This week on War & Peace, Olga is joined by Marko Prelec, Crisis Group’s consulting senior Balkans analyst, to discuss the political landscape in the Western Balkans, the risks of Bosnia and Herzegovina falling apart, simmering tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, and prospects for EU enlargement.
State-level Constitutional Court temporarily suspended controversial Republika Srpska (RS) election law, as concerns about RS secession persisted.
Constitutional Court temporarily suspended RS election law. Self-governing RS entity’s election law, which RS National Assembly adopted on 19 April, 17 July entered into force after RS Constitutional Court 25 June ruled law does not violate vital national interests; Ambassadors of Peace Implementation Council’s Steering Board day prior warned law could establish parallel legal and electoral system that “pose risks to the conduct of the upcoming elections”, and said “the international community retains the necessary instruments” to protect Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) sovereignty and territorial integrity. State-level Constitutional Court 24 July held extraordinary plenary session where it temporarily suspended election law while it assesses constitutionality concerns.
RS govt circulated proposal for “peaceful separation” from BiH. RS govt 2 July published proposed agreement on entity’s “peaceful separation” from BiH, which RS National Assembly was scheduled to discuss on 9 July, though session was cancelled at last minute. Earlier, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan 1 July said U.S. is “concerned by the increased threats” to BiH’s “territorial integrity from Republika Srpska President Dodik”.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the verge of falling apart as Republika Srpska, the smaller of its two ethnically divided parts, threatens to break away. In this excerpt from the Watch List 2024 – Spring Update, Crisis Group urges the EU to help stop the fragmentation.
This week on War & Peace, Olga Oliker and Elissa Jobson speak with Marko Prelec, Crisis Group’s senior consulting analyst for the Balkans, about the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia’s persisting political divisions and where the country might be headed next.
A pre-election standoff between Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina has taken an ugly turn, with rhetoric from the 1990s war reappearing. Ideally, politicians would make the reforms needed to settle the quarrel but, if not, the internationally appointed high representative should do so.
This week on War & Peace, Olga Oliker talks to Crisis Group expert Marko Prelec about the precarious situation in the Western Balkans, as Serb separatism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the frozen Kosovo-Serbia dispute continue to stoke regional instability.
Crisis Group’s Watch List identifies ten countries or regions at risk of deadly conflict or escalation thereof in 2022. In these places, early action, driven or supported by the EU and its member states, could enhance prospects for peace and stability.
Trust between Bosnia and Herzegovina’s politicians has broken down following threats from Serb leader Milorad Dodik, the most serious challenge since the 1995 Dayton Accords. In this excerpt from the Watch List 2022, Crisis Group urges the EU and its member states to mediate the dispute between Bosniak and Croat leaders while supporting an inclusive constitutional reform to reduce the risk of violence.
This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk to Balkans expert Marko Prelec about the twin crises facing Bosnia’s multi-ethnic state. They ask if Serbian secessionism and a Croat election boycott could lead to the country’s unravelling a quarter-century after its civil war.
The chief international representative in Bosnia has warned the country may break apart if Bosnian Serbs continue moving toward secession and Bosniaks and Croats do not resolve an electoral dispute. In this Q&A, Crisis Group experts Marko Prelec and Ashish Pradhan explain the two-pronged crisis.
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