Consociational Democracies and Human Rights : A Case Study on Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract: Power-sharing democratic models, such as consociationalism, are becoming a fundamental solution for divided societies. Consociationalism aims to divide power between the majority segments of a plural society using four characteristics: grand coalition, segmental autonomy, proportionality, and mutual veto. Bosnia and Herzegovina has used this to end the three-and-a-half-year war, which resulted in dividing the balance of power between the country’s three constituent peoples. One of the biggest downfalls of consociationalism can be attributed to its focus on group rights over individual rights. This thesis aims to understand the relationship between consociationalism and human rights, specifically minority political rights, by using Bosnia and Herzegovina as a case study. The relationship is established with the help of the Dayton Peace Agreement and cases from the European Court of Human Rights. The results demonstrate a distinct connection between the right to political participation for minorities and consociationalism, leading to a human rights violation.