Original scientific paper

Could and Should Have We Done Better in Dayton?

Ivan Šimonović

Abstract

The US sponsored peace talks in Dayton in autumn 1995 gathered representatives of the three constituent peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the neighboring states, and an internationally composed five member Contact group - each of them trying to end a war, but also to promote some other specific interests and in that way influencing the outcome of negotiations. When estimating the Dayton Agreement ten years after, it seems that more international pressure should have been exerted on regional participants of the peace talks to accept a more viable constitutional framework for Bosnia and Herzegovina, with more competencies vested centrally and locally than in the entities. From the outset, more authority in implementation should have been granted to the High Representative, whose powers should have been transferred to the local population gradually, with clear dynamics and set benchmarks.

Keywords

Bosnia and Herzegovina; peace negotiations; Dayton; peace-building; state-building; constitutionalism

Hrčak ID:

6563

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/6563

Publication date:

1.7.2005.

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