Title Capability of international law to resolve an ethnic conflict: case of Bosnia and Herzegovina Abstract The thesis deals with the complex issue of international law's capability to resolve an ethnic conflict, relying to a great extent on a case study of the Dayton system in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It aims to take an interdisciplinary approach, focusing not only on legal issues but also on sociological and other relevant aspects. The first chapters attempt to summarize peace proposals preceding Dayton and are followed by a legal analysis of the adopted documents and a subsequent thorough examination of the most significant and visible aspects of their implementation. The last chapter then reviews the topic from the standpoint of conflict resolution. Several key questions are formulated in the preface: Is international law able to deter the risk of yet another outbreak of armed conflict in Bosnia? Are its limits or flawed imposition the immediate cause of the present state? Has the international regime in Bosnia become completely dissasociated from the sociological substratum? Whilst seeking for answers, much attention is paid to the perception and reception of the Dayton system by various interest groups within Bosnia's society as well as to international community's ensuing engagement in the country....

This paper analyzes current situation in BiH v european context with emphasis on BiH relations with European union. Although we could consider EU as major power, there are other international actors which have also significant influece there. These are BiH neighbours - Croatia and Serbia, Russian federation and United states of America.

This paper looks to examine how the Dayton Peace Agreement (1995) was meant to create a stable, unified Bosnia and Herzegovina versus what was actually achieved. The institutional rules of Dayton were designed to check and balance the three ethnic groups, yet the country is defined by political division rather than cooperation. The international community, prescribed by Dayton to oversee and enforce Bosnia’s transition, has supported a flawed institutional design. The theories of consociationalism, centripetalism, and the prevalence of the ethno-territorial principle are used to explain how Dayton has failed in facilitating cooperation and moderation. The impact of the prolonged, involved role of the High Representative and the European Court of Human Right's 2009 case, Sejdić and Finci, are used as analysis. I argue that Dayton’s institutional design has allowed ethnic division to define BiH's political system and the prolonged intervention of the High Representative has removed incentive for local elites to cooperate.

<p>The purpose of this study is to analyze how the parties (USA, Great Britain, UN and the European Union) legitimize their intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina as seen from without the conceptions of sovereignty and intervention. </p><p>USA and the UN have legitimized their intervention on security reasons. The American president, George W. Bush, claimed that democracies never engage in war with each other and that democracies were prosperous just because they were democracies. According to the president, that is why it is important to democratise the whole Balkan region to protect the international community from terrorism which grows in unstable and undemocratic states. UN resolutions claim that the situation in Bosnia is a threat to international peace and security and urged all state members to do everything they can for stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina. </p><p>European Union and Great Britain saw the organized crime that spreads through Balkan as a major threat to Europe. To be able to deal with his problem, EU is asking for more cooperation among the European states. Bosnia is a member of the Council of Europe and is also involved in the Stabilisation and association process for South eastern Europe with the EU. The purpose of these memberships is to foster the political and economic development in Bosnia and lead to full membership in the European Union, but only if Bosnia fulfils all the reforms that EU demands. To get economic aid from the EU, Bosnian leaders are forced to reform and engage in regional cooperation. </p><p>In the long run democratisation is the goal for all the parties, while security is the main issue at short-term. That is why the main concern for USA is for now the war on terrorism and organized crime for the EU. When signing the Dayton peace agreement, Bosnian leaders have agreed upon sharing sovereignty with the international community indefinitely. Dayton agreement calls also on all the parties to help Bosnia develop stable and democratic institutions and help the Bosnian leaders in theirs strive for peace. </p><p>The international community is based on principles of state sovereignty and non-intervention. Sovereignty can be defined as the right for autonomy and the right for non-intervention. These principles are not as important today as they were during the Cold War. Globalisation and marginalisation has made it more acceptable to intervene and share sovereignty with other states and ganisations. That means that the traditional view on sovereignty as a mean for maintaining order and view on interventions as a threat to the sovereignty is less significant in modern times. The reason for this is that the definition on sovereignty and intervention changes to able to adjust its self to the political situation in the world. That is, definition on sovereignty and interventionwill differ from time to time.</p>

This essay has the ambition to examine and compare Croatia’s and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s development towards a consolidated democracy. By applying Linz &amp; Stepen’s theory on how to consolidate a democracy and put focus on political society, behavioral patterns, attitude and constitutional structure the purpose is to find similarities and differences between Bosnia and Croatia within this field. The focus of this study is to compare two similar countries that have developed in very different ways. By applying the theory and a comparative method the purpose is to examine why two so similar countries with so much in common have developed in so different ways? In order to better answer the question there are two part questions and these are: What difficulties, concerning consolidation of democracy, have Croatia and Bosnia faced since the democratic transition in the beginning of the 1990s? What similarities and differences in the area of democratic consolidation (with focus on political society, behavioral patterns, attitude and constitutional structure) are there between the two countries? As the analysis shows, the main reason why these two countries differ so much is that Bosnia is a divided country with different nationalities and each nationality only wants to realize its own interest and does not care about what is best for the country as an entity. However, Croatia has recently realized that democracy is the best for the country and its development.

This thesis explores the effects of return migration on development through the case of returnees from Sweden to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Based on thirteen in-depth interviews and observation, it examines returnees’ ‘social remittances’, which consist of ideas, practices, and social capital (or social connections) that migrants bring to their countries of origin. The thesis adopts a transnational perspective highlighting returnees’ simultaneous connections in their host and home countries. It identifies various types of social remittance transfers such as ideas and practices in the areas of health, the environment and work, as well as social connections with investors, business partners, and political and academic actors in Sweden. One major finding is that returnees’ knowledge of the Swedish language, the market, work and business culture contribute to building trust with actors in Sweden, which facilitates trade and investment between the countries. The thesis also highlights a number of economic, political and personal constraints faced by returnees in their return process which, in turn, affect their capacity to transfer social remittances. It concludes that returnees can potentially contribute to development, but their contributions are largely conditioned by the existing social, economic, legal and political environment.

This study analyzes the determinants of return migration from Sweden to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and outmigration to third country during the time period 1994-2003. The study is limited to the refugees who arrived to Sweden 1993-1994. One important aim is also to find out to what extent the propensity of return migration is affected by integration and participation in the Swedish labor market. There is a larger fraction of the refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina who return than migrate to a third country. The results show that a higher education is affecting the return migration decision positively, but not the migration to another country. Since the social protection system in Bosnia and Herzegovina is partially undeveloped, only those with a well paid job or wealthy relatives can afford any mishaps. Highly educated individuals are expected to have these economical prerequisites. Being employed in Sweden or receiving social benefits there, give negative marginal effects on the probability of emigration. Therefore, the position on the Swedish labor market has importance for an emigration decision. Being married or having children decreases the probability of emigration. However, the family status effects are stronger for outmigration to a third country. Further, it is more likely for a family to return than emigrate to a third country. It is also more likely for women to return, while there is a larger fraction of men that migrate to a third country. Summarizing the most important findings, the probability of outmigration is strongly reduced by the level of integration. This is not only an analysis of individual micro data. The political and economic differences between home country and source country are also compared. Pull-factors seem to dominate return migration since Sweden has a more stabilized economic and political situation. However, the refugees must have strong economic prerequisites or wealthy relatives to support them, in order to realize a return migration decision. A large fraction of the refugees who wish to return do not have the possibilities to realize their return intentions. They consider themselves as temporary migrants, but have involuntary become permanent migrants in Sweden.

<p>This study analyzes the determinants of return migration from Sweden to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and outmigration to third country during the time period 1994-2003. The study is limited to the refugees who arrived to Sweden 1993-1994. One important aim is also to find out to what extent the propensity of return migration is affected by integration and participation in the Swedish labor market.</p><p>There is a larger fraction of the refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina who return than migrate to a third country. The results show that a higher education is affecting the return migration decision positively, but not the migration to another country. Since the social protection system in Bosnia and Herzegovina is partially undeveloped, only those with a well paid job or wealthy relatives can afford any mishaps. Highly educated individuals are expected to have these economical prerequisites. Being employed in Sweden or receiving social benefits there, give negative marginal effects on the probability of emigration. Therefore, the position on the Swedish labor market has importance for an emigration decision. Being married or having children decreases the probability of emigration. However, the family status effects are stronger for outmigration to a third country. Further, it is more likely for a family to return than emigrate to a third country. It is also more likely for women to return, while there is a larger fraction of men that migrate to a third country. Summarizing the most important findings, the probability of outmigration is strongly reduced by the level of integration.</p><p>This is not only an analysis of individual micro data. The political and economic differences between home country and source country are also compared. Pull-factors seem to dominate return migration since Sweden has a more stabilized economic and political situation. However, the refugees must have strong economic prerequisites or wealthy relatives to support them, in order to realize a return migration decision. A large fraction of the refugees who wish to return do not have the possibilities to realize their return intentions. They consider themselves as temporary migrants, but have involuntary become permanent migrants in Sweden.</p>

The trade in human beings, or Trafficking in Persons (TiP) is global and affecting every country. In the last years, increasing attention has been paid to TiP for the purpose of sexual exploitation. This led to a growing need to tackle this phenomenon. Only recently, the relationship between TiP and armed conflict has been acknowledged but remains under-studied. Cameron and Newman (2008) have outlined a framework in which structural factors linked to proximate factors could have explanatory value on the relationship between armed conflict and TiP. This thesis analyzes two cases of armed conflict, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sierra Leone, attempting to explain the increase in TiP of women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation by applying this theoretical framework. In this qualitative research a comparative method is used in applying the framework to two case studies, aiming to identify the explanatory value of Cameron and Newman’s (2008) framework. It is found that the general explanatory value of the framework is high and the proximate factors can be classified as: a fully explanatory proximate factor, case dependent proximate factors, and conflict-phase proximate factors. In addition, this thesis is identifying some elements that could influence TiP of women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation during conflict and post-conflict that could be of added value to this framework, namely: the implementation of government strategies, corruption of non-government officials, economic deterioration as a consequence of migration, and involvement of peacekeepers and members of the international community in TiP of women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

In the unique post-war and post-socialist arena several recent studies onformer Yugoslavian countries indicate that young people confronted by challengesof risk and uncertainty are turning away from the national and politicalsphere. Instead, they often seek trust and opportunities in their networks and relationshipson a personal level. This thesis explores the narratives and everydaypractices of young adults in Sarajevo regarding their friendship sociabilities. The aim is to provide an insight on how friendships are characterised, experiencedand related to the specific social and economic organisations that influencesthem. Based on fieldwork carried out in Sarajevo, Bosnia &amp; Herzegovina myproject wants to present how young adults are reflecting and developing aspirationsin the light of their available choices and opportunities in life and how theyare using their friends in order to access various types of benefits and support. It is argued that in specific contexts friendships constitute the main social capitals and orientation points for young people. In order to explore and navigate through the different interests and agendas present in their community when it comes to personal education, career development and housing young peoplenecessarily choose to favour the reliance on their informal solidarities in form offriendships.