The illustrated album reconstructs the 1995 negotiation process that led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement. Based on Ambassador Richard Holbrooke’s book, "To End a War," it provides a detailed chronology with a special focus on US shuttle diplomacy and the peace talks in Dayton. By blending narrative context with hand-drawn illustrations, the album brings behind-the-scenes events to life, making the complex peace process visually engaging and accessible to a broader audience.
In an effort to uncover facts supported by firsthand testimonies from all phases of the siege, we decided to include Richard Holbrooke’s book, "To End a War," in our archiving project. Thanks to the author’s permission, we were able to use statements and dialogues of participants in the wars of the former Yugoslavia, as well as representatives of the international community involved in the final initiative to end the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which also marked the end of the siege of Sarajevo.
This mapping of negotiations serves as a record of the positions and goals of the parties involved in the peace process, as well as the final decisions that resulted in the Dayton Peace Accords. For anyone who may engage in revising or challenging this agreement, it is essential to understand how it was actually signed, specifically, how the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina was brought to an end. It is also an important document reflecting the distribution of power on the international diplomatic, political, and military stage at the end of the 20th century, as well as the functioning of the US administration in its foreign policy roles at the time. Finally, as an educational model for contemporaries and future generations, it remains an indispensable part of our archival collection.
A Special edition of the Album in Bosnian was printed in November 2005 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords, and over 10,000 copies were distributed across Bosnia and Herzegovina as a special supplement of Oslobodjenje newspaper.
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All of these projects have since demonstrated that this method is key to documenting events if we want our efforts to serve as a meaningful contribution to the interpretation and understanding of the 1991–1999 period in the former Yugoslavia, for both local and global education. This project has already proven and continues to prove its value as a contribution to the process of truth and reconciliation, as well as to the democratisation of post-war society.
| Theme | The Dayton Peace Accords |
|---|---|
| Research period | 1992-1995 (with focus on 1995) |
| Original Format | Printed album (text and illustrations), full colour on matte paper, 56 pages, format 37 × 26 cm. |
| Language | English (B/C/S translation available) |
| Project content | The album combines texts with hand-drawn illustrations, offering behind-the-scenes insight into US diplomatic efforts to end the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It presents a chronological mapping of the negotiation process from summer 1995 to 14 December 1995. |
| Production | Sarajevo (2000.) |
| Note | The B/C/S version of the original Album was not published as a separate edition – it was translated and adapted for the Encyclopaedia: ‘The Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996’ (BH edition). |
