As concerns grow about Bosnia's post-war recovery, USIP presents its fourth report on recent developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and various options the U.S. government, Europe and Bosnia could pursue to prevent a return to violence there. In his paper, author Jim O'Brien, who served as the presidential envoy for the Balkans in the 1990s, cautions against taking a big initiative in Bosnia to head off a future crisis, but rather advocates taking on many, smaller battles that will ultimately align Bosnia closer to the European Union. He proposes a two-part strategy: first, Bosnia should strip political parties of their ethnic, nationalist appeal, and second, the international community should speed up the European Union accession process for the Balkans region overall.
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This is the fourth in a series of reports about Bosnia and Herzegovina. Read the first [2], second [3], and third [4] reports.
About the Author
This USIPeace Briefing was written by Jim O'Brien, a principal of the Albright Stonebridge Group, a global advisory firm. He was presidential envoy for the Balkans and a lawyer involved in American Balkan policy in the 1990s.
