International State-building in Bosnia and Herzegovina : A case study of a post-war country under International supervision

Abstract: This essay investigates the post-war international intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Dayton Peace Treaty was welcomed as the first multilateral agreement amongst countries since the end of the cold war, including Russia. The treaty sought not only to end a war but wrote the Bosnian constitution. We see examples of state-building through international intervention in other parts of the world post-9/11 (Afghanistan, Iraq). The state-building actions in Bosnia was the first multilateral action after the cold-war it is therefore interesting to research the measures that were taken and to follow-up and investigate if it was a success or a failure. Bosnia today is falling behind other neighboring countries,  economically and democratically speaking. Neighboring Croatia has just recently become a new member state of the EU, many scholars along with member states of EU and the International Community agree that Bosnia should aim to reach the same goal as Croatia in order to ensure political and economical stability. However there seems to be conflicting agendas between the International Community and the local politicians. The essay will focus on the effects of the international intervention through state-building operations in Bosnia and how the international community took upon itself a major responsibility and the results of those efforts till today.