Srđan Blagovčanin - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Srđan Blagovčanin
The paper discusses the political and institutional development of the post-conflict Bosnia and H... more The paper discusses the political and institutional development of the post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina, which remains a country that is still undergoing transition (with all the attendant caveats and reservations that this term implies), based on the theoretical assumptions of the phenomena of hybrid regimes, state capture and cartelisation of politics. Analysing the physiognomy of the hybrid regime emerging from the post-conflict environment, the paper seeks to shed light on the key mechanisms of how this regime operates, i.e. the levers used by the ethno-national elites to seize control over the state, institutions and the democratic process – the same ones that have organised themselves into a cartel of sorts to secure an undisputed monopoly over the state and society.
VISION 2020: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA TOWARDS ITS EUROPEAN FUTURE, 2016
There is an almost general consensus to be found among pundits famil- iar with the situation in ... more There is an almost general consensus to be found among pundits famil- iar with the situation in BiH and in the findings of various studies, which states that the democratic, EU-oriented reforms in BiH have been reduced to a mere form, with the majority of its citizens effectively excluded from decision-making processes. While the vast majority of citizens have con- tinuously expressed their support for the country’s membership in the EU, the very few options available for influencing the decision-making process have prevented them from exerting any significant influence on political elites.
The central research question of the study is how effective the EU has been with regard to state-... more The central research question of the study is how effective the EU has been with regard to state-building in post-conflict BiH in the process of integration into the EU.The study examines the policies and tools deployed by the EU in the process of state-building in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to understand the transformative power of the EU. In order to address that challenge the study considers the specificities of BiH in terms of the creation of the state, foreign presence and contested sovereignty. The study particularly devotes attention to the process of institution building as pivotal in the process of state-building and seeks to examine how local actors respond to the EU incentives policies.
Papir daje kratki osvrt na trenutno stanje unutarstranačke demokratije u okviru specifičnog poli... more Papir daje kratki osvrt na trenutno stanje unutarstranačke demokratije u okviru specifičnog političkog sistema u BiH, kroz tri ključne dimenzije: inkluzivnosti, centralizacije i institucionalizacije političkih partija. Na osnovu kratke analize navedenih dimenzija identifikovano je da odsustvo elementarne unutarstranačke demokratije ima višestruko negativne posljedice na ukupno funkcionisanje političkog sistema, te temeljem toga ukazano je na prednosti koje bi donijelo uvođenje demokratskih postulata u rad i djelovanje političkih partija.
Twenty years after the Dayton agreements ended its devastating war, Bosnia and Herzegovina is mir... more Twenty years after the Dayton agreements ended its devastating war, Bosnia and Herzegovina is mired in a corrupt political economy that feeds its political party bosses and their loyalists while leaving the country’s economy in ruins, its governing institutions all but bankrupt and its citizenry in dire need. The first post-war decade (1996-2006) saw a spurt of assistance-driven economic growth and international intervention to create governing institutions, but little reform has been accomplished since. Stalled on the path to European Union membership, Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to find ways to limit the predation of its politicians, unburden its entrepreneurs, and prosper its people.
The required stimulus can no longer come from international intervention of the sort practiced in the first post-war decade by the High Representative. The European Union expects Bosnia and Herzegovina to meet its entry requirements by exercise of its own sovereignty and will rather than by imposition. The will does not exist today, because many of those in power expect to lose benefits and even fear going to prison if an independent judiciary, free media, energetic civil society and truly democratic processes were to hold corrupt parties accountable for exploiting the public trust for private gain.
The paper discusses the political and institutional development of the post-conflict Bosnia and H... more The paper discusses the political and institutional development of the post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina, which remains a country that is still undergoing transition (with all the attendant caveats and reservations that this term implies), based on the theoretical assumptions of the phenomena of hybrid regimes, state capture and cartelisation of politics. Analysing the physiognomy of the hybrid regime emerging from the post-conflict environment, the paper seeks to shed light on the key mechanisms of how this regime operates, i.e. the levers used by the ethno-national elites to seize control over the state, institutions and the democratic process – the same ones that have organised themselves into a cartel of sorts to secure an undisputed monopoly over the state and society.
VISION 2020: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA TOWARDS ITS EUROPEAN FUTURE, 2016
There is an almost general consensus to be found among pundits famil- iar with the situation in ... more There is an almost general consensus to be found among pundits famil- iar with the situation in BiH and in the findings of various studies, which states that the democratic, EU-oriented reforms in BiH have been reduced to a mere form, with the majority of its citizens effectively excluded from decision-making processes. While the vast majority of citizens have con- tinuously expressed their support for the country’s membership in the EU, the very few options available for influencing the decision-making process have prevented them from exerting any significant influence on political elites.
The central research question of the study is how effective the EU has been with regard to state-... more The central research question of the study is how effective the EU has been with regard to state-building in post-conflict BiH in the process of integration into the EU.The study examines the policies and tools deployed by the EU in the process of state-building in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to understand the transformative power of the EU. In order to address that challenge the study considers the specificities of BiH in terms of the creation of the state, foreign presence and contested sovereignty. The study particularly devotes attention to the process of institution building as pivotal in the process of state-building and seeks to examine how local actors respond to the EU incentives policies.
Papir daje kratki osvrt na trenutno stanje unutarstranačke demokratije u okviru specifičnog poli... more Papir daje kratki osvrt na trenutno stanje unutarstranačke demokratije u okviru specifičnog političkog sistema u BiH, kroz tri ključne dimenzije: inkluzivnosti, centralizacije i institucionalizacije političkih partija. Na osnovu kratke analize navedenih dimenzija identifikovano je da odsustvo elementarne unutarstranačke demokratije ima višestruko negativne posljedice na ukupno funkcionisanje političkog sistema, te temeljem toga ukazano je na prednosti koje bi donijelo uvođenje demokratskih postulata u rad i djelovanje političkih partija.
Twenty years after the Dayton agreements ended its devastating war, Bosnia and Herzegovina is mir... more Twenty years after the Dayton agreements ended its devastating war, Bosnia and Herzegovina is mired in a corrupt political economy that feeds its political party bosses and their loyalists while leaving the country’s economy in ruins, its governing institutions all but bankrupt and its citizenry in dire need. The first post-war decade (1996-2006) saw a spurt of assistance-driven economic growth and international intervention to create governing institutions, but little reform has been accomplished since. Stalled on the path to European Union membership, Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to find ways to limit the predation of its politicians, unburden its entrepreneurs, and prosper its people.
The required stimulus can no longer come from international intervention of the sort practiced in the first post-war decade by the High Representative. The European Union expects Bosnia and Herzegovina to meet its entry requirements by exercise of its own sovereignty and will rather than by imposition. The will does not exist today, because many of those in power expect to lose benefits and even fear going to prison if an independent judiciary, free media, energetic civil society and truly democratic processes were to hold corrupt parties accountable for exploiting the public trust for private gain.