The Bad

"Article III.5 of Annex IV, the constitution of BiH states: “Within six months of the entry into force of this Constitution, the Entities shall begin negotiations with a view to including in the responsibilities of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina other matters.” Had this clause in Article III been successfully implemented anywhere along the way over the last three decades, BiH would likely be more stable, functional, and prosperous polity today."

"The most damaging consequence of the Dayton Peace Accords was its overly complex design, which sought to preserve ethno-national divisions without a clear sunset clause (notably for OHR). In the short term, this arrangement provided reassurance and likely explains the rapid drop in violence—separation offered a sense of security. However, in the long run, Dayton’s intricate provisions became self-perpetuating without a clear end in sight. Whatever the agreement did not explicitly regulate created space for manipulation by elites who concentrated power and engaged in nationalist outbidding within their respective communities without having the motivation to move away from Dayton and build a more inclusive system. The system thus prioritized short-term peace over long-term democracy. As a result, nationalist elites have continued to dominate Bosnian politics, exploiting ethnic fears to sustain their authority and obstruct meaningful democratic reform."

"The Dayton Constitutional system is a standing adverse consequence. There were efforts in the second half of the first decade (particularly 2000-2005) to compel constitutional evolution. The damaging fact since then is the cessation of that mentality - mainly because of the still prevailing idea that the prospect of EU membership will compel serious structural change. That has been proven false 2006-now. What now prevails is a perverse international Dayton fundamentalism, while local political leaders continue to pursue optimization of the effectively feudal system Dayton established. An essential factor of the enlargement-centric approach has been the radical reduction of usage of the High Representative's executive authority (Bonn Powers) and the deterrent credibility of EUFOR."

"For thirty years, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been held hostage by ethnic policies that ethnically divide the society and block the strengthening of state institutions with entity interests, as the RS authorities do continuously, through entity voting."

"The most harmful consequence of the Dayton framework is the recognition of the results produced by organized armed violence against Bosnia and Herzegovina and genocide, translated into institutionalized ethnocracies. This led to the chronic dysfunction of the state apparatus, and was understood by destructive actors as an invitation to use persistent obstructions to drain the substance of the state from within, until the goal that was set in 1992-95 was reached. All of this deepened distrust in institutions, gradually delegitimizing them among citizens and stalled the construction of a vision of the future unencumbered by Dayton."

"Of the numerous negative consequences that appeared during the implementation of the Dayton Agreement, it is difficult to choose the most harmful. On the one hand, one of the most negative consequences of Dayton is the creation of three almost completely divided administrative and ethno-political systems within BiH (Bosniak, Croatian and Serbian). This so-called "straitjacket" enabled local politicians at all levels to block changes and reforms indefinitely and use their positions for personal enrichment. At the same time, such a system enabled politicians as well as connected intellectuals, media and non-governmental organizations to avoid responsibility for such behaviour by shifting the blame to foreigners or politicians from other parties. Foreign actors are also responsible for creating this "straitjacket" administrative system. American and European diplomats and officials - who have dominated the BiH political scene for three decades - not only created this system in Dayton, but also complicated it with numerous senseless experiments, omissions and wrong moves, and in the end almost completely abandoned it."

"The door is wide open for "use, abuse and excuse". That is, when it is needed it is used, then it is misused or serves as an excuse not to do something."

"We realized too late that we had no citizens in the country, we were drowning in the national pride of Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs."

"Dayton created the seeds of a dysfunctional government structure which has created the conditions for ethnic leaders not interested in a functioning strong state to thrive."

"One of the most harmful consequences of the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement is the institutionalization of the ethnic division of society. Although the agreement stopped the war, it strengthened ethno-national borders within the political system, which resulted in permanent fragmentation of institutions, weak state capacity and the dominance of identity politics over civic principles and social solidarity."

"It was widely assumed that the Dayton Constitution embedded within the peace agreement would be transitional, and replaced to enable BiH to make progress towards integration into trans-Atlantic structures and the European Union. It had been understood since the beginning that there were fundamental flaws in the constitution, and subsequent lawsuits, as well as an opinion issued by the Venice Commission in 2005, have been clear in pointing out the combination of governance functionality and human rights protection deficits. And yet, the issue of even talking about constitutional reform has been weaponized by elites who continue to personally benefit from what has calcified into an unaccountable system. I have no doubt that there are people in every community around the country who have ideas for a new social contract that would finally work for them instead of only for the parties. It’s a shame that these voices are consistently ignored."