A New Agenda for Bosnia and Herzegovina
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.
![A New Agenda for Bosnia and Herzegovina](/sites/default/files/styles/image_with_caption/public/PB-20090813-OBrien.jpg?itok=D7cKOdgU)
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.
This is the fourth in a series of reports about Bosnia and Herzegovina. Read the first, second, and third reports.