While the global arena has witnessed a solid nine months of relentless, flamboyant norm-busting by the second Trump administration, this dynamic seemed to largely leave previously established American topline policies intact. Of course, the wanton destruction of USAID early in the administration delivered a deep blow in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the rest of the Western Balkans, and – with devastating effect – globally. The wider Trump family engaged in deals, such as deeply controversial developments in Serbia and Albania. And US embassies became far less vocal and interactive with their erstwhile closest partners, including the EU – which has set the pace for the West through its enlargement policy for two decades. But the fundamentals of Washington’s policies pertaining to BiH and the region remained largely consistent, including the sanctions regime against the Republika Srpska (RS) separatist leader – and now convicted criminal and former RS President – Milorad Dodik and a wide circle of his family, associates, party, and connected businesses……

Read the full blog at BiEPAG here.

The post Where to for EU Enlargement in the Age of Reaction? The View from Sarajevo appeared first on Democratization Policy Council.

As the new US National Security Strategy highlights Washington’s pivot away from a rules-based democratic global order, the EU should focus hard on the one region where it can exert the most leverage – the Western Balkans.

Read more at Balkan Insight here.

The post US Foreign Policy Reorientation Means EU Must Step Up Balkan Role appeared first on Democratization Policy Council.

Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Dayton peace agreement that ended the 1992-95 war, citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the most dissatisfied in the Western Balkans with the way they are being governed, an opinion survey highlighted.

Read more at Balkan Insight here.

The post Bosnians ‘Most Dissatisfied in the Balkans’ with their Politics – Is Brussels Listening? appeared first on Democratization Policy Council.

Facing a ban from holding office and desperate to cling to power, Milorad Dodik must be prevented from stepping up his dangerous threats of Serb secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Read more at Balkan Insight here.

The post After the Bosnian Court Finds Milorad Dodik Guilty, What Next? appeared first on Democratization Policy Council.

Joe Biden’s outgoing administration has less than a week to ensure its latest sanctions on Balkan leaders are not only transformative, but difficult for the incoming Donald Trump government to undo.

Read more at Balkan Insight here.

The post Time is Running Short for New US Sanctions in Balkans to Work appeared first on Democratization Policy Council.

The United Nations Security Council’s unanimous decision to renew the mandate of the European Union’s peace enforcement mission (EUFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina for another year was a relief. Despite reports that Russia, an ally of Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik would go along with the extension, some — myself included — were not reassured. Indeed, the remarks by Council members during the Oct. 31 debate reflected fissures over the future of international oversight in the country, which still struggles to overcome the divisions cemented by the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended the war. With the one-year cushion that the EUFOR mandate extension provides and today’s decision by Bosnia’s Constitutional Court rejecting an appeal by Dodik, Europe’s leading democracies must urgently prepare themselves for the disruption posed by the changed posture of the United States on Bosnia, exemplified just last week by the dramatic lifting of sanctions against Dodik.

Read the full article at Just Security here.

The post UN Extension of EU Troops in Bosnia Obscures Fissures Reflected in Debate appeared first on Democratization Policy Council.

The Trump administration announced yesterday that it was lifting sanctions on convicted former Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik and associated individuals and businesses, penalties the United States had imposed over corruption and their decades-long record of violating and agitating against the U.S.-brokered 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The removal of sanctions, including for members of his family and his political party — the current Serb member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina tripartite State Presidency, Zeljka Cvijanovic, is among the latter — follows a similar move on Oct. 17 favoring four other Dodik-linked individuals. Considering the timing and combined with other moves, it may signal a major shift in U.S. policy on Bosnia and the Western Balkans region and appears to reflect assertive pressure by U.S.-based lobbyists, including Trump-pardoned Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich…….

Read the full article at Just Security here.

The post U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Putin-backed Bosnian Serb Separatist Leader appeared first on Democratization Policy Council.

The post The Vares  Mining Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Case Study of Corrosive Capital in an Already Corroded Political Economy appeared first on Democratization Policy Council.

By Kurt Bassuener, Valery Perry

This report is based on discussions held in early June while traveling through several countries in the region and speaking with more than 20 interlocutors about their impressions of western policy in the region, and what they would like to see for the future.

This report can be seen as a follow-up to DPC’s March 2023 report, “Gaslighting Democracy in the Western Balkans.”

Read the full paper – in English

The post “The center went right a long time ago” – Voices heard on the road from Sarajevo to Thessaloniki appeared first on Democratization Policy Council.

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