The aim of this study is to investigate and understand the current political situation in Bosnia and why it not has been improving. The failed democratic process and the country's current continuing problems are studied through factors that deal with the country's ethnic diversity and the problematic constitution after the Bosnian war which separates the country. In this paper, a case study is used as the method, and by applying a reconciliation theory about the reconciliation process in Bosnia, the analysis shows that politicians, religious leaders and citizens show large cooperation problems and are holding back a democratic development in the country. Constitutional democracy is also used as theory, and the analysis in this study shows that this form of democracy can work in Bosnia after a reconciliation process. The conclusion of this study means that reconciliation is very important and must be implemented because no democratic improvement can be done without it. If there is no reconciliation in future Bosnia, it is more likely that the country will separate in two or more parts and that Bosnia as a state will not survive when the conflicts between the different ethnic groups in the country is so great.

Lebanon is seen as a failed state by the international community and this study aims to look at the causes that have made Lebanon dysfunctional. The study uses Andrej Lijpharts consociational power sharing model and the international relations theory realism to analyse the internal and external causes that have made Lebanon a failed state. The study is based on interviews from the three major sects in Lebanon and a text analysis. The study shows that Lebanon is suffering from a corrupt elite that uses the state institutions to benefit their own families. The elite uses clientelism by manipulating consociational power sharing to make the ethnoreligious groups dependant on the elite’s own success. Different regional and international powers use Lebanon in their struggle for power and dominance over the Middle East. The external actors support different ethnic and religious groups by financing and arming them. That in turn deepens the divide between the sectarian groups and hinders the political progress.