quarter century after the Dayton Peace Treaty and adoption of the Constitution, the lack of genuine intrinsic motivation to pursue Europeanisation has remained the main reason for the reluctant rapprochement of Bosnia to the European Union.</p>
</abstract>

This paper deals with the sluggish Europeanisation efforts of the current political elites of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A typical explanation for the lack of progress would be the complex structure of consociational democracy of the specific Bosnian confederation. The authors, however, claim that the structural obstacles could have been bypassed given the real will of political elites of all three nations to cooperate. The authors examine the role of the structure of the peculiar political system in comparison with the influence of the agency of Bosnian elites on the integration process. The empirical analysis focuses on the situation after the general elections in 2018. The authors discuss the contrast between the official declarations of consistent support for a European future with the real political performance of the various Bosnian party elites. These elites often misuse the institutional settings of the political system to block reforms. They also prefer the politics of obstruction to cement their leading positions within their constituent nations. More than a quarter century after the Dayton Peace Treaty and adoption of the Constitution, the lack of genuine intrinsic motivation to pursue Europeanisation has remained the main reason for the reluctant rapprochement of Bosnia to the European Union.

Serious about Integration or Political Posturing? Political Elites and their Impact on Half-hearted Europeanisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Professor at the Faculty of Social Science, Masaryk University and as a Head of the International Institute of Political Science

Politics in Central Europe

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

This paper deals with the sluggish Europeanisation efforts of the current political elites of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A typical explanation for the lack of...

Serious about Integration or Political Posturing? Political Elites and their Impact on Half-hearted Europeanisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Published Online: Apr 10, 2022

Page range: 27 - 51

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2022-0002

Keywords
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europeanisation, Political Elites, Political Culture, Integration Process, Consociational Democracy

© 2022 Romana Burianová et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Serious about Integration or Political Posturing? Political Elites and their Impact on Half-hearted Europeanisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Published Online: Apr 10, 2022

Page range: 27 - 51

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2022-0002

KeywordsBosnia and Herzegovina, Europeanisation, Political Elites, Political Culture, Integration Process, Consociational Democracy

© 2022 Romana Burianová et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europeanisation, Political Elites, Political Culture, Integration Process, Consociational Democracy