Political Democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina : A Case Study about Bosnia and Herzegovina's Democratic Progress

Abstract: Integrating into a political democratic regime has not been a simple task for post-communisitc states such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. The signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995 marked the end of the catastrophic war that took place in the region, and was the start for the democratic developments that would now fully integrate Bosnia and Herzegovina into a consolidated democratic regime. However, the history after the signing of the agreement has not been as idealistic. Corruption, ethnic limitations and restrictions, disagreement between the various governmental bodies, and the lack of accountability between the political authorities are just some of the factors which have hindered Bosnia and Herzegovina from reaching any major democratic progress for the past years. This essay will examine if Bosnia and Herzegovina can be regarded as a political democratic regime in accordance to Robert Dahl’s eight institutional guarantees. It will also investigate the democratic development that has taken place before and after the elections in 2014.