Policy Paralysis Fill-in-the-Blank

Bosanski/Hrvatski/Srpski

The latest wave of extreme gun violence in the United States has resulted in some excellent reporting and reflection on the state of American society, and the apparent inability of politicians – at all levels – to agree to do anything in terms of policy development or moral leadership to address this uniquely American scourge.

One of my favorites can be found here, as the author Alex Kingsbury offered a fill-in-the-blank template press release to make a strong point about the regularity of this phenomenon and subsequent dramatic cycle in the US, and the recurring, constant, and almost accepted inability of elected leaders to do anything, or in some cases, to even pretend to want to solve the problem.

This led me to think about similar paralysis on this side of the Atlantic, particularly over the past few years, in terms of politics and reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to reflect on the impact on democratic self-confidence in societies where social cynicism prevails and citizens lose faith that government can work for the public good.

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The latest visit of EU representative _________________ to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) ended yesterday, following failed negotiations and a stocktaking dinner held at restaurant __________________.

US, ___________, and ______________ representatives made statements to the press. ______ days of talks confirmed the positions of the participating party leaders, ________________, _____________, and ___________________; __________________ had not attended due to ____________________.

While not invited to the talks or the dinner, civil society representatives were invited to a 45-minute roundtable  at Hotel __________________. _________________, a well-known activist, said talks were proof of ____________________ and ____________________. ________________ from the NGO ___________________, said more ___________________ is needed to be successful.

_________________ from the ___________ party, said it was time to shut down _______________. ________________, visiting from neighboring ________________, noted continued commitment to regional cooperation, and initialed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ambassador of ____________________ for ____________________ Euro.

____________________, a policy analyst based in _________________ with long experience in the region, said this recent failure marked _______________ formal meetings over the past ___________ years that failed to result in agreement, calling for ____________________ and __________________.

A spokesperson for _________________ confirmed that elections in ____________________ would be held; _________________ from the _______________Embassy noted that these elections would be the most important since ____________________.