Review article
https://doi.org/10.46672/po-mest.29.1-2.4
Dayton after Dayton: Between a peace framework and a functional state
Krešimir Margaletić
orcid.org/0009-0005-8424-6749
Abstract
The paper normatively examines the possibility of transforming the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dayton Peace Agreement) without abolishing it, with the aim of identifying which institutional weaknesses of the existing constitutional model can be corrected within the current constitutional framework while preserving the principle of the constitutiveness of the three constituent peoples and the entity structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The research is based on a normative-institutional analysis of the constitutional text and the relevant annexes of the Agreement, applying an advanced
typology of peace agreements (Margaletić, 2022; 2025) for the systematic evaluation of its structural dimensions. The analysis encompasses five areas of institutional sustainability essential for the functioning of the consociational model and for assessing reforms in the context of European integration: the mechanism of vital national interest, the model for electing members of the Presidency, territorial and administrative organization, institutional mechanisms of reconciliation, and the scope of international supervision. Reform options are evaluated against European legal standards, in particular the Opinion of the European Commission on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s application for membership of the European Union. The findings indicate that a functional correction of the Dayton constitutional model is normatively feasible without a radical revision of its fundamental architecture through gradual institutional adjustments, while the political feasibility of such solutions depends on the dynamics of domestic political dialogue, the level of institutional consolidation, and the broader framework of international support.
Keywords
Bosnia and Herzegovina; Dayton peace agreement; constitutional order; institutional reform; consociational model; European integration
Hrčak ID:
346892
URI
Publication date:
5.5.2026.
Visits: 451 *